DIEP 2013

liefie

sbe, I agree about the pubic hair. You want to keep it out of sight. For me that's the only perk that I got out of chemo (apart from hopefully killing the cancer). It eradicated the hair on my legs, and the pubic area is very sparse, whereas before I was hairy like animal - lol. I see some laser therapy in your future.

Goldie, I agree with sbe. We bought our furniture the same way. Piece by piece we had it made to our specifications as we could afford it. For instance it took us about 12 years to assemble a dining-room table, 12 chairs and a buffet, solid wood, no veneer or pressed wood. Most of it we've had for many years now, and it still gives us great pleasure. A thing of beauty is indeed a joy forever. My son used to work at a high-end furniture store during his varsity holidays. He was always amazed by the poor quality of the workmanship, and people paying exorbitant prices for such low quality because they just don't know better. It seems the furniture mafia laughs all the way to the bank. Hope you find something beautiful. Have you tried secondhand or antique stores? Sometimes they have very nice solid pieces for a good price that you can easily restore back to their former glory with a little TLC.

goldie4040

SBE and Liefie,

I am thinking that is the way to go. I haven't bought any new wood furniture in years.  I just recently had the coffee table in the den refinished because I couldn't find anything close to it in quality, and it is a show stopper now.  I did spend the money on some good quality sofas 3 years ago, and they are worth every penny.  I have quite a few pieces that were my parents that I have redone, or reupholstered over the years. My mother's wing chairs still have the original down cushions. I was lucky when I had them redone the guy who did the work said, "you know you want to keep these down cushions?" I am grateful to him everytime I sit in one.

But, I really want bedroom furniture now, and I don't live in the best area to go antiquing.

damiana9

Hey girls- I am home now! The dr. did NOT do any abdominal surgery. He felt it and said maybe it is necrosis or just some bad swelling, but not a hernia. He did put quite a few steroid injections into that area though and It does feel better somewhat already. Maybe next week at my post op I will ask for an ultrasound just so we can try to figure out exactly what IS going on there. My boob hurts pretty bad. He moved the entire flap over to repair the hole, he also dug out the necrotic tissue in my boob, and reduced the size a bit- mostly in my armpit area. THank goodness because that part was so big it was gross. LOL! I am in a surgical bra that I need to leave on for 2 weeks. They gave me tramadol in recovery but it wasn't really helping the pain much- so I took a vicodin on the way home. Between the two, I am finally feeling better.

christina0001

Janet - any excuse to not have to help put up the tent is good, and any excuse to not have to help take it down is better. I hate taking the tent down! 

Collette - a legit problem if you are a swimmer, for sure. I'd personally love to do laser hair removal but if you are getting ready to start chemo, I would not recommend it. Chemo makes everything complicated. I'd be reluctant to wax or use Nair so close to a new incision as well. Honestly you might just want to keep things trimmed and wear a one-piece for now. Being that you are a swimmer I would definitely go for the laser removal once you have recovered from chemo. Once your skin is well healed you can probably safely go back to waxing. Just my two cents!

Sherry, sorry you did not have a good night. Seems like every 2nd or 3rd night is a good one for me, but that may be because at that point I am so tired I can't help but sleep well...thank goodness for pain meds, right?

Tracy - you know PT stands for Pain & Torture right? lol

Goldie - the furniture sounds so disappointing. I agree that quality is hard to find. Everything is made to be disposable and replaced in a few years. It is so frustrating.

sbelizabeth - great news on getting clearance. Now to schedule that date finally!

liefie - I am enjoying that "perk" as well, my leg and pubic hair is relatively sparse, especially compared to what it was pre-chemo. I shave much less frequently. 

damiana9

Colette- At first my pubic area was higher, but now it seems like it is back to where it was before- maybe I am just used to it. I wouldn't worry about it right now though- chemo will take care of that pesky pubic hair

Tracy- oh no! I hope you start feeling better

Anonymous

Damiana....you have a whole head!!! Your hair looks wicked awesome! Love it!

liefie

Colette, if you are going to do chemo, I would not worry too much about the pubic hair. It will most likely all fall out. Then when it grows back afterwards, it will hopefully be way less than before.

christina0001

There are not many socially acceptable situations in which one can complain that one's boobs hurt. It's definitely the #1 issue on my mind, but it's not really appropriate to put as my facebook status, you know what I mean? And I'm sure my husband is tired of hearing me complain... *sigh*

damiana9

LOL Bailey- thanks! I wore my hair like that today for surgery. Everyone got a big kick out of it.

kuka21174923

Hello girls. What a lazy day I've had. I spent most of the day in bed watching tv until I had to get up to get my dog from the vet. She was getting her teeth cleaned. Then I was too lazy to cook dinner so I ordered pizza, cinnamon sticks and chocolate sticks. I felt so fat after eating that I went on a 2 mile walk. It was a little test to see if I'm ready to start the gym on Monday. I was very surprised that I didn't get tired at all!

After I came home I decided I was tired if seeing my 6 year old DD's tooth wiggle so much, so I held her down and pulled the sucker! It's her first tooth falling and she was so excited. Tooth fairy always leaves $5 for first tooth because they're special! Thank goodness I had some cash left in my wallet or she would've gotten a check. I can't wait to see her face in the am when she checks under her pillow.

The other tooth is wiggly too and I'm guessing it'll take a couple of days for it to fall. Man, I better get a part time job to pay for all these teeth! When I was little the tooth fairy was only leaving 25 cents a tooth!

sweetpickle

I hear ya christine, it sucks getting used to how the new foobs feel. Mine felt awful until about a week ago.



Bailey- I love your hair too! I am thinking about doing a fun look like that when my hair gets a tad longer.



OK I just signed up for Bunco night for a local moms group so that I can meet some people in my new town and now Im thinking twice because Im self conscious about my looks that have gone to pot. I dont worry about it normally but walking into a party of people I dont know has me jittery. Anyone else feel like this during recon? I cant even wear my cute boot cut jeans yet.....lol I just needed to get that out, thanks!

SheChirple

Everyone, thank you for your kind words about Pongo.  He truly was a big part of our family. I’m sad to say he struck out at our new 11 wk old German Shepherd puppy the day before and I had “Duke” at the vet today. Punctured his sinus. But, he’ll be fine.  His face is now shaved and he’ll have a scar from the wound, but, hey, he’ll fit right in around here!

1. How long after consultation and prep appointments do you have to wait for surgery? I know it probably depends on the surgeon, but is there any possible way that I will get in before the end of the year?  This is really dependent on the surgeon’s schedule. 

2. How much pain is involved? I am pretty numb, but what about the belly area? I am 11 wks post op and took pain meds daily for about 8 wks or so.  But I’m a whimp.  

3. Can one be too overweight for this surgery?  Only as to risks of anesthesia.  I have a bc.org friend who, by visual, you would think was too overweight, probably 5’5”, 250+ lbs easily.  She had a great result.

4. How long in the hospital?  I was 72 hrs in ICU, then a few days in regular ward.

5. I hate drains! How long for drains and how many?  I had 4 drains, 2 of them for several weeks.  It all depends on your fluid drainage amount, daily.

6. Are you happy with the results? I am happy to be alive, happy to have breasts, and I’ve been told by co-workers that I look very good, even great, post surgery. They really notice the tummy flattening, and say that you can’t tell I’ve had anything done with my breasts.

7. For any of you with delayed reconstruction, did it help at all with pre existing chest tightness?

8. For those with delayed, was it easier or worse than the original bmx as far as recovery and pain?  Because I had my BMX 11/2011, like you, I am considered delayed. However, I had TE for 8 months, then exchange in 7/2012, then one implant removed due to infection/seroma in 8/12. So, by the time I got to my DIEP in May, 2013, I had been a uniboob for 9 months.  One side being flat, and one with implant, really didn’t make any difference in the chest tightness.  I had more pain from the DIEP abdominal incision than any of my prior surgeries.  It’s the stretching of standing up that is tough and painful.

Goldie that is great news on your scans!

Sherry:  grand dogger, that is sooo cute.  I feel your pain, too.   I ended up with DIEP after implant failure following exchange.  I went to my 9 day follow up from echange surgery to red hot, seeping, rad, inflamed, high fever, infection!  I spent almost 2 wks in the hospital on IV antibiotics. Went home after 7 days, then the other side ruptured from seroma and I was back in the ER. The next morning they removed one implant and kept me the next week or so.  Horrible experience. I was convinced I was having no more surgery and would live with what I had.  It was 9 month before I had DIEP.

Collette:  Pubic hair, grrr…mine is also right up to my scar.  Even worse, I have pubic hair on my breast!!!  Yes, he got a piece of the pubic mound with hair onto my chest.  Unbelievable.  I shaved it once the incision in that area was healed.  You can imagine the conversations I had with my hubby over that!

Christina:  I got caught red handed, embarassed, massaging my own breast at lunch with colleagues….ugh.

goldie4040

Gosh, I was gone for one evening babysitting the grandkids, and there is so much to catch up on. 

First of all, I have to say that as much as I go through for the stupid bc, those babies faces, and those sweet after bath hugs are worth it all.  I think the older one, almost 5 is aware I am not myself lately, and he treated me with a lot of tenderness tonight.  So sweet to see he is going to be a gentle soul. I pray he doesn't get hurt too much by that in his life, and that it only brings him good things.

Damiana, so glad you are home, and with a newly shaped boob.  Probably best he didn't mess with your tummy since you start school next week. Loving the new do! Get some rest this weekend. You deserve it.

Sweetpickle, I will be very disappointed in you if you don't go to Bunco.  It is the best way to network, and make friends in your area. Your new best friend might be in your future.  If these women judge you on how you look, then they are not worth it, but I am sure they won't. I love my Bunco group, and miss it when we take our summer hiatus.  Go.. Have fun.  If it's anything like my group, we play very little, and talk a lot.

Kuka, I am glad you relaxed today, but then still took a nice walk.  It was fairly cool today, for Texas...lol. $5 tooth? Wow. She will have you out spending that money in no time. My poor son swallowed at least 2 of his teeth when he was little.  I would tease him and tell him not sure the tooth fairy was going to believe him, but he might try leaving a note.  Of course, the note always worked. 

Christina, you can complain here about your boob anytime.  As a matter of fact, mine are f..king killing me right now.  I wonder if they can explode?

RE: pubic hair discussion.  Take heart young ones, most of it is gone after menopause anyway, but somehow a few hairs do sproat on your chin, and thank goodness for laser hair removal. It dawned on me a few years ago why my mom kept a tweezer in the car.  It's because you can see those pesky chin hairs so much better in your rear view mirror...lol.  My MIL got mad at me for plucking hers because she use to play with them while she watched TV....lmaooooo.  I told her she might not see them, but everybody else did. Gosh, I miss her lately.

So, do you think I can become a drug addict if I have to take pain meds for a couple of months to get through this expander stuff? I am doing everything I can, massage, stretches, yoga, etc.  I am at a loss.  I might just have to schedule my diep ASAP just to get out of this pain.  I read on another forum that if you alternate tylenol and advil during the day it helps with pain better than just one drug.  I tried that today without much luck.

sweetpickle

Goldie- I do plan to go and I hope I find a good group of gals to hang out with. :-) I did the rotation thing with tylenol and advil and it didnt work at first but has recently. I took four at a time, how many are you taking? I hope you get some relief soon!

liefie

Goldie, maybe you should actively try for an earlier date for DIEP. I cannot imagine that such pain is normal, and that taking so much medication over a long period of time can be good for you. I feel so sorry for you, and just cringe when I hear what you have to put up with.

goldie4040

Liefie,

I wasn't having this much pain till the last two fills.  There is a nerve thing going on the left side, and the right side is just very very tight.  I am going to email my doc over the weekend.  I felt better a few weeks after my bmx than I do now. I got on the TE forum, and asked those gals some questions.  One of them suggested i am being filled to fast.  A lot of those gals had similar issues, but then again the subject matter is "TE Trouble" so they are there to complain...lol.

Sweetpickle, I am only taking one tylenol and one advil every six hours.  I have a bad back, and when it first went out about two years ago I was popping advil all the the time, and I started to bruise.  I am not a bruiser, and that scared me.  That's why I was hoping tylenol would help the pain since it doesn't cause blood thinning. 

Cherrie

Ha ha! I love the pubic hair discussion. like Liefie, I am 58 and am not wearing a bikini ever again. Sounds like lasering is the way to go.



Movie and Nihahi- we are all thinking of you. I am so jealous. Have a great time!

jlbloom

Goldie, you are so right.  Those sweet grandchildren make it all worth it.  Going to watch some grandkid's soccer games this morning.

Cherrie, we have found there are a few of us 58 year olds in this group.  We just moved from MI to IN last year.  Where are you located in MI?

Hope everyone has a good Saturday and that those who joined the club this week are feeling better already. ...Julie

Typewriterjenny

I'm on the other side! Surgery was 9 hours bc veins were very small . On a morphine punch. The most soreness has been in my abdominal area. Flap sounds and looks healthy. Node dissection did not indicate further involvement. I'll know the pathology in ten days. Need help to get up, and still have yuk catheter. But I'm alright. Not regretting it. The pain i have feels like really bad cramps that also burn. Morphine calms me but doesn't take the pain away. Hope everyone else if ok!!! Thinking of you all!

Xoxoxo

damiana9

Typewriter- Yeah! Congrats on making it to the other side! Morphine does not help my pain either- don't put up with it- talk to the nurse and tell her you need something else (there are lots of other choices that they can give you) You don't need to be in pain.

kuka21174923

Goldie, when my mom had her TE's many years ago she had to tell the docs to pull them out and put the implants in sooner because she couldn't take the pain anymore. Of course she had them in for 8 months! If you don't think you can take it anymore just had them do DIEP earlier. Then if you're not ok with size they can always do fat grafting to add volume. Taking pills everyday for pain is not good for your liver and no way to live either. Hope it gets better.

Damiana, I forgot to tell you yesterday that I love the hair!! Never been brave enough to do it myself, but I love it! Color it blonde and we'll start calling you pink! By the way, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking?

Typewriter, welcome to the other side! I agree with Damiana. Tell the nurse the morphine is not doing it for you and they'll give you something else. You shouldn't be feeling any pain while taking pain meds! Take it easy sweetie:)

damiana9

Kuka- my hair just barely got long enough to 'play' with, so I am trying to have fun with it. I actually went into surgery with my hair like that! LOL! I got lots of comments on it.

Goldie- after my last fill, it was very tight and uncomfortable for awhile. That's how I knew I was done with fills! Are you at a size you are comfortable with? What kind of flap does your PS do? If it is a paddle flap, it wont really matter if you aren't fully expanded because he will add some extra skin.

sbelizabeth

Good morning, gloobsters!  Stage II is rescheduled for August 29 at noon.  So I've only lost two weeks in the whole cellulitis fandango.  

Typewriters, yay!  Welcome to the other side.  I agree with damiana, if the morphine doesn't work, they can try dilaudid, which usually does. Morphine just makes me throw up.

Damiana, the hair is great.  I just loved it when my egg-baldness began to get covered with curly puppy hair.  

I'll be 58 in October.  This seems to be a popular age around here.

Time for a bike ride, while it's still cool outside! 

Cherrie

Katy, my birthday is October 12 and I will turn 59. Holy bananas. I feel younger though.



Julie- I went to high school (40 years ago) in Grandville and taught PE/4th grade for 35 years in Portland. That is between Grand Rapids and Lansing. Retired June 2012 for my year of surgeries. One last one in September.



Our mountain girls should be viewing the bears and moose my now. Lucky them. Hoping to get to Glacier next August on my way to visit my son who now lives in Seattle.



Thinking of all who are healing and making decisions!

sbelizabeth

I thought I would share the cautionary tale of my cellulitis and its probable source.  Last February, I went to my MO to get my port flushed. It was one of the last times it would need flushing, since it came out in April.  During the drive home, I started feeling achy and feverish and just thought I was getting the flu, until I took my clothes off for bed.  There were beet-red, glowing areas on my chest and abdomen and arm.  I thought it was some kind of radiation recall, because the redness matched the radiated area in front pretty closely, but that didn't explain the fever or the OTHER widespread redness.  But I blew it off, and over the weekend, just got better.  I went to work the following Tuesday and forgot about it, until now.

The infectious disease doctor thinks that my port was colonized with streptococcus in February, and when they flushed it, it spread strep through my bloodstream and it invaded the tissues of my chest and abdomen.  That time I had the reserves too fight it off, but the bacteria found someplace to hide, and when it reared its ugly red head this time, it was worse.  IV Vanco and Fortaz killed it.

Nevertheless, I'm still shopping for an electric razor for the armpit maintenance!

goldie4040

SBE, that is scary.  You are so lucky it didn't rear it's ugly head during you diep, but probably the prophylactic antibiotics kept it at bay. Thank goodness it is all behind you now, and you get your stage2 in a couple of weeks.

I feel a little better today. We went to a very strange furniture store in a really bad neighborhood, but they had all this really expensive furniture at very competitive prices.  I know my husband really well.  It will take about two more trips to various furniture stores before he says, " just do what you want."  He hates to shop....lmaooooo. 

Kuka, have you gotten out in this unbelievable weather we are having in August? Below 90?  Unheard of!

goldie4040

Oh Typewriter,

I am so glad you are okay.  Demand they take care of you pain. When I had my bmx they never wanted me to be in pain, or upset.  It seemed like they were constanatly offering me xanax.  I guess they figure women who lose their breasts just might tend to be on the upset side. 

hrf

Too many posts to respond to all. Sherry, so sorry you have had such problems.



So I'm now 2 days out. It's tough but I'm happy I did it. Yesterday they checked with Doppler every hour. Today every 2 hours. PS has been in every day, including today. Also Fellow and residents have been in. A little concern over one spot that is cool to the touch but resident was just in and he thinks it's fine. Just some bruising. I still have catheter and oxygen. Maybe catheter will come out tomorrow. I sat in chair for a couple of hours today and did a very very little walk. It was hard. I'm concerned about going home as PT told me can't raise my arms over my head for 2 weeks. How did all of you manage? I live alone.

Jeannie57

Holy moly, sbel, what a story! I am so glad you have some answers and you were able to fight that nasty bug off. Good info for all of us re: cellulitis.



Typewriter, welcome to flapper land! It is a land with hills and valleys but you made it and you have new boob/s! I hope you have the pain under control. No need to suffer in the hospital when they have so many drugs for you to try there. Hrf and Tracy, hope you are recovering well.



Goldie, good luck on the furniture shopping. Sadly, our kitchen table from Pottery Barn only has a PHOTO of wood on the top. The legs and frame are wood, though. It is not holding up well. Our antique furniture is the only real wood furniture in the house. I'm sorry the TE's are so unbearable. Maybe they can take some saline out for you. If it's the iron bra feeling around your ribs that is making you crazy, DIEP is the answer there. I don't miss that feeling at all! My new girls haven't hurt, but they feel heavy. I feel so much more womanly. Still trying to figure out how to sleep comfortably.



Damiana, love the do and you look like one cool chica! I'm so glad they didn't have to re-excise your tummy.



Cherrie, if you have time when you visit your son in Seattle, maybe we could get together!



Blessings to my flapper sisters for a weekend with some smiles here and there!

goldie4040

Hrf, Glad you are feeling pretty good.  Do you have somebody helping you get home, and settled?  The best I can say is ask for a visiting nurse for a little bit to help you shower, and take some things in your kitchen that you will need down to counter level. I didn't shower everyday after my bmx because it was such a hassel.  I didn't love it, but I managed.  All you are really doing it sitting around the first couple of weeks anyway, how dirty can you get? These new personal wipes, and Olay cleansing clothes are a God send. There was even a couple of times when my doc said i couldnt get wet that I had a friend drive me to get my hair washed at one of those cheapy salons.  They are use to it. 

Let's worry about the next couple of days, and then we can all brainstorm about your homecare.  In the meantime, you must mention to your doc that you will need homecare for a bit.