DIEP 2013

Morningsun1

Thanks, nihahi, I'll get my 5 hours in. Got 6.5 last night, which was a rare treat for me :-) nite. By the way, if you lived in China for as long as I've lived here, for sure your Chinese would be as good as my English, nihahi.

nihahi

sweetpickle....gosh, didn't mean not to respond to you. It takes time.....different for us all. I'm so glad to hear the yoga has helped you, even if just for a short time. The more you do it, the better you're going to feel....I'm sure of that. Are you able to wear any "light" compression garment....might help the tummy swelling and I bet it will certainly help your back. You have so much on your plate....please don't get "judgemental" about how you should be feeling or looking. How are things going with your therapist? So awesome that she had diep too....maybe she has some pointers for you, beyond the emotional topics????? Couldn't hurt to ask her!

liefie

Holy 'carp' Nihahi - time for bed! Lol.

nihahi

I went swimming today....did I mention I "swam" myself (at full speed) headfirst into the wall, TWICE, doing the backstroke! The second time, the lifeguard came over and asked me if I was ok!  Maybe I'm not as fully recovered as I think I am!

sbelizabeth

Tough day back at work.  I'm trying to sleep and sympathizing with the night owls here.  Let's imagine ourselves having a relaxing massage...

Morningsun1

"Crap" that hurts, nihahi. when I was a kid, I used to bump my head into one thing or another a lot, so I often carried a bump on my head. We didnt have a pool for me to try what you did, but if we had, surely pool wall would have been one of them.

I am usually very sleepy at this hour, but for some reason, I am wide awake right now. Went to pt today, she worked on my tight muscles and ab-scar. Always feel so much better after each session. Good nite for real this time,liefie and n.

nihahi

aw...sorry you're up sbe....missed your posts today....seriously....retire so you can post all day! 

Morningsun1

Sbe, I did get abs car and thigh massage from my pt lady... I feel the sleepiness taking hold me... zzzzzz

nihahi

tammy go to bed!!! That is where I am headed now, honest! Signing off!

hrf

Well I am wide awake. Slept for a bit but now can't get back to sleep.



Sbelizabeth, I'm trying to imagine that massage but no luck with sleep so far.

Moviemaniac

Hrf.....if you were my next-door -neighbor, I could loan you a Trazodone.......I am again WIDE AWAKE and have just popped one........I am imagining that massage Sbe is talking about, but I am having a hard time feeling ANYTHING through my compression wear..........>>>>>sigh<<<<<<</p>

jakig

Just checking in before going to bed to count sheep- again. My final revision is this Friday-the new left nipple, the fat grafting and making the boobette and natural boob symmetrical. I'm having insomnia, apprehension, nausea, mood swings, and general unsettled feelings. I don't want to be touched again, and yet I know this is the final leg of the reconstruction. So, Friday the 13th is my lucky day. I'll let you know how it goes. And thanks for discussion of the abdominal skin on the boob in process; I have no idea how my PS will change that, but now have more info to ask the questions prior to the surgery. Thanks again for posting so much honest experience and emotions here. I've felt a part of, and I even got all my little ER/PR numbers this week, so will post those later too.

mrtw43

Good morning everyone. I sleep with 1 sm. pillow under my knees and with the wedge pillow, having the pillow under my knees for some reason helps me sleep. I have only been using the pillow under my knees for about two weeks now and since adding the pillow, I sleep through the night. Not sure if this will help anyone, but I thought I would throw my two cents in about sleeping.



for the last week or so, I have noticed that as soon as I wake up I have an almost uncontrolable need to stretch my legs which automatically stretches my stomach. It doesn't really hurt, but I can feel the inside of my stomach and new belly button. My first thought was oh no, I hope my smile doesn't crack open. But now, I feel like it is helping me slowly stretch the skin, so I will eventually be albe to walk without hunching over. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

lahela

mrtw - like the muscles are spasming? Yep, I have exactly the same thing. It's getting less frequent now, but still feels really strange when it happens!

Janet_M

mrtw43 - I've got the same thing uncontrollable urge to stretch. Like you said - not painful - but weird. It's somewhere between a clenching and a spasm from the belly button down. It happens in bed, or just as I get vertical in the morning. I'm at 13 weeks and it's starting ease off. I'm also doing a lot of stretching on my own. But light stretches only. I went to a yoga class last night and  over-estimated my ability to get up and down off the mat at a regular pace. At first I tried to  following the class, but when it was time to transition from standing to sitting, I just lay down on the mat and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the class. 

Remember those Barbie dolls from the 70's with the twisty waist? I felt like a defective version of that. A barbie doll who has the split in the middle, but the waist won't twist. 

I read that one of you girls is dong sit-ups at 6 weeks. Holy cow! I'm not even close.

Thinking of Cstrong & Zoemom today. Also thinking about mother's and daughters (no offence to your beautiful boys Bailey. I'm thinking of them too today). Like 2timer, I consider myself  truly lucky to have an 81 year old mom who took me to appointments, cleaned my house, and tucked me in at night. 

Those spry 80 year olds have raised the bar - and role models like that make me believe that I have everything to live for - and inspire me to work towards good health every single day. 

sweetpickle

Nihani- Im sure she will have some good input, Ive only seen her once so far and go again this week. I feel so much better this morning as swelling went down a lot overnight. I walked Costco yesterday and tummy was like "heck no girlfriend!" lol.



Movie, hrf, tammy- Hope you ladies got some rest.



Goldie- I am loving that yoga dvd just for the peace and serenity of the beach and the meditation music. Im not able to get up and down off the floor to much so Im just doing modified stretches. Thanks again for sending it!



Janet- I know exactly what you mean about bendable barbie. Lol



Hope everyone has a great day!

Tracy516

mrt - I stretch when I wake and think the same thing. Please smile don't crack!!! Ugh and my foobs feel like they weigh a ton when I stand.. BUT worth the 5 hrs I'm getting of sleep!!!



Question: do I need to send thank you cards to people that sent me cards or just people that sent gifts?! Or none...



I lost 16 pounds since my saga started in June!

nihahi

Sweetpickle.....good "vibes" from you this morning!!!! The "tummy" you have in the morning, after lying in bed all night, is much more your "new" tummy. Don't you be fretting about the "end of the day" tummy....this is a passing thing...I went through it too, I was NOT happy about it, got re-assured by my doc and people like martyj...and you know what....they were right....it is almost 100% now a thing of the past. Is it possible for you to massage your tummy a couple times during the day? (push down and a bit towards your back, around the outside of your smile, as well as down and over it. If nothing else, it'll give you a chance to moisturize! Keep doing that yoga, it sounds wonderful to hear how it brings you some peace. 

Yoga is NOT a competition with anyone, not even with yourself. It's about showing up with the body, energy, mindset of the day, and doing what you can, acknowledging and respecting your body, knowing that the next time you come to your mat, it will be an entirely new experience.

Got an appointment for a physical with a new family doc this morning. YUCKO.....but necessary. I was lucky to find a family doc taking new patients in this town, especially lucky to have found a female one. It'll be interesting to discover her reaction to my smile and gloob! Hope she doesn't find the self-induced lump on my noggin!!!!!

Have good days ladies...love you all. 

ps....when I finally got to sleep last night, I dreamed I was out skiing and was taking pictures of bluebirds....if that isn't a sign of head injury.....!

goldie4040

Sweetpickle,

I am glad you are liking the Yoga.  When he transiitions you from the chair to the floor, take your time.  I wouldn't do the stuff where he has you on your tummy, but the stuff where he has you on your back, those probably would be really good for you right now, except the leg lift part.  Just lay there and breathe through that one. 

Tracy, just gifts.

Looks like there was an insominia party last night.  I actually slept for once.

Morningsun1

Thanks sweetpickle, I did get 5 hours of z's and that's normal for me. If you are still dealing with wound healing, lack of energy is normal. I started to feel that I have my energy level back a couple of weeks after all the openings were closed.

nihahi, re: your dream, you were thinking about our bluebird.

Movie, hrf and sbe, I hope you all got some rest last night.

lahela

I'm wondering why some spots on the belly incision are so slow to heal. I have 2 spots, one is about 1cm, the other about 1.5cm, that just seem determined not to close up. Both are in the lower curve of the smile, kind of either side of the pubic mound. I know it takes time, but what exactly is stopping those two particular bits from closing??? It makes me paranoid about really getting moving, about trying to stand up straighter or stretching my abs. *sigh*

Morningsun1

Tracy, are all your incisions healed? If not, then you may want to put off weight loss for a bit longer. Not enough protein and other nutrition may slow down the wound healing.

NRM

I was wondering if anyone can give me the pros and cons of taking tamoxifen.  I have completed my surgery and now the medical onocologist wants me to consider adjuvant therapy of either chemo (NO) and or tamoxifen.  I am considering the tamoxifen but only slightly.  I really don't want to deal with side effects on a daily basis nor do I want any gynecological issues down the line.  Any advice?  I don't really know the doctor and she only seems to be giving me the two choices.  There is a third, do nothing!

Tracy516

(((((Tammyt - no)))) the weight loss was from the minute I found out I had the big C and the surgery:( my smile is closed just on puffy scab about an inch! But when I'm all healed going back to gym and loss this weight that has been on me for years 183 pounds now!

Yup lots of protein!!!

Yup to rest

Yup to meds

Xoxo

nihahi

NRM...I did 5 years of tamoxifen, without significant side effects. I was early 40's, pre-menopausal. The "instant menopause" wasn't fun, but was "doable" for me. I also did chemo. Your "bio" does show that your cancer is hormonally "active". I do know that some ladies feel it is not an easy regime...many more side effects for them. I do wonder if some of the side effects attributed to tamoxifen, are more related to the "recovery stage" of post chemo/rads/surgery/"diagnosis" depression, though, as usually tam is started during that time frame. My suggestion is to look forward in time....in 10 years, 15 years, etc. as you have to be able to accept the treatment choices you make now, without the benefits of knowing what your "bc health" will be at that time.

Jeannie57

NRM, I have been taking Tamoxifen since March. It gave me hot flashes for a couple of months and now I get occasional leg cramps but other than that I am doing well. I don't have a uterus so I don't have the risk of uterine cancer. Most women my age would be on AIs instead of Tamoxifen but my bones are weak and Tamoxifen allows bone strengthening; AIs can weaken bones. My MO wants me to switch to AIs after a few years. I am not happy about the risk of stroke on Tamoxifen but I try to live a healthy life to counteract that risk. My MO told me that taking an anti hormonal is the most important thing to do to prevent recurrence.

Morningsun1

lahela, I had two small areas on my ab-incision that didn't want to close. They finally did close just over 6-weeks.

lahela

Deb & Tammy - thanks for the positives! It is disconcerting having those spots!

NRM - I've only just started on Tamoxifen (despite a positive node, my MO opted for Tamoxifen because my cancer was 100% ER+) and have zero side effects so far. If you read sites like this, you will get loads of support but you will also get an unrepresentative proportion of negatives - not being easy and SE-free is why a huge proportion of folks are here - so don't take it as normal. Most women have no problems, and those that they do have are manageable. For me, it's all about odds.

Laurie08

thank you for the suggestions.  My friend has tried all the drug suggestions previously and is on prilosec.  She goes Thursday for an abdominal CT scan to try to figure things out.

mrtw43

Hi all, great news I just met with the MO (loved her) and after rewiewing everything she did not recommend Taking tamoxifen. I am happy, I just thought I would share my first peice of good news since being diagnosed.