Diep 2012

Beckers

It does. Thank you!

shianne29

Hi everyone. I'm actually a 2013 dieper but I'm one of the first surgeries there so my questions aren't able to be answered. I hope no one minds me jumping on here?



I had my mx and diep January 12, my breast has healed beautifully except it sits quite high and is still very firm. Will it loosen up and sag to appear more like my other good breast? I ask because I'm due to start rads on the 26th and I'm concerned that will only make it worse!! I wasn't supposed to have rads as my post chemo MRI showed NED but my path report showed a 7x7.5cm tumor with focal margins. RO told me mri's are only 93% accurate!!! I was shocked!!!



Phantom breast/nipple pain, anyone get this? The breast is numb but at times I get such an aching and throbbing I think it's the real one!! It gets so bad it will wake me up.



I had SNB but I have a numb spot running down the underside of my upper arm is this normal?



I recovered very quickly from surgery with an infection in my tummy incision as the only minor set back so I'm anxious to get the rads over and have a reasonable facsimile of my good breast so I can start moving forward. My RO has told me to use Lubriderm and Glaxol Base on the breast to aid in making/keeping it soft, is there any one who had rads after recon that can offer advice?



Thanks everyone :-)

fredntan

I had rads before. But I used Miaderm lotion exclusively during and had no skin burning issues. did get a little red in arm pit. I think I used 3 bottles of it during my 25 zaps. I also use coconut oil as my moisterizer now.

numbness on inner part of arm-normal. I still have that.

diep breast firm-normal-when have they said you can start the massage? I can't remember when I started mine. But I did deep tissue massage using my coconut oil. going back and forth across scars trying to break up that tissue that felt hard..ask your doc when you start this.

I don't think the diep breast will sag. will your doc be lifting your good breast up?. sounds like you will have sisters not twins.

shianne29

Lol@ sisters not twins too funny!!! I've been massaging for about 2 weeks now, the scar looks amazing for 5 weeks but the new tissue itself doesn't seem to want to break up. I'm fairly small (A-B cup) so not sure if a lift would be suitable. The new one is pretty close to a full B now, I know it may shrink with rads but it will still be bigger and firmer. I've heard of fat transfer, maybe that will be done to the old boob hehehe to make the girls look closer in age?

Thanks for the info on numbness and about Miaderm. I'm in Ontario, Canada and we can't get it here but I hear many ladies talking about it. My son comes home from Tennessee this weekend maybe I'll get him to pick some up lol. Does Walgreens or Walmart sell it?

bdavis

shianne... My breasts right out of surgery were not too high, and never changed. At stage II, he re-shaped and lift, so maybe your surgeon can reshape and lower... Firmness is something you will have for a while. If you had skin sparing it takes a lot longer for the breast to soften. At 3 months post stage I, I was still quite firm. Time.

BetNY22

Hi Ladies,

Up until I inquired about a Diep Flap I thought I had the greatest insurance. I am so upset, I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone for weeks and now I am told that my insurance will only cover 25,000. I had my originally mx at Sloan Kettering and had tissue expanders placed but I really don't feel after seeing my plastic surgeons pictures of her diep flaps that I want to do the procedure there.

I have found two very reputable plastic surgeons that I'd love to work with but they are out of network and not willing to accept 25k. I plan on having my other breast removed and a diep flap done on that one too, can it be possible that they are paying the same if I do one or two, this is what they tell me. I'm wondering if this is why people go to Nola, Im very confused. Please if anyone has any advice, I would really appreciate it. Feel free to pm me if you feel more comfortable.

I do have a separate castastrophic insurance that I will be looking into to see if they cover anything, if anyone knows anything about that too.

Thanks,

Bet

shianne29

Thanks bdavis :-)

bdavis

Bet... My suggestion is to call NOLA... They have an amazing insurance team who can get to the bottom of your coverage. Almost all doctors are out of network, so it presents a problem. For my surgery, the doctors charged way more than 25K and then there is anesthesia and hospital bills. But NOLA will strike a deal with you. I have great insurance, but I know many women who don't... NOLA will work with you and you'll know up front what you'll need to pay to go there. And perhaps the hospital is in network. It was for me. I would let the doctor's office fight for you so you don't have to.

cg1234

Luanne, everything you've been experiencing sounds pretty normal. My phantom pains subsided after a couple of months along with the rib pain. I still have some tenderness from the snb and phantom itching though. My breasts dropped some and shrunk post surgery, but I still swell by evening and I'm almost 4 months out. My ps said he could take a little from the tops if I felt they were still high. I'm used to being smaller so a b/c feels big to me. Most women would probably be happy to be perky and bigger I guess! :-) give it time and see how you feel in a couple of months though. Glad you're doing well!

jojo68

Hi Ladies!  I hope you don't mind me posting here.  My surgery was January 16, 2013...but, thought you ladies would have more experience? I had double masectomy with immediate recon and nipple recon.  I had 29 nodes taken from one side.  I am still in a good amount of pain!  Especially in the morning and evening/overnite.  Is this pain normal at this point in time since surgery?  My armpits are so swollen and painful as well.  I have weened myself off percocet and am on about 2-4 vicodin daily.  Not sure if they will continue to fill this rx or if I should switch to tylenol 3?  I love my flat tummy, but my one breast is visibly larger than the other.  They assure me they will make me happy...but, they cannot stuff more into the other breast, so I am a bit depressed about this assymetry...anyone else have this problem?  Thanks!

fredntan

I had a lot of pain after my initial mastectomy back in sept 2011. I had modified radical mastectomy. meaning they take a bit of the muscle with the breast tissue and those lymph nodes. I'm not sure if thats what you had with your diep. but if you did it just takes time for the nerve pain to go away. PT can help.  i still have a small amount of pain in that area. its not much. just bothersome

shianne29

Thanks so much cg1234 (Cindy). That helps my anxiety a lot!!

Beckers

Joelle, I was in a good amount of pain. I had BMX with immediate DIEP in Aug. Honestly, I did not turn the corner for at least 8 weeks if I remember. I was a late bloomer. The other ladies who had surgery at the time were walking miles when I was still hunched over. Good news is, it will happen. I have one breast that is larger than the other also. The other is firmer too. Even after stage 2 it is better, but still different. My plastic surgeon says our problem is the right one is perfect, and it really is. (I see stage 3 in my future for more fat grafting, but after a good long break!!) I am jealous of those with flat tummies. Mine is still swollen 6 months out!!

cg1234

Joelle, what does your dr say? It could be some lymphedema, seroma, or something, so it's good to ask. Otherwise you may just be one who takes longer to heal. Your size may still change quite a bit. My ps said he put the same weight (cc) of tissue on each side but I have a little more under one arm and that breast is flatter so it looks smaller. All can be touched up later. Be kind to yourself and take it easy. You are still early (which all the gals reminded me when I was a month out). :-)



Rebecca, thanks for the reminder about your abs. I have been trying to reduce time in my compression but thought I was the only one still swelling!

BetNY22

Thank you Betsy! Not so sure I want to travel go surgery but I will remember it as an option. I have asked for a copy of my catastrophic policy in the mean time which I'm hoping can maybe pick up some of the cost.

Galsal

Beckers, don't feel lonely.  Mine still swells as the day goes on.  I saw another PS about a potential recon method, asked while I was there.  He said it was normal and reminded me it was only July the work was done.

Guess we just have to keep reminding ourselves that!

Beckers

Only July?? My tummy gets hard like a preggers belly. I see new surgeries remark that they love their flat tummies. :-/ some day.....some day

Galsal

We hope and wait, Beckers! 

shianne29

I didn't realize it but mine gets hard by the end of the day too. A little swollen, I just thought I'd eaten too much lol. I feel kinda bloated at that point too, you know like after thanksgiving dinner or before a bad period? Is that what you guys feel?

bdavis

shianne... I had that, and it lasted until I had my stage IIb surgery 14 months after stage II...

Beckers

What did they do at stage 2b to fix it??

cg1234

That's exactly what happens to me. It's definitely worse when I'm more active but I've been able to reduce time in compression over the past couple of weeks. The muscle is healing and feeling better too. Patience I guess! At least I see progress. Hope all of you have a restful weekend!

lilyun

I have a question about the bloating. I have had the bloated feeling above the belly button area but it has gotten much less now that I am 10 weeks out. However, this week, my lower abdomen from where the flap was taken, which had been extremely flat has suddenly "puffed up". I thought that the fat cells were supposed to be gone and any fat gained would go to some other part of the body. Has anyone else have this happened post-diep?

shianne29

Lilyun, I can't answer that but I can say, that's kind of where I feel bloated. Above the belly button. I'm only 6 weeks out, but I think as far as the fat cells, what happens is we won't get "new" fat cells, but the ones that are still there will get bigger. I seem to remember hearing that somewhere, but maybe I've not got it right. Maybe someone lose here can answer better.

goldlining

WHile much of my abdominal swelling went down by about 6 months, I did have a hard abdomen like a rock, and not in a good way. I figured it was the muscle either cramping or being too big for the space it was in after removing the flap. I mentioned it to the physiotherapist and she did some acupuncture on my belly - literally 2 minutes or less - and the muscle spasm relaxed. 

bdavis

Beckers... He did more lipo and I am not sure what else... But its much better. Weight lose can help too.

Galsal

accupuncture...maybe that would help.  it gets mighty uncomfortable and I have to agree, it's the muscles that get so sensitive.

cg1234

Rebecca, you uploaded a picture! So cute! You look fun and feisty!



Ronniekay, been thinking of you and hope chemo is still doing it's job without too many side effects.



My friend goes in for diep Monday and another just got diagnosed with stage 3 idc. That's 6 of us in the past year and a half! It feels like an epidemic.

Beckers

Cg - yes, Tamoxifen makes me rowdy. No, it's my putting on a happy face. Gotta join the human race next week when I go back to work finally. Been thinking about Ronnie too. I hope she is ok. I will check her profile and see if she's in another thread. Brb.

Beckers

Found Ronnie in 40 something room. Sent her a PM and told her to come visit us.