DIEP 2014

Sarahbb

Thank you so much ladies!  I do have My Fitness Pal and a Fitbit. I am usually pretty good for a month or two and then I go off the rails. I am mostly worried because the DIEP isn't scheduled until December. I know I can do ok for a few weeks and maybe a month or two but I have no idea how I will keep anything off until December, I just wish the surgery were sooner. 

I just feel like there are too many unknowns and they freak me out a bit. Like going into early menopause and how that will affect my weight. Having read so much about weight being really hard to loose once in menopause. There's just a lot that can happen in between now and December. And I wouldn't want to have to put it off any longer, just becuse I haven't lost the 20 lbs.

I guess I just need to take a chill pill and take it one day at a time and not worry about the unknowns ahead. And know that things will work out in the end anyway! Thanks for listening to my ramblings and for all of your suggestions and support, they are so helpful!

Andrea623

Sarah, I had a surgical menopause when I was 36. I didn't gain a weight till this year, and I'm 58 now. I know it's a lot to take in and is overwhelming, but we're all here for you if you need it. Just take one day at a time.

Sarahbb

Andrea, thank you so much for writing to tell me that! It really makes me feel so much better!!

Sweetie1972

I also have a fitbit and you can sync it with my fitness pal

goldie4040

Yeah, Sweetie. You are doing great!!!  Hope it continues!!!  Keep us posted!!!

Sarah, I know you can do this weight thing.  If it's for the best, and will make your surgery more successful, and you really want the surgery, you can do it.  I will tell you all something, that I have never talked about on here before.  I smoked for 35 years. It was a disgusting gross horrible habit and I swore nothing could make me quit.  The day they told me I couldn't have breast reconstruction if I didn't quit was the day I quit.  I walked outside the hospital, sat on a bench, had my last smoke, and threw them away.  I was done.  Even with the stress of a fresh BC diagnosis, and a bmx in 2 weeks, I quit.  I never looked back.  That was 16 months ago.  You can lose weight if you want to.  It's on the short list of the few good things BC has done for me.

Sarahbb

wow Goldie! That's so inspiring! You should be so proud of yourself!  Thanks for the encouragement!!

goldie4040

Sarah, I hope I didn't come off too hardcore?  I just don't think you are giving yourself enough credit. You can do it.  We will help. 

Sweetie1972

they are taking my pain pump off of me today. Going to give me vicodine. PT is going to get me up and walking

enjoyevrymoment

I use myfitnesspal and fitbit- not losing super fast but lost 1.2 this week.    Sarah, I wonder why they want you to lose weight.  That is interesting.  I don't know what you weigh but all I can say is be sure and eat enough protein and nutrients so you heal well and have good immunity.  

Hang in there Sweetie!  You can do it!

Teacher thinking of you and hope you are well.

Waving hi to all!  Have a great day!

crs629

Hi all!  I've been reading your posts for the last several weeks. You are such a beautiful group of women and have been so helpful with so many questions. My BMX & DIEP are scheduled for next week on August 21. On Monday they saw something on my routine pre-op chest x-ray....a 9mm nodular opacity near my lower trachea. I am going in for a CT scan this morning of the chest to rule out.....what, I am not sure?? I was explained that it could just be a shadow, not to worry. Ha....not to worry! I am very nervous and frightened. I had Hodgkins Lymphoma 15 years ago and completed chemo and radiation to my chest wall. I fear that it may be related to that or that it is metastatic BC. I don't know if this will delay my surgery or change my treatment. It is so hard to not be scared. But I have to pick myself up and walk out the door. I also see my PC today, too. Feeling sad today. 

butterfleyez

Hello ladies... I had my DIEP last year in October and was on the 2013 thread (life saver).  Im scheduled for revision surgery for the dog ears tomorrow and still have to get the noob some nipples and a tattoo.  I just thought Id join this thread as well for the support and to be a support to those waiting for surgery.

jbdayton

crs - my prayers are with you for your additional testing.  I pray it is nothing to worry about but can feel your fears.  

Butterfly welcome to this group as you do your revision surgeries.  It is encouraging to know you are nearing the end of this process.  I hope all heals well and you can move on.

Sweetly I hope your walk went well.

Sarah you can do it!  Put the surgery in your mind and use it as the crutch you need to change your eating habits.  If you want the surgery bad enough you will push through the temptations.  I was just like Goldie I quit smoking 4 months before DIEP and have remained smoke free for 9 months now.  

Teacher hope the bruising is almost gone and the bulge is shrinking.

Sweetie1972

second walk today was so much better than the first. I did cough a little and OMG that hurt

Kathy1965

Aff – I am with you on trying to find
meaning. Work has always been important to me. I have given it my all and it
has shown in my career growth. But my personal life and family have suffered. I
started working in a new department in August and my new boss is great. I am
hoping that I can get a better work life balance after my surgery and return to
work. I love what I do but the stress is eating me up. I need to figure out how
to be good at my job and not sacrifice my health or my family

Sweetie – so glad the surgery went well. I am sure getting
up and moving will help. Good luck and speedy recovery

Georgie – good luck to you

Sara - I agree about
the dieting. I have been overweight most of my life. Sometimes by 15 lbs and
sometimes by 50. It’s a yo-yo, but we started a fitness challenge at work and I
got a pedometer. I am aware of how much walking (or lack of) that I do daily. I
also pay more attention to what I eat and how much. Lost 7 lbs before my
diagnosis. The last 6 weeks have been chaos so I haven’t lost more but I am
still making sure I walk every day

Crs629 – we have the same surgery date. My BMX and DIEP are
on 8/21 too. I’ll be with you in spirit. Hopefully your test will come back
with good results. I had my CT angiogram 2 weeks ago and they saw something on
my L4. Sent me for a bone scan and x-rays. It made me more nervous than waiting
for the results of my bopsy after they saw something on my mamo and ultrasound.
It was nothing – well it was a “boney island”. Said I was born with it and not
to worry. I am sure your will be minor. Sending you good wishes and prayers

Butterfleye – good luck tomorrow

MsW2012

Thanks to all for sharing your great news and advice. aff, that's wonderful about the precious time you have had with family. I was so moved reading your post about that. Sweetie, congratulations on coming through your surgery. I bet you've passed 1250 by now on that breathing thing! I agree the hospital time is the toughest. Recovery certainly isn't quick, but each week for me was definitely much easier than the week before. I hope coughing gets easier too.

Sarahbb, that is so awesome about your sister. I appreciate what a blessing it is to have a close relationship with a sister. So happy about the clear MRI!

I discovered something just yesterday. Don't know if it will apply to anyone else? Ever since I was home, I was having trouble with chills. No fever, I just get to feeling cold, even when it's 80-90 degrees outside. After four weeks, I finally figured out it had a lot to do with the fat not being there on my abdomen anymore. I would get cold, bundle up, take a long time to feel warm, then feel overheated. Yesterday I tried just holding a pillow on my abdomen while sitting or laying down and that's all it takes now to keep me feeling warm enough, and I don't get overheated anymore. I hope my body adjusts. Someone said you never accumulate fat in that area again? My sister said her friend who had DIEP started gaining on her sides instead of in front. What about that?

Well wishes and positive thoughts to everyone. You make the journey easier. You lighten my load.

goldie4040

MS, interesting theory about getting cold.  I wonder?  Now, the thing about not gaining weight again in the area they took your flap from doesn't jive.  They actually took that flesh and fat away, and closed you up.  So the area above and below the flap that is now closed and created your incision still will get fat.  You might gain weight in a different pattern and shape than before, but you can gain weight there.  Your foobs might even gain weight differently than they use too now that they are tummy fat.  If you gained weight in your tummy before, you might gain weight in you boobs now instead.  

Now, lipo is different.  In that case they remove your fat cells in a certain area and they do not grow back, so if you gain weight, yes it will seem like you gained more somewhere else.  The fat needs a place to go.  I think that is why it is so important to try to find your ideal weight, get there, have your diep, lipo, etc. and then maintain.  I was just talking to somebody on another thread about this exact subject.  She was very thin when she had her diep, but has gained 20 pounds since because of tamoxifen.  She now has dog ears on her abdominal incision that she did not have after her diep because the incision is tight now and digging into her fat and causing the dog ears. 

Sweetie, glad you are getting up!!!!  It will help you feel better 

JBdayton.  We deserve huge pats on the back.  I was embarrassed of my smoking the last ten years before I quit.  Nobody smoked anymore, and I felt stupid and trashy. I usually hid it from most people.  But now that I have quit successfully for so long I think I should be proud of such a big accomplishment, and I am proud of your too.

Andrea, I think you are on to something.  I think the weight can in our late 50's and early 60's is more about metobolsim that it is about hormones.

gila4936

I fell behind in my reading here so I had a lot of catching up to do! 

Optimi - So glad you received some good news!

Shine - Happy to hear you're recovering well and hooray for no invasive cancer! 

I'm scheduled for Stage 2 on August 29th. Scar revision on my tummy, dog ears removed, nipple reconstruction and potentially making the foobs a little smaller. Sounds crazy but I think that's what I want. It's coming up so soon, but if I didn't take that date I'd have to wait until October and neither my husband nor I wanted to wait that long. It ruins some fun Labor Day plans but that's OK.

I'm intrigued by the tummy scar tattooing. I'd probably do that down the road sometime.

Goldie, I have the dirty little secret of having been a smoker as well. I quite cold turkey in May and haven't even wanted a cigarette since then. Of course, it helped that my husband quit as well, although he used the patch.

jbdayton

Goldie thank you for the big pat on the back.  You can be so proud, this is supposed to be one of the hardest addictions to overcome.

I give my PS the final thank you, he was a former smoker and talked to me like a friend and encouraged me to stop smoking.  Of course, he wouldn't do reconstruction without me being smoke free for at least 8 weeks.  I still wonder if my small veins and healing issues are not truly due to my years of smoking.  

Oh well, I am doing it right now.  I like my new smoke free life style.  The money I am saving will pay for a nice vacation.    We are the winners. 

MsW2012

I just have to say a big congrats to all you amazing women who quit smoking! It's really a big, big deal! I never had the habit but my husband smoked 2 packs a day for like forever and finally quit about 6 years ago. It was a months-long process of healing for his lungs, won't go into gory details here but it was great to see it was not too late for healing. Major kudos to you all!

Teacher64

crs - let us know your scan results. Thinking of you.

Thanks for those who asked about my bulge. It's still there. Patient manager from PS's office called to remind me of appointment tomorrow and asked if it was better. She said it could take multiple ultrasound treatments. I'm still massaging 3x daily and wearing the binder. It seemed a bit better Monday after the treatment but it is still about the size of my hand when it's slightly cupped. I've decided to just be pleased with the nipples and scar revisions because they look good!

Andrea623

crs629, welcome to our group, even though I'm sorry you have to be here. I hope your CT scan shows nothing concerning. Let us know when you get the results.

Goldie, I think my metabolism has died. I'm going to have to buy a whole new set of clothes to fit the larger me! Funny how it seemed to happen so fast, but then time seems to pass faster the older I get, so maybe it was a gradual thing.

Sarahbb

Goldie: no,  you didn't come off too hard-core I needed it and thank you!

Enjoy:  the plastic surgeon says I need to be below 35 BMI I am at 37.5 I weighed 234 at the appointment and I've lost 12 pounds so far, almost there!  My issue is keeping it off!!

Crs629: I'm so sorry that you are worried!  I can understand where you're coming from my thoughts and prayers to you!

Butterfly: I'd love to hear all about your next surgery

JB Dayton: that's exactly right! Need to keep reminding myself how much I want that surgery!

Sweetie: you're one day closer to feeling better! Thank you so much for the updates!

Kathy: you and I can maybe help and motivated you either I'm also a yo-yo'er with my weight!

Msw2012: how interesting about the lack of abdominal fat making you cold, good thing you found a method to keep you warm! 

k79miller

Congrats to you all of you who quit smoking.  I've never been a smoker but both my parents were.  Thankfully, they both quit over 10 yrs ago.

Sarah...You can do it!  Every time you want to eat something that you shouldn't just think about your DIEP surgery.  The weight loss will be great in more ways than one.

 

enjoyevrymoment

Cr praying all goes well with the upcoming CT.  

My Mom had the most self control as far as managing six kids, working three jobs, single parenting, etc etc but really said quitting smoking was the hardest thing she did.  Congrats to you who overcame that!  You should feel great about it!

Teacher, you always look on the bright side!  You just keep smiling at your new look elsewhere and I have no doubt you will get some resolution soon for the part that is misbehaving.

Andrea, I am slowly getting used to not stressing as much over the number.  Did I do my best today?  Did I move more than usual?  Did I log my stuff I ate?  If I did that, to me it is a successful day.    Hang in there.

Kathy and Sarah- best wishes.  Will be here soon!

Goldie, you doing ok?

Gila, wow it will be here soon for you, sounds like you are getting a nice bunch of finishing touches.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with two Newbies and showed em the girls in a tiny bathroom at the restaurant.  I don't usually flash myself but they wanted to see the results---it made me feel so good to help them see that there is a new normal on the other side.  They both emailed me today and said nice things, I felt so good to help them.  Someone showed me their breasts when I was not able to absorb so many details and I felt it really decreased my fear.  My husband thought I was cracked but actually said that he understood it, since it helped me so much. 

Hi everyone else!

Cindy

butterfleyez

ill definitely report back on the surgery. I'm  getting the dog ear revision and lipo. I'm doing the breast revision and nipple later this year. PS said my weight needs to be stable for matching purposes. Like many here I've been up and down on the scale since my first surgery. 

Enjoy.. I think it's great that you helped the newbies. I had the chance to see what I was in for as well. A lady from here met me at a coffee shop so I could see. It was such a help. 

Teacher64

enjoyevrymoment - I have no problem "flashing" the girls to newbies. It helps calm nerves. Besides it feels like practically all of north TX has seen them from hospitals to doctors' offices, not to mention enough photos for a coffee table book! 

goldie4040

Thanks for the thumbs up on the quitting smoking.  I am glad I finally spoke about it, and I am not the only one.

Teacher, I have had a lump at the top of my almost cleavage on my right side that has been there since stage 1. PS though it was inflammation from messing with the rib. I reduced in size about 50percent before my stage 2.  When I woke up from stage 2 it was gone.  He said it was inflammation and he scraped it out?  What I don't get was it was there immediately after stage 1 and gone after stage 2.  But, today when I was showering I think I can feel it coming back...sigh.  Who the heck knows, but it doesn't make me happy, and I will be talking to the about the ultrasound, which I did have during PT, but under my arm on my scar tissue to release tightness. I only had one session, but felt better for a couple of days.  I want to go back for more.

Andrea, you crack me up.  Have fun clothes shopping.  I need to do some too.  Gee in three months it might go below 80 here...lol

optimi

Thank you wonderful ladies for celebrating my great PETscan results with me! Today I finally got to see the written report and it fills me with so much happiness!!
Ever since I got the great news from my oncologist I am not dreading the radiation sessions anymore. When I lie on the table I think about how the X-rays are zapping the remaining cancer cells and helping me put this disease behind hopefully once and for all!
Here is something I wanted to share after seeing my PS today. I asked her about the swelly belly. I have the same phenomenon some mentioned on here of a rounder belly after food intake, and by the end of the day. Apparently, all this will settle within a year post surgery. She mentioned that this is due to the lack of blood and lymphatic vessels which need to re-form.
jbdayton, I a sorry you have had to deal with open wounds.
GeorgieGirl, I will be thinking about you on Friday. Any type of surgery now matter how small, is nerve-racking but in most cases the outcome is worth it.
Welcome Sarahbb, I am sorry that your PS is asking you to diet before the DIEP flap. That has to be stressful especially in light of the hysteretcomy in September. But like others said you can do it! Where there is a will there is a way. I tested BRCA1 positive and eventually need to undergo a hysterectomy too. Definitely not looking forward to it!
Teacher64, I hope all the bruising and swelling and pain that comes with it is subsiding.
Goldie,Shine and Sweety, happy to hear your surgeries went well. I hope you continue to heal well.
pzercher, so glad to hear that you are doing well. I had the pec tightness for quite a while. It's only recently that is resolved. I love the idea of a tattoo to cover up scars. The one that's bothering me the most is the scar from my chemoport. Might consider getting one there.
aff, beautiful post!!
crs, best wishes to you. Waiting on scan results is so very nerve racking especially after having been through so much already. I will keep you in my prayers!
Hats off to all of you ladies who quit smoking!

goldie4040

optimi, you sound like you are on cloud nine.  It also sounds like you have a very supportive oncologist!!!!  Rads will be a breeze and you will be done.  Remember to tread the skin well, and moisturize it a lot.

Optimi, you mentioned the pec tightness.  Did you have implants before diep, and if so, was that the reason you pecs were bothersome?  Mine just won't calm down.

Janet_M

I used to be a smoker too, and quite ten years ago after many failed attempts. Here's the one piece of advise that I stuck to that helped finally get me through:

'You're not giving something up - you're going home to your natural state. We were all born non smokers'. I've applied that piece of advise to almost everything. Mostly cigarettes, but sometimes food, and even my DIEP surgery. To me, pure healthy tissue is the way I was born. 

Enjoy - Great that you're willing to flash the new girls to the new girls. Prior to surgery Jim (DH) and I went to an event called 'A Night Out With the Girls'. As part of the program, we (chicks only) were encouraged to mingle with a bunch of topless, reconstructed ladies. They wore tiaras that had a sign on them, saying what kind of surgery they'd had. It was fabulous. Had it not been for that evening I may not have had the courage to go ahead. It demystified everything. Good for you!