Any surgeries scheduled for October?

MassGirl55

Good morning - I had a double lumpectomy on Wednesday (DCIS in left and ALH in right). Arrived at 7:30 and was scooted over to radiology for the needle guided mammogram. It seems that my titanium disc had moved so numerous compression mammograms were done to locate it and given that I'm small breasted it was very painful / uncomfortable - similar trouble with the right. I swear it felt so barbaric and ridiculous that I almost told them to forget it I wasn't doing this! I sucked it up and managed to get through it! I was so happy to be back in my room and not have anyone poking at me. Surgery was scheduled for 10:00; the surgeon came in to check on me about 9:45 and then off to surgery. I woke up feeling cold and it felt like my breasts were being seared on the grill! The nurse gave me a little something and all was well. I was back home about 2:00 feeling groggy but okay. Yesterday, was a quiet day, I felt a little sore but no real pain; rested in front of the TV. Today was shower day - I was a bit nervous to see what things looked like. I was surprised at the lovely job the surgeon did...some swelling but not the horror I had thought.

I see the doctor on November 7th for follow-up and to discuss if radiation is necessary. Fingers crossed clear margins were obtained.

Teslafied

MassGirl55, sorry your experience was so bad.  I had my magnetic seeds placed and lymph node injections the day before my first surgery.  I had to go thru similar procedure a few times because one of the seeds had moved also.  I was poked and squeezed so many times that day, I lost count.  But, I also have a wonderful surgeon and my incisions have healed so quickly and really don’t look too horrible either.  I hope you’ve been using your ice packs to help with the swelling.  Wishing you luck at your appt next week for clear margins!

StAuggie

Oh MassGirl55, that sounds horrible. Glad you're done with it!

So, I am in the hospital with sepsis. I felt fine on Saturday, but woke up Sunday cold, and I couldn't get warm. I didn't realize that I had a fever until the afternoon, and so hubby checked my bandages, and sure enough there was one spot with some pus. We called the surgeon, he sent us to the ER, and I was admitted and expect to be here until Wednesday.

Wound care has been here, and I've been on quite the cocktail of antibiotics. I am possibly heading back to the OR tomorrow to clean out the wound. PS doesn't think that the expander site is compromised, but isn't taking the possibility of having to remove them off the table. Ugh. I can't wait until all of this is over.

NoMoreKindaCCups

OMG, StAuggie! Thank goodness you caught that early!! Sending you lots of healing thoughts and positive energy... Fingers crossed to keep your implants, but more important is to be safe and healthy!

StAuggie

It's crazy, huh? I saw my breast surgeon on Wednesday, and she said everything looked good. Saw home health nurses on Thursday, again still good. I felt fine on Saturday, and this is so unexpected.

It's my right side, armpit area. But I heard one of the doctors talking about cellulitis, so I think it may have spread beyond the incision. Obviously it's in my blood stream, since it's sepsis. When I was admitted last night my white count was in the 16,000's. Normal is 4-11. It is headed in the right direction, because latest count is 14,000. Still don't know about OR tomorrow; I think that determination will be made in the morning.

Wound care put a special dressing on it; silver something or other. Another doctor mentioned possibly sending me home with more iv antibiotics. I think they are still waiting to see what the culture shows; they are still giving me broad spectrum antibiotics until that comes back. They gave me vancomycin last night. I had never had it before, and I had a reaction to it just as it was finishing up. It's one that is more of a side effect, I guess--it's called red man syndrome; my chest, shoulders, neck, face, and head were all red. But I didn't have any itching, difficulty breathing, or swallowing so all is good. I guess that is a very common reaction. It's on my allergies bracelet now.

Can I please get off this train? lol....I don't mean to be whiny. I am just so sick of being sick!

NoMoreKindaCCups

Oh, StAuggie, that's some seriously scary stuff! But 1) of course you're allowed to whine! And 2) this is a great place to do it. I hope those antibiotics do the trick for you. Please let us know how things go tomorrow. You're in my thoughts!

naalehunet

After having my seromas clear up on their own, I have been feeling pain from what I think is a herpes flare up in the scalp and neck area behind my left ear. I started Letrozole on Monday Nov 11 and since Friday, (two days ago) I've had the burning itchy pain of a shingles outbreak in a line running from above my ear along the hairline and ending with bumps on my shoulder. I hope to see my PCP tomorrow and get relief. In the meantime, in case its a hive reaction to Letrozole, I stopped taking the tablet for the last two days.

But I think this is minor compared to extra surgeries and infections like you folks have experienced! You have all my thoughts and prayers for your healing!

In my case, the BMX seems to be just the start of all the tough decisions of how much pain I can endure to improve my chances of longer-term survival. Herpes as a SE of hormone Tx is just one of the pains to be endured - except I really hate herpes pain more than the post-surgery - or most any other kind - of pain. I guess my good spirits will return when the pain gets treated.

At least hearing about your experiences gives me a much better perspective and removes self-pity.