DIEP 2011

SAMayoFL

I wish we had heard from Cheryl.  I have been thinking about her all day!

Just think by this time tomorrow there will be three more members in the 2hotboobs.com club!  Good luck ladies.  I can't wait to hear all the details.

Treesprite, how was your appointment today?  Did you get a date?  I can't wait to hear what they are going to do in stage 2!  Let us know.

Susan

goldlining

Good luck everyone tomorrow!

treesprite

Alexanjb and Susan . . thank you for the kind words and encouragement. The women on this thread are the best.

I told my PS that I want to be a 36C (I'm a 36DD) and I showed him my places of concern. He will do liposuction to reduce the diep breast and will break up the hard spots (removal could leave dents), he'll do some fat grafting (from my flanks .  . that word cracks me up) to create a better transition between my chest & boob. He'll trim up the pointy places on my hips and do a reduction on the non-diep side which involves moving the aureola & nipple. The vertical incision line on the diep side is indented and he is going to revise it. We'll see where my other scars are at when he sees me before surgery.

He said the first goal is to look good in clothes, which I do and the next goal is symmetry. I want the best possible result with only more trip to the hospital. I will have to have the nipple created, but that will be done in his office.

SO . . .time to get cracking on dropping 10 pounds before the middle of August! Susan, I'll be looking to you for inspiration!

NotAfraid

Treesprite, I'll just take your extra boobage and add it to mine for my stage 2, ok?    Actually, I like where I'm at when I wear a bra.  Not so much bra-less.  

I'm starting to get more feeling in the previously numb areas around my abdomen and noobs.  I will get an itch that I can feel but I can't quite make stop by scratching.  It's the strangest feeling!!!

 Good luck 21 Club Ladies!  By this time next week you'll be rocking it with your drains and then back on your feet and doing normal things before you know it! 

Bonnygg

The removal of the rib cartiledge was so they could harvest a vein & artery on each side to hook up to the flaps. Pretty creative if ya ask me.

momtomygirls

Re Cheryl.......... Yesturday my sister had her surgery.Almost 6 hrs long.She was doing great last night.I will be with her today.I will keep you posted.       Laura

ladym13

Susan- thank you for the compliments

One more drain out today, one more to go...I can't wait.

Well it's been one week post DIEP and I am feeling great, I'm driving already and getting up and down no problem and walking around. Just feels like I have a little pulled muscle in my stomache that's about the worst of it.

I wear a binder all the time, I'm so curious though for those of you that are farther along than me, did anyone have bulding in the belly, my belly doesn't look all that 'flat' kinda bulgy.

Good luck to all having surgery:)

Mo

alexanjb

Mo, yes, my stomach is buldgy.  I think we are probably still retaining fluids.  Mine feels spongy to the touch.  Mine and yours will differ because I had the SIEA and I guess the lower fat is used.  My incision is almost to my pubic area.  One of my first things upon consciousness was:  "why the heck am I shaved down there?"

Cheryl's sister Laura, Thanks for the update on Cheryl.  I am glad she has you.  I have a sister Carol and a daughter Cheryl that were/are there for me.

Basil

Hi

I am new at your forum, Nice to meet you all.

I am 5 weeks after a bilateral mastectomy and an immediate SGAP reconstruction. and I feel great. My reconstruction came out really nice I think. I know it's too early to see the final results but it looks almost the same with my cloths on. just a big bigger then my original breasts.

I wanted to ask you girls how long did it take till you could resume full movement  of the arms. it is difficult to me to fully stretch my arms.

I also wanted to ask if there is someone who also had DCIS with no involvement of lymph nodes. and if she had to do any treatments. I was told I don't need any treatments and don't even need to take tamoxifen,

Good Luck to eveybody who is about to have surgery. the first few days are difficult but they pass really fast and then you feel great!

goldlining

Hi Basil, I am a DCIS. I had two nodes checked during my mastectomy and they were clear, and the margins of the mastectomy were good with all additional DCIS near the edges of the earlier lumpectomy, so they did not ask me to do rads (or obviously chemo either). I see the med onc quarterly for no reason that I can discern, but she's nice and it's nice that someone's monitoring.

I had the uni mast just because the BS thought two was "a lot of surgery for someone that doesn't even have cancer", and am here on this thread because I am lined up for a bilat delayed/immediate DIEP i.e., with PMX on the second side, and am moving to a different medical centre that does a lot of DIEP and flaps in general.

I hope today's girls are sailing through the tail ends of their operations at this moment. I have been getting emails today from the BS office - first confirming my consult in October (MAJOR disappointment, as I wanted the procedure DONE in Sept) and then when I asked for a forecast when the procedure would actually be (in order to arrange my work replacement) and noting that the PS didn't seem to have such a long wait list, she emailed me back and rebooked the consult for late August and ab CT for early Aug, hoping for a Sept OR date, I think perhaps because my PS has some special OR time status. So I have been up and down like an extreme roller coaster today. And as with the roller coaster, I feel like I am about to have a "protein spill". 

Basil

Hi goldlining.

let me get your story straight. first you had a lumpectomy (for diagnostic reasons?) then you had a mastectomy on one side with no reconstruction and now you are about to have a prophylactic mastectomy and a diep on both sides? wow! that's a long process! we have almost the same diagnosis. I had to fight with a lot of doctors to have it my way. My first BS didn't want to hear about a bilateral mastectomy so I went to another country to have it done, because I have decided that I am having only one surgery. where are you from? how old are you?

SAMayoFL

Goldlining, you probably already know this but Xrayest just had the same procedure you are facing done.  I have asked her a ton of questions because I am having the same thing done as well.  I had a right MX in September with no reconstruction, found out later that I am BRCA2+ and will have a left MX in August with immediate/delayed DIEP.

Well girls, Southwest is having a special on flights for a few days.  You can fly one way for $40, $80 or $120 depending on how far you have to go.  When I found out about it this morning I called my PS and booked stage 2 for November 4.  So, in a nutshell, I am scheduled for stage 1 on August 3 and stage 2 on November 4.  I am determined to get these surgeries behind me this year.  The bad part about my November date is I will have surgery on Friday and will have to go back to work on Monday.  I have to be in court with one of my bosses on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Oh well.  I owe, I owe so off to work I go.

Laura, thanks for the update on Cheryl.  I was thinking about her last night when I drifted off to sleep.  Give her an extra hug from her sisters at bc.org.

Well, today the Club 21 is up.  I wonder how they are all doing.  I hope everyone is doing great with no surprises!! 

Susan

XRAYestInMA

Happy 1st day of Summer DIEP 2011 ladies !!!

Hello to one and all...Had my 2nd follow-up at the PS's office today and everything went GREAT! I'm now 14 days post bilat DIEP.  I still have one drain, but honestly am not disappointed in the least about it. My PS has a firm criteria when it comes to drains = no more than 30ml of drainage per day for 2 consecutive days. When it drops below that, it will be pulled. Since I'll probably have it for at least another week, I shall give it a name and try my best to become "one" with it. I figure any drainage that my body insists on making is WAY BETTER out than trapped in. 

So far my energy level has returned like mad-crazy, and I'm feeling almost 70% of myself. Yesterday I did some light housework including laundry and be-bopped around the house with some Country music blarring - oh yeah baby - I'm on the mend for sure over here. It's becoming easier and easier to get around, take showers, raise my arms - and today, I even did my hair and put on some light summer make-up. I actually felt decent - way better than half in the bag like I felt last week, LOL. 

My PS and his Clinical nurse are VERY happy with my progress thus far. My Noobs look awesome already and therefore can only get better after a Stage II, and my abdomen is healing beautifully also. One side is almost perfect (the "non drain side) while the other has a little fatty area above the incision, kind of laterally. My PS said I am still a tad swollen and not to be concerned as he can fix minor imperfections such as that. I am amazed at what I look like and it is SO MUCH better than having one low-hanging breast, one flat "no breast" and a foopah - my abdomen looks way better relocated to my chest, IMO. I asked about the length of my surgery and was told it was a total of 18 hours but that included putting me under anesthesia and also wake-up time, that I was doing fine all the time, and that becuase of that, he (the PS) spent some extra time conturing the tissue to match as close as possible. He transplanted 3 perforator vessels on each side and had to use some type of instrument on my rib cartilage on each side to get at chest vessels. That explains the tenderness on my sternal area. 18 hours or not - my PS is a god and I think every minute was so worth it to have as good of a result as I have at 2 weeks post-op.

 Instructions are as follows: still record daily drainage, no bras yet until week 4, still sleeping on back (for 6 to 8 weeks, yuck), only walking for exercise still, I can DRIVE, I can have caffeine again if I want. When the last drain is removed I will wear an abdominal binder for 6 to 8 weeks, but not 24/7. That'll probably be next week. Hopefully I can start leg extensions and free weights for my arms soon - I'd hate to lose the toning that I worked hard to achieve pre-DIEP. 

To Cheryl's sister, Laura TYSM for the update on your sister. Please let her know that we are thinking of her and I hope she continues to do well. Those first few days were rough ones, but it really does get better ....honest. 

It's after 5 p.m. EST and I wonder how today's DIEP ladies are faring. I'm sure they are all doing great and hope to hear some good news soon.

Welcome Basil... I sure hope I can also say the I feel GREAT when I'm 5 weeks post DIEP. I feel pretty good now, so life is improving. My DIEP noobs are not as large as my real breasts were but they are A WHOLE LOT perkier . I'm a full C now, and am fine with that. What's great is that I once again have cleavage - oh how I missed my cleavage. I had a lumpectomy and lymphysintigraphy on my right breast, followed by a MX 2 days later - that was 6 years ago - with no TE's placed and no reconstruction at that time. Unlike you, I did have BC as well as areas of multi-focal DCIS,  and was 37 at the time. I am BRCA negative and have no family hx of BC.  I just had a PMX of the left side followed by a bilat DIEP and did not have BC in the PMX side. I had the PMX for peace of mind and to achieve better symmetry and it was all worth it. Neither the breast surgeon, my PS, nor my insurance company said Boo about my personal decision when it came to the PMX. The results of the pathology on the PMX side were normal, and I still am glad that I did it. I live in the USA and subscribe to a group insurance policy thru my employer, if that helps any. 

SAMayoFL That's great about the SW fares - I SW for their reasonable fares and the fact that I can take two checked bags if I chose to do so, and not pay extra. That's also great that you are able to book your Stage 2 revisions already. My PS told me today that a Stage II on me can be done anytime after 3 months from the initial surgery. With that in mind, I'm shooting for the end of November as I has a scheduled vacation week and it will no longer be busy season for my DH who works in the boating business. You are going to do great girlfriend - just keep up that walking!!!

goldlining

I had a teeny dot that biopsied, on the consensus of not one but two opinions, as not quite maybe could possibly eventually become DCIS. BS said he'd like to remove the lump (I was ready to BMX right then!) but he said oh no, no urgency. I said okay, then six months from now. My reasoning: I was very stressed out from work season, and I needed to chill before surgery, and I thought in 6 months it would "show itself" more clearly. Well it was 4.4cm of high grade DCIS by then. As the margins were <1mm, they sat me down for a counselling session with rad onc and med onc to review my options, and I just said "can we skip to skip to the end of the book?", and they referred me back to the BS, who reluctantly did the uni, then told me the path report validated my decision.

I'm 54, and safety engineering is part of what I do, so I am wired to go from safe mode to the next safe mode. I am not wired to go on in-between probabilities, and wait and see. What do I need boobs for, except to make my clothes drape nice. And the old ones? I tried to take 'em off once before, and was a happy B for 20 years after a reduction, then ballooned right back to DD after pregnancy. The clothes don't drape nice NOW (even with the rubber chicken foob). 

Hindsight is 20:20, and I think I would have been where I am now 12 months ago, having BMX with immediate DIEP instead of non-reconstruction MX and delayed PMX/DIEP, if my family dr had not randomly picked mammo program A rather than mammo program B. Literally both hospitals are in 10 minute walk radius of my office. When I got to biopsy stage, I complained about how miserable and run down and patronizing hospital A was, and famdoc said if I needed more, she would refer me elsewhere but for the biopsy, if I moved, I would go to the back of a new waiting list so just stay. And then the snowball rolled down the hill. At least I'm lucky I don't have to worry about airfare or insurance and in the end, PS at hospital A was the one that referred me to PS at hospital B so nobody's feelings are hurt. They're all faculty colleagues in the same PS program, just with privileges at different centres. 

I love the info on the boards. I've been watching because I didn't know my schedule, but every time I turn around, someone has had the experience I'm about to have, and it is so reassuring -- even the scary information, because you at least know what to expect, and prepare for the worst eventualities. I found both lump and mast surgeries much easier to cope with than I expected. I was literally working later the same day (online in bed, mind you). 

So it's been a up and down day, but it ended up an up note. I'm going to run a half-marathon on Sept 4 (so I have something other than the surgery to anticipate) then have the earliest available surgery date after. 

Looking forward to the first posts from the June 21 group! 

SAMayoFL

Wait no longer - I talked to nicurn's (Lynne) DH this afternoon on my way home from work.  He said she did great during surgery.  It was about 9 hours long.  They finished up about 5:30 but she would be in recovery for about 4 hours before he could see her.

C8ndy and Suz, I hope your news is just as good!

Lori, holy cow, you are a different girl from last week.  You sound back to your old self!!  That is such wonderful news!  I hope, hope, hope for the same great results.  I wondered how old you were.  I was 44 at time of diagnosis and 45 now.  After five months of chemo though I swear I still feel like I am 105.  UGH!!

I am thinking and praying for all four of you who have gone through surgery this week!

Susan

misszed

Praying for all the club 21 gals today....and welcome home LADYM!! I had the same pain the first few days but l have a wedge pillow and a pillow under my knees, it helps a bit.

Getting the last 2 drains removed first thing tomorrow. YAY!!  I am down to one pecorcet at bedtime and taking extra strength tylenol during the day, l can do 10 min walks but lm work out but hope to build to 20 this week.  I also lost ten lbs since surgery...my tummy is still swollen and my noob hurts mostly at the top.  My PS said not to put anything on the icisions all. 

Good healing everyone!

Suz39

Out of surgery. Doing fine.

misszed

Great to hear from you Suz!  Sending you positive vibes for a speedy recovery!

XRAYestInMA

@Suz Whoa, you are out of surgery and doing fine ~ that's super! I give you a TON of credit = the LAST thing on my mind in the PACU was jumping on the internet. You are a true Wonder Woman while I was a living and breathing train wreck.

@re: Nicurn Happy to hear the report from Lynne's DH. Healing thoughts to ya, Lynne and Suz!

Sherryc

Suz glad you are out and doing fine. 

SAMayoFL

Suz, you go girl!!!  Thank you so much for jumping online and letting us know.  It gives me a great sense of relief to hear from you and know you are safely on the other side.  I can't wait to hear all the details.

Hey Sherry, I am still willing to donate to your cause!!  LOL!!

Ummmmmm Lori, at this time of night they were still only like half way through your surgery!

Susan

Sherryc

Susan I so wish I could take it.  I have always been really small chested and thought I might finally get me some cleavage now I wonder.  Oh well guess it was not meant to be.  PS said it just depends on our much fat I can create.

Ondagrow

Hello,

Just reading through the posts... I have a pre-op appointment July 14th... Surgery on August 17... I will have have immediate on right and delayed on left...

I wish you all speedy recoveries... You are all in my prayers...

XRAYestInMA

@SAMayoFL LOL, on my surgery being "half done" at that point. I'm glad I was under anesthesia and did not remember even a millisecond of it. I must have looked pretty messed up on that OR table. But it's all about the results in the end so I'm going full steam ahead with this recovery ~  BOO YA!

@sohardbne Are you having a year of Herceptin therapy? If yes, good luck with it. Being Her2 positive as you are, I considered it an "insurance policy" of sorts in my arsenal against BC. I found it a breeze compared to chemo - went back to work during it and finished my second degree in college while fitting in weekly infusions. I kept my port in for the infusions and had that removed after I graduated. I was very fortunate to be able to receive the Herceptin, and it was "pro bono" as I joined a trial, and I did not have even one negative side effect from it. So far at 6 years of NED, I think it worked.

Sherryc

sohardbnme-Seems like I remember you starting rads about the time I finished.  I finished Jan 24th.  I went for my PS consult last week and my radiated breast is still not ready for surgery.  I go back in September for him to re-evaluate.  My breast is still very swollen and I still have a very definite tan area.  I guess yours must be doing OK since they are already scheduling you. That is great. I was pretty disappointed that he did not think I was healing fast enough.

treesprite

I met a woman last night who had her mastectomy 33 years ago and had her diep about the same time I did, about three months ago.  She had to be in her late 60's but more likely early 70's; she looked fabulous, was full of energy and so happy to have breasts again. I wish I had gotten more of the details (whether it was bi or uni, I think it was bi). She was full of energy and looked fabulous!

I also saw a woman who is one week post nipple construciton and a woman who is several months post nipple tattoo (both uni dieps)  -- their breasts looked amazing, especially the one who has had her tattoo; she looked very close to being 100% natural -- scar barely visible, excellent symmetry, and you can hardly tell the nipples apart. The woman who is a week out was wearing a nipple guard and her nipple looked pretty rough; they both said the nipple looks huge to start with but shrinks. It was encouraging to see the results a lot farther down the line and what a great result we can have.

mscal02

I am so glad that all is well with everyone that has gone through and made it back to this side.

sohardbnme: I am glad that you have your date:

Basil

XRAYestInMa, you will feel great at 5 weeks. it gets better really quickly. 18 hours? wow that's long. and I thought mine was long. My surgery was 15 hours and my PS said it was so long because I had SGAP and not DIEP so they couldn't work simultaneously on the breast and donor and had to turn me many times during surgery. but I did everything together. BMX with BSGAP.

Did your PS tell you also not to sleep on the side? because I started sleeping on my side around 2 weeks ago and it feels much better. Today I also went to buy regular bras and it took me a few hours of trying on around 200 bras. at the end I bought one.

what do you mean by DIEP stage 2? I live in Europe and I think we do things differently.

Goldlining

what a story. I have decided from the second I was diagnosed that I am going to do it short. it was the easiest decision I made in my life. I told my BS you take out one, you take out the second as well. My BS almost got a stroke. He didn't think it was right to go for a BMX because of a 4mm DCIS on one breast. Then I didn't want to do the silicon reconstruction but only from my own tissues. and in Italy (that's where I live) they hardly do it. if they do it's only DIEP but I had to do SGAP which they don't do anyways and my BS got another stroke because he thought it was stupid to go for such a long surgery when I can have nice silicon implants. so I went to do it all in Israel. there they thought my decision was very smart and nobody got a stroke.

SAMayoFL

Hey ladies, I got news from C8ndygrl's DD this morning.  Her surgery was 10 hours but she was doing great and resting in recovery.  Woohoo!!!  Our 21 Club is on the other side!

Sohard, you and I are the twinsies in August.  I am just the opposite.  I am delayed on the right and immediate on the left.  I am scheduled for August 3 so you are exactly two weeks behind me.  I have 6 weeks to go!

Susan

Suz39

Hi ladies,

My husband posted for me last night because I was a bit too shaky to do it myself. I'm still a bit shaky, but at less than 24 hours out, I am feeling a lot better than I imagined I would. Thank goodness for pain management! Many of the other ladies that posted their stories said that in the days leadin up to the surgery they became less anxious. That was true for me too. I think that the three months I waited gave me the time to come to terms with everything, and coming to this site and hearing all the positive energy was very helpful. Thanks to everybody!



I am also thin, so I guess the surgery was a little more technical than usual. I spent the last 3 months eating as much s possible, and snacking a lot. However the extra weight that I was able to gain didnt all settle in the belly area. So in the end, they had to use both sides for one breast.



Suz