DIEP Flap Reconstruction 2016
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Grateful, I like Pure encaplulation's "ONE." You can find it on amazon. Just search for Pure Encapsulation ONE."
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Thanks, BigSister I checked, but ONE doesn't seem to be available in Canada.
Although there is one called Nutrient and many of the other ones such as Magnesium and Vit.Bs. Not easy to decide and I prefer one vitamin pill if possible.0 -
My abdominal scar is leaking on one side. Is that normal?
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To all of my brave sisters. My DIEP was performed 3.5 years ago and have no regrets. As I am weeding out and into spring cleaning I came across all of my compression garments and bras. I have 2 black, stage 1 Veroniques XL. Then, stage 2 tan Veroniques. One with zippers and one without. Size L (I am 142 lbs.) I also have two surgical black bras. I am a large C. I am very willing to send these to someone. Especially if you have financial difficulty. I probably have $300-400 into them. I only ask for postage. Sure hope someone can use them. They covered all my surgeries and I had 5 of them. 😀
Please private message me.
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The main thing is to be sure that the B vitamins are mentholated. B12 is methylcobalmin and methylfolate instead of folic acid.
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I wouldn't expect it this far out. I would let your PS know
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Question? I had my Diep Flap surgery on Feb. 5th at The U of P in Philadelphia. Recovery has gone well, however, only half of my reconstructed breast has dropped,which makes the it painful to wear any kind of bra, and the other half has a huge vertical wrinkle in it. Has anyone else had this problem? Going to see my PS this week.
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Kxn, I am so sorry that you are having trouble. I never heard anything like that in my reading. Seeing your PS is exactly what I would recommend. Let us know what they say!
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I have an infected opening on my SGAP incision. My PS says it is normal on such a long incision. I only had my surgery two weeks before you. I would call my doctor right away if you are worried. Lord knows we have paid enough. Are you scared? How much is leaking?
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Thanks, FePrincess. I called my nurse and she said it's normal but to watch out for infection. Wash with saline and put a pad on it. Still sleeping a lot and have injured my right wrist (injured by two IVs first, then by overusing it on the computer - it's called the mouse wrist. LOL. so can't write a lot now.
Hope everyone is doing well.
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Hello everyone, I'm new to this thread, I was diagnosed about 2 months ago and had a lumpectomy 3 weeks ago which more was found than originally directed on US, mammogram and MRI. I have decided to go ahead with masectomy with reconstruction. I am a 41 year old wife, mother of 3 and proud grammy of 4 month old Wyatt. All of this is still kind of surreal, I talked with the plastic surgeon today about my options and I am leaning towards to DIEP flap as long as Tri-care covers that type of reconstruction. Can anyone give me some pointers for after you are home and what they did to prepare for surgery. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi craftysandy, I see that your ps is Dr. Kanshwala, as is mine. My incision took a long time to heal, I had a huge crater there for a while and never thought it would come together, but it did. My problem is that my reconstructed breast is not falling into place, but still very tight (DIEP was Feb. 5) I am also booked to see the Doc tomorrow to see what is going on. Maybe I will see you there!
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Hi Stacey,
Just wondering if you ever got those implants? I am pondering the same, as I had a uni DIEP and it came out smaller than I expected, way smaller than my healthy breast. Having them both be about medium would be fine with me.
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Hi CincinnatiMom41! Everyone heals from DIEP at their own speed, so it's important to be prepared for the worst and also have an opened mind that it may not be too bad. Before my DIEP, I had it in my head that it would be weeks of needing someone to wait on me and help me with everything. In actuality, Twelve days after BMX and DIEP, all my drains were gone and I was at an indoor water park with my DS(11) and Husband. Obviously I wasn't able to get into the water, but I had plenty of energy to walk around the resort (including some stairs) and even did some shopping at the nearby outlet mall. I was still on pain killers at night and had a little trouble getting up and down from a lounge chair, but other than that I felt really well (not great, but well). My experience was clearly the best possible result, but it just goes to show you that anything is possible. The worst of it was the first 3 days. I was in the hospital 4 nights total. The first 3 days is really just a blur to me now. I remember it being very uncomfortable and painful to move around. By the time I was released from the hospital, I was much stronger and in way less pain. I was able to move around as much as I needed to on my own and was only bothered by the 3 drains I had. By 3 weeks out, I was back to my regular routine and not bothered by any lack of mobility or problems with range of motion caused by the surgery.
Good luck with your decision process. Making the decision to go ahead with surgery and then awaiting the date is also the hardest part of the process. Let us know if you have any other questions about the process.
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DIzzParkMom, you are Wonder Woman. Water park and shopping at 12 days? Wow!
For the rest of us humans, 2-3 weeks of lying low is more common. Some get back to work at 5 or 6 weeks. That is about how long it took me to get back to my regular activities, and even then I was pretty tired. (I am 55, so that is part of it!)
After a DIEP you remain in the hospital 4-5 days. For the first 24-48 hours they have to check the blood supply on the flap with a Doppler, which means they are waking you up that often. Frankly, I don't remember much of anything about the hospital stay. Apparently I was alert and carried on conversations, but as Dizz said, it is all a blur.
I don't remember being in pain that wasn't manageable. You'll go home with drains--they are the worst, but not horrible, just a pain to have hanging around. Having a lanyard to clip them to was handy. They are usually out in 10-14 days, but everyone is different.
The other pain is that the tummy tuck part makes it impossible to stand up straight for awhile because they pull you really tight. I went home with a walker, but I only used it a few days. I just walked around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, standing up a little straighter each day. I think I was standing pretty straight by 2 weeks.
When you first get home you are not allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs and you won't be able to reach to get anything--think T-Rex arms. It gets better every day, but it does make you a bit of an invalid.
It is also difficult to get in and out of bed for the first few days because of the abdominal incision. Rolling to one's side and then pushing up helps, but since the arms aren't working very well, help is often needed. After my first mastectomy I needed help for 2 weeks. After my DIEP, it was shorter.
Again, because of the abdominal incision, you can't lie flat. I used a wedge pillow (7") and a bunch of other pillows under my arms and legs. Others just use pillows and others rent a power recliner. Again, all personal preference.
Whatever you do, plan to have lots of pillows on hand! You'll also want a small one for the car ride home to go between the seatbelt and your chest.
Some ladies mentioned a set back at around 3 weeks. It is usually because they are starting to feel better so they over do and then feel lousy and wonder if they will ever be normal again. But that feeling is short lived because things do get better.
I had mine back in December, and I am so happy that I did. My new girls are warm and they even jiggle. So much better than implants
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I agree with BigSister for the most part with a few differences. I went home from the hospital on day 5 with only one drain which came out on day 8. I went out for the day (lunch in a restaurant, doctor's appointment, coffee, drive to the lake) on day 15th. A friend drove and dropped me off in front of where we were going, but I walked about a block, up and down one flight of stairs and to and fro to elevator and doctor's office. I had to sit down whenever there was a ledge or a chair, but I managed. The most difficult thing for me is not being able to reach for anything above my shoulders (kitchen cupboards), so I'm dependent on others for plates, cups, things in the fridge, etc. but I've adapted somewhat by keeping a set of dishes on the counter or getting it straight from the dishwasher. Like BigSister says, it gets a little better each day.
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Ah yes, no driving for at least 2 weeks. You need to be off the narcotics and be able to twist enough to see behind you.
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Thank you everyone, it has been a huge help reading everyone's stories. All the advice is very welcoming and making me feel better about the decision process. The masectomy was sort of a no brainier for me when my BS told me other cancer was found, it was then what reconstruction do I want....thank you again ladies it means alot.
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Bigsister thanks for saying your age. Im am turning 52 this year, am Im always wondering.....is this something that someone really young is doing Im already passed 50 maybe I should just live with no boob. Maybe my mom is just sinking in. She doesn't want me to have the surgery. She is afraid of me having complications which for some reason every time I have a surgery there is something going wrong. She had a mastectomy at 55 and really back then (she is 78) most women just lived without.
Also when you guys talk about the drains. I remember mine from the mastectomy it drove me batty, but mine was on a rope around my neck, drain in my chest, then part was sewn in my skin to keep it from moving. Will the drain be sewn in again??? Thats the part that really bothered me. It was supper red and sore. I think it bothered me even more because it never did drain anything I had to see my surgeon twice and have her drain the fluid that was building up.
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Hello Taag, I'm 52 and I had a gap surgery. I wanted to have breasts. You're never too old. It's a personal choice. If you're in good health, there should be no complications.
On another note, who has had excessive fluid that had to he drained after their drains came out? What was you pain experience with it. I've had to go in twice. I went yesterday and I can barely see all today it hurts so bad.
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Hi Ladies! I have not been here for some time. I had a Bilateral DIEP on Feb. 24, 2014. I have had some issues with healing and a PE in my right lung. That being said, my Stage 2 reconstruction didn't get done. Now, things have finally settled down and I am getting the second step done on June 2, 2016. PRMA did the first surgery. The plan was to have stage 2 in Chicago in Oct. 2014 but due to the blood clot it was canceled. Now, she doesn't want to do it and I respect her choice. I have a Plastic Surgeon here in GR, MI that has been doing flaps. Since she has more experience since Feb. 2014, I will have her finish up. I am totally ready to get this done but the scary willies are being felt. Please, please pray that it all goes like it should. Oh, the 2nd chemo I had, really messed up my hair follicles. The longest it managed to get was just above the shoulders so I have it just about an inch longer where my ears are. My top back is so so thing. I tried the biotin route for 1.5 and it didn't help so,it is what it is.
My husband, Stan and I are doing fine. We added two rescue kitties to our home.
I hope ya'll are fine and in good health. Kat
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Hi ladies , My diep surgery is June 6. I am very nervous. I will be having mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. You can tell by my signature line I have completed treatment now for a couple of years. But ongoing issues with my lumpectomy breast caused me to rethink my decision about lumpectomy. Part of why now I am doing this no one can tell me how to tell difference between scar tissue and new lump. I have so many new lumps that I have had. Follow up with Us MRI. I would like to talk to someone who made a decision to have mastectomy later.
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porcupine! Jaja!!!Yeah! I have the same feeling but I cut them as short as posible and cover with gauze; if not it shows under a t-shirt.
Post 2 weeks stage 2: i started to work and I'm going to physical therapy soon. I bought a swimsuit that covers all incisions marks! Hope I can go to the gym and use the pool soon since I have a scab under the breast that was reduced, so I'm still healing wound. During the flap as see some r asking, dr just said to wait for all wounds to close by themselves, no need sutures, it's scary but slowly they close from the inside out and takes time. I'm using Mederma advanced, a german cream, even dr was skeptic, in my clivage area to see if it improves appearance. Good luck to all
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Fe Princess- I started out not really knowing that I was needing to have the fluid drained off. It got more and more uncomfortable. By the time my surgeon was able to get me in to drain the fluid off I was going crazy the aching was terrible. It was like I had grown another boob. She was surprised at how much fluid was there. The second time I knew what was happening and got in to see her sooner, so there wasn't much pain, just a little uncomfortable. After that it was fine.
Jen1- I finished my treatment Oct 2014. I am now waiting for my diep surgery no date as yet, I was told May or June. I have put it off until now because I wanted to make sure this is what I wanted, also because of my cancer I was not able to have the reconstruction at the time of my Mastectomy. Recently I found a lump that I had a mamo, and ultrasound for. I am waiting for the result as I type. If things are fine I can continue with the diep.
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This is my third week post OP and I felt better at two weeks than now. I have more pain and am not able to move as much. I do remember someone saying that the third week is a slide backward so I have been careful and resting a lot and not pushing myself but perhaps a day out last week (lunch out, doc apt. drive with a friend) set me back? I haven't done much else, mostly just eating, sleeping and watching movies. Tylenol 1 doesn't help all that much for pain and after easing on pain pills (every 8-12 hours), I'm back to every 4-5 hours. What's going on?
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Grateful, where is your pain? Are you walking
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Hi BigSister, thanks for your concern. The pain is in the lower left abdomen. I am walking but bent over again whereas last week I was walking straight. Also, I need more pain meds than last week. It's just a setback, I think due to overexerting myself. I called the nurse yesterday and have a PS appointment tomorrow, and will mention it again. Have you found yourself slipping back during recovery? Doing too much and then paying for it?
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My ps said he had to make my belly very tight to try to get as much tissue as possible for breast volume. Because of that, even at 5 weeks he doesn't want me completely upright. And he still doesn't want me to drive. My stomach muscles are still sore when I turn in bed. During the day I wear high waisted firming underwear (kinda like spanx). They said the compression will help reduce the swelling. He said it really takes about 4 months for everything to settle down. Each day for me gets better, but it is a slow process. Remember, in order to get at vessels, they needed to get behind the vertical abdominal muscle.
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Cedee, that makes sense to me - about the tight abdomen - are you still on pain meds at five weeks? I wasn't told how long I need to sleep upright, so perhaps I stretched too much. Today I feel much better than yesterday, so perhaps the muscle I strained has healed overnight. Or it's the pain meds.
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Hi- I was off pain meds after 2 weeks. Just take Tylenol if I need something
Hope you feel better
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