Latissimus Dorsi Breast Reconstruction
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Hey Ladies!
I don't know if this is a dumb question or not, but here it goes and please don't judge my vanity!
I am going back to work this week and I need to know if its ok to wear heels. My job has a strict dress policy and I have to wear a business suit each day. Well, prior to my diagnosis I wore heels just about every day and my pants suits have leg lengths that require me to wear a heel to keep from messing up the cuffs.
I know the back and torso is effected by just about everything. I really wanna wear the heels...I need as much as I can get to help me feel "normal" again! What do you all think??0 -
Thanks Jo1955! So happy to hear you are about to finish up with all this. You are 2 years plus permanently free of this thing I don't care to give a name too. I'm beginning to feel better about my decision to go with the LD. My hubby has not attempted to steer me one way or the other...he wants me to do what I want to do...but he does give his stamp of approval on the LD. He doesn't like the idea of such a long surgery with the DIEP. I've given it over to a lot of prayer and I am believing God will ultimately "steer" me the way I need to go.
Blessings to all you gals!
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Momluke, I don't wear heels because I am already tall enough and have problems with my achilles tendon, but if I did I would go ahead and wear the heels. BUT, bring another pair of shoes with you just in case you start to feel your back is out of alignment or walking around in the heels doesn't feel very good. I'd give it a go.
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Car24...height! Lol...I am 5'3" so I consider myself vertically challenged.
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I am 5' 10". I used to wear heels when I could when married to my first husband who was 6' 6". Now I can't because of my sore heel, but my new husband is 5' 5" and he feels bad enough because I am taller than him, but we joke about it. My footwear of choice is flat Mephisto sandals with a cork footbed that supports my feet really nicely. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the weather gets colder or it snows.
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sunny2 - Ii had the LD flap done on one side - no implant and I was in surgery for 2 1/2 hours. No long compared to the DIEP. I waited quite a while after rads to make this decision and my hubby totally understood when I said I needed to do this for ME. I was so supportive. Please let us know what you decide. We will be with you every step of the way.
Momluke - I would go for it. Like cat24 said, take another pair of comfortable shoes just in case.
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Thanks for your kind words, sunny2. I am down 20 lbs since June & would like to lose 10 or so more.
Momluke, I wear wedge heels to work--wore them when I went back to work 2 weeks after each surgery without any issues.
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Thanks for the input ladies! I will be rocking the heels (wedges to start) with a spare pair of flats just in case!
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Thank you all for your input. Because this surgery is optional, I am much more anxious. I have got to quit thinking in the middle of the night! I want to be as prepared as possible and reading all the posts is a great way to do that.
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Sunny2, did you have to stop taking tamoxifen prior to the surgery. my bs told me that i would have to but that my ps would give me more details on when. I am scheduled for Nov 20 left mastectomy, LD on right, tissue expanders in both, I wonder if it will be two weeks prior. I think I should stop taking all my supplements as well.
I am really excited about having some shape again and don't care if there is any pain involved.
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Nicole4 - Whether you have to stop Tamoxifen and supplements is entirely up to your PS. My PS had me stop fish oil a week before and that was it. He said he was okay with me staying on everything. In fact, the morning of surgery, I was told to take my blood pressure med with a small sip of water.
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I have totally goofed up. I called my PS this morning because I had not received any pre-op instructions and my surgery is this thursday. During the converstion with the nurse I mentioned that I had accidently not remembered about not taking advil and had taken two on friday night. She said she would have to talk with the doctor who promptly called me back and told me he would not do the surgery. Frustration and relief. The nurse then called other patients on the schedule and found one who would love to move hers up. So we traded and my surgery is now scheduled for Nov. 29th. I am disappointed about not be getting it over with but I believe God in His wisdom has a different time plan than mine!
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My BS told me to not stop taking Tamoxifen when I have my mx and reconstruction on Nov 15. I had an excisional biopsy on October 5 and they gave me a shot in the stomach (not sure what it was) to prevent blood clots. So, I'm sure I'll have another one of those when I have my surgery in November and probably every day in the hospital too. My stomach is still a little stiff from my TRAM surgery so not my favorite spot for an injection.
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cat24 - the shot in the stomach was blood thinners. I had a couple of those after my LD flap surgery and my second surgery the next day for a hematoma. My PS wanted to make sure my blood did not clot in the wrong places. My blood levels (hemogloblin and hemocrit) were dropping below normal levels. It is just a precaution. You may not have any more. If not for the hematoma I wouldn't been given the shots.
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My PS always has me stop taking Tamoxifen 1 week prior to surgery & to resume taking it one week after surgery. The only thing he has me taking right up until surgery is Singulair.
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hi ladies
just had my msx with lat flap surgery 8 days ago. The back is actually not as sore as i thought it would be. Its the front that is unbearable. I just posted a new thread on the reconstruction board to see if anyone is in this much pain 8 days post op.
the expanders feel terrible, tight beyond uncomfortable - is this normal???
nicole we have pm'd in the past...glad to hear you have your surgery scheduled. I was off tamox approx 2wks before and went back on about 6 days after. For larger surgeries were you will be immobile for awhile they want you off tamox. I also had anticugulants given to me every day (shot in the stomach) in the hospital
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Hey nicole4...my ride through all this was chemo, mastectomy, chemo and Herceptin, radiation after chemo finished, once radiation was over then I started Tamoxifen...I also get Zoladex every 4 weeks for 2 years to shut down the ovaries....wow, I finished Herceptin last month so now I'm ready for recon...I've only had an initial consultation and I'm waiting to hear back (they wanted to get insurance approval out of the way before we continued)...I'm so excited! My rad doc likes for his patients to wait one year after rads are finished before taking on recon...just to make sure nothing shows up. I am so absolutely certain this junk is gone that I don't want to wait...that would put me off until March 2013. I'm with ya on the "have shape again"!!! Best to ya and you'll do great!
Blessings
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Does anyone else's foob jump when you cough or sneeze? So weird!
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Momluke - mine has been doing that kind of stuff lately. It's like the muscle contracts really hard. Doesn't happen often, but when it does it's a bizarre feeling. It's always when I'm doing something that strains my chest in some way.
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It is so weird. I feel like one of those body building dudes that flex their pects. The dr told me a while ago that eventually the muscle will stop acting like its in the back.
I also find it incredibly uncomfortable to catch a chill or be cold because the shivering causes that muscle to clamp done like a vice!!0 -
momluke - We had a cold spell in deep South Texas over this past weekend and when my back got cold it felt like the remaining muscle tightens up so bad. It almost hurts. I hope this does not last long.
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Exactly!!! I caught a chill the other day and the tightness wouldn't stop. I eventually had to stand in a hot shower with my back to the water for a while to get it to loosen up. Winter is gonna be interesting.
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Momluke - Yes. Winter is going to be interesting. I see you live on the east coast and your winters are most likely colder than what we get in deep South Texas. I wonder if this is something we are going to have to put with now for the long haul or will it eventually go away. Either way, I do not regret having this done. It is just a small price we have to pay when you look at the big picture.
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So very true!
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I am scheduled for a right skin saving mastectomy and left ld flap with expanders next Wednesday, November 7th. Were you guys able to wash and fix your hair after? I was reading that it may be 2-3 weeks before you can raise your arms above your head.
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hwhranch - I did not have an expander - just muscle used. I was able to wash my hair 5 days after. I was in the hospital 4 days - so the day after I got home. My hubby taped plastic wrap over the drain holes and I used string to tie the drains around my neck. Not sure about mastectomy and how recovery is for that. I'm sure someone will come along and give you some advice.
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Hwhranch,
I had a mastectomy with a LD reconstruction. I didn't have tissue expanders. The dr gave me a 550 cc implant under the LD that they moved. My surgery was on Sept 7th. My range of motion today (7-8 weeks later) is about 95%. I was able to do simple things to my hair like light combing/brushing within 2-3 days after surgery (while still in the hospital). In terms of shampooing I did the one arm thing for about 2 weeks. My daughter blow dried it for me.
There are 2 challenges during recovery for me....the drains and the contractions of the lat dorsi muscle. It still wants to act like it resides in the back. Its not painful but it can get quite uncomfortable...feels like a half of corsett.
One thing that Jo and I have talked about the last 2 days is how being chilled causes these contractions as well. I take ibuprofen when it gets really uncomfortable.0 -
momluke - I had some issues with the muscle contracting as well. My PS told me he cut the nerve to the muscle and that should have taken care of it. After we explored this, he also told me in some there are extra nerves that can be attached to the lat muscle. He went back in 4 months after the original surgery and found more nerves that needed to be cut. I no longer have that problem. I take Aleve when I get chilled when it get too uncomfortable.
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I get chilled in my chest area easily with all that silicone sloshing around in there.....and in winter my breasts are cool to touch in comparison to the rest of my chest...funny
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momluke: I see in your post that you had no TE with the LD...why is it that some of the LD recons have TE's? Does having prior radiation have anything to do with it? I am looking to have LD done after the first of the year...so as to get the holidays and traveling behind me before taking on the surgery. I see you are in Greensboro, NC. I'm almost your neighbor. I am near Burlington. Did you have your surgery in the Greensboro area? I'm seeing a PS out of Durham. For any ladies reading this post, how long can one plan on having a TE before the permanent implant. I know there are a lot of variables but what might one expect?
Justagirl: I was under the impression that silicone "warmed" up with your body unlike saline...?
Thanks and blessings to all responders.
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