DIEP 2013
Comments
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Sweetpickle, I hope you get in to the ps to have that looked at and that you will feel better soon. It's hard to sit around. It hasn't even been two weeks for me yet and I'm bored.
DebDylan, I wish I could go to your appts with you! Do write down your questions and write down the answers. I remember that my doc recorded our first meeting so I could listen to it over and over again. I had tissue expanders for sixteen months before DIEP. My PS doesn't due BMX with immediate DIEP so I knew I would have TE's afterwards. I had chemo and rads and waited nine months after rads for good healing. Now I have nice new boobs (they are boobs to me!) and I'm recovering at home. It was hard to imagine being at this stage in the very beginning but here I am. Time will pass for you, too, and you will be on the other side, ready to start life post-cancer. You have support all the way through on these boards, too, though this is the best one!
Lahela, good luck next week!!
DragonBoatII, hope things get settled for you soon.
Goldie, I think of you so often and pray you get good answers and can proceed with DIEP very soon. Your husband sounds like a good guy re:taking trips you've wanted to take. My incision is very low and my navel is still off-center. My boobs look great to me.
Nihahi, so impressed with the hard work you are doing. I volunteer at a food bank and I know what you mean about "takers." It's just better to over-serve than under-serve.
Damiana, good to hear from you. I'm glad you are doing well despite the hole.
Bailey, you write so beautifully. I was touched by your thoughtful post.
Kuka, hope Stage II is easy for you. You've waited and worked do hard for it.
Gini, hope you don't get sick, too!
I am just laying around, taking periodic walks around my garden. It is hard to stand for very long. My back muscles are really bothering me and making it hard to breathe comfortably. I think they may have suffered a strain during that whole constipation episode, as well as being used more and in different ways since DIEP. Muscle relaxer isn't helping much. I think I will get one drain out Tues. at my PS appt. I had hoped I'd get another one out but it went crazy yesterday with fluid output. What a feeling of freedom when I get all of them out. Showering will be easier, dressing will be easier. I will be more comfortable. I don't want to take them out too early, though. It's only been 11days! I am starting to actually notice my flat tummy! It's amazing! I surely had enough fat there because my boobs are huge.
We slept in our bed for the first time last night. I didn't sleep any better there but hopefully my husband did. He's been a trooper, sleeping next to me on our reclining couch. DD3 was with me all last week and I was blown away by how she handled everything I went through and how she took care of me. DD2 is with me through Wednesday. I am so blessed. DD1 just can't get away now but I'll see her in late August when we'll briefly have all three together! I better end this novel!
Healing thoughts to everyone! -
Hi ladies stopping in to wish good luck and good healing to fellow DIEP sisters having Surgery this week.
Nihahi I saw an endocrinologist in my area who reviewed the scans with me and recommend I go into Boston to see "the best of the best" for my biopsy. I was taking motrin at the time from stage 2 surgery so it is scheduled for this Thursday.
Mammalou so sorry to hear about you incision still not healing ! I hope everything goes well for your son !
I can't respond to everyone but im thinking of you all
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Faith, we both go this thursday to have our tests done!!! Looks like we are really in this together. Prayers for both of us. Remember, the person who did my thryoid biopsy was able to give me results within 15 minutes. You might want to ask about about that to save you days of worry.
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First off, Sherry, you are in lala-land as we speak, and we are all hoping you are doing very well so far.
Christina, your turn tomorrow. It is almost over - best wishes!
Tammy, hopefully stage 2 will fulfill all your wishes.
Faith and Goldie, we'll be in your pockets on Thursday, and we hope it is all good news.
Jeannie57, happy to hear you are okay and recovering so well. Now don't do too much too soon, and learn from Sweetpickle's experience. Put those DD's to work - lol. One may feel good, but it is a major surgery, and one has to be careful. They do lots of things on the inside that we cannot see . . . like cutting an inch out of a rib as I found out last week.
Debdylan, like others here, my node status only became known after MX with SNB when path report came back. That's why I got a TE during MX. It was a good thing.
Went back to the gym this morning for the first time since DIEP. Did a heated yogalates class which went surprisingly well. Could feel tummy really stretching during cobra pose, and adjusted. The lifts with two legs also caused too much strain on tummy incision, so lifted one leg at a time. Don't want a hernia - lol. Afterwards did interval training on the treadmill - I'm back! It feels soooo good. Still need to take the dog for a walk later when it is cooler to make up my daily steps on the pedometer - no more sitting around. Yay!
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Liefie - Great to hear that you're back at the gym - Yogalaties sound fun. You're four weeks ahead of me, so I'm finding your progress really encouraging. My recovery seems to be at a standstill - is it possible to hit a plateau? I'm still a little stooped, and get tired easily when I'm out.
Today I took a streetcar to a doctors appointment, and there was an older lady waiting beside me, and she had a walker. When the streetcar came she asked if I would help her with the walker! And her bags! I was horrified and told her that I would try, but that I'd had surgery and couldn't lift anything heavy. She looked skeptical. I asked the driver to help us but he was very heavy, and said he couldn't leave his chair. Oh brother....
On to happier things. Little Aubrey, for one. And Jeannie - isn't it great to see the flat tummy we've been hearing about for so long! Just wait till your start trying on your old blouses.
Christina & TammyT - the wait is finally over. Sending you lots of calm happy thought for tomorrow's festivities.
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DebDylan, I have no idea why your ps won't put TE's in before flaps. It's worked out well for me and others. If he isn't comfortable for some reason doing it that way then that's the way it is. I have learned there is no one way to do things regarding breast cancer and DIEP. The most important thing is to get the cancer out. Everything else will work itself out. You should be able to ask questions via his nurse so you don't have to wait. Many women get reconstruction years after mastectomy. I hate that you feel this pressure to do everything at once, especially with the smoking issue. As for my boobs, I'm just saying that they feel like boobs to me, not noobs or floobs or gloobs, which is what we flappers also call them. They still look a bit like a science experiment but I feel more whole, more normal with them already, after such a short time because they are soft and warm in my clothes.
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Just got back from PS office and only got to see the nurse because Dr. Is out today. She took a look and was surprised at how big my opening was but she just put some silverdene on it and covered it uo with gauze and tape. I told her about my pain but it was shrugged off as normal. I have at least found a way to deal with it by staying stationary, so much for losing weight anytime soon.
My next appt. I will see the doctor on Aug. 8th. It is such a contrast coming from my Onc. and BS offices where everyone is so loving and concered to PS office where you are another number in line. I dunno just feeling a bit leary at curt treatment today. So I will keep rotating the ibruprophan and tylenol and sitting still. I told DH that each week has been easier than the week before so hopefully by the time I reach twelve weeks Ill be right as rain. -
Wow, Liefie, That is great about the gym. When was your surgery? You sound so up today, awesome!!!!
Deb, if you really quit smoking, and the surgeon feels confident you will be okay, then I would go for it. But, of course you have to feel totatllly comfortable with your decision. It is nobody elses but yours. If you want to see some awesome reconstruction pics go to PRMA website, and the NOLA website. Both very good pics. You doc should have some of his own before and afters to show you too.
Sweetpickle, do not be afraid to call that PS office back if you feel worse. I don't care how curt they were. You are the patient, and he is responsible for your care. Of course, resting sounds like an excelllent idea. I am really sorry you are having this complication.
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Deb, I have seen some in person, and they look awesome. Yes, doctors always put their best work on their websites, but there really are some great reconstructions. Nobody is going to look the same, we didn't before surgery, and we won't after. The NOLA site has some very realistic recons to look at. Believe it, or not, you can look pretty close to great again. I have two friends that have implants, and they like their new breast better than their old ones, but they were lucky, and don't have any discomfort from their implants. Some women do.
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Hello ladies! I'm in the step down unit and I have glorious new boobs! Will post more tomorrow when I move to my room.
Cheers,
Sherry -
Cheers to you, Sherry! You even sound lucid!
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Good work Sherry! Sleep honey!
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Sherry - Congratulations! SO nice to hear from you, and the boob report. Sleep well - you did it!
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Deb, nothing can be as overwhelming as this. Educate yourself, try to find docs that you trust, and move forward. Remember, you can have recon now, or later. Either way, you will be happy with the outcome.
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Wow, Sherry, you sound sober. And, you new boobs sound beautiful. See, Jeannie....that's how it done. Only kidding. By the way, how is Wilbur these days? Hehehehehehehe
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Yay Sherry!!!! Welcome to the other side and rest well!
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I had to go back and see what all the Wilbur talk was.....cray-cray! Of course I don't remember typing that. Wonder what I was trying to say??? I did keep ICU amused for two days, so my family tells me. That Dilaudid does crazy things to me....
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Sherry - Congratulations! You sound wonderful. Night, night...
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Congratulations Sherry! You are a veteran flapper.
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Welcome to the diepers side sherry!! Now take a long nap!
Christina and Tammy, you will be taking your nap tomorrow. Good luck!
Deb, the best option would be to ask your BS for a referral for a ps that does DIEP. If your ps doesn't do the TE's I would go for a second opinion. I would not want to wake up from surgery with nothing and if its not what you want you should try to find somebody that can give you what you want. Nothing is going to look as good as your natural breasts. Having said that, to me, DIEP comes pretty close to being perfect. I still have very noticeable scars, but I know that they will fade.
I went to the gym tonight and run my 3 miles in just 42 minutes!! It usually takes me 45 because I do the whole thing on incline of 5, so it's like running up a hill. I feel great!
I forgot to mention that my stage II has been moved again. I will now be having it on August 5th and having my preop tomorrow! -
Yeah Sherry! Glad it all went well
My boob hole is almost all filled back in (phew!) but of course I have another problem. I have a hairy boob. I mean a REALLY hairy boob :-0 Think of a female bigfoot! Yikes. I scheduled my day surgery to get my boob hole stitched back up on Aug 16- it will be nice to have that behind me. I guess that will be stage 1.3? Haha! -
What do you mean hairy, Damiana, like they took your pubic hair and transplanted it to your boob. That happened to somebody else on here. Who was it? They said they plucked it out, and it didn't grow back.
Most important is your hole is closing. The rest can be dealt with.
Jeannie, I didn't mean to pick on you, but it's so easy. You were so cute and funny when you were stoned in the hospital. You sure you don't know a Wilbur? hehehehehe
Sherry, I cannot believe you are even able to see, let alone type something.
Kuka, moved again. Geez. Well, its' a day surgery, right? Oh, and stop being such a show off. Deb, not everybody get's back on the horse as easy as Kuka. She is BRCA positive and had a simple mastectomy and it was much easier to recover from, plus she has super powers...lmaooooooo
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Congratulations Sherry! I can't believe you were online so soon after surgery! Very reassuring!!!
Very annoyed with myself, I forgot to take before photos for the photo forum. I guess we all know what the before looks like, but still, it would have been nice.
Trying to cope with moments of panic - I have started to seriously change my mind about three times today, about DIEP surgery tomorrow! Is it crazy to have this serious of a surgery, for a breast!?! Is this vanity gone crazy!?!
Oh and someone suggested donating my prosthetic - LOVE the idea - who would I donate it to? There's a regional breast cancer society in my area, maybe to them? I have one prosthetic and two mastectomy bras. Oh it will be so nice to wear real bras again, when it is all said and done I hope I just have relatively normal breasts that can fit into a regular bra again... oh that sounds so wonderful... okay maybe this surgery isn't crazy!
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Goldie- I do remember someone else having a corner of pubic hair- not sure who. I did find 2 pubic hairs and haven't had them come back yet. What I am talking about though is not quite pubic hair- but longer than peach fuzz and black. And a full boob of these hairs! Not as thick as head hair but probably as thick as the hair on my arms. Ick! It sounds like a really stout drink-I would like 1 hairy boob on the rocks please....
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Hi everyone...
I have been trying to follow these threads daily. I work 10 hrs a day so tough to keep up. You are all supportive to each other and I am so thankful I found this community. I am 50, my diep flap surgery is to replace a 20+ yr old custom implant which is now my right breast....my surgery is 9/10. I have a few questions...i live by myself in NYC, my mother (75 yrs old but not frail) is coming for 3 weeks and then must leave. Do you think I need someone after the 3rd week to stay with me? I know the pace of recovery varies by person, but I do want to be prepared. I also told my employer I will work from home starting week 3, is that aggressive? Finally, i am on HRT. I have an estrogen patch on my ab and take progesterone. I just shifted the estrogen patch to my lower back. Am I able to keep up with my HRT during / after surgery? What have others experienced with HRT? I also plan to talk to my PS about it.
Thank you!
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LOL, Damiana!!!!!! Okay, this is a personal question, but some women have hair down the middle of their tummies. Did you have that? Even if it was lighter than what you are seeing now, it could just be tummy peach fuzz gone wild. I am going to look it up on google.
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I have hair on my right which is the flap side, it's not pubic, just light hair that was on my stomach. I'm going to have it lasered when I get tattoos in Sept.
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See, Damiana. Other people have it too. Anyway, while I was googling about hair on a diep flap I found this great blog a woman did about her journey from beginning to end of her diep surgery, with very realistic pictures. Deb, this is for you!
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Christina - The panic is normal - In fact it is a rite of passage. But there hasn't been one single lady on this thread who has any regrets about this surgery. So, feel the fear, and add some courage. You will get through it.
Also, it seems like a huge surgery when it's standing in front of you, but when it's behind you...it doesn't seem that big at all. You can do it - two boobs are better than one. -
Zoemom - hiya! Welcome! I was alone after day 6 for most of the time. My DH works close to our home, so he checked in on me at lunch and my little mom came on the weekday afternoons for an hour or so. A girlfriend came from other side of state for the day the 2nd week. And my 14 year old was here (ignoring me most of the time lol) the first few weeks. I was completely alone week three (DH and kids at camp) and just fine.
How much work are you hoping to/expected to accomplish each day?
I have no HRT experience, but I bet others do.
Kuka - I start training tomorrow...hope I can do as well as you have done. You are a rock star!
Deb - have you made a side by side comparison of implants vs. flap? It sometimes helps me to organize my thoughts if I draw pictures and write things down. Just a thought.
Damiana - bartender - hairy boob on the rocks...make mine a double!!! Lol... I bet it's it not permanent.
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