2018 DIEP Surgery
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Elijahgirl -- I've heard that the breasts will grow and shrink as we gain/loss fat. I haven't worn anything more than pajama pants or skirts (everything with a stretchy waistband) so I'm not sure how things are fitting but I'm hoping I look better in clothes with less of a mommy pouch. It's funny but I don't feel skinny or feel that I look very thin. Maybe my belly is bloated? Maybe it's because I didn't wear an abdominal binder?
Leatherette - yes
you were able to put into words the things I am feeling! 0 -
Put on make up, fixed my hair and got dressed for a big outing to the grocery store. My husband has been a great caregiver but not a great grocery shopper. Half way through the store I felt hot and a little dizzy so we wrapped it up and I'm back home home in my recliner. Guess I'm not quite as good as I thought.
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Bella - I just saw you had stage 2 yesterday! How are you?
Every week it gets better - I’m almost 7 weeks out - doc approved work from home up to 16 hrs a week for the past couple of weeks and with my short term disability at 60%that works perfectly as now I’m getting my full pay at least until next week when the disability ends.
I’m mostly wearing dresses but my shorts are definitely looser. I has one drain hang on for 3 weeks and as soon as it came out I was able to drive short distances.
Amy - I’m with you was good to get dressed and go out early on but like you I got to the store and said okay let’s make this quick my recliner is calling me!
The support in this group is awesome! Prayers for continued strength and healing to all
Has gone down and
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Teaberry11, I did have stage 2 yesterday. I was home by 12:00. I was in post op a little longer due to my oxygen levels and my pain levels. I am very sore from just below my breast down to my hips and around to my back. This is a cake walk compared to BMX with DIEP. I am back in my sports bras and ab belt/Spanx. I have no nerve pain even though my breast are black and blue.
I will let you know how day 3 goes.
Blessings to everyone who is recovering and healing from surgery
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Bella good to hear from you! I don’t like sound of black and blue breasts though! What all did your PS do?
Hope the soreness is tolerable and you get to feeling yourself really soon
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I took the bandages off this morning. My right breast is bruised...he needed to lift that one. He also did fat grafting...he took the fat from my hips (OUCH!) Where he takes it from is much more bruised than where he grafts it to.
It’s healing quickly
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Bella, hope you heal quickly and comfortably! Yay for having Stage 2 done and behind you!!
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I had my surgery Wednesday and was released late afternoon yesterday. They took two drains out at the hospital and I have five left. My breasts are soft and already feel so much better than they did with the implants. It’s Sunday and I will see my PS on Thursday. My stomach is incredibly firm and swollen. About how long does that last? My primary pain is resides in my lower abdomen. I am worried that because I have a lot of gastro issues, I may be more bloated than usual??I am trying to keep up on my stool softeners and my probiotics. I will add Metamucil tonight to help ensure the bloating is from my surgery and not my gastro issues.
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Speedy recovery Bella!
Carmen71 - my belly was swollen and sore for a while and I think that's normal... I hope you feel better soon!
My breasts are hard and sore - anyone else? They never stop hurting and I'm 3 weeks post op. I had issues with bleeding so I know they were filled with blood/fluid but this pain is exhausting.
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Justkeepmoving, I have some hard spots in my breast, but they are not sore. My stomach has never been swollen, the skin just feels tight.
I’m going a little stir crazy, because I’m extremely sensitive to the sun post-chemo ( pins and needles all over), it is really hot here, and I can’t swim. I can’t do anything but be in the one room with air conditioning and lay in bed. So my unoccupied mind is turning to paranoid thoughts about incisions opening, like, “This little spot here is pinker than what’s around it....must check it every 5 minutes!” Anyone else torturing themselves this way?
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I have one spot on my breast that is hard where the DIEP skin and my breast skin are glued together. I have another hard spot on the incision line onmy stomach. I occasionally have pain the the middle of my breasts, I think that may be where they attached the artery? I don't feel any pain on my breast. My stomach is pretty swollen below the incision and I'm still pretty numb there but it's a little better. Seeing PS tomorrow and have tons of questions.
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Bella, would love to hear more about step 2. Hope you are feeling better today,
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interesting how we all have different aches and pains etc....
Leatherette - I hear you about going stir crazy. I can get obsessive on stuff when I'm anxious and these things tend to snowball so good for you for noticing. Can you make a "to do" list for yourself of things you can do while in bed? Like menu planning, hunting for good recipes on line, organizing your finances, planning your next vacation...
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Carmen, you had 7 drains?? I had a bilateral DIEP and only 3 drains. They took 1 out , 1 week post op. I have 2 still. Left breast and my only stomach drain. Hopefully this coming week I get these last 2 out. My breast drain is very painful. The stitches poke my side all the time and is very sore.
My belly is not swollen or sore at all. I do have issues with sneezing, clearing my throat, coughing, and blowing my nose. My chest is very painful. When I do these things but otherwise I am pretty much pain free.
My breasts have a few hard spots. But not painful. The new skin and new fat is all soft and warm it is under my arm and on the edge of the old skin where the hard places are both sides. Also the center of my chest along the edge of my breasts, it is harder there, too. But no pain. I hope they that doesn’t mean there are issues. I really want stage 2 to be in early October. Is staged 2 just shaping and evening up? Or is it nipple creating? Or both
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Carmstr385 ~ I did have 7 drains. 2 in each breast and 3 were placed below my abdomen. I had 1 drain removed from each breast just prior to leaving the hospital. All 3 of the drains in my abdomen have been pretty full, but 2 are becoming less so each day. I’m hoping 4 of the drains will come out early this week. We will see...
Justkeepmov ~ I, too, hope the swelling in my stomach will continue to go down. My breasts are mostly soft, but I have a few places that are more firmer than other places. When do you have your next appointment? I think you should ask about that. Thinking of you:-)
Xoxoxoxo
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leatherette - about the red areas at some incision spots — Home health nurse told me to outline with pen the red area and watch if it grows outside! That was a huge anxiety reliever for me! If it gets hot and larger call the doctor - mine stayed in the lines 😉
Carmen - 7 drains? Whoa! I had 4 the breast ones came out in a week but one of the hip drains took 3 weeks — I didn’t have any swelling just tightness while the drains were in - after they were all out — I got swelling mostly below the incision which is really hard to control with the ab binder cause it tends to ride up and not cover that area. I’m still numb below my belly button down to incision .. no numbness at all below incision just swelling.
Just keep moving - My breast were/are sore but pretty soft overall - the soreness is mostly in the upper left breast near my armpit more of a full feeling although it looks just like the right - who knows why that is! I will say my current breasts are pretty large but wide and on the flat side almost squarish. I only found 1 sports bra that shapes them nice for clothes so I am wearing light weight summer sweaters when I go out to camaflouge.
Carmstr - My PS says 3 month minimum between surgery so my stage 2 is in sept and will be shaping and fat grafting (2-2.5 hr outpatient) and then if I’m happy with results he said nipple recon would be 3 months later in his office.
Happy healing!
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Saw my PS for the first time today, 17 days post surgery. I really like him, takes the time to answer all my questions. He said everything looks good. There is some swelling but that is normal and will fade in time. He said he has seen much worse swelling than this. We talked about the hard spots below the tummy incision and he says this is also normal. I told him about the discomfort I feel in between the breasts and he said that is where they have to remove or move (can't remember which) the rib cartilage to get to the artery. He also had to fix my pec muscle and I think he said it was sutured in that area. I was closed with durabond and he said starting Friday I can start putting some Vaseline on the glue to help it come off. My breast is about the size it was before I got cancer, but obviously not saggy. Was hoping for it to be slightly bigger but he said that was as much as he could do with my belly skin and fat. We talked briefly about stage 2 and he showed me where he would lipo around the sides and back of my hips and then do some fat grating at the top of the DIEP breast. He said he can also fix some bumpy areas in my armpit from my ALND which is so awesome. I am going to wait for stage 2 until after my daughter's wedding in mid-October.
I was cleared for driving short trips to see how I feel. I tried driving today and needed to put the shoulder harness behind me and put a pillow under the lap belt. I can see how a lot of turning might be tricky at first. He said I can wear the binder as much as I want now and I can start to wear a bra, either a front closure sports bra or something soft with no underwire and easy to get off and on. I bought some coobie bras after my BMX so those should work. I can start back on one cup of caffeinated coffee starting on Saturday but he still wants me to limit caffeine and chocolate. I have decided to try to do some work from home next week and maybe go in for a half day one or two times. I think it will be easier to ease myself back in.
We discussed the ERAS protocol he uses and I told him I was shocked at how little pain I had, especially when I woke up from anesthesia. I only had one IV push of dilaudid and after that it was all oral. Now I am only on Celebrex and Gabapentin but will be going off that soon (which is a bummer because my feet and knees have been killing me since starting on an AI and for the past two weeks I have felt no joint pain). I had a different PS for my BMX with TEs and she did not use this protocol and I was in much worse pain. I asked him why doctors don't utilize this protocal and he said...Don't get me started, we have been using it and the outcomes clearly are so much better.
I really do feel good and still very surprised this wasn't much worse. For those of you who are coming up, best of luck.
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So good to hear about your progress OCDAmy! You are giving me such hope for my surgery in September. I am asking about the ERAS protocol for sure. I have a lot of pain from my AI's - joint and foot pain. Is it the Gabapentin and Celebrex that's helping? Pardon my ignorance, but can you not continue to use them? I hate my AI and how much it's limited my activity. I power through it but it's a lot harder to get started when you joints hurt so much.
Good to hear you are easing into work. I hope to minimize my time away from work - and I can work from home quite a bit - so hoping that's an option by week three.
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Great news, OCDAmy! Someone just posted in another forum that Sam's club has a 2 pack of really comfortable Bali bras with no underwire for $23. I have one of them and they are very comfy and don't rub incision spots. Another bra to look for is the Hanes brand short cami bra. Also super comfy. Driving will get easier I promise. So glad things are progressing nicely!
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OCDAmy — isn’t it great when you love your PS?!? 😊. My daughter is also getting married in October! But I’m a month ahead of you surgery wise so for now I’ve scheduled my stage 2 for the beginning of September thinking I will be healed pretty good by the end of October. I also need to have my thyroid out due to an “indeterminate” nodule found on my PET CT scan - meeting the endocrine surgeon tomorrow to discuss that - hopefully it can wait until November - that scar may be harder to hide in wedding pictures.
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OCDAmy...glad to hear you are doing so well. This is encouraging for those of us awaiting the surgery (except for the caffeine part...oh my, that's a long time with no caffeine!).
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Hi everyone. I am scheduled for surgery on August 6. I'm curious if there is any advice on what I may need in the way of clothing, extra pillows, things like that...I'm especially worried about after I get home. Been reading a lot about sleeping in recliners, but I don't have one. Do any of you have recommendations for pillows for the bed? Is buying a wedge pillow worth it? Thanks in advance for any advice you have!
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Adgnola,
I found 2-3 pillows under my legs at my knees and 3 staggered behind me to keep me at a 35 degree angle and one for each arm beside me kept me feeling comfortable and secure so I knew I would not turn over in my sleep. I did not have a recliner I could use in my hotel room so this worked great for me and when I got home I continued to use pillows rather than my recliner for sleeping. Good luck and don't worry too much, my surgery went fine. I am very happy with my results so far. Going to get my tubes out tomorrow.
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Adgnola,
I brought a small blanket to the hospital my daughter purchased for me. It has a giant picture of my dog on it. It was personal to me and made me feel like I was at home. I also used my slipper slides at the hospital for walking and using the restroom. My iPad and earbuds, along with a long charging chord, helped me to tune out all the noise at the nursing station.
I don’t have a recliner either. I did purchase a wedge off of Amazon. I wish I had it when I had my mastectomy. I have three pillows on it and it is heaven. I am laying on it now as I write this. I highly recommended it
I’ll be thinking of you on August 6th.
Xoxoxo,
Carmen
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Shelly, I'm not sure if it's the combination of the two drugs or just the Celebrex which is an NSAID. Reading up about Celebrex it looks like it can be harmful to the heart and the stomach and shouldn't be taken long term. I'm going to ask my MO about using it.
Adgnola, I had really comfy stretch pants and a button up shirt that had drain pockets in it to wear home. Someone gave it to me for my BMX and it works great to hold the drain bulbs. I brought lotion and lip balm, I had big time dry mouth and they only let me use those sponges dipped in water for the first day, no drinking water. Cell phone and charger. We bought an adjustable bed last year and it's been heaven. I also spent most of my days in the recliner watching tv. Good luck to you!
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adgnola,
Each of us is different. I found I needed far less than many. If you go to page 2 of this thread you can see my summary.
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Teaberry, I kind of wish now I could have stage 2 before the wedding. While my tummy is flatter it seems like my hips look much bigger now. It would be nice to have those slimmer before the wedding but I don't want to risk any complications before. Have you gotten a dress yet? I've been waiting to do that until im healed more and the swelling goes down
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OCDAMY, I just had my Stage 2 last Friday. I feel like I have been hit by the DIEP FLAP truck again. I was expecting minor outpatient surgery. I was planning on feeling a little sore around my hips where I knew he would Lipo the fat for fat grafting.
Holy s*%^t! I am blown up like a watermelon again. My hips look huge from the swelling as do my thighs from the fluid retention. I don’t have nerve pain like I did with the BMX & DIEP Flap but to move is painful with both hips severely aching. I also have a lot of pain under my arms. I am also back in the sports bra and an binder for four weeks. I didn’t see that coming around again.
Enjoy your upcoming wedding as you continue to heal from your original surgery. I was at 5 months post op when I had Stage 2 and if I had it any sooner I don’t think I would have been healed enough to go through it again
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Bella, ouch! Gosh that sound terrible, I hope you recover quickly. You've convinced me that stage 2 is definitely waiting until after the wedding. I've heard lipo is painful, ugh I am so tired of having pain.
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bella2013 thanks for the update. I have stage two next week. My surgeon did explain that he needs to inject saline in order to lypo so to expect swelling. My lypo is to reduce- not to move the fat elsewhere- so I’ll be interested in comparing pain notes 😀
I’m only planning a week off work but did figure getting back to regular activity would take longer
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