DIEP 2014

iowagirl1

Has anybody ever had a huge muscle spasm  from the ab incision to above the  navel?  I had one last nite.  My stomach was rock hard and very painful.

Jerseymom.  I am glad things went well for you.  You sound great!

Hope all are having a good weekend.  It's raining here and has been like this for a week.

Teacher64

Iowagirl, yes, I had a spasm or two like that and thought I was going to levitate above the bed! Haven't had any more though.

jenjenl

What's up ladies!  I'm back.  I had stage 2 in April and boy did it come out good!  I am tickled with my results.  

Iowagirl - i'm 6 months out and still get them!

AnnBR

Jenjeni, so glad you are pleased with your stage 2 results! 

Jersey, I am a little over 2 weeks post op and feel amazing. I can tell I am getting stronger each day. Yesterday I went to a tea room with my 3 SILs and it was a nice change of scenery. I've been taking short walks and rides, but this was my first big outing. I loved it.

For those of you with upcoming surgeries, you can do this. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ann

Kat-ski

Hi to all!  Goldie good to see you posting again. I still take it day by day but would rather step it up to a week gone by when I don't have to think about my healing.  The wound doctor gave me some silverdene cream and it seems to have worked on the abdomen. (I can't wait take a bath which is one of the first things I will do when I can).  The open flap is not angry red anymore but there is still weeping.  May 24th is my three month mark from surgery and it will just fly on by.  I am working on getting a second opinion on where to go with this.  I hope to have Step II done in Sept./Oct.  Not sure about nipples at all but am thinking about tattoos if I go that route.  My husband said the last 2.5 years have been like a ball of confusion and that is an understatement.

 My upstairs bathroom is getting sanded down and getting some new wallpaper and mirror.  The dark purple walls are going away and the color is a light-gold yellow.  We are hiring someone to wallpaper and add the mirror.  The rest we will do ourselves.  Just have to find the right lights for it now.

Hey, my daughter is really moving up here!!  Anyone have a hide-out that I can go to when I need to?  Seriously, she is coming and all of the adjustments will be challenging due to her OCD and not trusting people in general.(She left home after graduating HS and took her OCD with her)  She is going into Pharmacy at GRCC.

I am thinking of you all.  We are at many different places in our healing.  To be able to say--It is healed and now what?!  Have a wonderful Day!

Dyvgrl

so apparently there isn't enough Dilaudid and ear plugs to block out the woman talking next door. She literally has been talking non stop ever since we got here. I really can't imagine how one person can talk so long and so loud!! She's talking when I try to fall asleep, she's talking when I get up at 4 am to go pee, she's talking when I wake up. It's crazy!! Not only incredibly annoying, but downright comical at this point!! Doesn't she ever sleep???

goldie4040

dvygirl, the bump near your incision could be a stitch that got stuck under your skin.  Keep an eye on it.  If it gets red around it call the doc.  The non stop talker must be on drugs...lol.  You just can't catch a break with your accommodations. You will be so happy to get home

Jen, you sound so happy.  Yeh!!! 

Teacher, sorry about the tummy swelling, but moving around and being physical is always a better option than sitting still.

Kat ski, you are sounding better.  Hey, if you are taking on home renovations you must be feeling pretty good.  The thought of having worker's in my house right now is out of the question.  Having you daughter around will probably be great for both of you.  Didn't you say she was bringing kids with her?

Tummy spasms are common, evidently.  I have a friend who had her diep over a year ago, and she says sometimes it feels like she is pregnant and their is a baby moving around in her tummy.  Not because it is swollen, but the muscles spasm ever so slightly, and they feel like kicks.

Cindy, yes....cotton cotton cotton.  Modal is nice too. 

Dyvgrl

CANNOT catch a break!! Lol. I must be getting some sleep tho since I can giggle about it. Goldie was it you who was talking about getting some inexpensive Maxi dresses? I'm considering buying a few since they seem so comfy and easy to deal with for potty breaks, drains, camo for the constantly changing shape. Yoga pants aren't gonna cut it forever. I want to find some good comfy camisoles and a few dresses to round out my wardrobe for the next few months. Think it's gonna be a warm summer for us and shorts just sound uncomfortable at this point.

lemon68

Hi

I only have 1 drain left, 3 taken out yesterday!! What instant relief! PS took off bandages so I could see my new girls. They no longer have the big ovals with belly skin as that was removed on Tuesday and sew together. They look like partially deflated balloons and are very swollen mostly at the sides. My cleavage area is nice but that's about it. Now of course he told me a week from now they will look different and continue to change all the time. In August we will do Stage 2 and pretty them up. Keeping an eye on my nipples but they look healthy just wrinkled! I am in a tight binder on top and on my tummy.

I did ask about the rib thing. He told me that he removed the ribs and that is why the pain in the upper chest is bad. Its still bad and my upper tummy feels like a metal plate has been put in there. Yes, I am complaining again I am sorry.

Teacher- I am so jealous, my yard looks like no one lives here! Our weather is cold and rainy so even if I could I cant.

Old Navy sun dresses sound like a good idea, I will need to check them out. I feel like I have nothing to wear! I haven't worn underwear since surgery. Is that normal? I just don't need one more thing in my way.

Dvygrl- sorry you are not getting the rest you should with jabber jaws next to you. Hope by now she has quieted down and you can get some peace. Good that you are taking it in stride.

AnnBR

lemon, congratulations on the removal of 3 drains! Hopefully the last one will come out soon. I describe my breasts as flat hamburger buns, although I like how they are shaping up. I didn't have much ab fat, so I'm not huge but it's good enough for now. I know the magic will happen in stage 2. I don't know what normal is, but I did not wear underwear for the first several days as it was more comfortable for me to leave them off. I am now wearing granny pants two sizes too big and they work perfectly.

Ann

Wynne50

My PS had me buy white cotton Tshirts, cut the up the center and wear them under my bra and binder.  Worked like a charm.  They were soft and kept any leakage, blood etc from getting on the outer garments.  I could easily wash them and when I was done I threw them all away. 

Dvygirl, my husband would have made a scene if I was next to somebody like that.  Glad I didn't have to deal with it.  Although, 8 weeks out and I have very few memories of my time in the hospital.  I must have been really out of it.  

Lemon, getting the drains out it the best feeling in the world.  I was so happy.  My 4th drain was in for 3 weeks but getting the other 3 out felt wonderful.  

Hope everyone is doing well.  It is amazing to me how fast the time has gone since my surgery.  I'm going to put off Stage 2 until the fall. My PS says the longer you wait the better the results and I'm in no hurry at this point.  Not sure I want to be in any kind of binder during the south Texas heat in the summer.

TinaHoff

Goldie, Amen to what Nihai said about looking forward to wearing all your cute new clothes.  Soon!

TinaHoff

Lemon and Ann, you are cracking me up about going commando after surgery.

Wynne50, I am going to take your suggestion about the plain white cotton tshirts cut up the middle.  I expect not to pull things over my head for awhile, and that sounds like a lovely idea.

Did you all get the binder in the hospital, or is that something I need to shop for?  Also, a friend suggested I look around for a comfortable compression bra.  Has anyone used one, and are they worth it?  His wife didn't have enough compression right after her reconstruction, and had a couple of "bleeders" as a result, and ended up back in surgery.

I'm 10 days away!  So far, not as nervous as I was before my mastectomy.  I suppose that will change...

Tina

AnnBR

Yes, commando, woo-woo! I'm glad I could put a smile on your face! I woke up from surgery in a binder plus I was given three extra ones when I was released from the hospital. At my first post op appointment, I was give a prescription for a bra which I got from the Mayo Clinic mastectomy shop. My PS said it's important to get one that supports but does not compress. I bought XL sleeveless white tees and an oversized button down top which I wore when released from the hospital and for post op appointments. I also wore yoga pants. I did not have ab drains to deal with and I got along fine. I'll keep the yoga pants, but the tees and button down top will go on the burn pile!

Wynne50

Tina, I woke up in a surgical bra and binder.  The hospital then gave me 1 extra of each.  The Tshirts work great. My PS kept me in the surgical bra and binder for several weeks.  All PS are different but I think they really helped me.  I'm 8 weeks out and still wearing a very supportive bra 24/7.  At night I switch to a sports type bra but it has definite cups, not the kind that smush you all up.  He believes in keeping them supported for a long time, and no underwire. He did tell me not to spent much on bras because they will change a lot.  I bought mine from Walmart for $11 and hubby found a couple of really good,soft but supportive sports bras from Academy.  I was also switched from the abdominal binder to a "girdle", yes my PS called it that at around 4 weeks.  I bought them at walmart also on the cheap.  They have extra support on the abdominal area and now I feel weird when I'm not wearing it.

Good luck.  It will be over before you know it.

Anonymous

I am scheduled for a double mastectomy w/DIEP June 16 at Johns Hopkins. How many of you bypassed the sentinel node procedure? I was diagnosed with triple negative in 2009, went through lumpectomy, chemo and rads. This past March I had a BIRADS3 mammo and, rather than getting a biopsy, I have decided to peremptorily lose the boobs before they kill me. Subsequent breast MRI showed .7mm lesion in left breast and .5 lesion on scar tissue of right breast. Too small for ultrasound and, quite frankly, the decision to forego biopsy and move forward with mastectomy was a decision I'd already made soon after my 2009 diagnosis, if "the girls" gave me any more trouble. Whatever these lesions are, they represent a threat to my usually good state-of-mind...so, they are coming off. SLN procedure is controversial in prophylactic mx, and risk reduction mastectomy. There are no real conclusive studies on recurrence with one (no SNL) vs. the other (SNL). My surgeon is fine with foregoing the procedure.

Would be interested in hearing others thoughts.

goldie4040

I am still commando two weeks in to this.  Much more comfortable.  I just have on a soft nightie with my tank top underneath so nothing rubs. 

Heidi, that is a very tough thing to give somebody advice on.  I know that women who are BRCA positive, but have never had cancer don't usually have the sentinel node biopsy, but since you did have cancer that is a different story.  I think you have done your research, and if you and your surgeon are both comfortable with the decision, then that's what you should do.  They will biopsy the breast tissue they take, and if (God forbid) anything is found in it they can go back and do a sentinel node biopsy without disturbing your diep.

Kat-ski

Yes the grandsons are coming too!!  My daughter's husband said he would fight for custody at first but now he has changed his mind.  She does have a lawyer now and she told my husband the lawyer could be like a "bulldog" if needed.  I let her use my "vacation money" for a retainer!  I just pray that this goes as smooth as she thinks it will.  August is the month for her to come.  We have to do some rearranging here.  We will go from the two of us, a dog, and a cat to 3 adults, two toddlers, 3 cats and a dog!!  A lot of changes coming our way with family moving in and then more surgeries yet to come.  At least I can leave my animals home this time when I get the date.

lemon68

Ann I have some granny panties but haven't tried them yet. For now I am going to continue to be free. If I get a couple sun dresses I may have to wear some granny panties.. on a windy day, oh the thought! LOL

I haven't gotten my pathology report from the BS as I haven't seen her yet. My PS assistant did look and tell me they found no malignancies and that is why I could keep my nips and didn't have the SNB on the left side. But she did say I had to have a sit down with the BS soon. Atypical hyperplasia lobular was found but she didn't tell me which side or both. I will get the facts soon but this does give me so sort of validation that my gut knew what to do. Seems some Docs think its a precursor and some don't, with my history I wouldn't have taken any chances if I had known. They had to go.

Tina I woke up with the tummy binder. I am wearing it during the day and removing at night. It feels like it holds me together nicely. I came home with nothing on top but had another surgery 8 days later and am in a cotton front hook bra, they supplied 2. I have to use fluff gauze and pack it, feels good to have things securely held in place. Your PS is going to instruct you what to do that's right for you. 10 days Tina!! I was getting nervous at 10 days but also excited. We will be here cheering you on, your going to be just fine.

Heidi- regarding the nodes, my BS said if C found during my BMX she would have to do it on my good side, if not they wouldn't do it. She told me once you have a MX you can no longer have a SNB. I would definitely ask him/her this question so you know what to expect. One of the 1st things I did upon waking was feel to see if I have it on the left, so happy I didn't. I am in total agreement with your decision if they gave you any more trouble. I felt the exact same way. My 1st mammo after DX and they couldn't tell me anything due to density and I knew I had to let them go. Your getting close with only a month, the peace of mind is worth it all.

LiLi-RI

Nihahi, Cuetang, Kim and Cindy, Thank for your advice regarding obtaining more info and recording consults....usually after the consults, I walk out with my mouth wide open ... and think huh? I do bring friends to take notes...but it is a lot of information.

JerseyMom and Ann - so glad you both doing well! It is very comforting!

Dyrgirl- You are too funny! Things like that always happen to me!

Lemon - At my diagnostic mammogram, I had stereotactic biopsies, which results showed hyperplasia lobular in my left breast....that is what triggered my decision. I am so tired of all the tests, pain and waiting in the last year! I need to move on...

Dyvgrl

Heidi,

I had a prophy MX on one side with my bilateral DIEP. I had dense tissue and a 6cm tumor on my right so felt they both needed to go. I have Lymphedema on my right when they did the axillary dissection. My sentinel node was positive on that side   So they removed all 9. I discussed the nodes with my BS who was performing the prophy mx and we decided that since nothing was found on my mammo just prior or surgery that we'd forego the SNB on that side. I didn't want anymore Lymphedema issues and decided to skip it. Post DIEP and my path report came back totally clean so in mind it was a good choice. Just depends on what uglies are lurking there prior. Discuss in length with your BS before deciding. If they found cancer, I would probably be concerned for my nodes.

Teacher64

lemon, sundress on windy day made me thing of Marilyn Monroe in movie scene when her dress blew up. Guess we will have to call you Marilyn  Such good news about drain removal. You can celebrate when the last one goes. I've been assured that even with a little belly revision in stage 2, there will be NO drains! 

I completely forgot about going commando after DIEP but I did, too!

Bra and binder on when I woke up, but I didn't even wear the bra home. The binder was with me for six weeks. I went home with two. Wearing a bra is still an issue that I hope goes away after stage 2 because I'd like to buy some pretties.

k79miller

Teacher...do you have your stage 2 scheduled yet?

Tina...My PS is in the same practice as Wynne's so I used the t-shirts cut up the middle too.  They work great.  My PS told me to be sure that I got t-shirts that were 100% cotton & buy them at least 2 sizes bigger than you would normally wear.  I used the mens undershirts.

My PS told me that at 8 wks post-op I could start wearing any bra & that I could lose the girdle.  Too bad we can't all get together & have a huge bonfire & burn all the post-op clothes & binders.  Talk about a bunch of women whooping & hollering.  There would probably be a lot of tears shed too.

Teacher64

k79, my stage 2 is on for July 30.

Anonymous

After mx a sln can not be done. I have already had two out on my right side. Hate the thought of them taking more from right, plus doing the left also. We don't know what the two lesions are; I could have opted for a simple repeat mammo in 6 months, but didn't like the idea of waiting...having had triple negative. But, to not have the sln is to flirt with axln if breast biopsy comes back positive for cancer. I suppose I could get a core biopsy done before surgery....

How I hate this shit. Was almost five years out, and still may be benign (probably am)....but tired of the annual uncertainty with mammos.

TinaHoff

Thank you so much, Ladies! Ann, Wynne50, Teacher, k79miller, lemon, I wish I could hug you right now!

Goldie you are so funny! I love how frank we all are.  It's so freeing...

Tina

Ridley

Heidi - I had to decide on SNB on the prophy side as well.  We did an MRI and another biopsy and found DCIS, so decided to do it.  However, before the biopsy, I had talked to my surgeon about the method Angelina Jolie used, which was to inject blue dye so that the sentinel node would turn colour, but not remove it at the first surgery.  If the path came back with anything in it, then the sentinel node would be removed in a second surgery.   There is a thread on the board about this technique, and a write up on the surgery group website that did AJ's surgery -- Pink Lotus I think??

Anonymous

yes...I sent that article to my bc surgeon yesterday, asking if they could do that.

tlbradyful

Dyvgrl, do you have sleeping pills? I can't believe you have another issue after all you have been through. Maybe it's another woman who is nervous about her upcoming surgery. Hopefully she will be admitted soon.

Tina, I received bras and binders in the hospital, but ask your specific doctor's office. 

PANTIES - I tried the old fashioned 100% cotton briefs from Fruit of the loom and Hanes. Both were very rough, even after several washings. I just went to Victoria's Secret and bought their much softer 100% cotton high cut bikinis one size larger than normal and they fall just slightly above the incision. I wore them all day yesterday with a sundress at the beach. They were comfy. I was nervous though. I am 5 weeks out from stage 1 and have a few scabs left. I suggest commando as long as possible. I wear my compression most days so that works well with any soft cotton panty.

T-shirts? Why do you cut them? I'm intrigued by this idea. Wash cloths were suggested, but I thought they would be rough. I bought cotton baby diapers and cut them into strips and am using them to keep breathable cotton over my incisions. 

I'm jealous of all of you maxi dress wearers! I am 5'10" and have yet to find one that is long enough. I would love not to have to shave my legs. Even with the shower chair this is a chore! The forcast is for 90s this week. I have to find something cooler than yoga pants that don't show my beloved compression.

Dyvgrl

fortunately the yapper has checked out so I had a gloriously quiet night. I don't wear any compression per PS but am needing some support. Spent the day yesterday looking for camis with shelf bra. Who would've thought those would be so hard to find. Finally found some I could step into so bought several. Wear my ab binder all the time as I like the support. I love the maxi dress idea but I'm too short!! They all drag the ground. I have on a knee length dress so I had to shave. Dear Lord that was painful. Need to wear something cool tho. Nice to have smooth legs once again.