April 2017 Surgery

itfinallyhitme

Hi BG46TN,

I used a wedge pillow with my first rounds of surgery. I actually put it under my knees, with the steep part facing my body so my legs could lie on it with my knees bent. Then I put the sit-up pillow behind me, and used that when I wanted to sit up in bed, I folded the "arms" out and pushed it back and put a small pillow there to lie down. If I had been flat on my back (without wedge) I would have had terrible back pain.

My aunt brought me a lower wedge, this one out of memory foam. I'm trying to work out how to use two together, that one under my head/shoulders, since I don't have a recliner. Unsure if I am going to be able to get out of bed on my own if I can't use my arms, though if I could hook my foot on something I might be able to use my legs. I'm thinking a recliner is easier. But the wedges are good for sleeping in bed at night if someone can help you get up in the morning. You may or may not need help getting them placed just so after you lie down.

Lordhelpmetoo

Trishayla,

I hope your surgery went well. I'm from the May surgery group. I'm currently getting chemo. My last one is April 21. Surgery 5 weeks after.

BG46TN

so sorry 6cats!! will you have surgery again? what kind? thinking of you!! I hope you avoid chemo!

6cats

Had a lumpectomy last Tuesday. Next week's surgeon appointment is a follow-up and to get final path report.

Thanks for the well wishes

Hope88

Hey Ladies,


Surgery went pretty well. No problems so far, and pain/discomfort when I move too much or they empty the drains. So far, the drains are the worst. I am really dreading them being pulled out when the time comes.


I only stayed overnight and have been home for a day and a half. I was surprised how little pain I have been in. Nothing over a 5 in a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst. Just watch lifting, and bending too

Hope88

much (tablet froze). All in all, I worried far too much. I hope everyone else had a decent surgical experience. I sleep in my bed with lots of pillows. Can't go to the side because of drains. I thought I would sleep in a recliner, but I was able to manage in my bed.

I'll keep you posted. Oh, by the way, at my Ta-ta party, I received two pillows to go under each arm and was very useful for the ride home. Pillows are your friend. Ok, off to bed now..

stephilosphy00

HI ladies, I finished my last DD AC chemo on March 24 and I will have either lumpectomy or masectomy sometimes in April. I am kind of concerned about the timing between neoadjuvant chemo and surgery now. Should I insist to have surgery as soon as possible? Thanks!

deni1661

Hello everyone, so happy to find this group! I'm seeing a lot of positivity and great information. For those of you who already had your April surgery, I am sending prayers for pCR and swift recovery. My first surgery date is April 27 for left breast mastectomy. I will have DIEP and reconstruction surgery May 9. I am participating in a clinical trial taking Herceptin and Perjeta only, no chemo. I just had my 11th treatment. Tumors are no longer visible on MRI's. Doctors advised mastectomy over lumpectomy because tumors were far apart. It took me a few weeks to decide on reconstruction but I have a great team of doctors who spent a lot of time explaining all my options and benefits/risks. I am looking forward to getting these surgeries done with. Haven't really had time to think about the process yet but I'm sure the fear will set in as the date gets closer!

Thank you all so much for your candor, humor and encouragement. We are in this fight together! Wishing all of you strength in the coming month. Take care

buffyjc

6cats - Sorry you have to go through this again!

deni - So sorry you have to join us, too, but you're right...we're in this fight together!

((Hugs)) to both of you!

My surgery is Wednesday and I'm trying to do some last minute things around the house and at work. I feel like I'm nesting. Anyone else? I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Worried I'm not going to use the Hibiclens correctly or a stitch is going to burst or something

deni1661

Thanks buffyjc- yes I started nesting too! Freezer meals, transitioning work tasks, cleaning out drawers lol... I think these are distracting me from thinking about healing complications, managing the drains and all that stuff. Praying your surgery goes well on Wed and you have a smooth recovery.

Hope88 - I'm glad you're doing so well after your surgery. I really appreciate you posting info about what to expect and suggestions. The drains are the biggest concern for me. Wishing you the best as you recover

deni1661

bg46tn - sending prayers and hugs for calm as you approach your surgery date. You seem to be a very positive person so I think you will do better than you expect! Anxiety hasn't hit me just yet but I know it's coming. Thanks for sharing, take care this week

RoseBowl16

good luck!!!

Rukoni

Friday, I was told that my surgery is on Wednesday, so I am in the same boat as some of you all, in trying to get everything together and in shape before surgery. On one hand, I feel like I'm not ready for surgery... but, on the other hand, I am absolutely ready to get this done and move on to the next stage! I think "survival mode" (and a little bit of Xanax) is helping me keep from freaking out too badly with nerves.

6cats: I hope your appointment next week goes well and that your pathology report comes back clear.

Hope88: Glad to hear that your surgery went well and that recovery is, too. I'm, actually, using this surgery as an excuse to, finally, buy a recliner (I think my husband may have something against them?).

BG46TN: Thank you for the advice about dark nail polish; it's nice to hear that someone had a beneficial experience with it. I bought a bottle in preparation for when I start chemo sometime after surgery. April the giraffe still hasn't had her baby?? I used to keep track, but I've slacked off a bit lately.

Welcome to the new ladies! I'm sorry you have to be here, but glad that you found this group!

buffyjc

Hope88 - Glad your surgery went well! Here's to hoping your recovery is smooth sailing, too!

Rukoni - I, also, used the this surgery as an excuse to buy a recliner. I felt a little guilty being happy about it, especially given the reason, but I know it'll get much more use for many years to come. Good luck convincing your husband! Just know that I'm TOTALLY on your side! LOL!!!

Any surgeries today? ((HUGS))

tnd22

Buffy asked if there are any surgeries today. I'm pretty sure there was someone today, as well as mine is tomorrow. I think when I last read this thread there were 3 tomorrow, or maybe it was today.

This weekend was good, I let it go for a while. Today I'm a little nervous of course. Everything seems to be lined up.

Hope people can sleep well! My recliner is already set up facing the TV.

buffyjc

tnd-Prayers for you tomorrow! Mine is Wednesday. I understand about the recliner facing the TV. I'm planning to get caught up on some shows on the DVR.

Question that maybe someone can answer, I'm having some nasal drainage due to the pollen here and it's causing a sore throat. Can I still take Benadryl and Flonase???

aterry

This tip may be on the site already but just in case: a good friend who had a lumpectomy last year said to take a soft pillow to use under the seat belt for the ride home. I would not have thought of that.

Sitti

buffyjc,

Just hopping over here from the March surgery board to say you are in my thoughts and prayers for your surgery Wednesday. You can do this.......you and all the April surgery ladies .《《Hugs》》

Brneyegrl6608

My surgery is tomorrow too. Happy to get it done, but nervous too.

deni1661

Sending prayers and hugs for all of you having surgery this week and a quick recovery!

Hope88

Sending prayers and positive thoughts for all of you having surgery this week.

A couple days out of surgery and I am experiencing more soreness and pain than before. Most likely due to the pain meds from surgery wearing off. My advice to all of you is to take the pain meds on a consistent schedule.

Best of luck to all

Tpralph

good luck to all!

I'm supposed to have my surgery in may 18 but am trying to get it this month as have just been dx with a second IDC smaller and grade 1 but am worried more. Even my BS says may 18 may be a little long to wait; however also notes that "probably wont make a difference"  Probably???? really???

buffyjc

Sitti!!!! How are you? Recovering well, I hope! Please tell me this surgery will be easy! The anesthesia is the only thing I'm really a bit freaked out about. Everyone keeps telling me I need to relax about the anesthesia, saying it won't be as bad as I'm thinking it'll be

Brneyegrl-I know exactly what you mean...nervous but ready.

Hope-General advice from others I've talked to all agree to stay on the schedule with the pain meds. Basically, take it before you need it in those first few days. I don't want to wait until I'm in pain but I understand that not everyone will do the same.

Tpralph-Hoping and praying you can get your date moved up. As I've read so many times on this board and felt myself, the waiting is the worst. Hang in there!

itfinallyhitme

Prayers for those going through surgery today! The anesthesia freaked me out too, but the experience of it was no big deal. I was focusing on the lights, they moved just a bit, then I was waking up. Another time I was watching the IV, then I was waking up. But yes, I'm nervous about mine too, despite three x general anesthesia last year.

But speaking of pain meds, does anyone know anything about possible dependency? I rarely ever take pain pills and they normally don't work well, but they gave me Tramadol for my first two surgeries and I tolerated it well. I wasn't in that much pain, so I only took a few for each surgery. I still have most of them left. But this is going to be a bigger surgery, and probably more pain. If the pain meds are taken regularly on schedule to prevent pain (which I hear is much more effective anyway) ... does anyone know of potential risk to become addicted to them? I never thought of it before, but I would hate to go through that.

Tpralph

itfinallyhitme:  don't worry about dependency or addiction. you would have to be on them for a long time not just a few weeks for addiction/ tolerance or dependency to kick in.  That is to say that you didn't have an addiction or prescription drug abuse in past.

number one thing with opioids (narcotics) is to take your stool softners, prunes (better than juice) lots of fibre and water and move around as much as you can as per doctors orders

buffyjc

Ditto Tpralph about the dependency. I think it would take a lot longer than just a couple of weeks to develop an addiction. My PS prescribed oxycodone (YIKES!!!) and while I am nervous about taking them, I know I'm only using them for true pain relief and there is no refill on them. I'll use what I need to in order to stay ahead of the pain but not for long term use.

Curious...I've heard many women mention the "t-rex" arms after mastectomy. So, is it just because you can't your arm above your head? Is the range of motion limited below, as well? For example, am I going to be able to go to the bathroom and pull up my bottoms all while unassisted? Just looking for clarity on the "t-rex thing".

Rukoni

Keeping tnd22, Brneyegrl6608, and the other ladies who are having surgery today in my thoughts! buffyjc, you are one of my surgery sisters tomorrow, so I'm sending positive vibes for our surgeries and recoveries, as well as everyone who is having surgery this week.

Tpralph, I hope that they can schedule your surgery this month. I saw two breast surgeons back in December, when I was diagnosed, and they both told me that, while it would be best to get it taken care of early, waiting a couple of months (which is exactly what I ended up doing, due to the holidays and a planned trip in January) really wouldn't do anything, since my rate of proliferation was pretty low. Still, "surgery limbo" sucks and I hope they get you in soon.

Hope88: I hope that the pain eases off soon. It sounds like you're staying positive, though, which is super-helpful for healing!

I definitely second the advice about taking your stool softeners, getting your fiber, drinking lots of water, and getting a little exercise (as allowed) with the narcotics; the general anesthesia can slow things down quite a bit. I think it took me about 3-4 days or so for things to start moving along after both surgeries (Sorry if that's TMI!).

My PS called me this morning and told me that we should probably go for a PAP flap, instead of the DIEP flap. While this wasn't a big surprise, it's a little daunting, since I haven't been able to find a lot of sources about recovering after a PAP. I've seen a few posts in this community about that procedure, so I'll probably read through those again. I guess the last-minute changes keep things exciting?

Warrior2016

I had my double mastectomy last Thursday and I am doing pretty well! Here's my story and I am sticking to it!

The day and evening before the surgery I had a thousand and one things to do but everybody kept calling to wish me well. I was feeling fine; I still hadn't taken any drugs to calm me down. Some of the callers were criers so I decided to help cheer them up. Being that I am 65 and lived during the first round of bra burnings I decided to burn some bras and sent text pictures out of that. That got the laughs going.

I went to surgery early the next morning with all fingers coated in my blue nail polish and it did not interfere with recording my levels of oxygen, I woke up in recovery with some pain but more soreness that I could ever imagine. I came home the next morning and quickly ditched the pain meds as they made me nauseuous. I am using Advil for the day and Ativan to help sleep at night. I am sleeping on the Lazy-Boy even though we have a moveable bed - I just find it more comfortable. I am propped up by pillows on both sides and sleep quite well for a stomach sleeper stuck on her back. I am still amazed at the times I just drop off to sleep in the middle of the day.

The drains are really no problem - easy to empty. Just an inconvenience.

I haven't done all my exercises but I have been moving my arms since the beginning and can almost raise them completely vertical - maybe 10 degress off.

I am having more pains today but apparently that is some of the nerves waking up and sending off some "electrical shoots." Advil should be enough.

I also had my lymph nodes checked and my port removed. All seems well. My tumor which rapidly grew back after chemo was the malignant cancer. They found no cancer in my lymph nodes but warned me that having just had 5 months of chemotherapy the cells could have been killed. The truth is my cancer is so agressive they feel it got out there and we can just hope and pray the chemotherapy found every last damn cell!

I am amazed at how well everything went. They did offer me a second night in the hospital and I said no - I'd rather be sore at home. I'm glad I made the choice.

I hope all your surgeries go as well - think positive!

buffyjc

Rukoni-My surgery sister...I'm definitely thinking of you today and tomorrow, as well, I'm sure! Are you an early surgery? I'm scheduled for 8:15 am.

Warrior-Happy to know your surgery went well and, it sounds like, your recovery is going smoothly, too! Awesome! Positive thoughts and prayers that the bad cells DIDN'T get out there!!!

As always, sending thoughts and prayers for all those with upcoming surgeries and those who are now recovering. ((HUGS))

itfinallyhitme

Thanks for the replies re:potential for addiction. I just SO would not want that to happen, and I had no idea how long it might take. I think I took 2 Tramadol doses in the days following my first surgery, and 3 doses after the second. I just didn't have so much pain that I felt I couldn't manage (plus I was used to other kinds of pain meds making me deathly ill far beyond "nausea"). But this is such a bigger surgery (BMX as opposed to partial mastectomy and resection) and I'm thinking I might just take them according to the way it's prescribed for a few days. And no, I don't have any other dependencies (unless you count chocolate ) but there is alcoholism in my family and I guess it's just not the kind of thing I want to risk. Usually doctors prescribe hydrocodone for me, and I normally just ask the pharmacy to give me a few just in case, because I don't intend to take them, and I never do.

So maybe it's an unfounded worry. Thanks for the advice re: prunes, fiber, movement, and all that. I'm normally very regular, so I expect I could get uncomfortable from that pretty quickly if I eat. Thanks