Mastectomy Sept 2011
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Hi everyone,
I wanted to thank everyone for the well wishes and positive thought on the 16th, my surgery day. Everything went great 5 hour surgery, I have 3 drains which are hopefully being removed tomorrow. The surgery was not as bad as I thought it would be. I did freak out in pre-op and they allowed my husband to stay with me in pre-op so his face was the last thing I saw before going night-night. The recovery has been a little frustrating, the drains limit me to what I can do and the tissue expander implants are very tight. My plastic surgeon was nice enough to inflate me to an A cup during surgery, I went in a D and did not want to come out flat chested. For those of you who are getting ready to go in just know you can do this. I did chemo first and I would take the surgery over chemo any day. I was only on pain meds for the first 5 days and I was only taking 1 Percocet every 9 hours, nothing too bad. Good luck to everyone getting ready to go in for surgery! It feels AWESOME to be told that you are 100% cancer free
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Prayers & well wishes coming your way tomorrow Lisa Wade!!
Groovygirls - A marathon in January? Really??? You rock and are my inspiration!!! Only marathon I am participating in is the hour long one to get a shower these days....lol
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I signed up for it before I got the diagnosis. Already had to defer NYC Marathon until next year. I just want to get out and moving...
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Hi ladies,
I had my left mastectomy Sep 13,2011 with latismuss flap reconstruction.The pain is minimum but i have a lot of swelling close to my left arm over the upper chest. The plastic surgeon does not feel that it is a hematoma or fluid but she has asked me to massage the site . She thinks I have overused the arm but I dont think I have. This is before I had any drains removed.I still have one drain left.
Anybody else out there who is in the same situation? thx
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Lisa - thoughts are with you for tomorrow. I hope it all goes smoothly and that you have minimal post-op pain/complications/etc. We're rootin' for you!
Groovygirls - interesting about the 10cc thing. Fingers crossed for you this week! I'm there on 2 and not quite there on the other 2, so I'm keeping fingers crossed for me, too. I do want them out, but I don't want to compromise healing, either. Not sure about marathoning, but ask - I too am planning my next physical challenge. Was reading Health Magazine this afternoon and LONGING for a hard workout. I know my body's not up for it yet, but I cannot WAIT to get back to killing it at the gym again. I might take up road biking and start racing - been meaning to do it for a while but never got off my butt to get a bike (have a hybrid) and learn. Most of all, I'm freaked out about clipping in - seems ridiculous, I know. I need to get over it.
MGM - no one knows why the heck so many of us are getting this. Listen - I have NO family history of ANY cancer at all - all the women in my family live into their 90's - I have a living grandmother still (has dementia, but her body is in terrific shape). I have never smoked, rarely drank, ate healthily, excecised regularly and then got dx'd at 32. Then I really kicked the healthy living into high gear - really a poster child for clean living and here I am again, almost 10 years later w/a second primary. Lesson? Moderation. I exercise 7 days/week, am crazy healthy w/the diet, don't drink any more (well, I think I might have 3 drinks in a year). But you know what? If I want a cheeto, I'm gonna have a cheeto, dammit. Do what you can, but don't make yourself nuts - I actually have a whole blog and did a lot of freelance writing related to this - (http://www.semisweetonline.com). Now I'm only blogging about cancer, for now. : (
I'm signing off for the night - I am so incredibly itchy that I think I might take a dilaudid just so I can sleep comfortably tonight. The Benadryl is not cutting it and I want to crawl out of my skin.
Hope everyone has a restful evening,
Sarah
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Sarah, I also have Colwell as my PS, she is so calm and has been very matter of fact when I bring up concerns. I also shaved my legs for the first time yesterday, its been more than 3 weeks and I coulnt stand it anymore. I was not going to ask my husband to do it for me! I had my first fill last Monday and will have my second on wednesday. Still icing under my arms for swelling and because I have a radiation burn under my right boob its very tender and sometimes feels like it could actually tear. I am wearing a ace bandage around my chest and it really helps. I hope to find out wednesday how many fills will be necessary, at this point I dont care if I'm not very big, just want the damn expanders out, they have edges to them that dig into you, the silicone has got to be more comfortable (at least I hope so) Cathy
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Lisa - Hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.
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Hi All, thank you so much for you support, I just spent most of the afternoon crying because my surgeron's office called today (yup on Sunday) and cancelled my surgery for tomorrow... I was mentally ready to go and then the secretary told me she had to cancel all the scheduled surgeries tomorrow there is an emergency that came in through the ER and she will be operating on her all day tomorow (bowel cancer) I am sad for me that they reschedulled it but praying for the poor person and their family that needed the surgery tommorw... the new date is Oct. 17th I hope I can stay a member of your group you ladies are awesome!
diana123 I did get your message thank you so much I'm sorry 'Im not so great with the computer but I'm learning may way around
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Lisa - I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how devastating the waiting can be. But do come and join us in the Oct 2011 surgery thread. Take care.
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Lisa- I am so sorry. Waiting is the worst.
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Lisa - that is the worst - and I hear that it happens pretty frequently. It's got to be mental torture. Try to hang in there - stay here and go to Oct. board too? Best of all worlds?
Cathy - yeah, one of the great things about Colwell is she is so no-nonsense. She knows her stuff and she is thorough. I love having her and Smith - they are the glamorous dynamic breast duo.
OK ladies, I really need to whine here - and see if anyone has advice. So I've mentioned that I had a big allergic reaction while in the hospital to one of the meds I was on - we think it was probably the antibiotic, so we changed that, but then it was getting a little worse, not better (which can happen even after stopping a drug) so we took me off percocet and put me on dilaudid - which I took once or twice and haven't since. Rash was AWFUL. Excruciatingly itchy. All they would give me is Benadryl and this Sarna lotion that is cooling (menthol, camphor). They did not want to use prednisone b/c of the bad effects it can have on healing. I was discharged Thurs., a day late, b/c of these comlications and my rash was steady. Been taking my Benadryl every 6 hours, rash holding steady, maybe even a bit better - until last night when it flared like crazy. I am in tears right now - I literally want to peel the skin off my body.
Has anyone else had this sort of thing happen to her? I'm going to call one of the NPs this a.m. and insist on being seen - I had one push of Benadryl by IV that nearly made me pass out (I think pushed too fast - the IV port was huge) but maybe that'd work better?
You should see me, I'm bright red, head to toe. Even my husband has taken pity on me. Any advice/help is so appreciated.
Your miserable Sept. Sister,
Sarah
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Oh Sarah, that just sounds AWFUL! I have been itching like mad due to the tape I have on...but it sounds nothing like what you are going through!!!!!! One time in the past when I had an allergic reaction to soap I broke out in a rash all over (though still not as bad as you are describing). They put me on a steroid pack and that did the trick. Maybe they would consider it now since it has flared considerably? Feel better soon!!!
And Lisa, I am so, so sorry to hear your surgery was postponed. I would be devastated and crying all afternoon as well. You know, you just get yourself mentally prepared and then WHAM.
Yes please stay as a member of our group!!! <Hugs> 0 -
Sarah- So sorry to hear you aren't feeling well.
Fortunately I have no allergic reactions but the tape is peeling my skin off!
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Sarah -- that rash sound terrible - I hope they can find something to make it better.
Lisa -- I am so sorry your surgery was delayed the night before I coudn't image that. I was orgianlly looking at surgery end of Sept but getting BS/PS and operating room I had to move to Oct 4. Due to that I am on both Sept and Oct's board.
AmyLynne - good to hear from you. I was thinking about you this weekend wondering how you were dong. Glad you are doing ok.
I am 8 days out from surgery and I am really starting to have a hard time focusing on stuff. I am working through this Thurs. Start medical leave Fri (since I have Dr appt and stuff to get done). Work has been great to keep me distracted through chemo not sure what it is going to be like to be out of work for 3-6 weeks after surgery.
Hope2011 --- good luck tomorrow with your surgery - you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
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Sarah! OH NO - I hope that you are in the office right now being SEEN and that they help you!
THAT is horrible.
Sorry I have been out of touch ladies but I have been on the recliner downstairs most days since I returnned home on Friday.
I am doing well - they took out 2 drains before i left hospital - so I came home with 4 - going in at 10:30 to maybe have a 3rd one removed. Then go in 1 week from today to get the rest out.
Pain is tolerable - spikes now and then - had horrible constipation - so finally got that moving. It is hard that they discharged me with very little after care instruction - what I can and cannot do - I am trying to walk a bit and stay mobile. Was So very tired the first 3 days.
The pain in my back is the WORST the incision is so sore and the drains. My left side hurts way more because of the Lat Flap and the sentinel node - so my right side is way more mobile.
I hope everyone here is doing well - i fell behind all the posts... sorry about that.
But praying for those healing and for those going in for surgeries.
Tina
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Amy- welcome back, it sounds like everything has been going well for you. "Cancer free" that's got to feel great.
Zeenat- Welcome, I personally can't help you and if no one else here can just keep looking. These forums are full with ladies that have experienced everything. You way even want to start your own topic
Lisa- Im so sorry to hear that they cancelled your surgery. It seems that all we ever do is wait. I hope you do keep posting here and join the oct group... The more support we get the better...
Sarah- I'm hoping you get to see your dr this morning and get quick relief. It sounds awful..0 -
Zeenat : I am in the same situation. I had a right MX with DIEP reconstruction on 9/14 and for the last day or so I have been swollen on the outside bottom of the breast underneath the drain hole. I'm worried that it's fluid build up because the drain hole is now plugged up. Am planning to call my PS today.
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Hi ladies - a little update. Called at 8 and my BS's office was completely dismissive of the whole thing - said that it can take a while for an allergic reaction to blossom and that I just need to wait it out - but also that they are not the ones to call (despite the fact that it said so on my discharge instructions) and to call the PS's office. If I didn't have the PS in my back pocket I would've gone nuts on them, but instead called PS. The PS's NP said this is NOT sounding normal to her at all, and actually thinks that I'm allergic to dilauded, which is the only thing I've taken consistently since the beginning (first pushed thru my IV post-surgery, then after we thought I was allergic to percocet, a couple of teeny tiny doses - then not for a while 'til last night a large dose b/c I was so uncomfortable I needed to be knocked out of my misery). She said I can slather myself w/hydrocortisone cream and they'll see me at 4 today. Hubs squeezed every last drop out of a tube we had on hand (I use it after waxing sometimes) and it's taking the fire out of my skin already. He's headed to CVS to clear them out of the stuff as I write this!
Thanks for letting me vent about this. I just find it so frustrating that I am having SO little pain/discomfort from the BMX/reconstruction and this is causing me major heartache. It's so uncomfortable it's brought me to tears. Something about full-body skin-crawling itching - well, it gets even an optimist like me down.
And you can bet your buns I'm getting a full allergy workup after my BMX stuff is all healed up and resolved. This can not happen again.
I'll read more of your posts later - after my cortisone bath. Thanks for listening to me, friends!
Sarah
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Yay Sarah, glad you are getting some RELIEF!!!!!! OMG girl, I would be in tears, too, with the itching. Just having it on my small scale makes me so empathetic for you. Wish you could go slather your BS's office with poison ivy and see how they like nonstop itching. LOL
Had my first pre-op appt with my BS this morning. He redressed the area - new tape - but now that I've seen it I'm not afraid to re-dress and move the tape to new areas as needed to stop the itching. It feels MUCH better! Still waiting for pathology report - he thinks it will be in in a few more days.
I was wiped out just walking from the entrance way of his office to the elevator, though. My endurance really took a hit with this - prior to surgery I could dance for almost 2 hours straight. However, I know it will come back in no time, I'm sure. I'm just so happy to be healing well and in minimal pain - couldn't ask for more given where I was just 6 days ago!
I'm healing well, and it looks great! I mean, I've got staples and all, but the skin looks wonderfully healthy, and I'm almost the size I was presurgery (A cup)! I hope to get to a B cup with 1 or 2 more fat grafting sessions. The nipple sparing on the right has a small black area, but doc thinks it will be ok. Says that happens and then it often recovers. We will have to watch it.
I still have intermittent chest pain, primarily on the right, but nothing a few pain pills can't fix;-) My legs are doing well - still slightly sore but very manageable. Only have mild visible bruising on the left side above the knee. They are still numb and somewhat swollen from the lipo, but I am already seeing a slight improvement in their size - can't wait to see the final results - a nice side benefit to this procedure!
DH is getting really good at brushing and blow drying my hair, LOL. Yep, more bag lady showers for while - not cleared yet to get it wet, and still have the drains. Expect those to be pulled Wed by the PS.
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Sarah, I am so sorry you are so miserable and am glad your PS is going to help. Continue slathering the hydrocortisone cream and please feel better soon!!!
Lisa, I am so sorry your surgery had to be rescheduled as I know how devastating that can be. My date was originally 09/06 but had to be pushed back a week to 09/13... Doesn't seem like a big deal but truly once you get yourself mentally ready, it is really hard to take. Hang in there and God bless you for having the grace to understand and be sympathetic to the poor soul having the emergency surgery.
Happy healing all.
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I finished chemo Sept 16 and I also have double BMX with immediate reconstruction scheduled for October 28, 2011. I too am so nervous about such a long surgery. I wish you the best and will be looking forward to hearing about your progress.
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Hope2011 - tomorrow is your day! I'll be thinking of you, wishing you all the best. Waking up and having it be over is just the best gosh-darn feeling ever, even if you do feel a little like you were hit by a bus. Go get 'em!
So, I went to the PS. She took off all my steri strips and put on dermabond (is that what it's called or is that on my husband's workbench?). She told me to ditch the surgical bra b/c it was just causing more irritation on my already horrendously irritated skin (she audibly inhaled at the sight of my flaming-red torso - hubs asked if I should show her other parts of my body and she said "uh no, I've seen enough"). But really, there is not much to do but predisone, and she is very worried about that b/c of its effects on healing - I am already so lucky to be able to have this procedure on a previously irradiated breast, and she is worried that compromising healing would cause me to lose the implant and have to have a flap procedure. So, more Benadryl. More hydrocortisone cream, more misery. But I am doggedly determined to keep this implant - my breasts look pretty damn good and it's only been a week!
Upside - 2 drains out today - it did not hurt AT ALL and it feels so increadibly delightful to have them gone. Really, she could've done all 4 today, but I'm back in there on Thurs. so I think she'll do the others then.
Dancetrancer - so excited you're feeling so good about how you look! And how did you train your husband to blow out your hair???? I'm feeling like a ragamuffin - hubs was feeling so badly for me today he asked if I wanted him to drive me to my hairdresser for a pro wash/blow-dry. I might do that to celebrate my other drains being removed.
Margie - 8 days out was tough for me, too - couldn't focus well on much of anything - felt like I was checking off days on the jailhouse wall. You will be so happy (?!) when the day comes - it'll be out of your hands, no more anticipating - on to the "doing" and then the "healing". Hang in there for now . .. the time will fly.
Hope everyone rests peacefully tonight. I honestly don't know what I'd do w/o you guys.
Sarah
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Best wishes Hope2011 for tomorrow!!!
Sarah, I hope you are starting to get some relief from your symptoms. Thank goodness your PS cared and was empathetic!
Can't say my husband is trained at blowdrying...he definitely needs to keep his day job! LOL
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Hope-will be thinking of you tomorrow and wishing you a peaceful night !!
I can't believe we are almost at the end of this month!!!0 -
Thanks for the well wishes! Guess it's bye bye boobs in a few hours.
Sarah, hope the rash gets better REALLY soon.
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Prayers and hugs Hope2011 - Will be thinking of you tomorrow....
Good night all....
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Hope2011-good luck!
Sarah- I don't know if your husband is anything like mine but I think mine has enjoyed having to take care of me. It is extremely hard for me to ask anyone for help and he had to do alot of things he never had to do before like wash and dry my hair and having to drive me everywhere plus playing Mr. mom. I thought he would have been grossed out by the drains but I figured he was okay when I saw him eating his breakfast and helping me empty them at the same time!
Hope you are feeling better today.
Happy dance- drains come out today!0 -
Hi all - hope everyone rested last night and that Hope, you're locked & loaded - again, thinking of you today!
I somehow made it through the night w/the rash. Mind over matter and having the a/c cranked up (it's been uncharacteristically humid here in Boston) helped. Ativan too. I've cut out all drugs except Benadryl, Ativan, Tylenol and the Augmentin I'm on b/c I still have the two drains. I'm hoping to get a consult at the allergy clinic at MGH today - my PS was going to have her secretary try for one, and then a mom-friend's husband is a surgeon at MGH and works down the hall from the allergy peeps, so he thinks he can call in a favor and get me seen quickly. But just getting rid of that surgical bra has been a HUGE improvement.
So - for those of you who've had surgery - are you washing hair in the shower or the sink? We did the shower the other day and it was tough. Can you stand over the sink pretty comfortably while someone uses the sprayer to wash your hair? I mind the sponge bath much less than I mind not having my hair clean. Can't get my upper body wet, anyway, and where I'd really like to clean is under those stinky armpits!
Here's hoping for a good day for all of us!
Sarah
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Hope2011 -- good luck today. I will be thinking about you.
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Groovy girls, loved reading about your hubby. Mine told me last night while he was doing my drains that he actually liked doing it. I was like, what? He explained that he loves taking care of me and that he has promised to do that for me and always will. <melt> Love that man.
Sarah, I'm washing my hair in the shower (with the plastic bag over my upper trunk, LOL). I stand facing forward and DH washes it for me - I bend my head forward a little. We put a towel inside the plastic bag around my neck to keep water from running down in. We are in a handicapped hotel room right now, and the shower head slides up and down on a bar, but it doesn't detach. This method works pretty easily for us.
I so wish I could wash those armpits as well...oh yucko!!!!
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