Unilateral mastectomy & reconstruction
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HGTV will get you through this!!! Along with Maury, Jerry, Steve, The View, Y&R & The Talk!!!!!
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loveroflife,,,, you MUST have total faith and total trust with your PS, I am very happy you went for second opinion, ALWAYS Make your own decisions as you are the one who will be living with it for the rest of your life, I through my first oncologist to the curb after my 3rd office visit, he was a pompous ass and I told him and then went to the Cancer Center, I don't have to go back until next year, have a mammogram coming up in November which I am requesting an MRI, this year sure did go by fast,,,you all have me wondering about staying on the anastrozal,, I am having major SE.. HMMM. something to discuss with Dr. I also had annual with Gyn, and all is great,,, no hysterectomy needed,so thankful for the little things that come back negative, but I hold my breath until I get any results for anything back,,, going back to rest.... Healing HUGZ to all,,,,, J
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Ok ladies, tell me what I should do about my lopsidedness once drains are out. Are there temporary forms that you liked to balance you? (I have TE in.) Just want to know how to look presentable once i start reengaging with the outside world and possibly going back to work.
Thanks! Today is post op day 4. Drain output is dropping, pain seems to be lessening, i have PS appt on Thursday which is when I think the drains will go. So far so good.
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http://www.amoena.us/Products/Accessories/2106-Fib...
This is what I used Amoena fiberfill puff. I bought at the local mastectomy store for about $10. You can add or remove the filling as you get your fills to even yourself up. I'm sure they are available online too. When I walked into the survivor shop they tried to sell me a big rubber prosthesis and I said no I don't want that don't you just have something made out of material that stuff in my bra? You can throw them in the washer too.
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hi everyone, I am 5 days post op and not feeling to bad,,,, I had my DH put our recliner in the bedroom and find it much less painful to hang out in it, I have also been sleeping in it. My only problem is the foot rest thingy is broke, so I am having a hard time getting out of it,,, my drain runs clear (still putting out 25cc) until i get up, then we are running red through again until I settle in for a bit and then goes back to yellowish. I have appt tomorrow with PS at 10:30, haven't been able to see anything since I got home, excited to see that mudflap gone, my Foob sits quite high,,,lol,,,I have backed off of my pain meds since yesterday, I just used a sock in my bra to make it look better,lol healing Hugz to all,,,,,, J
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FYI: I have 2 of the Amoena fiber-puff forms that have never been used - they came with the Hannah zip mastectomy camisole I bought after the one the surgeons put me in stripped my skin off. My TE was basically inflated to full size at surgery, so I have not had to use the forms. If Fourminor or anyone else would like them, I would be happy to mail them to you. Feel free to PM me if you are interested.
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I ordered four forms today, two different sizes because I'm not sure which is right, and two different shapes. They were all about $10.
Right now I am dying of abdominal pain and diarrhea. One of these meds doesn't agree with me, my husband thinks its declofenac. I can stop taking colace now, I have nothing solid left in me. I've been bloated and gassy for since Friday.
I really do not like taking medication, i never took anything for period cramps or headaches and this is why. I was thinking of giving up the Norco as of tomorrow but I think for sure I am not taking the Declo tonight, so maybe I should quit one at a time.
After my C section I only took tylenol for about a week. Just don't like any of this stuff, I would make a horrible addict.
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Fourminor, if you've had a lot of antibiotics, that can also cause the diarrhea. They kill off the good bacteria with the bad. I've had issues with that before and usually try to take a probiotic for about a month whenever I've been on an antibiotic.
I used the puff that Frostecat mentioned while I still needed more filling. As my TE was filled and I didn't need enough fiberfill to use that, I went to the Genie bra and their little cup "shaper" on my TE side. My third step after that was the Bali 3488 bra which has a moulded, lightly padded cup. I used that when I was at the stage where my TE fills had made it pretty even and I just really needed a bit of shaping.
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I thought it was abx too, but when I looked up Declofenac, this is most common side effect. Its one pill every 12 hours, so I am skipping it tonight. If I wake up later I'll take another norco and then see how i feel tomorrow. Hopefully i can get off this stuff soon.
Thanks for the input on the forms. Hopefully I'll be able to put on a shirt by the weekend.
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Fourminor, you can also take Advil/Motrin(ibuprofen) to help with the inflammation/pain. Hope the diarrhea will stop soon.
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That's what i went with this morning. My stomach is not 100% but the bloating and gas has stopped. I think all these things muck with your intestinal flora, and mine is not happy.
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awwww, I hope you feel better Fourminor, luckily I have not had any belly problems on the antibiotics,,, I have enough belly problems without any added,,,,, all went well at PS appt today, he took the drain out and I can shower, horray,,, the Foob looks great, no more muflap,,,, go back next week to get stitches out, now we want to put a small implant on the natural side but not sure if insurance will cover it or not as I already had my "lift" for symmetry, but Foob is larger than natural now,,,lol,,,I am game for it so is Doc, we will see what insurance says after I heal from this last one,,, still need to recoup another week and wear sports bra 24/7.... Healing Hugz to all,,,,,,, J
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Glad for you getting the drains out Jeanie, such a difference. Kind of interesting to read about how you had the lift first, and now not symmetrical so another surgery may be involved hmmm?? I guess this is why the majority of PS's choose to wait for the lift until the time of exchange. At least you weren't lopsided for the last few months though. Just curious, did your PS ever give you a reason why he likes to do the lift first?
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we didn't do lift first hun, I had exchange in March but because of the weight of implant and the TE had expanded a lot of excess skin , we did the lift in July,,we just did the revision on the mastectomy side and tightened up the pocket and got rid of muflap it made the implant higher and tighter and larger,,,,,therefore leaving the native Breast smaller,,,'
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my exchange, fat transfer from belly to the right breast, and left breast reduction are scheduled for the end of the month. the part i am looking most forward to is the left breast reduction. i hated that thing ever since prolactinoma struck and made my normally size C cups explode to a size H.
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Hey Jeanie, my drains came out today too. Which they said means I can also D/C the abx. So on the way home I picked up Tylenol and I'm going to see if that's enough for me from here on out. Stomach is much better but still not right.
Afterwards a friend took hubs and I to lunch and i put on one of my own shirts and an infinity scarf and felt like no one could tell I had a mastectomy 5 days ago. But now i am ready to go to sleep until tomorrow.
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Thanks for clarifying Jeanie - that makes more sense.
Scary, your surgery will be very similar to mine. Yes, it is nice to have the reduction. People tell me it makes me look thinner - so I guess there is one side benefit to all of this!
Go rest Fourminor, glad to hear your drains came out so quickly, mine were in for 21 days, and the PS wouldn't let it go any longer than that for fear of infection. Sleep and rest is the best thing for you now.
As soon as DH and I find the time and weather permitting, we are going to have a fire out back and I am going to have a puff burning party to celebrate!
Going back to work Wednesday, wanted to start mid-week to make the transition a bit easier.
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haha, Frostecat, i actually had hubby take pics of me from all angles. then i did an "editing" job, cutting the huge boob smaller, and yes, it makes me look much thinner, lol.
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Haha Scary - pretty creative! Wait until they mark you up right before surgery and they take pictures, mine were so freaky looking!
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frostecat, anything will be an improvement, ha ha. i see the light at the end of the tunnel finally.
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Fourminor, that is awesome news hun,,,, I think we are more aware of our procedures than anyone else is,,,I find myself looking at other women's breasts now wondering if they have gone through, or are going through any of this, and then I find myself pissed off when I see women I know have normal, symmetrical, breasts,,, weird huh???, something I NEVER would of cared about less than a year ago,,,, rest up hun and do try to take it easy,,just know that we ARE Cancer free and that is the most important❤️,,, healing HUGZ to all,,,,,,, J
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Frostecat---While I think the puff burning party is a great idea, another idea is to donate your prosthetics. Someone just told me the other day that the American Cancer Society will take them and give them to needy women. There is a branch not too far from me so I'm going to call them and see if they do take them. I asked the breast center at my hospital and they said they couldn't take them but agreed the ACS probably would. I spent quite a bit on these things and although insurance paid for alot of it, I think if another BC survivor could use them, that's another great idea. Now....in saying that, I think the burning party is a great idea too and I may set aside one for that!!!
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Lala agree wholeheartedly with your comment. My puffs (2) however that I have are made of cotton like material with fiberfill. I wouldn't find it very sanitary to pass them along. Kind of like a used mattress if you get my drift. They were $10 each. I agree with the costlier prosthetics in passing them along if possible, there are plenty of women in need.
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Hi uniboobers! Jeanie, Scary, Frostecat, Its good to hear you guys at the other end of this marathon are moving forward, having outcomes that make you feel better, and even--as much as work sucks--going back to being a regular person who works again. Here's to not taking the mundane for granted ever again! Lover, Flannery, Bosum, thanks again for your supportive words and advice!
Frostecat, I am on your advice. Never a napper except in my last trimester, I now find I can doze off quite easily and am sleeping better at night than I have in weeks, outside of waking around 2 am to reload a bit of pain meds and slip myself a benadryl to make sure of it. I am also enjoying being the lazy unshowered slug while my husband does everything and doesn't complain about it either. These things mean so much to me.
I already have questions about the location of my scar, which seems to be on the north side of the equator, far too north to even consider centering a nipple on it. I imagine this is because my first cancer was at 12:00, and that scar had to be cut out with the skin. Mismatched nipple height seems more jarring to see than any scar, so I already think I'm going to skip the nip recon and head right to tattooing assuming I get there. I've never had a tattoo before except to mark me for radiation treatments and maybe I'll tack on something to make it unique. I need something to celebrate. I think burning the puffs is a great idea.
My stomach is still the pits, but ginger tea, toast, and yogurt seem to calm it down.
I feel like this is my home base board now.
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would you please share your sports bra info I'm recovering from DIEP and having a hard time finding a comfortable supportive non smashing bra
Sending you healing thoughts and hugs hope with every passing day you are feeling better
Deb T
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Frostecat, I was wondering how your symmetry between the implant side and reduced side is. My implant side is a pretty good match width wise to my lifted/reduced side, but the projection is just a bit less so far. My MX scar just doesn't seem to want to relaxe yet and I'm hoping the drop and fluff will take care of it as it looks like it might. Of course the fact that one side is a cone and one is a mound is no doubt part of the problem, so I may always be in a moulded cup bra.
And speaking of bras, yesterday I donated 32 of my former very large bras to a group called "Free the Girls". They are used to provide a source of income to women in third world countries to spare them from human trafficking. It was nice to think some good will come to others as a result of my troubles.
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lovecat
I just moved from the hospital issued post surgical bra to an Amoena Valetta camisole that's very soft and comfy. I only have two of them, but I think that's going to be my choice for the next couple of weeks.
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Scuba, overall the symmetry is a well as can be expected. As you mentioned though one is a cone and the other a mound. I still have some of the mudflap in my cleavage area that I asked to to remove and do a fancy stitch so you can't see the scar. When I look down at my breasts, I guess one should see a "V", mine looks like that on the left and more of a "C" on the right. I have a feeling that will forever bother me. I told him before we went into surgery that the mudflap bothered me more than anything else, especially when I bend over it looks really strange and flat. He tried to fix it, and it looks better, but still not good.
My scar travels pretty far inward and I know during my MX they had to remove more skin than what was planned due to margins, so maybe there was just no avoiding it. I have a larger scar than most that I have seen pics of, and instead of running straight across it is more of a sideways "S" shape, so that may explain the larger mudflap or dog ear or whatever you want to call it.
Nice of you to donate your bras, I just threw away my old ones, but then I didn't have 32 either! Sounds like a good cause.
I have to say, that this weekend was the first time I noticed not having a nipple. I just had a t-shirt on and caught myself in the mirror. One headlight on the other non-existent. That was the first time I thought about nip recon. But being I don't want to go through another surgery, I guess I'll just have to be like those corvettes in 70's and 80's that always had one headlight stuck open. For those of you who remember that, you are aging yourself haha!
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Scubalady, that is a great idea. I will have some "overtheshoulderboulderholders" or "slingshots" that I will need to donate in the future..................
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Frostecat, you are silly!! I had a good laugh. Thank you. You can use pasties to cover the nipple...oh I mean pasty in our case.
Fourminor, I am sorry to hear that you still have stomach problem. Chicken broth cooked with ginger and veggies ( celery and carrots give it more flavor) help calm the stomach also.
Scubalady, very great idea to donate your bras to a good cause. I was wondering what I was going to do with some of my pretty gently used bras. It would be a waste to toss them.
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