Bloated tummy after DIEP
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Sprintime: I am now looking forward to 5 or 5-1/2 months for the bloat and numbness to be better. I'm getting tired of wearing stretch pants, sweat pants and a few others that are tight but fall under my belly.
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Dannade, I am not sure if the numbness ever got "better" for me, maybe I just got used to it. Or maybe, once the bloating is less, the numbness doesn't bother? I am not sure. But I can tell you, BETTER DAYS ARE AHEAD for SURE!!! My tummy is almost flat and I can wear jeans again! It will happen!
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springtime: Well, I am still bloated, saw PS yesterday and he thinks I look less bloated but agrees I am still bloated and numb. The numbness seems to be shrinking in diameter, so the 2 " radius around the belly button is still numb. I try to wear jeans every once in awhile, they fit tight around my waist and eventually fall down to under my belly button. Geez, I am getting impatient!
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Dannade, how far out are you from your DIEP surgery? It took me several months!
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ugh- I am almost 5 weeks post op and my bloated belly is ridiculous! Any advice?
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5 weeks if very very early. It just takes time!! It was like 5.5 months for me. Hopefully yours will go faster, but it just....took.....time.....
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Hi everyone, I am 3-1/2 months since surgery. Tummy is still bloated. Still measures the same around as right after surgery, but it does appear to be less protruding. The best, best thing for the bloat is walking. I was walking only a couple times a week because of snow/cold, but lately I've been walking 4-5 times week and went from 20 minutes to 30 minutes. I really think that is what is helping. Now I have a breast fat necrosis that needs surgery, scheduled for April 27. This is a very complicated, long process.
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How long do the bloat take to go down... Did anyone get liposuction on upper abdomen...
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Had first revision and removal of fat necrosis April 27. Well, now I have knee pain from walking and arthritis, tried shots, nothing worked, now I need knee replacement surgery. Not only that, but I have a tummy bulge which is not a hernia but a bulge. Got a second opinion and that doc said there is nothing to be done about it. Anyone else get a bulge and did anything help?
@sohardbnme - Sometimes it takes 6 months for the bloat to go down. Walking helps.
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ny friend also had a bulge - same as you described. She is just dealing with it. Good to hear from you though. Did they do the nipples at the time of your revision?
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I had a Free Tram Flap 4.5 months ago with muscle repair with mesh and belly button relocation. Around month 2 my tummy was flat in the mornings and then got larger by the end of the day..Since month 3 I have upper abdominal swelling that is hard and never seems to go down. From the side I look pregnant and my stomach appears to be lumpy around my belly button. My PS said it just needs to heal..has anyone had to deal with this for this long or longer?
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Hi Gonnabstrong - is your upper abdomin swollen when you lay flat on your back? My original surgery was in March of 2008 and my upper abdomen still looks distended - the lower part of my abdomen is very flat (thanks to the mesh surgery which was the following year). However, every time I tell any of my doctors about the upper abdomen protruding - they have me lay flat on my back and poke and prod and then they tell me everything is fine.................so I'm just assuming that my insides have less space to live in (after so much skin was removed) and it all "bunches up" where there is't any mesh to hold it back...............does this sound like what's happening to you? As for your lower abdomen near your navel - perhaps it's the mesh that's causing the lumps. Have you mentioned your complaints to any other doctor other than your PS? I find them very "territorial" and not always open to the idea that THEIR handiwork didn't turn out perfectly............so perhaps you could try showing your stomach to your PCP? Sounds like a sonogram or cat scan might ease your mind. Good luck and let us know what happens.
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I'm a year and a half out of DIEP surgery. Definitely walking and sweating helps. I lost about 5 pds and stomach is flatter this summer. Still not crazy about my shape (weird to not have a waist!)
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swimangel72, my tummy seems to flatten out when I lie on my back..but when I stand or sit it looks like I'm pregnant. I showed my plastic surgeon the mornig of my revision surgery and he said I just need to heal. I do think he doesnt like to hear me complain about his work..although I don't blame him he certainly doesn't stay on subject when I complain. The morning after my FTF he asked me how it felt to be skinny and have a nice flat stomach. I kinda took offense to that since I was a size 6 before cancer treatments, tamoxifen and stress entered into my life..and he seen me when I was a size 6, unlike the size 12 I am now..I also mentioned to him that I can't fit into most of my the pants I wore before my FTF...which is even more depressing. I refuse to buy even bigger clothes. This whole mess has caused me to retreat. I don't enjoy life like I used to
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gonnabstrong - I'm sorry you're feeling this way, but it can get better, it just takes time - and sometimes another doctor to give you a different point of view. Try making an appointment with your primary - and see if he can order a can scan to see if you've developed a hernia. In some cases, it's not a true hernia - but muscle wall weakness - which can be just as bad. Some women have had a second stomach surgery (like me) where they sew the muscles together (muscle plication), but give it time and see if your muscles start working better on their own. A second abdominal surgery is NOT fun.........in my case, the mesh really helped the hernia - but I no longer can develop core strength because I can't work these muscles any more. Good luck and let me know how you're feeling.0
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Thank you. I may ask my PCP to do just that. My tummy was nice and flat the first few weeks, but due to spring alleries I began to sneeze alot..it seems like it was then that my stomach started to swell and look lumpy. I told the PS, but he said he didnt feel anything wrong. I'll give it a littel more time and try doing some excersises. Right now I'm fighting a bad staph infection from the breast lift I had 5 weeks ago for my revision surgery.. very very painful.
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I had my DIEP reconstruction in February 2010. Initially the tummy was flat and tight, but after I'd healed I noticed when I lay down on my back and tried to lift myself, that my tummy had a weird pyramid shape to it. I have since had bloating, feeling like I am in the last days of pregnancy like a tight balloon. When I went to my oncologist I mentioned my tummy but they said that nothing appeared to be wrong. On my follow up visits to my plastic surgeon, she too said that she could see nothing wrong. It is very frustrating that they cannot admit there is a problem to us. It is obvious there is a problem, but because it is not life-threatening they do not wish to spend further money on sorting it out.
I cannot wear anything but elasticated trousers or skirts, and would have enjoyed getting into a pair of jeans again, but I cannot have anything tight around my waist now.
I plan to visit a different doctor at my surgery who has admitted to me that even though she is a doctor she does not believe in medicine but believes the body can heal itself. As I have tried to recover and get through my breast cancer as naturally as possible and taking things like Curcumin 4000, Krill and CQ-10, I hope she can take on my cause and at least point me in the right direction.
This is the second breast cancer site I have got on to and it seems the DIEP Flap operation is not all it is cracked up to be. We are not being told that many, many of us are having the same bloating problem which is just being dismissed by doctors.
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Hi,
I had diep surgery 1/11/11 and it failed. Dr tried resuscitation, but surgery lasted 21 hours. Ended up with implants that are still in the process of reconstruction. I've had weight ups and downs, have gone through menopause twice since the surgery, now I think it is permanent and I've gained weight. No small waist anymore, as others have talked about, fat on my lower back, and swelling in abdomen especially after I walk (but not after doing water excercises). Swelling comes and goes, definitely after eating sometimes. After more than 2 years! Lymphatic trunk massage helps for a while. Until I walk again or eat too much or the wrong thing, etc. PS says she doesn't know why. Thank you all for making me feel like I'm not crazy!
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The bloating could well be truncal lymphedema. A referral to a Certified Lymphedema Therapist could evaluate you and if it is LE, could devise a treatment and maintenance plan. For more info on Truncal Lymphedema, check out the Step Up Speak Out website: http://stepup-speakout.org/breast_chest_trunckal_lymphedema.htm MMR - if you swell up especially after exercise, it that sounds very typical of truncal lymphedema. What you eat can also cause LE flares, especially salty foods. You may want to get your doctor to give you a scrip so you can get a consult with an LE therapist.
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Thanks, Natsfan. Just saw my PS today. She reminded me that I had my stomach scar from the DIEP flap revised and that probably caused the lymph system to be cut again; it must grow back once again through the scar tissue, so that may be adding to the trunk swelling. The revision was about a year ago. I am about to go in for implant replacement, which will hopefully by my last surgery. I don't think multiple surgeries have helped the problem any...
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My understanding is that the lymphatic system doesn't grow back where it's been cut, especially through scar tissue. However, with proper therapy, you can enourage it to move through alternate channels on either side of the scar to drain into the inguinal nodes located in the crease where your thigh meets your body. A Certified LE Therapist can do Complete Decongestive Therapy on you and teach you manual lymph drainage techniques to move the fluid into those alternate channels. If it's not moved out, it tends to get stuck just above the scar line and pools there. Unfortunately most surgeons are not well-versed in LE and can't always give us the guidance we need.
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Dannade. You are not alone. I am 8 months s/p DIEP breast reconstruction. I have become persistently more bloated at my abdomen. -- It started after my 6 week post op (when I started P.T. and more exercise). I would find I was 3-4 inches larger by the evening at my abdomen, and as my belly bloat increased, so did the discomfort. I figured maybe I needed more time to heal, and tried to lessen the stronger exercise. -- I did not have my DIEP at a local hospital, and did not have the finances to fly back to the hospital that did the procedure to have them look at my bloated belly (silly me, I somehow just figured I'd get surgery, recover, and never thought about having a persistent problem that would need me to keep going back on an airplane). -- I am now hooked up with a plastic surgeon at a local cancer hospital, who tells me maybe 3% of women who have the DIEP get these severe neuropathies and bloating. -- It is hard to find clothing that doesn't make my belly look so noticeable. I am working full time, am a nurse myself, so feel especially foolish I had not investigated all the possible side effects prior. But when you are first dx with cancer, it is kind of a rush to get the surgery done, pick the best option for you. Often my patients ask me if I am pregnant. It is embaressing. -- But the discomfort is worse, as the day goes on, and the bloat gets worse, the numbness creeps up my belly further, and it feels like such a heaviness at my lower abdomen. --- I recently had tests done (Abd ultrasound & Abd CT) which don't point to anything specific, so I guess I have to live with what I've got. At first you think you just have to accept having the mastectomy, then it turns out some of us also have to adjust to having a numb & bloated & core. -- I know conditioning is important, so after work I try to increase my walking, gradually building up my endurances. -- Just wanted to let you know the bloated tummy is not an isolated incident to you. -- Pam in Florida.
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Yes it takes about six months for all the swelling to go down. I steal don't have alot of feeling around my belly button and it has been a year but it does go down. You will be surprised how quickly time will heal. Good luck. Madget
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I have had a bloated stomach for three years. It just gets bigger and bigger. When I walk it gets bigger, when I eat anything it distends and I look pregnant. 65 years old and I look pregnant.
Nothing was said to me about ANYTHING like this happening from the surgery. don't dotor's have to tell you what can happen?
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Hi bdavis2,
I have also had my bloated stomach and it has been 2 years since my Diep surgery.I was never told about these side effects. I have had ultrasounds and scans and been to Gastroenterologists and no one can help me. It is not so bad when i get up in the morning but by the middle of the day I look like a pregnant 57 year old .I am just so depressed that I dont know what to do anymore. It is very uncomfortable.
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Have you asked about the possibility of lymphedema?
I know most associate LE {LymphEdema) with hands, arms and some with chest post surgery but it is possible to develop LE in any part of the body after any surgery or traumatic injury as these can effect/damage the lymphatic system and nodes.
Many yrs ago, I had a rather severe riding injury to my lower leg and was told at the time that due to the severity of damage to soft tissue (not bone) that there was a large possibility that I would develop LE at some time in the future but in over 40 yrs since I haven't so don't think about it. I do deal with LE in my arm from UMX though.
Perhaps learning MLD (Manual Lymphatic Drainage) massage for the trunk/body might help. My FlexiTouch I use for my arm LE does MLD on upper leg, lower body and upper body/chest as part of the cycle to drain those node areas first before going to arm to drain to it.
An appt with a very experienced LE Therapist might help. Lacking that you might try a long snug shirt for compression. There are several different companies that advertise compression 'stuff' for injuries.
You might want to post in the LymphEdema Forum. There are several there who deal with trunktal LE who might have helpful ideas.
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did it ever get better
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I’m 12 years out after my “Diep” surgery (which really turned out to be a muscle-sparing free tram flap) and unfortunately I must report that the bloating has never really gone away. I still boat terribly after eating even a small meal and find it very difficult to bend at the waist. I suspect this is due to scar tissue buildup and not lymphedema. However, I did end up with a hernia after my surgery and after waiting a year to finish chemo, had a second stomach surgery to repair the hernia. The surgeon used a biological mesh (called Strattice) and er said it becomes part of the fascia after it gets absorbed through the buildup of scar tissue. So my case may be different than others but I do suspect that even women who go for cosmetic tummy tucks also suffer from bloating because the intestines just don’t have as much space as they did before surgery. It is definitely an annoying side effect that I didn’t read about (and I did very thorough research prior to my choice of reconstruction back in 2008) but I hope by now the bloating IS listed as a side effect so women can make informed decisions.
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Haven't visited the site in a while but dropped in to see if I should be concerned about bloating. I am 5 years out from DIEP/TRAM surgery and still have occasional bloating. It seems to have gotten worse lately but I suspect that may be due to some weight gain due to the Covid 19 funk I've been in. I was glad to find this thread and to know that I am not the only one who has experienced this so far out from surgery. I had some colon issues in my 40's that required a surgery to repair but haven't had any issues since. The gastro issues always take my mind to colon cancer - I guess a part of the "any pain could be a BC recurrence" anxiety. I am scheduling a colonoscopy just to be on the safe side but wanted to thank you all for sharing your experiences. I find that reading about other ladies with similar issues/concerns eases my mind considerably. Be safe and stay well everyone!
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I had tramflap reconstruction 13 years ago, they hadn't started doing DIEP tramflaps yet. My plastic surgeon said it would be about one year to reach my final condition with any nerve damage in my abdomen. I was left with about 50% feeling and a pretty significant bulge above the incision scar on my abdomen. In 2015 I had a hysterectomy and bladder lift and the surgeon went in through the existing abdominal scar. Both before the hysterectomy and since, I battle daily with abdominal bloating and cramping, sometimes pretty severe cramping. I am very active and at a healthy weight but just walking causing pretty strong cramping. I am always bloated after meals. Running, cycling and Pilates do not cause any bloating or cramping. I struggle at Pilates because my weak core and reduced rectus muscles cause strain in my back. The comments about LE is something I hadn't heard of but saw here and will look into it. It helps to know others with this issue. It drives me crazy and makes me angry to think I have to continue to live like this the rest of my life. I am 63 years old. I agree with what others have said about why weren't we in formed about these side effects. I am grateful to be alive and 13 years cancer free but this is definitely a quality of life thing. P. S. I too have the issue of pants always slipping down below my tummy bulge. I am constantly tugging at the waistline to pull them up. Thanks for the support of this group.
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