DIEP 2011

mrsnjband

Any one having the DIEP have IBC?  Just wondering how check-ups would be after surgery.  

Got my surgery packet yesterday, made me a little nervous to read all the side effects, but I'm not freaky out quite so much today. NJ 

alexanjb

So....just got a call.  I am scheduled for outpatient surgery July 6 at 3 PM.  It was the scheduler and she said the dr. will tell me more on Friday.  OK......so maybe by next Wednesday I will know for sure how much of my noob will be saved.  I'd be happy with an A cup honestly.  Slightly freaking out here.

c8ndygr1

@Xray - I have two ab drains left. With PS appt today, I expected one might come out but no such luck. Have another appt on Friday to have navel necrosis cleaned up. Hopefully, both drains will be removed then. I'm only one week out. At hosp discharge, was given Levaquin antibiotic for 5 days and told to take daily 325mg aspirin for 3 weeks. You have so much energy. I'm in awe.

@Alex - why put yourself through a weeklong 'freak'? Is it possible to have the doc call you so you can speak to him/her and get some info directly? My PS gave me his cell number and email address so if I have questions, I'm going to contact him.

alexanjb

The PS still doesn't know the extent of the loss.  The hospital called after the PS office scheduler and said it is scheduled as debriding dead tissue in right tram flap.

momtomygirls

I hope it all works out for you alexanjb.  You're in my thoughts.

Today was a good day.  I just relaxed, had a couple of naps and even went grocery shopping with my hubby.  Tomorrow I have an appt with my PS.  I think he will be taking the tape off my tummy.  My noob looks okay.  I haven't taken anything for pain.  Aside from the complications of the surgery my recovery has been good so far!  (but I don't forsee any sex anytime soon...lol)

Have a great evening!

misszed

I wish you the best Alexan, you are in my prayers.

I drove for the first time today since before surgery, felt weird....not sure why.  I took the kids to the pool, and it was hard not to dive in.  Oh well, one day at a time. XRAY - I am amazed by your activity level, l will try the small free weights this week just to see how far l can go.

Happy healing everyone!

SAMayoFL

Ladies, I have been off the boards for a few days.  I have been waaayyyy busier than I want to be.  Surgery is 5 weeks from tomorrow and I am running around like crazy trying to get everything done so I won't stress at the last minute.

Lori, I am laying in bed rolling in the floor laughing.  You are hysterical.

Mscal, I am scared my DH will read your post and expect me to follow in your footsteps.  You go girl!!

I hope Grdnslave is safely on the other side and on her way to recovery.  I feel terrible that I didn't get a chance to wish her well before surgery.  I can't wait to hear all about it!

Iowasue, we haven't heard from you in a while.  How are you doing?

I hope everyone is doing well and continues to heal each and every day!

Susan

wolfe33

I agree with you...I was soooo happy that it didn't smell, LOL!!!!!

Thank goodness for the little things, right?

c8ndygr1

HELP!

I'm staining everything I put on - how do you all manage? Need advice or tips asap.

mscal02

c8ndygr1: Are they from your drains?

c8ndygr1

Not from the two tummy drains. On one breast had a nickel sized area that blistered and popped in the hospital. It's now trying to air heal. The other breast has minor seepage from the swelling. I can't just walk around topless. But as soon as I put on a tank top, -boom- a couple of bright rust colored stains appear. I'm only a week out and I'm not going anywhere til friday but what can I do? Right now, I'm sitting in the reciner, my shirt is unbuttoned, spread wide open and I have a clean kitchen dish towel draped across. Probably not much else I can do til it dries up. It's just so frustrating. I should have bought stock in stain removers. Thanks for letting me vent.

mscal02

c8ndygr1; Vent all you want to. I have a couple of areas on my breast and a small area on my belly incision where the scalbs have come off and they are seeping. I was told to use polysporin, but as soon as I use it, what little scalb that is trying to come on them just comes off. I started just washing with dove sensitive soap when I am able to air dry.I am sitting here now with a little belly tie in the front halter top on that is just covering the outer edge of my breasts and I have some gauze paper taped below the area. I just have a couple of tops that I don't mind getting stained that I wear. They are a button front that I can leave open and if someone comes in I can just pull it closed. I did buy spray and wash.lol

treesprite

How about the panty liner trick? I cut up panty liners and stuck them onto my camis, unders etc . . .wherever there was seepage . . .super easy to peel them off and put on a clean one to keep things clean. Sometimes I did the air dry thing; it felt good to let it all hang out whenever I could.

alexanjb

I used sanitary napkins and stuck it on the inside of a wife-beater, then put another shirt on over that.  The nurse at the PS office said she has seen a lot of us do that. I still ended up with seepage on the wife beater.

I also bought some 5X9 surgical bandages that I tape loosely with paper tape.  That is working very well.

NotAfraid

I wore black tank tops.  I only had leaking from one of my drains though.  I also used my "menstrual sheets" in bed (my periods have gotten so bad with age that I have different (ie: stained) sheets I use).  It was that or adult diapers!  I have no idea which one is sexier.

mrsnjband

Good tip on the pantiliners, I'll have to remember that one! NJ

c8ndygr1

My support sistahs to the rescue! Thanks for all the great tips and suggestions.I plan to try them all. It was also reassuring to know I'm not the only one who's had to deal with this. I'm off to do some creative closet scavenging.

XRAYestInMA

Excellent use for a panty liner, in addition to it's original use. The adhesive backing would stick to clothes well enough, and they are pretty absorbent providing the leaking is not too bad. I had a little leaking from the right abdominal drain, but was still in the hospital at that point and wearing a johnnie, so I could care less if I got any seepage on it. The nurse put a gauze with a cut out area under the leaking drain tubing and taped it. It stopped almost immediately, and I had no other leaky problems after.

I am officially drain-free as of today - but not because my last one was removed with any authorization. I got up this morning and noticed the bulb of the JP did not have any suction. I tried to remedy that and it kept losing suction. Weird ??? I then figured I somehow must have got a puncture in the tubing, and started looking for an area that may be compromised - only to realize that the tubing was no longer attaced to my skin with the sutures !!! WTH! I had no choice but to remove it at that point (gross out), and then chucked it into the trash can (lovely). So long JP, nice knowing ya (not). I was a little concerned since I was still producing a good amount of drainage ever since I upped my activity level to include the stationary bike and bicep curls with some light free weights, but there was no way the drain was going back in. I'm now sporting either my abdominal binder or a pair of Spanx that go up to almost the noob area. The good news is my body wiill probably now be able to get rid of the fluid the natural way (however that is), and the GREAT news is I can wear regular clothes better and without fear that I might pull the drain out - been there, done that. The even better than that news is I'm now getting in the mood to follow ladym13's lead and get down n' dirty with my DH - the saint that he is. I offered and DH is VERY interested, especially since we have no children at home this evening...then he says we haven't received "clearance" from the PS yet, so perhaps we should wait until he gives it. "Oh yeah", I say, "and perhaps you can discuss it during my next post-op visit (July 5th) OR you can chat him up more about me wearing clothes." HA HA HA. I'm telling you, I am not asking my PS if it's OK to have S*E*X....I don't want him thinking that I am some horny patient....just a nice, compliant patient who does what she is told - within reason of course. Maybe he'll just slip me a note at my next visit that reads "OK to have sexual relations and also "sex-like things"...wouldn't that be grand. Then I can give it to my DH so he can keep it in his wallet to pull out if I say I'm too tired, LOL. I think at this point - with the no ovaries and all - I just want to be sure that everything "still works" as it should down South, so to speak.

For the small amount of seepage that I did get on my white button-down nightshirt this morning after the drain fall-out - I used Tide HE and washed in hot water, and it came out clean. If I did have a lot of seepage, I probably would have used large wife-beater shirts and then tossed them when all was said and done with the drains.  

SAMayoFL

Lori, you absolutely crack me up girl!!  Please let us know how your endeavors this evening turn out!!  I am happy to hear Jack is gone.  I dread the drains as much as anything else.  I am sure I posted this before but after my mx I had a drain tube for 3 weeks.  It kept getting clogged so my BS finally agreed to pull it. I had problems with swelling that he aspirated twice before deciding to put a tube back in.  I was ticked!!!  I did not want another tube but back in it went.  When I was finally draing free permanently I did a happy dance!

C8ndy, keep us posted on the leakage.  I hope it stops soon.  

Any news from Grdnslave anyone?

Susan

momtomygirls

Unfortunatley, I have to use the "pads" for their original purpose. 

So glad I didn't get it last week....that would have been uncomfortable.

Happy healing to everyone!

Sherryc

Just curious is there many of you on this forum who were able to have a nipple skin sparring mx along with your diep?

mrsnjband

Sherry,  

There is a girl on another forum that had the nipple skin sparring mx & is going to have the DIEP later this year.  NJ 

Sherryc

just curious.  When I asked my PS about it he was not crazy about it but has agreed to do it.  He thinks I am leaving myself too open with a ADH background. I told him I just didn't think my DH was quiet ready for no nipples.  He laughed and said he would do it.

bdavis

I was told I am a candidate for nipple sparing but my local BS says why take the risk... and 13 years ago when I had ADH it was right next to the nipple... So, I will nipple spare the good breast and then at stage II re-build the other nipple and get tats in MD with Vinnie Myers.

CanaryChick... I am having a stacked DIEP, using fat from both abs and hips because I don't have enough local fat... another option for me was to have a DIEP only flap for both breasts and then add a small implant at Stage II...If you really want a DIEP, I would find a PS who does the stacked DIEP and not settle for implants if you don't want them.

SAMayoFL

Hey Betsy!

You are just a couple of weeks ahead of me.  My surgery is scheduled for August 3.  The center emailed me this afternoon to confirm when I am coming in and when I will be leaving.  I will be looking forward to hearing from you on how you are doing!

Grdnslave, I hope you are doing well.  You have been in my thoughts all week.  I can't wait to hear from you to see how you are doing!

Susan

Sherryc

Betsy he really does not want to do it on my cancer breast so told me all the cons and risk.  But he will do it if I absolutly want him too.  Since it will be a while before I have surgery I think he is hopeing I will change my mind.  My husband is freaked out over the no nipple thing, but he will go with me to the next appt so after he talks to the Dr and the Dr explains everything to him he may feel differenly about it.

bdavis

Sherry... I feel I am on the fence about the nipple (left),,, but in all honesty, I know I am doing this to avoid cancer first and foremost, aethetics come secondary... so when I was told by the PS in NYC and NOLA that I could nipple spare and teh BS in NOLA it makes me think about it, but my local BS said I COULD, but why would I jump thru hoops to eliminate my risk and leave the nipple.

Susan... I am three weeks from today...and can't believe it... kind of surreal. I will for sure keep you in the loop... I have some shopping to do (need button down shirts) and who knows what else... I have bought some soft yoga shorts and my DIAL soap... other than that  nothing. 

ladym13

Just thought I'd check in and let everyone know how I'm doing, 2 and a half weeks post surgery and feeling fantastic, wouldn't even know I've had surgery. Other than this darned binder..lol

I don't regret this sugery one bit and I'm SO happy to have cleavage again.

x-raygirl

ladyM- I'm thrilled for you! Stage 2 is even better, and easier. Hurray for cleavage, and nips!



Bdavis - I thought about keeping my nip and am sooooo glad I didn't - not worth the risk for me.



I had stage 2 today and until the night before still entertained not getting new nips. I ended up going for it and know it was the right decision for me.



Bed is beckoning me. Pleasant dreams diep sisters! - Daiva

bdavis

xraygirl... so glad you lost the nip?? I am 99% sure I will too... I have one goal and keeping my nip jeopardizes that goal.