DIEP 2014

enjoyevrymoment

Melissa, best wishes for ongoing recovery!

Juliho, my surgery was a lot shorter than Beth Israel was going to offer you, I had BilatMx at same time as tissue transfer, I think mine was 8 hours?  Best wishes to you and congratulations on getting closer to getting it all lined up!

Winter, nice, to recover over the holidays vs going back to work then sounds like a great plan.

Chris,  I love UPenn.  My surgeon seriously does not spend a lot of time on her follow up visits but I have no complaints, she was there and answered every question and did a butt kicking good job.  Would go there again in a heartbeat.

Teacher, my little model friend!  Go on with your bad self!  Hope the paparazzi do not swarm to closely.   Practice your parade wave.  Hugs to you and best wishes for a lovely outcome!  I too will be hopefully all done this year with my tats being doing Dec 2.  While my body is still not rocking like I would like in that I need to lose more weight, I could not be happier and especially to have no signs of cancer at this point.  I do not take things for granted as I did, that is for sure.  

Have a lovely day ladies, I am going to a conference in Pittsburgh today and hoping the rain lets up for my friend who is driving.  

ChrisInPA

Melissa and Tina - welcome home to both of you!  Best wishes in your recovery.  

julieho

can anyone answer how you felt about seven or eight weeks after Stage 1?

My family of five kids plus significant others and a grandchild wanted to all meet in Florida near one of my sons houses to celebrate my husbands 60th birthday.

I am hoping to have stage 1 DIEP at NOLA or San Antonio around December 8th.

I know we all heal differently, my surgery is a bilateral DIEP and removing implants.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts and experience.

Melissa so glad you are home from stage 2.

Jmb5 as awful as it is to continue to get test done I would urge you to do a follow up ultra sound next year.  If it were me I would be stressing about it anyway so this way you get reassured again in 3 - 6 months that all is okay.

Much love to all

Julieho

Ridley

Julie -- about 8 weeks after stage 1, I went to the Dominican for a week and was fine -- I had help with luggage when needed.  We did lots and lots of walking (20,000 steps most days) and spent a lot of time reading under a hut.  It was very relaxing and a wonderful break from the icy cold winter we were having. 

julieho

Ridley,  Thank you so much.  I am glad it sounds like this is doable.  After all my husband has done I would love to surprise him with a family gathering to celebrate him.  

LAstar

I definitely think you can handle it, julieho.  At week 3, you might wonder what you've gotten yourself into but you'll soon be feeling better and getting excited for vacation yourself! I found that my cohort who'd had their mastectomies prior to Stage 1 bounced back a couple of weeks faster than I did after having BMX and SGAP at the same time.  

julieho

LAstar what is a GAP flap?  Just curious.  I have been looking at the DIEP surgery but PRMA just called and said they didn't know if I had enough fat to do it.  First time in years I have had anyone think that.  I do think they are wrong, I have a fair amount of belly fat and plenty on hips and buttocks.

Just curious what your surgery was.  Thanks.

Julieho

melissa2013

julieho - by week 8 I was able to walk a few miles and I went back to work.   I was still a little tired, but I think a trip to Florida is doable.  You may just still need some extra rest each day.  

Teacher64

Julieho - at 8 weeks I was working with my trainer. You should be ok but let someone else deal with luggage.

I talked to a friend yesterday. She's 3 1/2 weeks out and said I was on target about feeling capable of doing it all only to realize she still needs to rest. Funny how that seems to get most of us and when we rest, we are back on track. 

Here's to wonderful healing for all.

Sacnaillady

julieho- a gap or sGAP flap is where they take a piece of your upper butt to make your breast flap. I'm 3 1/2 weeks out from my sGAP flap and today I finally feel some what normal. It's a big surgery just as a DIEP is. 

youngmama

Debiann, thanks for sharing.  You are right, I will definitely need some help when I get home.  My mother will be coming over and staying with us for a little while.  That will help alot I'm sure.  Yikes, I never heard of "drop foot".  I hope it was just a temporary symptom and you've since fully recovered.

Wintersock, great news!!

Janet M, you're right, sounds like a no brainer to me too.

Julieho, thanks.  I hope you can get in and have your surgery soon.

ChrisinPA, thanks for sharing.  I hope you are right and it will also feel like I was there for just 2 days.  My husband is installing several movies on the ipad in hopes that it will pass the time.

jmb5, sorry to hear you will have to go for more tests in the new year.  

Melissa2013 and TinaHoff,  I hope you both have quick recoveries.

Ridley, did you have any restriction when you travelled to the Dominican at 8 weeks?  I really hope we can go on a family vacation to Mexico in March.  I would be about 12 weeks since DIEP and really hope I can go swimming.  Is it reasonable to expect to be able to go swimming?

melissa2013

I was swimming at 8 weeks post DIEP.   It was actually the exercise that felt the best!   The water pressure felt great on my swollen belly, and freestyle and backstroke were a great way to stretch out my chest and arm muscles. 

youngmama

Melissa2013- So glad to hear you went swimming at 8 weeks!

LAstar

julieho, NOLA can do SGAP and also offer a "body lift" that takes flaps from multiple locations if you have too little in one place. I had very little pain in the donor site. My hips were very numb for months. 

mary625

Julie--NOLA doctors and Dr. M both told me I would have to have either the buttock based or body lift flap, but when I got there, she said we could definitely do it as a DIEP.  It's hard to tell from pictures.  I got my DIEP and rid of flabby stomach.  My boobs are big--I think they're about a D+.  

Ridley

youngmama  - I had a little hole in my abdo incision that formed after a stitch was removed that wouldn't dissolve, so I decided not to swim until the last day.  My home care nurse was awesome in getting me everything I needed to clean and bandage it and even got me waterproof tape.  My surgeon said I could go in the ocean, but I just didn't want to chance getting an infection, so I held off until the last day.

Other than that my only restriction was lifting luggage.

Seashore

Getting ready for the big day tomorrow of stage 1 DIEP!  I've been busy with errands and getting the house straight.  Have to admit I'm still anxious, especially about the long surgery time.  Youngmama, Wintersocks, Meg2 and Georgiagator - sending hugs to you as your big days approach!  And so many THANKS to all of you that shared your DIEP experiences here, its given me a much better understanding of what to expect tomorrow. 

youngmama

Ridley, thanks for sharing.  I do worry about infections, so will cross my fingers that I'm fully healed by the time I travel.

Seashore, best of luck with your surgery tomorrow.

MEG2

Ladies, surgery this coming Monday.  Not worried (yet), more concerned about the hospital stay and have a quick question.

I've been told 5 days...does that mean 5 full days, i.e. if I go in on Monday will I need to stay through Friday with release on Saturday OR just more like 4 1/2 days....in on Monday out on Friday.  I know everyone has a different experience; was hoping to get a general consensus on time spent in the hospital.

Thanks! 

youngmama

Good luck on Monday Meg.  I was told to expect to be hospitalised anywhere from 3 to 7 days.  But if they said 5 days, I would expect it means 5days/night, with a discharged on Sunday.

MEG2

Seashore ~ best wishes for your surgery tomorrow.  I'll be sending good vibes and healing energy your way.   Looks like there will be a few of us signing in with surgery stories in the next few weeks.  

Teacher64

Seashore - just show up tomorrow because you will be in good hands. 

MEG2 - I went home day 5 after lunch, so it was 4 nights for me. It varies but around 5 is typical.

debiann

Meg, I was told 4-5 days. I had surgery on a Monday. PS would have considered sending me home Thursday if I would have wanted to go, but I said I thought I needed one more day so I went home Friday afternoon. Good luck to you.

georgiagator

Seashore, I am sending prayers your way today for a most successful surgery and uneventful recovery.  Keep us posted.  

Also, all the best to MEG2 on Monday morning.  I am exactly one week behind you.  My PS said to expect to remain in the hospital 2-3 nights.  This doesn't appear to be the norm.  Not to mention that I am 61, not one of the younger gals going through this.  Up until this past August when I tested positive for BRCA1, I thought I was through with breast cancer. It has been 25 years.  I feel prophylactic surgery is absolutely the right thing to do, even though I am getting more and more anxious as the big day approaches.  

Ridley

thinking of you Seashore and good luck MEG2

I had surgery on a Thursday and was released on Monday

LiLi-RI

Just checking in briefly .... Welcome to the new ladies..! I was in the hospital for 7 days, but I had issues with breathing after 11 hour surgery! I will post more news later.....Time for nap!

wintersocks

Seashore, 

HOping all has gone great for you and you are starting to recover well. . Looking forward to hearing about how it went and how you are feeling. 

Thanking every one too, who has thought of me on the run up to my own date.. It is great to know you are all out there. Xx

julieho

thinking of you seashore. Sending prayers to all of you having surgery and healing from surgery.

Wintersocks so glad you are started in your way. I just got booked yesterday at NOLA for December 10th with Dr Wise. Fly there on Dec 7th and they told me I fly home Dec 18th.

Getting SO SO nervous now. But also so relieved that I found a new place with shorter overall surgical times.

Julieho

jmb5

Julie, PM me your info if you want added to the surgery list. I think December seems like a good time to have the DIEP surgery. You can rest at home and enjoy the calm and peacefulness of your Christmas lights. Christmas lights always make me feel better. (If you put lights up that is. Lol!)

drjr1968

Hi everyone, I'm 4 weeks post-op now from bilateral mastectomy with DIEP reconstruction. It is no picnic like everyone says. It is getting better. Able to stand straight now and do most of the housework, like cooking, laundry, vacuuming, of course no heavy lifting. Did have severe back spasm 2 days post op when they got me up first time since you can't stand straight from a 44 cm abdominal incision. They put me on Baclofen and that seems to help. The thing that I was not expecting is this burning pain in my chest, they called it part of the "healing process". I was told that that area is going to be numb, but no, not me. I described it to someone before that it feels like Bella in Twilight when she is having a vampire transformation, "hot, no it is too hot." Then they said it is maybe I'm having hot flushes since I am 46 yrs old maybe I am premenopausal. But 4 weeks later, it is still here, I would wake up at night every 3 hours with this burning, stabbing pain in my chest and it is sometimes hard to breath. I am taking Oxycodone with Tylenol or Motrin and  that relieves the pain but after 3 hours it is back again. My visiting nurse thinks probably it is some nerve damage since I did have an 11 hour surgical procedure, so they started me on Neurontin and now scheduled to see a Neurosurgeon/pain management specialist. The one thing that my plastic surgeon recommend that seems to help is rubbing the area gently with the pads of my fingers whenever it starts and that helps for now. I just wish I can sleep better. Ambien or Xanax did not help at all.