DIEP 2013

MartyJ

Welcome to the world Aubrey Rose!

goldie4040

Yeah, Aubrey Rose.  Welcome to the world!!!  Congrats to your new grandma, and your whole family. They are so happy you are here, and we are too.  Hope to see a picture of you soon!!! 

sweetpickle

Congrats SBE!



Deb- I quit smoking right before I started chemo in January. It was very hard to quit during the most stressful time of my life but I kept reminding myself that I would heal better if I quit. Hang in there, after the first couple of weeks its not as hard.



Did anyone else have a feeling of stiches deep inside being pulled in spots that you dont have scars?

goldie4040

I know what you mean, Liefie.  My husband said when we are all done with this you are going to San Francisco, and New Orleans like you've been wanting for so long. Probably will get my nipple Tattoo's in New Orleans from Vinnie.  My son even wants to go on that trip...lol. Cherish every minute.

As far as volunteering at hospice, personally...I don't think I could do it.  I could see you helping people going through chemo, or starting a support group for BC patients,etc.   Ironically, my first job out of college was a secretary/receptionist at a new chemo/radiation center opening at a local hospital. I was 22.  After 2 years of not getting my period because I was so stressed because people were dying all around me all the time, and when they incorporated pediatrics into the center I was out of there.  2 months later I got my period, and had gained back 10 pounds.  I know I was very young, but unless you can turn off your emotions, and are determined not to get involved personally, it can take a lot out of you.  I would go visit patients on my lunch hour, before and after work, sometimes I would get there and they were gone. It was too much for me. I give so much credit to the people who do it. They have a calling.

Anonymous

Congratulations Sbel and family! Welcome Aubrey Rose...May she have her Grandma's fine and mighty spirit! Aubrey is a beautiful name!

Gini23

Holy cow - a little over 24 hours and 3 pages to read!



Deb - TEs are a viable option. I did them as we waited to decide on rads (I also said no thank you to the rads when my doc team was not in total agreement... Grey area!) Hated those TEs but now I appreciate my soft warm floobs all the more! If you want time to make decisions and put cigarettes further behind you, it could be the way to go. I am thrilled I went with DIEP, and hadn't even heard of it nor knew anyone who had done it prior to my own experience.



Liefie what a beautiful celebration of LIFE! Amazing DH you have there!



SBE congrats and welcome Aubrey Rose! Prayers coming from so many countries and continents! xo



Hrf - loved my wedge after DIEP & stage 2. Got it at a local pharmacy, also available at Bed Bath & Beyond. I also liked having a small step stool next to my bed to make it easier to get in/out.



Sweet pickle - lots of twinges all over for me. Oddly a lot this week and I am 4 months post DIEP and 4 weeks post stage 2. Sometimes I feel it along scars, sometimes not. I think 2 of my spots may be where my vein & artery were taken from. Also occasional pain deep inside my right breast - certainly when I sneeze! But other random times as well. I'm thinking this can still be nerves "waking up" and figuring out relocation....?



Looks like my bikini is going home with the tags on... Sun came out today, but pool very cold from so much rainy chilly weather.



Have a great night, flappers around the globe!

xo hugs

GINI

christina0001

Trying to eat lightly between now and surgery on Tuesday. This may sound ridiculous but I do not want to have to use a bedpan! It sounds so embarrassing. How long after surgery does it take to be well enough to at least be able to get out of bed and get to the toilet?

sbelizabeth

Christina, I never got near a bedpan.  They put in a urinary catheter while I was under anesthesia, and removed it when I was able to walk to the bathroom and back to bed.  This was on the morning of post-op day 2, think.  

Jeannie57

Welcome to Aubrey! I hope she has her grandma's wit and humor!

Lots of grandmas sending hugs!



I just caught up on reading posts and am wishing you all well. I just don't have the energy to respond to everyone. I do want to welcome Deb and wish Christina a good surgery. I am ten days out and didn't use a bedpan. I had a catheter until I was able to get out of bed.



I am feeling better. I am taking walks around my garden, standing mostly upright. I am off narcotics due to the constipation issues but the pain isn't too bad. Tylenol and Advil and more if necessary. It's not easy but the result is as great as everybody says.



towanda!

Jeannie57

Oops, Sherry35, good luck to you, too!

ssla01

Congratulations Katy!



No bedpan for me either. After the catheter was out, I could walk to the bathroom.

hrf

Sbelizabeth, congratulations on the new baby. There is nothing better than being a grandma.

sweetpickle

Deb- Keep moving forward one step at a time, you are doing great!



jeannie- Yay, sounds like you are doing great.



So I did some research tonight on how exactly diep is performed and they mentioned seromas. I wasnt exactly sure what that was so I looked it up and Ill ne darned I think I have one where the majority of my pain is. Its swollen and warm to the touch and I also have a partiqlly opened portion of my scar right above. Im going to call PS Monday and see if they can check that out. How do they treat that and do you think that could be whats going on with me?

goldie4040

Jeannie, glad you are feeling better.  That is great news.  Standing almost upright....awesome.  how high is tummy scar, or should I ask, how low is your tummy scar? 

Deb, you are going through a lot right now.  Give yourself time to absorb it all.  I quit smoking under good circumstances, and it was hard. You can do it! I am sorry about your boyfriend, but glad you've got friends, and family.  Can I ask how old you are?  Age might be on your side as far as healing despite the smoking.  Is having your sister donate tissue wishful thinking, or did somebody say it could be done.  I wouldn't discount it, people donate kidneys, etc.  Why not fat? But, if that was the case think of all the people lining up to give fat...it would be pretty funny.  Take mine, no take mine.....

Christina, I really doubt you will need a bedpan. You will be up, and about pretty quickly.  At least enough to make it to the bathroom.  After my bmx I was getting up to brush my teeth, wash my face, go potty etc. by the next day.  Just make sure you are not dizzy, and somebody is around the first few times you get out of bed.  Have you ever had anesthesia before? It takes a few days to get your sea legs back.

Janet_M

sbelizabeth - Yahoo!

Sweetpickle - Yes - I know exactly what you mean. I've had that feeling a few times. The first time I went to the hospital with stabbing pains, and was told that there are two smaller vertical interior incisions bookending the bellybutton, that were necessary for reconnecting arteries, but don't appear on the surface, as the skin was pulled together after the incisions were made. The pain was a result of the multiple layers of skin  starting to heal.

Now I've got new pains, and I can't isolate where they are - and they don't seem to make sense, but it feels like stitches being pulled somewhere inside.  If I make a wrong move, I feel like someone's thumb is digging into me. And it's a very nasty thumb. Hurts like crazy, and catches me in my sleep. If it doesn't stop by Monday I'm going back to the PS.  Very strange.

Christina - Regarding the bedpan, I don't think you need to worry. After the aneasthetic - your whole system slows down. The cathater (which I loved!) takes care of all the liquids, and after a few days, you'll be able to walk to the washroom.

sweetpickle

Janet- That is exactly what I feel on my side above my hip scar but its pretty far above so it makes no sense to me. The real pain though is anove that right under my breast. The tissue is definately swollen there and warmer than the skin around it. So bizare.

Janet_M

That is strange. Have you tried massaging it? I've tried, tapping, massage, deep breathing for my pains, but it feels like it's coming from somewhere so deep that's it's not accessible.

nihahi

Grandma sbe....congrats to you and your family. Aubrey Rose sounds beautiful, your son and his wife must be beaming. She is a very lucky little girl to have a grandma who truly understands the meaning of TOWANDA!!!!!

I left the volunteer "post" a bit early today, at the insistence of my team leader....! Yesterday was a real tough one, between the heat, sun, and emotions. I was also starting to recognize some people who were starting to make return visits to the relief centre....treating the Red Cross relief like an "all you can carry buffet" and was getting pretty discouraged about it. But, after a good feed of Chinese food, and some hubby time...I'm ready to go back tomorrow.

So many new ladies....you are in the best of hands on this thread. 

sweetpickle....hm...not liking the sound of warm and swollen, directly under an open area.....please do get it checked out ASAP.....could be a bit more than a seroma. Can you make some marks around the edges with a marker, to keep track of the redness? If it is bigger tomorrow...don't wait for Monday....get to an ER.

Christina....don't be starving yourself pre-surgery....you're gonna need your energy to heal. Like everyone else says, the catheter looks after things for awhile, and you won't be needing the toilet for a few days at least! I doubt if bedpans are in your future..

kuka....hope the headache is getting better...I agree with however mentioned it...make sure you're drinking lots of water!!!!

Liefie...you and sbe will be comparing "shoe notes" soon!

Bailey....have a lovely "time off"!

Goldie...Faith....hope the tests get sorted out soon, with good news.

jlbloom...jeannie....wowzer....quite the journey you two have been on!

brain is starting to fade again...heading to bed soon.

I'll catch up with the newbies eventually...have patience with me!

liefie

SBE, so happy for you, and Aubrey Rose is a beautiful name!

Debdylan, I went through rads with my TE in place, no problem. It was filled to its full capacity before then. Radiation methods have improved vastly from years ago, and everything is carefully mapped on computer beforehand, so it is also much more accurate. I waited for eleven months after rads to give the skin and tissue time to settle before DIEP, and the surgery went like clockwork with no rads-related problems that the PS could not handle. Big hugs to you, and good wishes for all the decision-making.

Christina, my catheter came out the day after surgery, and I was then capable of getting up and going to the washroom with a little help from the nurses in the beginning, but on my own soon after that. You will not need a bedpan. I never even saw one while I was in hospital.

Goldie, I will probably do the hospital volunteer thing. Hospice may not be the right choice for me. You were really thrown in at the deep end with that job when you were so young - very few people that age would have been able to handle it, and you stuck it out for two years?

In one my earlier posts today I mentioned that one inch was removed from one of my ribs during DIEP to get to the vessels. It is right next to my sternum, and still sensitive. I'm wondering if that is where some of you may be experiencing pain still. Removing bone will take long to heal, I imagine, and that is where the discomfort is coming from for me.

Sweetpickle, if it is a big seroma, they may drain off the excess fluid to give you relief. Hope you can see the PS on Monday. You are beginning to worry me a little.

liefie

Nihahi, don't know about that shoe comparing - my new ones are all pretty flat - lol!

The Red Cross is really lucky to have you.

Will be baking Nihahi bread tomorrow.

Gini23

I am also sore just under right breast - could that be where they access the mammary artery/vein when they reconnect? Mine only started to bother me this week, which seems very odd...

liefie

Gini, I'm prett sure that's exactly what it is. I am almost 11 weeks out, and I started noticing it just a while ago. It is not sore to the point where I need a painkiller though. I'm just aware of it most of the time, and sensitive when I touch it.

Gini23

Crossed posts with you Liefie - thinking the same thing about the rib. I read my ops report also. Interesting stuff! I highly suggested requesting it.

Gini23

lol crossed again! Yeah I also have not taken anything for it - just a bit annoying. I think mine may have started acting up as I started exercising more.

nihahi

gini..... From the location you describe, I kind of think it would be in the wrong location for the arterial/venous thing. That would usually be more where Liefie describes her soreness. Aren't you not too far out of your stage 2? Did they do any "lifting/relocating" stuff at that time?

Can't remember which fellow "Canuck" questioned the lack of stage 2 in Canada....my surgery was in Calgary. I think it really is more of a "terminology" thing, maybe connected to the healthcare/insurance differences. I doubt if there are many plastic surgeons doing recon flaps in Canada who don't do some kind of "tweaking/secondary" surgeries to get to a great final result....they just approach it as more of a "refinement as necessary" type terminology, than a "coded breakdown into stages" approach. However, there also likely aren't as many who do the more extensive lift/lipo procedures, unless necessary for fat grafting. 

To all the newbies.....you will soon discover....there is no such thing as standard protocol....our pre and post surgery rules/techniques are as varied as our locations.

nihahi

ok...much cybercrossing of posts tonight....gini....I think I misunderstood your "location information". When you said under your breast, I bet you meant "deep inside"??? I took it to mean in the breast crease area. OY....starting to show my Wilbur brain!!!!!!

heavenschild

Sweetpickle - I read your post about pain.  I had to go into my PS with something that my sister drafted up about my pain.  It sounds like you are in a similar situation, and it just takes longer with meds.  My husband would come home, stick his head through the door, and ask if I had taken a pain pill!  If you want the document that my sister gave to the PS to help document my pain, I'll be glad to send it to you.  Everyone is NOT the same, and there is no harm or foul admitting that this plain ole' hurts, even a month to two out.  It is just for a season that you will need to take the meds, so why suffer in this day and age?  Hugs and blessings to you! 

sweetpickle

Nihahi- Its not red, just swollen about three inches beneath the open area all the way around to my side. DH is a paramedic and is keeping an eye on me. My open area looks pretty clean so far and while the scar is red, the tissue around it isnt. I have kept myself from doing anything I was doing earlier like waling,housework,etc. And the pain has subsided a lot as long as I dont move. Kinda hard when you need to get your life back in order, lol.



liefe-Thats what I was thinking, maybe I could get some relief if thats the case.

nihahi

sweetpickle.....phew.....sorry, I must have imagined the "redness" thing.....glad to hear hubby has some wound knowledge and is looking after you, and that YOU are looking after YOU by slowing down as needed. I really need to put the brain to bed, before I start thinking sbe is the one who has just given birth!!!!! 

Going (hopefully) to sleep now...have good nights ladies. Hugs to all.

Gini23

Nihahi - two different pains (again, neither excruciating - just annoying.) One is deep in my breast, beneath the fipple. The one I am thinking is the rib is below my breast - though Liefie said hers is near sternum, mine is more on my side. It could just be sore from working out, but can't think of what in particular would cause soreness there.



Sweetpickle - I'm sorry you've had to pause in your getting back to life mode... I can feel your frustration! But all in good time - do what your body needs to do - REST so you can heal. I hope you have some good books or maybe Netflix to keep you occupied!