January 2018 Surgery group! Please see updated list in thread!
Comments
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Hi Maggie, do you have the Amoena ‘iron maiden’ mastectomy bra....OMG I hated that thing, had the same issue with where the band hit the most tender area so gave up on it after a couple of days and used an Ace bandage instead....I am not havingrecon though.
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Maggie, see if you can get an "Elizabeth Pink Surgical Bra." There is a cut-out area on the sides where you can put the drain over or under the bra band. At first, did not realize this, and kept hitting the drain area with the band, but I felt a lot better when I realized the purpose of that design element!
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Haha, yes that’s a perfect name for this bra! I’ve had this thing on 24/7 since surgery. Luckily, BS prescribed 2; one to wear, one to wash. Thanks again to you and Jo for the ace bandage suggestion. Putting a pad and ace wrap up under the bra band has made the drain pain tolerable.
Plilaflash, my PS didn’t do any fill of the TEs during surgery. At my first post-op last Thursday, he did my first fill to keep the skin folds from becoming permanent. I also had an ache between my shoulders for the next few days, but just thought it was part of wearing this “Iron Maiden”.
My BS says I have to be able to have straight elbow, full extension of my arms, both overhead and outstretched in all directions by my next appt on Wednesday. If not, I’ll need PT. These pesky drains pulling so much has slowed my home exercises. By 2 week post-op, have most of you regained completely full rotation and extension of your arms and shoulders?
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Shadie, thanks for the suggestion. Something as simple as a cutout for the drains seems like it should be a no-brainer in surgical bra design
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Hi Ladies. I just had my mastectomy w/ one node removal and expander on Jan. 16th. I was wondering is anyone else with an expander has a problem riding in the car and hitting bumps? Also having the feeling of wool rubbing on your skin when wearing anything to close to the skin in certain spots? Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Gentle hugs
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Maggie2 - I just had BMX on Thursday (2/8) and my TEs didn’t get filled either— I do Notice I have a crease or fold on one part of my breast— did that get better once it was filler? My PS doesn’t want me to wear any bra at all yet so I haven’t really had any issues with drains yet.
Soreness is ok and controlled with pain med. I’m still numb in many places - guess that’s normal and sleeping lot
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HopefulAC, I still have a lot of skin fold. The PS said with it being the first fill and wanting the drains to stay in, he was just doing a small amount of fill. It sounds like you’re right on tract for just having had your surgery on 2/8.
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hi everyone. I can sleep on my sides a little and on my back also. My fluid is reabsorbing but now I can feel everything cold I drink going right down my sternum. It’s kind of weird. Anyone else have that sensation? I was told by another patient of my doctors that as she was going for her fills on 2 occasions she felt as if she was having a heart attack. Plastic surgeon toldher to take a Valium to relax. Apearently her body was telling her she reached her fill potential. My steri strips are still there. I want to pull them off but I won’t.
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I'm almost 3 wks post BMX and my steristrips are still there. My PS says leave them until they fall off unless they get funky. He feels it helps keep the scar from spreading, so I'm letting them fall off. I haven't worn a bra since surgery. Am I the only one? PS says it's up to me, so I just wear a cami. And yes, Nancy, I hold myself over every pothole and speed bump.
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I wear a really tight cami with a strappy suituation. It feels better to me.
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I wish I could go without a bra! If I try for more than a little while, there is too much pressure and soreness. I also have trouble with bumps and potholes in the car. That’s getting better but is still an issue. I reallllly wish it was more comfortable to sleep on my side. I don’t think I’ll get a completely restful sleep until I can move around more- I’ve never been able to stay in one position while I sleep. Marlena I also get a cold sensation down my chest, particularly withvery cold drinks or the first drink of the day or in awhile. There’s a thread on here about that I posted awhile back- I’ll see if I can find it.
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Here is the thread about cold drinks https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics/737264?page=3#idx_84
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Thanks LoveCanada. That’s AWSOME!! I’ll read it now!! SO WEIRD!!!!!!!
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Yes such a weird feeling!
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Wow,nerve damage? Intibuation? Loss of insulation? So glad to know it’s a real thing. It’s not as uncomfortable as these evil,stupid tissue expanders but super strange. Thank you very much Love Canada :
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No problem! I agree. My PS also said it may be due to loss of insulation, which is so weird to me. Things you never think about until you go through this
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Man I wish I could sleep on my side, I try every night but my side boobs are still so big and painful. I will not be sad to see them go at my revision surgery! I have a bra on 24/7, except right now I’m without one to give my blistered skin a little rest. I actually measured myself today, with the side boobs I am measuring as a 38DD which is what I was before, but there’s no way these are a DD
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awwwww,Houmom,can’t you try maybe a pillow in front of you just to cushion your midsection/ breast area? I can’t say it’s the best sleep I’ve had on my side ( and I am a side sleeper) but it’s so much better than sleeping like a corpse with a pillow wedge. My breasts are small maybe a weird B or small C. I do feel some side boob on one side which makes it less comfortable but I’ll do it anyway. Try a pillow!!! LoveCanada time will tell if it will go away!! If not,I’am ok with it. It’s just a strange feeling
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Thank you Marlena17, Love Canada and Philaflash! I thought I was loosing my mind. Painful car rides, and the cold drink thing happens to me too, that just started this week. I get my first fill on Tuesday. Then I meet with my radiologist on the 27th to see how long I'll have to do radiation for.
I have to say I was a little scared to join because up until now dealing with my cancer was easy. I just had to have my ovaries removed and take a pill. I was blessed that it was caught before it spread and I didn't have to go through chemo. However, since surgery I've been feeing all these different things and only after one day on this site you have all made me feel better because I know all that I'm feeling isn't in my head. So thank you so much. I hope I will be able to help someone like all of you have helped me today. Stay strong and gentle hugs.
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I been reading the posts and it is great to know I am not the only one that gets the cold feeling i the chest with child drinks. I also find I am either freezing or burning up (hot flashes) all the time, there seems to be no in between, I notice my chest also gets cold on the inside when I get really cold.
The potholes are a whole other story, they are everywhere here, every couple feet there seems to be another one. I guess it is the price I pay to escape shoveling the rest of the winter.
I also have to agree with how uncomfortable the surgical bra is. I have to wear it 24/7 for 4 week, I ended up cutting up a fleece blanket and line the elastic part with fleece. It feels better.
I found out my pathology was sent out, the on oncotype should be in Thursday and I see my oncologist on FFriday.I am anxious to have a plan.
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The fleece under the bra band is a great idea! I thought 2 weeks of wearing this "Iron Maiden" was bad; I'm sorry to hear you have 4 weeks.
I meet with my MO on Wednesday. I haven't had oncotype or mammaprint ordered yet. The BS said it is up to the MO, whether to order it. I don't know what further treatments I'll need. All the doctors have to coordinate with my kidney surgeon, since he wants to get this tumor off the kidney as soon as I've recovered enough from the BMX.
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My last drain came out today, hallelujah. Still can’t drive or take a longer walk. Found a DIEP flap support group on Facebook. Last three days I’ve felt so much better. Finally made it upstairs to my bed and have slept great. My PS doesn’t give out bras or compression. Do any of you have a front close sports bra that you like? Trying to keep my incision free of sweat
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Dlpaquette thanks for the fleece idea, I'm willing to try anything to be more comfortable. I'm sorry that you have to wear the bra for that long. Also I've been getting hot flashes but mine are more intense at night. I'm on Anastrozole and had my ovaries remove so I don't think mine is from the surgery. Good luck on your results and your plan of attack. Stay strong
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Maggie2 did you have just PS do your surgery or did you also have an SO. My SO consulted oncology and had it sent for oncotype.
Well? I figured out why my incisions are so painful, about an inch of the steristrip pulled away from the skin and the center is all white surrounded by an angry red. It has been 3 weeks, I do not see this being healed enough for radiation by the 4 week mark. It has also been oozing though the steristrips.
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Dlpaquette that kind of sounds like a blister, I got those on all of my incisions when they removed the tape, I thought it was a reaction to the stuff they used to get it off.
Marlena I’ve tried with a pillow but it didn’t help much, thankfully the Tamoxifen is making me tired enough to sleep just fine on my back!
RedJo I ordered some Fruit of the Loom front close bras on Amazon, they were about $7 each. They were OK. I also ordered a Jockey zip front sports bra that I liked better but it turned out to be a bit too tight. And it was more expensive.
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Dlpaquette, I had a breast oncologist surgeon for the mastectomy part and the PS for what originally would have been DIEP, then it was going to be Direct to Implants, and I woke up with expanders. The BS said since the invasive component was small, it’s up to the medical oncologist. Any ideas as to what determines when oncotype is ordered
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Maggie2 I am sure different doctors may have different guidelines, in my case some had spread to the only lymph node they removed, the regular path report showed that it is low to moderate agressive but the fact a small amount had reached my lymph node makes them want to get more information. It is possible they did send yours out for an oncotype and you just don't know it. Originally They were going to wait until my MO came back to do anything. I just found out on Friday that they actually sent it in a couple weeks ago.
Houmom my PS did mention blisters when she took the steristrips off last week and put new ones on so I never got to see it. Of course it doesn't look like a traditional blister like I thought it would. Unfortunately the surgical bra just irritates it. One more week of wearing it.
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I had my BMX without recon. Prior to my surgery I made it very clear to my surgeon I wanted my chest as flat as possible because I absolutely did not want reconstructive surgery. Imagine my surprise while I'm looking at my path report to read that I had a total masectomy including nipple sparing and skin sparing. Isn't this done for individuals who want reconstruction surgery at a later date? Now I understand why why have these pockets of skin underneath my armpits. I just thought everything was swollen from the surgery.
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Hi Jo, this issue of the surgeon thinking they know what is best for a woman who chooses not to have recon. seems to occur fairly frequently. There is an ongoing and very heated discussion on Flat and Fabulous (Facebook)about this subject. You are not the only one to find that the surgeon has not followed the wishes of the patient and it makes me so angry. I showed my BS photos of how I wanted my chest to look....flat! She did a pretty good job with no dog ears under my arms as often happens but I do have a couple of little poochy bits in front as she didn’t want to do an incision all the way across my chest, sometimes referred to as the shark bite effect! I expect these to even out in time. It has taken a month for the underarm swelling to go down..it was very swollen and sore. Have you actually seen your incisions yet?0
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For those that have had reconstruction, are you getting little shooting pains in your reconstructed breast? I keep worrying about recurrence. <sigh> I have to work on finding a new "normal".
Rebekah
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