DIEP 2013

hrf

Debdylan, way to go! You are my inspiration.

relocatedtarheel

Debdylan...YAY!!!!!

goldie4040

Yeah, Deb

All that worry was worth it!!!!  You are going great!  That is awesome.!!!!  Have you gotten up yet?

Jeannie57

DebDylan, I am thrilled for you! You sound so happy and well.



Julie, sorry, I am unfamiliar with that pain. That must have been so hard to wake up without DIEP. I'm glad you didn't have to wait too long. I had a low Oncotype score but big cancer in 3 nodes so I did the rads. It was a hard decision. Chemo was a gray area, too, for me but I did it. So grateful to be on the other side of all that, with new boobs and a tummy tuck!

krissy42

Anxiety over making a decision. This process is so long and stressful. I need to write this out. I don't expect anyone to read this entire time line.

July 10 - Excisional biopsy in 3 spots in right breast.

July 19- my breast surgeon called to tell me the biopsy results.  The DCIS is too wide spread and I will need a mastectomy. 

July 30 (am) - Genetics Doc reviewed my BRCA testing...no mutation. Getics doc does NOT think I need to have a prophylactic MX on other breast. He ran through numbers of my chance of other breast getting cancer.

July 30 - met with breast surgon and she does NOT suggest a prophylactic MX for other breast.

Aug. 5 -Plastic Surgeon #1 - had me "sold" on the DEIP flap single MX. Made appointment for MRI on stomach to map out circulation for next Monday.

Aug. 6 - PS#2-  asked me if I ever considered a Bilateral MX cause of my LCIS maker I had from a 3 year old biopsy of fibroedinoma.  I spent the rest of the week debating what to do.

Aug. 9 - Met with Oncologist to get more details about my pathology and my risk factor numbers.

Today - I do not know what to do. My concern about recovery time has been lightened becasue I found out I will be able to collect on short term disability while I'm out. So...I don't want to rule out DEIP flap, but I do know implants are an easier process and recovery time. I also am NOT keen on taking tomoxifen if I only do the single. I already have hight blood pressure and I fear strokes and blood clots. I can't think about this forever.  It's driving me crazy!

kuka21174923

Krissy, this is just my personal opinion. I did a prophylactic mx because of BRCA. If I would've had cancer on one side I would've asked to do the other side as well. Number 1, I don't want to think I would have a recurrence on the natural side. 2. Both if them would match and I don't have something reminding me everyday how the other side looks different. I don't care how good your ps is he will never be able to make a natural DIEP breast look the same as the natural one. Natural breasts usually cone out because the milk ducts project towards the nipple. Once the milk ducts and nipple are removed that projection will not be there. 3. I've had DIEP and I can tell you that even though they say it takes 8 weeks to recover I was fines after week 2. I've met other women that were at their desk job 2weeks after having done DIEP. But everyone is different on how long we need to recover. My mom had implants and she was down longer than me because if the expanders. I saw her suffer with the expanders and remember her saying that she would never go through that process again. She had to have them in for 8 months before they could do implants.

It is a very personal decision and you need to look at the pros and cons. With the DIEP you get more natural breasts, but you will also have more scars. It all depends on your preference and what you can live with. Hope this helps!!

jlbloom

Krissy, the decision making process was more difficult for me than anything.  You have to make the decision you are most comfortable with.  I went with BMX because I didn't want to go down this road again.  The same high risk factors were in place for my good breast as they were for the one with BC.  No more mammograms and the concerns that accompany them.  I am taking the hormone therapy with a BMX.  It is Femara, not Tamoxifen.  If you are postmenopausal, it will be strongly recommended either way.

There are many other ladies on here that have had UMX.  I'm sure they will chime in with their reasons. 

Everyone of my doctors told me it was my decision to make and it was.  If you can sort through all the information you have been given and listen to your gut feeling, you will make the right decision.

Ps.  Xanax might be able to temporarily help with feeling crazy.  It did for me.  I need less of it every day now that decision making is behind me.  Prayers for you for strength!  ...Julie

liefie

Krissy, I had a UMX. After agonizing for months over whether I should keep my healthy breast or not, I happened upon a recent study that finished in 2011. I also discussed it with my surgeon. It was determined that if you have early stage bc, if you don't have a family history of bc, and if you don't have any of the BRCA genes, your chance of getting bc in your healthy breast is less than 1 percent per year. The study found that at least 75% of women who have their healthy breast removed, do so out of fear, and not based on the facts. With that being said, I can totally understand why they make that decision, especially if they are younger. I am 59, and for me this study tipped the scales, I kept my healthy breast, and I am happy with my decision. Have already had 2 mammograms since active treatment, and everything is okay so far.

FireDragonll

Yay Deb way to go! Keep healling fast.

Krissy, I had pretty much had decided years ago the I wouls have MX if it came to that. My Mon died from ovaian cancer.

I was diagnosed mid June. I was just going to do UMX, but decides I would worry all the time about the real breast. So I am having DIEP done 9/5. BS said that I did not have to take tamxofin if I do BMX, so another positive check in the I'm right for me collum. For me I did not did not want TE or implants. I would rather have nor recom then them.

I don't know if any of this helps you with your decision. In the end you have to listen to your gut which is hard. I feel so much better now that I have a date for surgery.

Best to you.

christina0001

DebDylan - congratulations!!!! That's great you are feeling so well at this point.

Krissy - UMX vs. BMX is such an individual decision. For me, since my doctor felt that I had no real increase in chance of getting cancer in my "good" breast, I chose to keep it - that much less surgery and recovery to go through.

Collette - I've been wearing a sports bra 24/7 as my PS told me too and boy are my underarms swollen and sore too. I've been putting an ice pack on them this morning. Next week when I get my last drain out, I plan on asking about that. Under my breasts tends to hurt really bad when I am trying to sleep, too. I hardly got any sleep last night, my breasts and surrounding areas were so sore.

lahela

Back in my room at last - 15 hour surgery then two nights in ICU for pain and vomiting. Node was clean. Time for sleep! 

christina0001

Hooray for clean nodes!!! Hope you feel better soon, lahela.

FierceBluebird

Jeannie, I didn't know Wilbur was an animal looking creature. I was thinking he was more of your patron saint kind of angel. This gives Wilbur a whole new perspective! I wish I could show you a picture of the stuffed animal I woke up to in the hospital. My niece gave me a weird hamster/gopher/ guinea pig type of animal. I'm naming him Wilbur! 

I could try to do some sketches if I had enough description.

And speaking of medical bracelets, I woke up in the hospital with a blood pressure cuff on my left arm. The non-usable arm!  Gotta get a bracelet.

Sherry, hang in there. It is rough. I'm three weeks out from surgery and still not feeling strong.

Anonymous

Bluebird that makes me so angry that they cuffed your left arm. Girls who are going in please use this as a cautionary tale....make lymphedema a big deal...or avoiding it a big deal...get the pink plastic bracelets, make your own signs if you have to, write on your arm(s) if you have to. Grrr...one of my soap box triggers!



Lahela...no nodes is simply awesome. Rest well, sister!



Debdylan...Good to hear from you here! Stay strong



I think in listening to those who are in the throes of healing , and knowing my own process so far, that few of us have a straight up recovery (and blessings to those that do). It is truly three steps forward, one step back, and a side step or two, and sometimes a total detour, and then five steps forward...etc. The points on the line are not in a straight line, but the trend is upwards. Make sense? So when you're having a "two steps back" day or week give yourself the break you need...your body needs...as you trend upward There is no shame in it.



And I think it was Sherry who wasn't loving her results so far...Hugs to you and thanks for being straight up about it. I was glad about a lot of things after surgery...including that I did it...but I looked like hell with the bruising and the swelling. It is hard to see yourself that beat up. It will absolutely get better and you will feel better about it. Almost 12 weeks out I would say the noob and I are getting used to one another



Hugs to all.

Anonymous

Sbel - so glad you are HOME! Have you been able to see baby girl yet?



I dreamed about reading and posting on this thread last night. Crazy.

sherry35

Thanks bailey, that's it exactly! I'm not sorry I did it, hell I'd do it again tomorrow, but I'm surprised at how beat up I look and how tired I still get!

Today I got dressed in real clothes after a shower and went out for lunch with my mom. Had a lovely time!

I dreamt about a garden tea party last night!

Congrats Debdylan and Lahela! Rest well.

Cheers everyone!

FierceBluebird

Hooray for Debdylan and lahela!

Christina, I also couldn't sleep last night due to pain. My sides are so swollen I can hardly find my armpit! It's buried in there somewhere! And the undersides of my arms feel like someone is pressing a hot iron to them.  I'm so tired of all this. I am a classic 3 week slumper!

Bailey, love the step back and a side step or two analogy! I also dream about this forum and find myself wondering what everyone is up to when I'm not online.  I wish we could all meet someday.

And forgot to mention the line analogy. My husband is a total geek. When I asked him how things looked, he gave a whole X Y coordinate description. ha..

Moviemaniac

Hi ladies.....popped in to say hello-good to hear from both DebDylan and Lahela....DIEP sisters, now! Rest well, and heal......as Bailey says, this is a PROCESS.....your steps will be be all over the place as you recover and heal......(((hugs)))



Krispy, I don't want to be a wet blanket here, but will tell you of my experience......



Mammogram last Sept., suspicious areas sent me back for another, on left side ONLY......radiologist didn't like what she saw, did an ultrasound....STILL did not like what she saw....ordered a biopsy........BS didn't like what SHE saw on path report.....recommended a lumpectomy, which took such a large area that almost 1/3 looked like it was completely GONE......BS found DCIS Stage 0, but was recommending rads and poss. Chemo as per Onc.......my response? BMX.....if lefty could kill me (eventually) so could righty...so, off with her "head" too. No hesitation on my part. I was sure, sure, sure...... Decision to do DIEP came after meeting with a PS who had the ability to perform the surgery....until I met with him, I was going to go "foob less". Had several friends who had had implants due to BC, and had "Iron Bra".....which I wanted to avoid.....SX was January of this year.....BMX with immediate DIEP recon.....no nodes involved.....the kicker is that path report on righty showed MORE DCIS, multi focal.......NEVER showed up on either the mammogram OR an MRI my BS ordered prior to SX. No regrets here for getting rid of the both of them......love, love, love my adopted girls! I am 58.....and will also avoid any hormonal therapy, as per Onc.



Love to all you amazing, brave, humorous, and delightful women.....have a wonderful weekend......I am still dealing with post-op doggies stuff.......she's a much worse patient than I was, I'm sure!



Nihahi......get ready, girl! Glacier will NEVER be the same.......bring the TimTams (Liefie, do NOT talk about calories and TimTams in the same sentence....it's not allowed! Also, don NOT talk about lemon scones anymore, or I will seriously have to find you.....do you make pasty's, as well????????? . )

TOWANDA!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

Namaste and God Bless-Jackie

Jeannie57

Movie, I am 58, too!



Bluebird, your stuffed animal sounds like a Wilbur!



Nahela, glad to hear your good news!!



I am returning from one store at the mall and groceries with DH. So tired.

Moviemaniac

I absolutely DETEST auto-correct.......KRISSY!!!!!!!!! Sorry!

hrf

Lahela, very good news about the nodes! Now you can start the recovery process.

Anonymous

Barb, Jenny, Tracy and Hrf....thinking calming and strengthening thoughts for you ladies on the "eve" (or so) of your surgeries.



Another beautiful day in Michigan. Breakfast and farmer's market with girlfriends this morning. Then I got progressively lazier as the day passed. Work is kicking me butt. Thank goodness for weekends. We are awaiting pizza delivery as I type. Which makes me think of flying Boboli shells, Tracy



Tomorrow is school clothes shopping....which sounds a lot like work lol!



Enjoy your Saturday night, friends.



I can't wait to see this Wilbur fellow

goldie4040

bluebird, snap a pic of him with your phone, and post it on here.  It can be done. 

Krissy, it's a really hard decision, I took both of mine off.  If you are lucky enough to be offered the diep right from the beginning, I would take it.  Immediate reconstruction looks better than delayed weather you do both, or not.  Also, remember if God forbid you do get bc in other breast they will not be able to do a diep again.  You get one chance.  There other procedures that they can do, never another diep. 

Jeannie, glad you got out today.  I did too.  My husband noticed I wasn't a tired as usual..lol.  I guess I am totally recovered from bmx, wish I had done it all at one time. You will get there.  The fact that you got out at all already it really great!!!!!  BTW...I am 58 too.

Movie, hope your dog gets to feeling better soon.

I had another fill yesterday, and even though these expanders are hell, and I wrote my PS and told him he has to untie the rope around my chest, I have to say it's nice to have something that is starting to look like breasts on my chest.  I just can't wait till they are filled with my own tissue!!!!!

Deb and Lahela....you go girls!!!!!  Well done.

Sherry, you got out too...that is great.  

Kuka, how are you sloshing breasts doing today?

mtpeteacher

I got my bracelet 2 years ago...don't have exact company. But I googled "beaded medical alert bracelets" and found a similar company under custommedicalbracelets.com. I have really had to tell medical personnel over and over not to use my one arm....a red hospital bracelet seems to help. Be careful if your hospital floor borrows nurses from other floors like OB.....had one OB nurse take my BP in wrong arm when I was half asleep.....first night after mx.

Jeannie57

My heart is full of love for you ladies! I am so grateful to you all for accepting me. I am thinking fondly of all the sweet care and advice given and the Wilburisms you have shared. DH, DD and I were talking about me tripping after surgery (my first tripping experience!) and all the things I did and said, starting with my "Wilbur" message! Wilbur. For example, I would ask a question and promptly fall asleep before the answer was given. Or the ICU nurse was asking DH questions like how things were at home re:falls, etc. and I kept trying to answer the questions. He said everything was fine and I called out, "Except for the sex!" Poor DH. Not his fault. I have no memory of any of that. After a day or two I would start to talk gibberish and then say, "never mind" as I caught myself. What kind of anesthesia/pain/nausea cocktail was that, Wilbur??? Whatever it was, it was sure constipating! Ladies going in soon, be prepared with laxatives, stool softeners, dried fruit, prune juice, whatever! You don't want an ambulance ride to the hospital for a super-enema like I had...



I will be thinking of you flappers-to-be. You will soon be sleeping away and will be surprised when you wake up from what seemed like a short nap. Mine was twelve hours. And you will have a brand new boob or two! Remember this is a positive thing you are doing and you will feel more "you" when this is over and you are recovering well. At least, I do. Bailey is right when she says it is a journey with sidesteps, backwards steps, forward steps. But you will eventually be going in the right direction with lots of things to look forward to. We are all brave and strong because we have had to be.

And we are here for each other, whether you are new here or are a veteran.



Marty, hope you and hubs are getting along okay. Liefie, hope you didn't melt at your garden party yesterday! Lemon scones with strawberries and cream sound wonderful. I was lucky enough to have strawberries and cream at Wimbledon once. Yum. Nihahi, I hope you won't be too exhausted for your Glacier trip with Movie. You're working so hard at relief, you need some soon! Julie, hope your tummy pain is better. My incision seems ok, even though it apparently has opened a little. Definitely have swelly belly on the left side, darn it. But I'm wearing capris today and they are a little loose in the waist! I have been eating healthfully and carefully and have lost at least eight pounds since surgery, even though I started Tamoxifen again! I'm sure the walking and drinking tons of water is helping with that. Bailey, I'm happy to hear you are having good weather in MI since DD is there, too. Seattle is defying its reputation as we have had the best summer I can remember, with only a couple of days of rain, thunderstorms last night. Of course we are under "red flag" warning for fire danger, though. Sbel, hope you had a restful night in your own bed and can cuddle your grandbaby soon!

Enjoy and blessings!

nihahi

At this point, all can do is laugh, at how far behind I am in the posts. It's that, or cry......! Took the day off from volunteering.....two more days of it, then a few days of getting ready to meet up with MOVIE IN MONTANA!!!!! I think we're going to have to rely on your gloobs, movie, like Liefie....I seem to have the "lights off" version, both flap and natural one! You want the original timtams, right???? 

I think it was damiana who wrote about muscle issues from her Tram free??? Not sure....sorry, to whoever is having this....so far for me, no problems. 

Marty.....thinking of you and hubby.

Congrats to all the recent new veterans.....sounds like things are going well???? Will try to be better about keeping up after the Glacier rendezvous......stay tuned for photos!

I'm sending out hugs to all....thinking of everyone often....you gals who work fulltime are ROCKSTARS!!!!!!!

sbelizabeth

I have a wonderful bright pink stockinette sleeve that warns people off the left arm.  I wear it when I'm in the hospital.  For those who need it and are pre-op, the company is very nice and will mail it "stat" without receiving your check so you have it when you need it.  

http://www.g-sleeve.com/

It's not meant for everyday use, like a bracelet, just when you're hospitalized and want some extra insurance besides the sign above the bed.

Lovely morning here!  Long, easy bike bide, cuddled Aubrey for a few hours, now taking it easy.  Life is so good.

hrf

Jeannie, thanks for your advice and supportive words. As we head into the last few days before surgery, I admit I am very nervous. I have been wanting to get this done for such a long time so it seems a little unreal that it is finally going to happen.



I may actually take a high fibre supplement with me to the hospital. It dissolves in water so would be easy to manage.



How about the rest of you going this week? How are you feeling?

nihahi

whooooahhh....back the truck up!!! Jeannie....what's all that about "accepting you"?????? You are one of the wonderful, amazing, courageous, incredible ladies of this "family"!!! Ain't no need to talk of acceptance....HUGS to you sister!!!!! We have YOU to thank for Wilbur....you will always have a soft spot in all our hearts. ((((((((X)))))))))

goldie4040

Jeannie!  Your poor DH.  Except for the sex?  That is hysterical!!!!! I hope the nurse fell out behind that statement.  I think you need to be on drugs more often, your inner Wilbur tells it like it is.   Maybe that should be in the slogan, Wilbur tells it like it is!