Pregnancy after Double mastectomy

Suemaree0106

Hi Ladies,

I am wanting to know if there is anything I should consider besides being unable to breast feed about getting pregnant after a double mastectomy?

I am impatiently waiting my biopsy results for suspected DCIS and am hoping that we will be able to get away with the surgery and no other treatment, we were trying to get pregnant when all of this kind of stopped us in our tracks.

Due to my being BRCA1 positive I am considering doing the DM even if the result is negative as I have had too many biopsies and scares and I really dont want to go through this level of stress during pregnancy. The issue is will having the DM affect my ability to get pregnant, will it through out my normal hormonal balance and disrupt my periods?  I have asked a few doctors that recommend waiting until after I have finnished my family but only say so that I have the option of breast feeding, but they are not living through the anxiety and my hubby is going nuts!

Any thoughts would be appreciated, you are all strong beautiful women and I am so greatful that I have found this site as I have felt quite isolated over the past couple of weeks.

Sue

jennyg1975

Hi Suemaree,

I'm usually more of a lurker than a poster, but I also was diagnosed with DCIS when I was trying to conceive my first so I wanted you to know that you weren't alone.

I actually had a pretty good experience with recovery.  I had the DM in early Nov and my implant exchange in late March.  I had tissue expanders placed during my mastectomy and my plastic surgeon rushed me a bit through the expansion process because she knew my hubby and I were trying to conceive and I wasn't a spring chicken (I'm 37).  I saw an oncologist a few weeks after my mastectomy and she said that I would be able to start trying once I healed from my exchange.  All in all, I only lost 6 months of time, which wasn't so bad.  My periods did get a little wacky after each of the two surgeries, but within a cycle or two I was back to normal.  The mastectomy messed me up for a bit longer than the exchange, but at its worst, I only had two disrupted cycles.  I found that using those ovulation strips helped to really track down my most fertile time, which you may want to consider if your cycles get a bit "off".

I have read so many posts on this board when I was getting a sense of what to expect, and frankly some of them scared me.  Some people said they lost all feeling across their chest and back after the mastectomy - I didn't.  In fact, I only have numbness around the incision line for the most part.  Others have said they lost tons of arm strength - I only have problems with pushups feeling strange, but everything else has become more or less normal.  I also had a sentinel node biopsy done and have no limitation in range of motion from that.  However, I must say that the recovery from the snb was worse than the mastectomy because I kept having phantom twinges.  Those only lasted for a couple of months and now I have no side effects whatsoever from that.

I have to admit that it does stink to know that I can't breast feed, but I have accepted that as a tradeoff for being here for my child.  My husband and I did start trying in May, and lo and behold, I was pregnant after the first month of trying.  I'm currently 14.5 weeks pregnant and looking forward to holding my little girl in my arms in Feb. and feeding her the best formula I can find.  It's a small sacrifice that I'm willing in order to be there for her for a very, very long time.

Best of luck to you!

Jen

crazy4hockey

I just had a baby boy and as far as I know and my doctors know, the only effect is that we cannot breast feed. There are pros and cons of breast vs bottle but one nice things about bottle feeding is you can share nighttime feeding with your partner!

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Crazy4hockey-

Thank you for sharing your story, and congratulations on the birth of your little one! What an exciting time

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galenasnow

these posts make me happy to hear. I loved nursing and have been grieving not having a lumpectomy. I did a db MX Dec 15th. And implants sept 26th. It's been hard for me to accept.

Thanks for sharing

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galenasnow, we're sorry for what you're here, but wanted to say welcome! We know it's hard, but hope you find support and encouragement in this wonderful Community.

If you need any help navigating the main site or finding a forum that's right for you, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here for you!

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