February 2016 Surgeries

Bliss58

Congrats to those with drains out! I only had one, but had it in for 12 days because BS wanted me down to 10cc for two consecutive 12-hr. periods! I hadn't see anyone quote that amount and I was surprised, but maybe because I had a UMX with no recon.

blg4

Bjsmiller I had UMX with no reconstruction too.. but I was told 30ml or less for 2 consecutive 24 hour periods. If I had that 10ml for 2 12 hr periods, then my drain could come out. I have had that many times or close to that. But yesterday 100ml came out in 23 hours because of having clot/tissue stuck!

It is hard to know what to do because it seems everyone's dr recommends something different. Of course I know we have to go by what our own personal dr says. But it is hard to know what to do.. because just common sense would seem to say moving a lot could cause it to drain more and take longer to heal... but if you don't move around then get the drains taken out.. THEN start to move around, maybe the fluid would then be produced with no way to get out!

blg4

Drain is not ready to come out. Maybe next week. The doctor will want me to go to physical therapy when the drain comes out.

I think I mentioned my Dr said I couldn't lift my arms above my head. He said he wasn't concerned about that, he didn't want me to lift weight. Said to let the pain be my guide.

Said that I might want to consider going to a meeting they have once a month about risk assessment. Said that there was a study showing Tamoxifen helped 4% of people. Said that 50% of the people that used it had a benefit. But it also meant 96 people out of 100 who took it didn't get any benefit. In my case though I am higher risk than normal due to having a strong family history, etc.

Edit: Maybe I have my figures wrong... I know he said some got cancer anyway. Maybe it was that 4% got cancer without it, and 2% got cancer with it. Anyway it made sense when he said it :-)

blg4

Anyone have any tips for this? I was just walking around in a store and afterward my arm hurt. I also had a long car ride. I am thinking it was from my coat rubbing on my arm.

blg4

Got drain out! The nurse said it was hard to get out. She said I didn't flinch. I didn't know what to expect because I had read everything from it being nothing to have it removed, to it being very painful. Yes it hurt but not too bad. I have to keep a dressing on it for 2 days.

Now I have to wait 1 to 2 weeks to start physical therapy.

Mecool

Yeah for drain removal blg4!!!!! I'm heading to the surgeon today and my logs show that I should be able to have 2 of my 3 removed today....I'm so nervous about the pain! Also super bummed the other has to stay How long were yours in? I'm 2 weeks out from surgery tomorrow and starting chemo on Tuesday so it would have been nice to be completely drain free before that. I suppose there's still hope for later this week.

I keep reading of people doing PT, none of my team has mentioned this so I'm going to inquire about it today.

Wishing everyone a great, peaceful Tuesday!

WannaCruize

Mecool, talk to your surgeon about the drain with chemo. It doesn't seem right that they would leave one in while you start chemo. Your immune system will be compromised, and the drain could be a source of infection.

Mecool

Huh, that hadn't occured to me. Of course I just left his office, two drains came out (didn't hurt at all) but one is still there. We're hopeful it will come out yet this week though so I guess I'll just see what he says about the incision sites not being totally healed yet. Thanks for thinking of that!

blg4

Congrats on getting the drains out! Mine hurt a bit but she also said it was hard to get it out.

I was thinking the same about your drain... that they wouldn't want you to have chemo with it in.

Also they told me to keep a bandage on it for 2 days.. changing it twice a day and putting Neosporin on it. (Gauze not a regular Bandaid.)

StaceySue2U

I got a major tissue expander fill today and I'm getting another one on Friday! I had a really big seroma and the PS says the best way to keep it from coming back is to get rid of the space between the skin and expanders ASAP. I have expanders above the muscles, so the expansions don't hurt me as much as they hurt most people. Holy cow I'm just so excited to actually look like I have boobs again!!!! I'm absolutely elated. I talked to the PS about the fact that I'm going to have to delay my DIEP until after I go back to work for 6 months to a year because I've been off work too long. He says it would not be good to leave the expanders in that long so he can give me real implants to tide me over.

Frustratedwithdrain

Bjsmiller Skittlegirl I had a drain for a seroma which is a little different than your's but my BS said between 20-30 for a 24 hour period. Mine also seemed ready to come out but then went back to 40-50 cc. I have had it in for 6 wks and it is finally ready to come out. Having to wait because DR. is on vacation. Don't want to make you feel down but when I first posted about the drain no one was answering anything.

frustratedwithdrain

Mecool

frustratedwithdrain (how appropriate is that!) - 6 weeks?!?!?!? You deserve a metal! Or at least a pricey new handbag! That's crazy, but yay for it finally being ready to come out! How long will your doc be gone? Mine said a nurse could do it.

He mentioned nurse because we're hopeful for tomorrow or Friday for mine but his office hours are limited. Keeping my fingers crossed that today is the day it goes back under 30 (yes, I had a couple of days under 30 with this one last week but was just waiting for yesterday's appt and then it crept back up) so that I can call first thing tomorrow and head in tomorrow afternoon. I can't believe how much better I feel already with the other 2 gone.

And called this morning and they said there is no concern to start the chemo with the one drain (if necessary) or with the wounds from the other two sites.

blg4

A nurse took mine out. I don't feel any better than before. I only had 1 drain though.

VSB2015

Well I'm 4 weeks post surgery and returned to work last week part-time. This week I actually had more pain. As the numbness subsided the pain increased. Can't stand for anything to touch my skin. Feels like a very bad sunburn almost. Physical Therapist says it's the nerves regenerating and to massage gently.

blg4

VSB2015 That's what I am afraid of. I still feel numb and sore. I have not started back to work yet. My job is all upper body/arm type work.

VSB2015

I have a desk job and am able to type. Was very surprised my pain escalated. I saw a old discussion board about this (nerve regeneration) Apparently some women have it much worse. My daughter had a BMX one year ago and never had the pain I'm having, so it is individualized. Monday was the worst, yesterday I had to take my blouse off at work (I had a sweater on) It just felt like sandpaper on a raw wound from my neck to my waist. My shooting pains, the ones that feel like shocks, have pretty much stopped.

blg4

I can type but sometimes I get a stabbing pain in my armpit. Sometimes I can't stand to have clothes or the bed sheet touch my skin. I work at a library with the items people return... scanning them to take them off the patron's library card and putting them back on the shelf. I sit when scanning the items but most of the job is the reshelving. I have to be able to push a bin of books that weighs 300 pounds. The job requirement is to be able to lift 50 pounds. I have to be able to reach over my head. Right now reaching anywhere is limited.. even reaching for the phone. My job was hard for my physically even before the surgery because I have fibromyalgia and I have been in 2 car accidents in 3 years.

cupcaker

I'm almost 4 weeks post surgery now and I thought my pain would have subsided by now. It's not too bad on the left side, but the right side of my chest feels like a constant charlie horse going on. I had a BMX, no recon, but I think the biggest issue for me is that 18 years ago I had radiation after a lumpectomy and lymph node removal on the left hand side. So nearly 20 years later to have the mastectomy means that the left side is not going to heal quite as fast as the right side. I've even been walking alot - I walked 7.5 miles today. I try to get out early in the morning while the pain isn't quite as bad but by 5pm, I can barely do anything. I was hoping to return to work mid-week but I'm going to see how I feel tomorrow and decide whether to ask for another 1.5 weeks off. I'm a manger of data analysis, so I spend most of my time typing at my computer which shouldn't be a big deal; however I have to drive to work in one of the most congested areas of the country. It takes me 45-60 minutes to go 15 miles to work and I know I can't handle that with the way I feel right now.

I've also had the same issue with how material feels against my chest. I've discovered that performance fabric, such as dri-fit shirts, are my new favorite thing in the world, besides my satin pajamas I bought specifically before my surgery. The performance fabric is smooth and soft, and so it doesn't bother my skin.

I went to get sized for the prosthesis last week and they told me to come back. That it was too soon to be seen. I wish they would have told me that on the phone. The girl looked at my chest and said no, that I needed to wait another month. But the good thing was that while I was at the mall, I went looking into Macys and they have some very pretty handkerchief style dress that have the bodice shaped with foam. I tried one on and you would never tell that I didn't have breasts anymore. So I'm gonna wait for it to go on sale and then go buy one or more for the summer.

Something else I've had to discover the hard way is how to sleep comfortably. I have bad sciatica so sleeping on my back means that my legs go numb. Finally just this week, I realized that if I scrunch up 2 body pillows from the top of my bed to the bottom, that I can sleep on my side, hugging the top of the one pillow near my head and then I can throw my leg over the bottom body pillow. While I still sleep really restlessly, I at least sleep! For me, the transition between the 2nd week to 3rd week was the hardest, due to stopping the pain meds and relying solely on tylenol to control the pain. So then I had awful insomnia and ended up going almost 3 days with no sleep. But now, things are so much better. hehe

Batesburg

Hello All,

I had axillary node dissection and BMX. In the past few weeks I have felt a hard lump deep inside my armpit. I am going in to get checked out but wonder if anyone has heard of this so soon after ALND and mastectomy? I have been reading about fat necrosis and scar tissue. I had my surgery in early Feb. Anyone else experience hard lumps deep in axilla after ALND???

Really scared, of course.

shpva57

I had my surgery on Feb. 2 and still have the remnants of a lump start started about the size of a grape. It was right near the end of my scar under my arm. It was very hard. At this point it is reduced by five times the original size. It doesn't hurt--was just very solid. I had UMX and sentinel node biopsy

blg4

cupcaker I am almost 4 weeks from surgery too (Feb 25) I was told I had to wait 2 weeks after the drain was out to go to physical therapy. I see the physical therapist Mar 29th. But my return to work form was written as April 1st. I called the dr's office. The nurse called back.. said that was ok. Said the physical therapy does not determine when you go back to work. She said it was an education appointment. Well if that is true then why would I have to wait a specific amount of time before going in? ROM exercises is one of the things listed on the referral. That gives them no time to start working.. because I have to give my work two days notice what my restrictions are. I explained to her there was no way I could do my manual labor job. It is all upper body work. I have to be able to lift 50 pounds. She said to call back when the dr is there on Wednesday.

At least the dr seems to understand what my job really entails from how he has acted from me talking about it to him. I work in a library reshelving what people bring back. So it is all upper body work. I have to be able to shelve items from the floor to above my head. I have to push a cart full of items. A bin full of books that weighs 300 pounds etc. My general practitioner thought it was the lightest duty job possible... until I showed him my job description this last time.. and then he started saying maybe I should look for another job.

I have fibromyalgia and 2 car accidents in the last 3 years. I was out of work from the car accident when I was diagnosed with cancer. I have not been to work in months. I had to stop physical therapy for the car accident to have the surgery.

What is performance fabric? Do you mean like sweatpants?

VSB2015

I've been massaging my skin and it did seem to help. PT does make me sore. Not used to stretching those chest muscles. By mid afternoon I am exhausted. Have managed to sleep on my side for a couple days, I'm 5 weeks out today. 6 weeks off of work would probably have been perfect, I took three. I did work part time, as soon as I got tired I would leave. I'm going Thurs. to meet with prosthetic lady. I hope they don't send me away.

knitnpurl

I'm finally feeling better. I still have tightness in my arm when I stretch and always feel like there's something there, but no more pain. I start radiation in April and the radiation oncologist was happy that my shoulder opened enough for me to lay with my arms over my head. I'm a little nervous about starting that. I'm also going to try a local "yoga for cancer patients" class. Hopefully it can help open my shoulder and lats some more.

I've tried wearing a bra with a "foam pillow" insert. I had a umx so I don't like going out uneven. I thought I would be ok with this before surgery. Now I'm thinking I should have gotten a bmx just to be flat! When I put the insert in the bra, it looks ok at first, but then starts to ride up and I've got a "perky" fake boob and my natural one hanging low.

Then my bra starts hurting around my underarm. I had all nodes taken out on the left side. The bra is soft cup and no seams. It's not a mastectomy bra, but is otherwise comfortable on my umx side.

What have you ladies found? Is there a better way to get even? Or a bra that you guys like? thanks!

Gardnergirls

knitnpurl, does your insurance cover mastectomy bras? I have been fitted with mastectomy bras that have a pocket to hold filling that can be adjusted as you go through your treatments

knitnpurl

I'll have to research this. I think it's time to get the mastectomy bra. I'm trying a sports bra today and it feels a little more comfortable but the foob still rides up.

shpva57

Hi knitpurl. I had a unilateral on Feb. 2 and am only in the last two weeks probably ready to be fitted for the mastectomy bra. I've been wearing an Amoena Valletta camisole with a shelf bra. It is very soft on the skin and has a pocket and adequate support for the breast. I've actually been using a shower scrunchy (you know the mesh thing) in the pocket. It is light and airy and can be cut down to close in size to your remaining breast. It's not perfect but it does the job. It doesn't ride up. I bought the camisoles at Amazon. Hand wash and line dry, I've discovered!

knitnpurl

Hi shpva57. Thanks for the suggestion. They look nice. I decided to get a camisole and a bra to try out.Hopefully they work out for me.

blg4

My Dr extended my leave of absence from work from April 1st to April 16th. At least then the physical therapy exercises will have a chance to take affect. My pt appointment is for March 29

grandma3X

Blg4 - I'm glad your dr extended your leave! PT helps a lot with range of motion, but sounds like you may need time to build up your muscles as well! Can they put you on desk duty at work until you are back to 100%?

blg4

grandma3X They couldn't put me on desk duty unless they had me work at a different location. The only thing you can really do at a desk is check in stuff people return. But I can check the stuff in faster than people would bring it back.. that is why I would need to be at a different location that has more work. But even if they had me go somewhere else. it still wouldn't work because I can only sit for about one hour at a time in an office chair due to pain from sitting. Not sure how they work it there... but I think people are scheduled to work on the desk. It would mean they wouldn't be able to do the desk which would probably mean they would have to stand their entire shift.

Thanks for your comment because it made me realize if I can't shelve books then maybe they could have me go somewhere I could work on the desk and maybe put books in order on the carts.

I have been getting more and more feeling back in my chest and arm. I still am numb and sore.