DIEP 2013

sbelizabeth

Hi, everyone.  I'll give Robin a call today and check on her.  I don't believe she's home by herself.  I'll pass along everyone's well wishes and dismay that her experience wasn't as stellar as she, and we all, had hoped. 

Greengirl, I live in Ventura County, close to LA (but we pride ourselves that WE DON'T LIVE IN LA!).  Do you have your activities all planned out, or will you just lounge on the beach?  There's so much to do here, that doesn't include Disneyland!

Kad22, my PS is all about physical therapy.  He wanted me to go into the DIEP in great aerobic shape, and with strengthened abdominal and leg muscles, and sent me to PT a few weeks after the surgery to get my perpetually stuck shoulder moving.  Now I have a firm foam roll in my office that I lie on a few times a day and stretch.  It was a little startling for my colleagues, but they're used to it now.

Janet...a tube skirt?  I wouldn't want even my dogs to see me in one of those.  I would look like a stretchy trash bag with a few too many milk cartons squeezed in there.

Janet_M

sbelizabeth - Ha!

On behalf of dogs everywhere, allow me to justify my bad fshion sense. My skirt is super stretchy, and is covered mostly by a large linen blouse. My dog seems to like it. But then again, he is a basset hound and can't see above my knees.

FierceBluebird

Gini23, thanks for the article! I started taking glutamine during chemo, but now that chemo is over I haven't been keeping up with it. After reading your link, I went right to the kitchen to take it this morning and will keep up until rads are over! 

Nine days away from surgery and getting more nervous every day. I don't do well with anesthesia and really worried about such a long surgery. But I know anesthesia management improves all the time, so hoping for the best. Last surgery was 2009 for ovaries out so hoping this time goes better. Feel so bad for Robin!

Sending healing thoughts to Gotcha and Mary!

Janet_M

Bluebird - This may make you feel better - I had a preop appointment with my aneasthatist and he said that my surgery 'is boring' for him. He went on to say that it is a long surgery, but a safe surgery, and since the surgeon isn't going into muscle or bone, I would be held under at a light but steady dose of something-or-other. He said that for DIEP, he has 'nothing to do'. Poor baby.

Gini23

I second the pull up soft skirt. Mine is tighter/fold-over at the waist (even offers a little compression) and flowy to the knees. Got a couple last summer post MX because I had gained so much weight and just wanted comfort. Been wearing one all week - post stage 2, no drains - just because it is so much more comfortable and fits better than my shorts at the moment.   Ummm... but I do wear panties... 

And on the subject of camis, we forgot to tell the new girls that they are great for recovery! The PA at my PS's office suggested it to put underneath the binder for comfort. That was about two weeks post op for me. You will need to be able to either get them over your head and put your arms through in order to wear them...or maybe can pull up from the bottom.  And not so sure if you would be able to do them with drains.

Anonymous

Woke up thinking of Robin.....dismay is the right word, Katy. So grateful you are in touch with her. I hope she feels lifted up by all of our thoughts and prayers. I will keep them coming.



So, I am sick of these open wounds. I called PS office but they said do nothing different. But I am going rogue. every time I shower (every day) they open again. So I bought some tegaderm to keep them dry in shower and will then remove it once I am dry.....Will keep them as dry as possible for several days and see if I can get them to close. I had wounds that were closed open up during and after chemo and some that took months to close. And a couple of serious infections despite my vigilance. I hate open wounds!!!!



Going for a massage this afternoon, though, so life is good.



Enjoy your day, ladies!

Gini23

You're welcome, Bluebird! Glad I helped re-motivate you to take it!

Anonymous

And, just so you know, gloob is not a word according to Words with Friends, I tried it. I'll send them an e-mail.

Gini23

A question for those on the other side and starting to exercise: am I the only one who finds myself sweating excessively? Way more than I used to? Not sure if it is from being so out of shape now or from detoxing all the meds....

liefie

Gini, I'm certainly sweating a lot just walking or watering the garden, but I think in my case I can safely blame the Tamoxifen hot flushes - lol. Tomorrow I have my first yoga class after DIEP, and the room is heated. Will be interesting. Like Greengirl suggested, when in doubt, go into child pose. In my case it will be when overheating . . . lol. Will keep some ice-water handy.

Thinking of Robin too, and hope she will be okay. If that flap failure is due to negligent nursing care, may that serve as a loud wake-up call for that hospital. It just stinks. It is so hard to accept that she was not properly cared for as she should have been, and it makes me very angry. My care post DIEP was absolutely stellar. The nurses were all excellent, caring, compassionate and professional. That's what you expect in a plastic surgery ward where patients are recovering from these delicate procedures. 

Bailey, sorry to hear of your struggles with the open wounds, and I hope your new tactic will work. Enjoy your massage!   

Moviemaniac

Oh.My.Word. Robin, I am so sorry to hear of your troubles........I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers, and please know we are ALL here for you.........



I have been reading, but haven't been posting......welcome to all of you new ladies (sorry ANY of us have to be here, but "HERE" has a great bunch of women to be "here"with!)



I don't really have much to add, as no one seems interested in following my lead on appropriate post-DIEP SX attire.......am I the only one who went naked for 6 days?????



Sbe - I can just see you in your 6" heels with a garbage sack and too many milk cartons up top.....makes me laugh!



I am looking at Sept for stage 2a, and have been told to drop some weight.....down 16 lbs since I left for Sapporo in May......would like to lose at least ten more.....am looking at plication.....PS said mine would involve another 4" incision down to muscle in abdomen......really not sure how I feel about that at this point.....but the pot belly has got to go!



Love you women to pieces! So thankful to have a place to go where I can be my BC self....and not worry that others don't understand......XO



Namaste and God bless - Jackie

Moviemaniac

I am also thinking of Gotcha and Mary....hope things have gone well....



Jackie

Anonymous

I went naked for two days in ICU, Jackie, if it makes you feel better! Had a young, handsome resident lift the sheet, peruse the 46" of incisions and tell me I looked good (drugged up heart went soaring)...then he added, "From a surgical standpoint, of course" (of course....a**hole). Lol! Good thing I am not easily offended and am easily amused....DH and I finished our statements to one another with "from a surgical standpoint, of course" for days afterward.

liefie

Movie, I was naked under the covers too - too many pipes everywhere to bother. Just grabbed a hospital gown whenever I had to get out of bed.

Bailey, unfortunately my PS is a woman, so my anatomy was not appreciated as yours was 'from a surgical standpoint' - LOL - too funny!

sherry35

Today I am strangely very aware of my prosthetics. I feel like the aren't moving when I move they are heavy and hot. I haven't been this aware of them in a long time. 18 days until surgery! Can't get here soon enough!

Anonymous

Hey, here is something I have now that I would've would've worn every day after surgery....Lands End Swim Cover up...



Women's Regular Cotton Jersey Roll Sleeve Cover-up

Item # 398750-AK8



Various colors and sizes on sale....others not on sale. Zip front, adjustable tie waist, long enough (for me, anyway, to wear without anything underneath), cute hoodie style, no interior pockets BUT you easily could tack along the bottom of the pockets on inside to make an interior pocket for drains (or use fusible hem tape).



I need to go back to work.

Cherrie

My daughter's report came back from radiologist and it is indeed an enlarged lymph node. I am relieved as she shared with us last night, that she is just pregnant. Still, hope this gets resolved. She will have it checked out again in early August. So scary to go through this.



Thanks for all of your support. It has meant a lot as only our immediate family even knew about this.

goldie4040

What a relief, Cherrie. They sure took their time.  I am so glad you, and your family can relax now.

Debwarrior

Hi fellow DIEPers,

I am close to finishing chemo, 4 more weeks and starting to think about my bilateral DIEP that isn't scheduled yet.  Trying to decide between UCSF and Stanford. Anyone have DIEP at either place, that can give me some input on how your experience was and which doc you used. Thanks very much.

Deb

GreenGirl1

Thank you Janet for all the tips and advice. I was looking for stuff to wear today. Not sure it a button up pajama "dress" is right. But, your slip on tube skirt sounds perfect. Any ideas on where to find one?

I found out today my surgery will be August 6. My dad's birthday (poor dad). I get back from my trip on August 3 so I will have a couple of days to beat the jet lag and then into surgery. Better it is sooner rather than later so I don't have too much time to think like you did. UGH. Will be happy when it is over.

Any word from the ladies who went in today? Or Robin? Hope all are well.

MartyJ

Debwarrior - welcome.  My doc did her microsurgical training at UCSF.  She is an outstanding surgeon.  I can't imagine them producing anything less.  (She practices in the Southeast now).

Greengirl - you will have a lot less time to obsess about things while you are on Vacation!  My DH & I spent 5 days before my surgery traveling on the Gulf Coast.  A perfect way to shift my mind from me to other things.  We even found a smoke-free casino so I could indulge in blackjack.

A note about flying - many of the women who go to NOLA, Charleston and San Antonio travel for their surgery.  I was on a plane flying home at 9 days after bilat DIEP, drains and all.

Goldie - I have heard wonderful things about PAP. It is a realtively new free flap procedure.  Has your doctor done many?  There is a woman named Catie on the Charleston Bound, Part 2 thread who had PAP several months ago.  It was her doctor's first time, but he was assisted by Dr. Robert Allen who developed the technique. She is having a Stage 2 tomorrow, but you might contact her if you have any questions.

GreenGirl1

sbelizabeth - we have a rough idea of what we want to do when we get to LA. My daughters want to see all of the normal touristy stuff - Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame, Santa Monica pier, and we probably will go to Universal Studios one day too. We are in LA a total of 4 days. Anything we shouldn't miss?

Bailey - love the Lands End zip up robe. Might have to get one!

mammalou

Got all 4 drains out today! So happy! Now i can start wearing underware again. lol. I drove my son and I for the 4 hour round trip, so I'm feeling a little more freedom now. My DH was freaking out that I would consider driving myself, so he woke my son up to take me. I just said get in the car, I'm driving! I hate it when my DH tries to control me! We had a nice day and lunch at Cheesecake Factory.



I do have a belly button infection, so I have to nurse that for a while. I do have some pretty restricted arm movement, but they are going to let me try to loosen it up before next appointment. I don't think I will do PT even if they recommend it because I did almost a year of it because I started breast cancer with frozen shoulder, then had 3 surgeries, rads, and a tissue expander placed. I am just so done with the arm thing and going to PT twice a week. I may decide to just live with it and try to loosen it on my own.



All my hospital nurses and the NP today thought I had a very good looking flap. That is reassuring because I am so black and blue and swollen above the flap that I think it looks horrible. She reassured me that it was not abnormal.



Debwarrior... I just had my diep at Stanford with Dr. Gurtner. He is excellent but scheduling and seeing him is difficult because he spends most of his time doing research and speaking. He normally only has 1 day a month that he sees patients in the clinic. In August he has 2. Wow! There is also Dr. Lee and I've know a lot of people that love him. He does surgery about 4 days a week, I think, so he is a lot easier to get In to. Stanford's care is great. I have had 5 surgeries there now and don't have any complaints.



Next stop for me is a trip to Hawaii on August 3rd. Can't wait!

Anonymous

Cherrie- so happy to hear that the doc says your daughter's enlargement is a lymph node. Glad they are watching it. Congratulations on the baby! Praying for you still.



Drain free Mammalou! Awesome!



Welcome Debwarrior! Glad you are on the tail end of chemo...big victory!

kuka21174923

Omg! I just got caught up with all the reading and I cannot believe about Robyn. Sending prayers her way!

Movie you're too funny! I have to try the naked thing when I go somewhere nobody knows me and I know for sure I will never go back, lol

Went to my ps today and he told me how good l looked. He said he'll be able to lower my scar!! Yay!! My surgery will be either August 9th or 16th. Nihahi I'll let you know for sure at the end of the week.

Gotta work out now!

mammalou

Does lowering the scar involve all the pain of the original?

Cherrie

Mammalou-I had my scar revised and lowered. It was much easier than the first time. Much!



Congrats on getting your drains out! FREEDOM! You must feel like a new woman.

FireDragonll

Hi everyone, first post here. I am going to DIEP or no reconstuction. I don't have a surgery date yet and nervous.

Judy_63

Cherrie, I was wondering how much lower did they lower your scar? Right now mine is 2 inches below my bellybutton but I still have swelling so I'm hoping mine will go further down and my bellybutton lines up more in the center after the swelling goes down or I see a stage 2a in my future.

sherry35

Mammalou-congrats on being drain free! So glad you went to the wedding!

Movie- you sound like such a free spirit, love it!

Bailey- you always make me smile.

Nihahi- you are so wise to the ways of this thread, I'd like to dub you mother hen.

Kuka- I wish I had half of your motivation and ambition!

Goldie, Pkieles , tammyt and christina0001- we are all very close in dates for our surgeries. I hope we can get each other to the date and help each other heal!

Welcome to all of the new ladies, you will find all of the help and encouragement you will need here.

Cheers,

Sherry