DIEP 2013

liefie

Greengirl, I was also a little perturbed when I found out that there would be more surgery after DIEP. I've made up my mind that I will have only one more (small) surgery. What does not get done then, is just too bad. If I was younger, it would probably be different, but I've had 3 major surgeries in 18 months, and it is enough. No more!

MartyJ

Kuka - Chin lipo?  Wow, I am impressed.  I wonder if I can convince my doc to go there?

Liefie - each of us reach our surgical end at different points.  I am blessed with a wonderfully supportive husband and great girlfriends who all encourage me to keep going until my new boobs are everything that I want them to be.  Fortunately as I progress, the surgeries are smaller and smaller.  I totally understand your POV.  

Nihahi - my workouts are going really well.  Both the PT and trainer are impressed with my gains.  My ROM is much better.  We have done a lot of work on the abs to ensure that they are firing properly and I am re-learning how to hold everything in as I should.  We have been doing a lot of glute and hip work, including potty squats.  This next surgery will involve lipo from hips and thighs which makes it really painful to use the potty for several days.  I also am awaiting the arrival of a new bike.  Nothing like SBE, but it is a crank forward/flat foot geometryw which will really help my arthritic knee.  This one allows me to have great extention and still touch the ground when on the seat.  Best of all it is a lovely hot pink that matches my hot pink heels.  And yes, I would love it if I you added my Aug. 6 Stage 2B to the list.

mammalou

Green girl... I would not worry about what to wear for a second. The time you will be recovering will probably be spent in your home and you will find things in your closet that work just fine. Honestly, i wish i had taken a hospital gown! Those are the most comfortable. Those lower drains cause all the problems, so it is nice to have something like a dress or big shirt. Before you know it, drains will be gone and then you will have lots of choices. It sounds like you have plenty.



I'm 2 weeks postop and I tested my arm lift this morning. It is kind of depressing. I can't even get it up to 90 degrees. Is it too soon to expect more? I've had rads in armpit and was told if I don't move it, it will lock up. I also still have numb, tingling hand. I was so swollen after surgery because they pumped me with excess fluid because of low blood pressure. It took days for fluid to drain and my hand was numb the whole time.



I hate looking at my posture in the mirror. I look like an old lady. I'm going to start working on that today.



I was lucky that I had a lift on the other breast when I had implant put in. I can definitely see that this diep is going to be soooooo much better. Even with swelling and discoloration, it looks and feels better than that implant. So, even though tis is hardest surgery yet, I am very happy I did it. I only wish I would have chosen it the first time.

damiana9

Mammalou- My arm had serious ROM issues until yesterday!! I don't know if being in the pool helped or what but today I notice that I am able to move my arm much higher. I have also been using those stretchy rubber band type things, to help stretch it.

faith729

Hi ladies I haven't been on here for quite some time so there are many of you that prob wouldn't have any idea who I am. I did my best on catching up on reading but there was well over 50 pages I'd say !

Welcome to all the newbies..congrats to all the recent DIEP veterans... and wishing a speedy recovery and calmed nerves to all who are waiting.



It seems like everyone is doing well which is great to see! I will be going for stage ll on Tues and my nerves are fine this time which is the total opposite of my initial DIEP surgery in April. I'm looking forward to moving on. My grandfather sadly did pass away the day after my last post so I needed some time to grieve. I have started runnjng again and introduced sprints into the mix as well. It's nice to start working out with a flat tummy rather than working out to loose the tummy buldge



Wishing the best to all ! It's good to be back.

goldie4040

Nihahi, stop picking on me....lol.  

Liefie, yes I am glad we finally made up our minds.  I wish he hadn't thrown that into the loop at the 11th hour.

Kuka, that is a lot of stuff at one time.  Do Not Except to be back at the gym in a few days!!!!!  Lmaooooooo. I am excited for you.  Does he use a different kind of lipo on your chin then on your tummy?  Just curious, because I know there are different kinds, and some are more gentle than others. 

This question if for those of you that had delayed recons...My ROM shouldn't be too badly effected by recon?  Right?  I know I will have restrictions about how much and how far I am allowed to move my arms, but it shouldn't hurt to move them, right? I know there will be stiffness from the surgery, etc. But surely, after all the work I have done to get most of my ROM back, I should not be in too bad of shape...I hope

FierceBluebird

Faith, so sorry for your loss.  Good luck wth your stage II.

I am feeling guilty for not keeping up with excercise these last six months. I did walk everyday during chemo, but only a short walk. Some days I could hardly get out of bed, but forced myself to do a short walk. Thanks to steriods and chemo, I am going to be a flabby flapper!!

I will be ordering those Land's End coverups! Thanks for the suggestion. They look super comfy. The girls I work with got together and got me a Hug Wrap. http://www.hugwraps.org/  It certainly is loud, but I work at a University and the print has little owls on it which is our mascot so I think it is really cute. The pockets for the drains still has me baffled, but I'm sure the nurses will show me how to use it. 

So nice to have found this group! Smiling and laughing is good for the body. (From a medical standpoint of course.)

goldie4040

damiana, there is a really nice yoga dvd that is made just for breast cancer survivor's and it might be helpful to you too.  If you are interested I got in on Amazon.  Let me know and I will send you the link.

liefie

Goldie, I am also interested in that DVD. Can you post the link here, please? Thanks a lot!

sweetpickle

Afternoon ladies,



I just got back from my PS and now have the all clear to swim, yay! I go for stage two in late September but everything is healing great. I feel like an idiot though because I have been very gentle scrubbng my incisions in the shower and I had what I thought were scabs but it was glue. PS scraped a bunch of it off while checking me out, I felt unclean....yikes!



Hope everyone is well, still thinking of Robin and sending speedy recovery thougts her way!

Anonymous

Kuka-that is a lot at once! Chin, you say, hmmmm.....I like it. Adding to my list lol!



Faith - sorry for the loss of your grandfather. I just lost my grandmother in December. So sad.



I wish you happy thoughts for your stage II next week. Glad to hear you are more calm this time round...I hope I will be, too, when it's my turn.



Bluebird - chemo sucks your physical energy (tell you about, eh?), cancer sucks your mental energy. I think a walk every day, despite chemo, is commendable. Don't beat yourself up. Diep next week and then it's healing time. You will get there. Chin up! (Lipo'd chin up???)



Besides, curvy girls are "in", RIGHT?????

ssla01

Finding things to wear hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I have one long zip up lounger, loose yoga pants, and I found a sleeveless button top set of pajamas at wal mart. It will be better than you think.

Moviemaniac

Reading, but not adding much......have a terrible toothache....headed to dentist......if I had a crystal ball, I'd say there's a Root Canal in my immediate future.........



Namaste and God Bless - Jackie

GreenGirl1

This is probably a dumb question and I think I already know the answer but I have to ask. How does the new and improved boobie feel when all is said and done? Is there any feeling in it? Or is it pretty much numb and dead? My PS said there wouldn't really be much sensation there. Just wondering...

GreenGirl1

Sorry about your toothache Movie!

sweetpickle

Greengirl, I have some sensation but not much. I went two weeks between having y left msx and doing the rigt with diep and having the boobs feels much better to me. I love seeing cleavage, somethng about that makes me feel whole again.

Cherrie

Green girl-your PS was right. There is very little sensation in that area. Definitely a downside, but very doable.

liefie

Yes, not much feeling in the DIEP breast.

Movie, sorry about the toothache. Hope you are insured for the root canal - lol.

Questions - How long do I have to massage the tummy scar before there's progress?  Still feels like a coiled rope in there. Do you tighten our abs when massaging? Somehow that feels better to me than pressing in so deep.

GreenGirl1

That is what I thought. Thanks ladies. But no feeling is better than no breast!



Are you guys putting anything on the tummy scars like Mederma? I am going to be a pro at this before I even go under the knife thanks to hou ladies. And, I hoe tp share my experiences with newbies once it is all behind me.

GreenGirl1

One day this will all be an outdated, barbaric procedure. Too late for us though. My BS is actually working on treatment that is administered right through the nipple. He hopes to one day offer non-invasive treatments to avoid mastectomy altogether. He apologized to me for not being there yet! One day...

sweetpickle

Greengrl- That is awesome. I hope better treatments exist by the time my daugter is an adult in case she has to face this beast one day. I am still using the silverdene cream on my scars because they ar itchy and it seems to help.



Anyone else notice diep shrinkage? My boobs looked bigger a couple of weeks ago, probably from being swollen no doubt. Hoping to see them get a little bigger when stage two moves the side boobage up front.

goldie4040

Liefie,

Here ya go.  I really like the breathing exercises.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036LG0F4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Janet_M

Sweet pickle,



How do you tell scabs from glue? I've got a two small ones on my belly scar, and a tiny bit of white stuff (sorry for the gory details) that looks like paste.



I am hoping so badly for an all clear for swimming at next weeks appt so I can swim/walk the ocean. I'm meeting with three surgeons. My PS, my BS who was supposed to do my BMX but didn't show up, and the last-second replacement BS who came in from a neighboring hospital and actually did the surgery. Should Be interesting.

goldie4040

Liefie,

Here ya go.  The link for the Yoga dvd.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036LG0F4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

goldie4040

I had to delete the original post for the Yoga DVD, Liefie.  When I copied and pasted the link I did it when I was signed into my Amazon account, and when I pasted it here it took you right into my account.  Everybody could have gone shopping.....lmaoooooo.

goldie4040

Let's try again, Liefie

http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Breast-Cancer-Patients-Survivors/dp/B0036LG0F4/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Anonymous

Go to www.Amazon.com and search for "yoga dvd breast cancer"....there are a few from which to choose.



Goldie - c'mon now let us shop!
Oops! Didn't see you fixed and added link already...sorry!

)

Cherrie

Liefie- I had that coiled rope effect too! It was revised in my 2b revision. No bumps or lumps now. I am massaging and putting on cocoa butter.

GreenGirl1

I want to shop too! I need some new outfits to wear with my future flat tummy!

liefie

Thank you, Goldie! Will certainly look into that. My back is beginning to act up from 8 weeks of no yoga - have to stretch it regularly.

Cherrie, I also heard that laser can be used to break up the scar tissue. It just seems that I'm massaging away, and there is no real progress. If there is an easier way, why not take it?  My scar actually looks very good, just a thin red line. Until you touch it, and feel the coiled rope below - LOL.

Sweetpickle, yes, I also have some shrinkage, but the swelling is gone, and my new boob is actually a little bigger than I had before. I'm a happy camper!