DIEP 2013

nihahi

hahahahah.....congrats jeannie....but maybe step away from the keypad for a bit! It's great to hear from you!!!!!!!

Jeannie57

Good grief, I sea I am writing gibberish.

goldie4040

Jeannie, not sure of everything you said in that post, lmaoooo, but it sounds like your surgery is a success so far...YEAH!!!!!!

sbelizabeth

Jeannie, lmao.  Push that button and have another shot of dilaudid, girlfriend!

Anonymous

Oh, Jeannie, so happy to see you here and that you are officially on this side. Now go to sleep, sweetie. You are the best.

nihahi

Note to future veterans.......don't forget to take your reading glasses to the hospital!!! fyi......yup, push the button, go to sleep....they'll be waking you up to check your new gloob soon. SOOOOOO happy for you!!!!!

Typewriterjenny

Hahahaha Jeannie! Love it! Just giggled so much. So glad you made it through and are doing well!



Thanks Bailey. I'm doing my best to be as positive as I can be with all of this. I just had a bowl of cinnamon life cereal with almond milk for my exciting Friday night fun!!!! Hahaha



SBE- wow that's awesome about your brother! Fleetwood is about half an hour from where I live. It really is a great location. Philly in an hour and a half, NYC in 2 1/2, Ithaca ny- the finger lakes in 4 hours, beaches in 2-4....pretty good deal! I grew up here, and went to college in Boston. I LOOOVED it there. But, I missed my family, and the country. I have yet to visit California!

faith729

Bailey so true !!! I just posted earlier about phantom belly button stuff.



Lmao ! Jeannie so happy for you that your a DIEP veteran now and the drugs are definitely working rest easy.

Anonymous

(I can't ever dibs both Wilbur either, Jeannie, it's ok).

ssla01

Congrats Jeannie! Rest, my sister.



Mammalou, I totally get it. I had to start tamoxifen back last Friday. :-(

Typewriterjenny

What does the tamoxifen make you feel like?

ssla01

Initially, I had headaches, joint pain, and was very constipated. A lot of people have hot flashes, but there weren't a lot of them of me. I was off it before and after surgery and have started back. I may as well suck it up...it is for the next 5 years.

kad22

Dvygrl- did they give you Emend? If not you may want to research this and ask for it. It's what I started taking my second time and it really helped me.



Yeah for Jeannie vood to hear from you! But youmay want try to get some sleep beforethose nurses come back!



Bailey will have to try the belly button experiment and post later.

faith729

Bailey I told my dh about that game then I tried it lol he could not stop laughing ...I was wrong every time. The ps would probably get a big kick out of it also.



It is too hot to sleep !

Janet_M

Jeannie - Congratulations Flapper!



So great hear from you! Sounds like your doctor did a fantastic job, I'm sure your Wilbur grgvismecgungrts will dib better in the morning. Sweet dreams, sister.

Moviemaniac

Dammit! I lost my post!



Jeannie, congratulations on graduation! I blame you, Bailey, AND Janet for causing me to wake up the grouchy bear I sleep with!



Hope JLbloom is resting peacefully and recovering well, and hope for the same for our little Bluebird........



Robin, as always , sending gentle cyber (((hugs))) to you.........



To all, the rest of a good night, and a lovely tomorrow.....



XO

Namaste and God Bless - Jackie

damiana9

Wow Bailey- that's pretty funny! I thought for sure I would get it right, but I didn't. LOL!



Jeannie- Yeah! Glad you got through surgery okay and that those meds are working WELL! Hahaha!

nihahi

Morning Ladies. Just had to check in to see how everyone is doing.

Jeannie....."and the Lord said, I shall give you a new gloob, and he shall be called Wilbur"........ We are chuckling, but also, we are sooooo happy for you! Congrats. Gentle healing!!!!

jlbloom..bluebird...hugs going out to you too.

Robin.....always thinking of you. Hope your Wilbur is behaving, unlike his former "chestmate". 

I can no longer remember where my belly button "was" but I tried Bailey's game....came in an inch too low every time! Spent a bit of time button orientating....got it on the next try!!!! Too funny.

Gotta dash....dyvgrl.....hang in there. Things do get better.

Anonymous

I have a landmark, so to speak, on my belly. A mole that was an inch above and to the right of my belly button. It is now right above my ....uh....FUPA! Four inches lower than it was! (My tummy scar came out as low as possible in stage I) and that's about where my brain thinks it is. I will work on it lol.



Ok...here we go...get my indoor work done so I can get outside.....heat broke overnight ....70 and gorgeous here today. Happy Saturday all you flappers and flapper wannabes



Faith, Jeannie, Jlbloom, Bluebird - healing thoughts for you!



Robin - we miss you and are praying for you and sending thoughts of resilience to you. Hoping you are finding the strength to double down on this game. The same goes for anyone else who is struggling. You are stronger and braver than you ever believed. Tap into it.

Dyvgrl

Morning ladies. Thx for the positivity. Feeling better today, just fighting the bone pain and now constipation. Lucky me. They gave me Zofran, Aloxi, and Emend for the nausea when I had my chemo but I wound up with a killer migraine. Zofran says on the label may cause headaches so I've avoided it. Ativan works great, but also corks me up so now I have to deal with that. Chugging mag citrate and took Sennecot. Hopefully nothing more drastic will be required. Hoping to take some ibuprofen once my tummy settles a bit. Moving seems to help my legs and hips a bit. I am on Dose Dense AC for 4 rounds, then 12 rounds of Taxol. Just every fiber in my being says this poison is no good, but the fear of cancer lurking is just as bad. Sigh... I found a hospital that is wanting to do CBD trials but haven't been able to get human trials started yet. Timing sucks!!

sbelizabeth

Dyvgrl, I had six rounds of AC+T.  I took all the stuff they poured into the IV before the chemo to prevent nausea, just like you, and felt mildly poisoned all the time.  What really, really helped with the fatigue, dragged-out feeling was exercise.  Getting out in the sunshine and moving my body made everything so much better, physically as well as emotionally, even if it was just a walk around the block a couple of times a day.  

My worst side effect was constipation.  After my first round, when I was about to sit on a jackhammer to loosen things up, I developed a formula.  Beginning three days before the chemo, I started stool softeners twice daily, as well as a dose of metamucil AND miralax at night. I continued this routine until I'd established regular and normal poop-age after the round of chemo.  You can get generic miralax at Costco.

Hang in there, dear sister.  This is tough, but you will make it.

goldie4040

Wow, everybody has been out enjoying the nice weather today.  It's quiet around here. 

First, hope everybody in the hospital is doing well, and recovering nicely.  I see Jeannie is going to wait to give us another update till she is off the hard stuff...lol. 

My son hurt my feelings so badly tonight.  He called to touch base, and i told him how apprehensive I am about surgery next week, and he said, and I quote, "Mom, you are going to be 60 in two years.  Why do you care if you have breasts?" I started to cry, and yell at him.  It was like the final straw.  I have heard that from an inconsiderate friend, I have heard it from my SIL (the flower child of the 60's), but from my son, who knows me, knows how hard I have worked to keep myself fit, and looking the best I could the natural way.  The kid who told me I have never looked my age, and hoped he had my genes when it came to aging.  Now I should have NO breasts.  He is 31, and I know I must seem ancient to him now that he made me a grandmother twice over, but still.....Ugh.  It's really hard when your sons get married. They don't belong to you anymore.  They belong to their wives. I feel like I have become an obligation. 

Anyway, that's my whine for the day.  Other than nesting, and getting ready I don't have much else to report.

I do have a question.  I have a chronic lower back issue (disc degenertion) that I keep strong with yoga, and other stuff.  Anybody else have lower back issues they had to deal with after this surgery, because I have heard it's a killer even on a good back.

BTW..I watched a 30 minute Youtube video of a woman taking Q&A about NOLA. It bothered me in several ways.  First they made it seems like they will accept whatever your insurance will pay, she said her bmx with immediate diep recon was so easy she was taking a shower the next day, and could lift her arms to wash her hair. She was out strolling the French Quarter by the fourth night, and home after eight days.  Come on!!!!  She went home to have her chemo, and came back 4 months later for a final stage. Oh yeah, and she said she was walking with her regular group almost immediately after getting home, and she was back to her dental hygenist job in one month.  The must have some magie powers down there in NOLA.

Gotcha13

Typewriterjenny- I totally understand. I'm realizing the difference now in some reasoning between brca+ and brca- when it comes to surgery after reading more through these posts. You have so much on your plate girl You are amazing keep it up and stay positive

Dyvgrl

Insomnia kicking in. Anyone up? Ugh.

MartyJ

Goldie - I am so sorry about what you son said.  It was insensitive and I have a feeling he was really trying to express to you that he would love you whether you put yourself through more surgeries or not.  Our kids don't always deal well with our aprehension.  Re the youtube video from the NOLA gal - I am sure she was one of a kind.  I am a NOLA gal, but we all heal at our own pace.  But, 5 days after my 2 surgeries I forced myself to walk 3 blocks to beakfast and back.  Many of the gals on this thread have done things at stages I simply couldn't imagine, but I always chalk it up to being 60+.   No way I would have been on a bicycle at 2 or 3 weeks like SBElizabeth.  But I did walk several blocks each day from 5 days out.  Yes I was hunched over, but knew staying in bed was not going to make me heal faster.  I needed to hydrate the anesthesia out of my system and walk to get my blood flowing.  Dinner in a NOLA restaurant just was not gonna happen - not fair to share my dilauded haze with others.  

damiana9

Goldie- sorry about your son. Men just don't know what to say and they don't get it sometimes. As for the NOLA thing- I met a woman that had her mastectomy with immediate DIEP and she was out of the hospital in 2 days, had no pain, and got back to normal activities almost immediately! She had the same doctor that I had. I guess it's possible! I also wonder how people do with recovery before chemo vs. after chemo because I am willing to bet the people that do it after chemo have a harder time with recovery.



I have been keeping compression underwear on a majority of the time- I think my hematoma is getting a little better. It isn't as discolored as it was, but it is still extremely thick and wide. Also the part of my abdomen that hurts pretty bad where the stitches ripped, feels much better with the compression underwear. Especially if something terrible happens like a sneeze! LOL!

sweetpickle

I did my diep just a little over a month after ending chemo and I do think it is why I am having such a hard time. I am now six weeks post op and still hurt most of the day. Im pushing myself to walk as much as possible but it is slow going. I wonder sometimes if there will ever be a day that Im not in pain. I lack the stamina needd to cook dinner even and that has to be from chemo. Im only 42 so it isnt age. I just plan to keep on trucking, luckily each week is a little better than the week before.

Janet_M

Goldie - That Q&A lady sounds wildly ambitious. Was she bionic? I don't see how anybody can wash their hair one day after surgery unless they bring the sink over by the bed and pour water on you. Strolling the French Quarter after four nights? As if.

By the way - Your son deserves a spanking, espeically if he's going to act like a child. I guess there are some boys/men who just look at breasts as giant fun bags that are there for their own entertainment, and don't have the empathy to see the point of view from the other side.    It was a foolish thing he said to you, but it sounds like it was born from ignorance rather than malice. I would have yelled at him too - that's so hurtful. And 58 is not old! - but he'll find that out soon enough. He's at that's golden age before anything starts to go wrong, but not to old to get reamed at by his mom. One day he'll understand, but for now, I'm sure he just wants the best for you. (We all do)

Stay strong. You're doing this for all the right reasons. 

Dyvgirl - I'm really sorry you're going through such a rough time. I admire your strength. 

jbloom, Bluebird,  Jeannie (& Wilbur) - Hope you're all doing well.  

Janet_M

Sweetpickle - Good Morning. I think we were writing at the same time. I could not imagine having surgery a month after chemo! Double whammy. I'm five 1/2 weeks post-op and I'm still having daily pain as well - and I'm still struggling to stand up to my normal straightness. 

Hang in there - as long as it's getting better every week, you're doing great. 

nihahi

7/24/13            goldie4040  (Delayed Double Diep) UTSW Hospital, Dallas, TX
7/24/13            pkeiles  (uni Diep with lymphnode transfer surgery) Torrance, CA

This week's ladies....Hope all goes well with surgery, and healing is gentle and uncomplicated for you both.

Can't post much, gotta dash out again. But I just couldn't start the day without a "shout out" to Wilbur! jeannie, jlbloom, bluebird....thinking of you!   Robin (((X))))

Dyvgrl.....listen to sbe.....she knows her prevent the constip. regime!

goldie....your son was "insensitive" but likely would love to take those words back, and try again. However, with very few exceptions, I think the general consensus is that unless you are "in our shoes", you just can't "get it". 

Marty....as always, you are the 'voice of compassion and reason".

sweet pickle....I think you're doing awesome!!!!!

damiana....I think that hematoma absorption is going to be a slow process, but sounds like you're heading in the right direction.

Gotta dash,   Love to all.