DIEP 2013

Jeannie57

Birthday blessings to you, Goldie!!!

Janet_M

Goldie - Happy Birthday to you, Happy BIrthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Goldiiiiiiiiiie, Happy Birthday to you!

MartyJ - Your last post was really great. You have a really nice way of phrasing things so everything falls into a gentle perspective. And Dyvgirl - I don't think there's a single one of us who hasn't ranted inwardly or outwardly on many occasions. It's a good thing. And nobody is judging.

Jeannie - I really rooting for a happy ending for your vision. I haven't been writing much lately but I'm following along and willing good things to be sent your way.

Zenful

Happy Birthday Goldie!

Marty and Nihahi, you both have so much wisdom to share and you do it so eloquently. I hope the rear view mirror allows me to be able to verbalize my feelings the way you do. BC teaches us so much, and it is so valuable to share the lessons learned. You ladies are so inspirational!

christina0001

Oooh Kat, sorry about the cellulitis. Ugh, and on Thanksgiving! Sounds like you are keeping a great attitude though.

Goldie, happy birthday!!!

Dyvgrl, indeed, chemo was no fun...  I don't miss those days of being out of breath and feeling like an old lady. I remember trying to mop my kitchen floor and having to stop and take multiple rest breaks. It is rough stuff. And does it help? Who knows for sure. If my breast cancer doesn't come back, do I thank my genes, the chemo, the rads, the surgery? If it does come back, was it because I stopped the tamoxifen? Because I didn't have a bilat mx? Because I eat sugar, was overweight, didn't eat organic? Definitive answers on this road are a rarity. No, no one can possibly understand how maddening these choices are, unless they have been through it. Making the best decisions we can and finding peace in our choices and whatever life deals us... probably the best we can hope for. But vent away until you find your inner nirvana.

RHG - I hope things are "moving" for you... ugh that is no fun.

OceanWarrior

Hi Ladies,

I've been lurking all day and reading and learning. I have, as of today, confirmed that I will be having a DIEP procedure hopefully within the next 6 weeks. (I guess takes me to a 2014 surgery date)

Diagnosed in Feb, lumpectomy in March, 8 rounds of dose dense chemo. I am currently 10 weeks post chemo. Recommended Rads or Mastectomy. Going mastectomy due to increase of side effects/risk with radiation on my auto-immune rheumatoid arthritis.

Have been on the boards since June, got lots of support on a chemo thread but have had my head in the sand in avoidance mode for a while. Now that I know what the next step is for me, I am ready to get ready if that makes sense.

Lots to learn. One step at a time. Happy to have choices and options. Look forward to getting to know you and sharing info.

~Ocean

nihahi

Going off the grid ladies....I'll be hanging out in the mountains until Sunday night. Stay well, I'll be thinking of you.

goldie4040

First, thanks for all the bday wishes. I love when it falls on Thanksgiving. Last time was 2002.

Jeannie, I hope you can get your eye thing figured out. You deserve to catch a break!!!

RHG, glad you had a little bit of success on the potty issue, and a little bit more comfort sleeping. Have you ever tried Senna Tea? You buy the leaves at a health food store, or Whole Food. I use one of those tea balls to steep the tea, and you can flavor it with lemon, etc. It works!!!

Dvygirl, I have no experience with chemo, or having to make a difficult decision like the one you are up against. I always find it hard to speak to something I have nothing to draw from, but I want you to know that I am hoping that you make your decision based on knowledge, and gut feelings, which usually lead me in the right direction. Know that we are all here for you. I can tell you are a strong and gutsy lady, and this bc is not going to get you.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving day. I love that it fell on the same day as Chanunka,, and apparently won't do that again for 80,000 years. LOL. That must be a sign, of what I don't know.

goldie4040

Oceanwarrior, I meant to say "Welcome" and hope you stick around so all these wonderful ladies can help you get through your diep. You have been through the worst, the diep is your bonus prize!!!

sbelizabeth

Goldie, happy, happy birthday! I hope the day has been wonderful for you.

Kat, I've had cellulitis three times, and I'm sure it's related to the node removal, although mine was kind of weird. I didn't get cellulitis on my arm where all the nodes were removed, I got it all over my chest and abdomen. The doctors all thought it was partly due to chemo kicking my immune system in the keister, partly node removal, partly just lousy luck. They drew so many blood cultures I lost count, but even when the fever was over 103 nothing ever grew out. I hope your antibiotics take care of it right now!

RHG, we're all cheering for you. Any news from the intestinal front?

We went to our DIL's parents for dinner. It was so yummy and we all ate too much. Tomorrow is DH's birthday and we're planning a long, long, turkey-powered, bike ride.

Turn on the Christmas lights!

lahela

Goldie - Happy birthday! I hope you had a lovely day!



Ridley - I'm Australian - we spell like the British I hope your pathology report brings positive news.



RHG - I'm so sorry you're dealing with this dreaded aftereffect of surgery. I used lots of powder lax dissolved in warm water - it was the only thing that worked without feeling like my belly was going to explode.



Kat - healing thoughts for you!



Dyvgrl - chalk me up as another angry one. No bone scan for me as they only do it here if you're symptomatic (they say they're trying to minimise irradiation) - that means when I get pains in my bones (like this heel thing, which I still can't walk on), I worry because I don't know. I just want peace of mind and, like you, to make decisions about my body with all the information I can.



Ocean - welcome to the thread. I hope we can answer all your questions.



Jeannie - I seem to have missed the eye thing - I'm sorry you are dealing with yet another thing! *hugs*



Calling my gyn today - sharp abdominal pain where my ovarian cyst is and extreme swelling for the last couple of weeks and getting worse - I look like I'm 5 months pregnant! I wonder if they'll still agree to hold off on the ooph until February... PS is going to have conniptions if they do it sooner.

Jeannie57

Thanks for the concern about my eye. I have lost vision in the lower half of my right eye. If the doc's dx is correct, it may or may not get better. I will know in two months. There is no treatment or correction for it. My optic nerve has swollen and caused damage for some unknown reason. I had a brain MRI so we know it's not cancer, at least! Trying to count my blessings.

lahela

Sending you the biggest {{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}} Jeannie!

Jeannie57

Thanks so much, Lahela!

Jeannie57

Lahela, I don't like what's happening to your belly! Hugs to you!

Ridley

Lahela -- now I will read your posts with an Australian accent in mind.  Hope your pain resolves.

goldie4040

Lahela, I can't imagine your poor tummy so swollen, especially since they felt it was too tight to even operate on. Ouch!!! I hope they figure out what is going on soon.

lahela

Spoke to the nurse at the gyn's office this morning and she was concerned, said she'd speak to the doc and call me back, but never did. I'm going to see how it goes over the weekend - my dad and stepmum are back in town for the weekend before they return to Oz and I don't want to be traipsing all over visiting doctors because I won't see them again for 2 years. I'm so swollen I can't bear to go out in public, but TGIF and I'm going to focus on having a great weekend at home with my folks! I hope your Fridays aren't too filled with stampeding hoards in stores!

Love and hugs to all of you wonderful ladies.

Kellyuhope

Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 3

I am looking for a DIEP surgeon in the Pittsburgh area -need UPMC doctor -any recommendations? I had a bilateral mastectomy in 2011. When I started all of this treatment for breast cancer, I did not have enough belly fat for tram flap surgery so I had expanders w/ silicone implants. I now have tons of belly fat after surgeries, chemo and hormonal therapy and have never been happy w/ my implants. They were never big enough and now I need a revision. When I went to my plastic surgeon to explore options because I was not happy about size and shape - my plastic surgeon gave me a script for a mastectomy bra . I do not want to wear a bra - I have implants lol I do wear a bra every day though w/ FOUR bra pads in each cup to make my breast look proportional to the rest of me. Since, I need another surgery and I have enough belly fat, I am considering the DIEP. I have consulted w/ a plastic surgeon in the Philadelphia area but do not think I can get my insurance to approve him because he is out of network.

I would appreciate any recommendations - thank you

goldie4040

Hi Kelly

There are a couple of women in your area that had diep. I am sure the will speak up when they see your post. Been kind of slow here for the holiday weekend.

Glad you found us. Welcome.

bdavis

Kat and selizabeth.... I haven't been on this thread in a while, but read about your cellulitis woes. I had my first bout with cellulitis last March. Mine was on my lower back/upper buttock, right where my GAP scar is. It was the doctors opinion (since the location was odd) that it had to do with lymphatic flow (Or lack thereof), which is related or can be related to nodal removal, or lymphatic interruption. In my case, not nodal removal, but rather cutting through major lymphatic channels. I now have a prescription to take at first signs of redness. After healing, I started with a lymphatic massage therapist at a PT office. She drained my pockets of lymphatic fluid, which if it builds up can grow bacteria and turn into cellulitis. Interesting thing happened this September. The same spot developed a swollen area. Long story short, after aspiration and then surgery to remove the sac, my doctor told me I had a pseudo bursa, probably there since January. He said any amount of fluid could have caused the cellulitis. It has now been removed, and I am hoping the risk of cellulitis has been reduced.

So... sorry so winded. But do consider a lymphatic massage, and if the problem persists, consider an ultrasound looking for pockets of fluid that could be aspirated.

RHGSR

{{{{hugs Jeannie}}}}

Welcome Ocean! I know what you mean by being "ready to get ready".

SUCCESS on the intestinal front !! Never been so happy about something like that in my life!! Thanks for all the support

My children came home today. They had been with my in laws while I came home and got settled. My husband figured a way for me to rock the baby (21 month old ) before his bedtime. But it's killing me not to be able to pick him up. He just doesn't understand.

We showed my girls my abdominal incision and drains. We wanted them to understand why they can't jump on me and why it was important that the baby didn't jump on me too. I think it helped. We did not show them the chest/breast incisions because they are even a little scary to me.

Next week is the week of follow ups. We will also get the final pathology reports on the tumors (the original IDC and the secondary one they found at surgery) and DCIS, as well as if there were anymore than just the 3 positive nodes.

Hope everyone had a great turkey day!

RHGSR :0)

MartyJ

yes to success on the intestinal front! Good approach with the kids.

Morningsun1

Kellyuhope, I had my DIEP at Magee with Dr. Nguyen and highly recommend him. I will be happy to meet and show you my results, feel free to PM me.

christina0001

Welcome Oceanwarrior.

Lahela, I hope you enjoy the weekend...and get some answers next week.

RHGSR, so glad the kiddos are home again.

lahela

RGHSR - congratulations on beating the intestinal monster! Love your approach with your kids and it must feel so good to have them home

I hope everyone is doing well, healing and getting answers.

Kellyuhope

TammyT,

Thank you soo much !! I was just given his name by my gyn/onc dr I am considering going to see him. When did you have your surgery & how many hours was it ? The doctor in Philly seems to have much shorter surgery times than the doctors in Pittsburgh He always works with another surgeon and because he does way more of them then the doctors here in Pittsburgh.

I cannot afford to go out of network and I do not think UPMC will approve the surgeon in Philly I am a nurse so you would think I would have inside info but truly I would rather hear from the actual patients Through all if my treatments and surgeries I feel like I need to hear advice from people who have actually lived through it or experienced it themselves. This is such a big step to take - when I went through this originally I felt rushed to pick a surgeon and just have the cancer removed quickly I had my expanders placed at the same time I had the mastectomy. Having this surgery is not urgent. I can take more time to ensure I get the best plastic surgeon and hopefully be happier with the results

Thank you again for your help I would love to meet you !!

Kelly

RHGSR

after your DIEP did you wear a bra while healing? They put a surgical bra on me at the hospital to help some of the pain/pressure/heaviness I was feeling. I went home with two and am still wearing them. Just wanted to know what others did.

krissy42

Ken Doll Fupa Lipo. ....My doctor's nurse indicated that laser hair removal of the raised pubic hair line would be a cosmetic thing, not covered under insurance. I'm due for stage 2 in January and if I still look all weird in the pubic area, I'm going to ask my PS to fix it. Does anyone know if this will be something that won't be covered under insurance?

goldie4040

Krissy,

Other women have had their Fupa fixed. I think it's a matter of the doc admitting that the pulling up of your tummy caused it to look weird, and fix it!!! I hope you and your PS can come to some kind of agreement.

Sharon1942

My PS wanted to do a scar revision of my abdominal DIEP incision in the very middle of the scar, so he raised the FUPA to minimize the puffiness. It is not a deep cut - only superficial, so healing is a breeze. I think some also lipo it.

I personally don't understand why insurance won't cover laser removal of pubic hair that ended up in the wrong place due to the DIEP reconstruction. Insurance covers everything else, it seems minor for them to finish the job & let the poor women that have pubic hair growing on their flaps or abdomen get it removed without having to shave in those spots forever.