June 2010 Mastectomy

Yay Getty!!!!!!  Fantastic news, thank you so much for checking in with us!  So happy for you

Thanks, Laurie & Robin, for joining in my celebration! I'm feeling pretty good this morning. The belly incision doesn't really bother me, but I'm feeling bruised in my lower abdomen and then under my arm. It's due to the fat grafting, I think. But, I'm off the narcs and just taking Advil.

Robin: I had a gap that developed along the top, inside area when my implant dropped into place. It was between where my natural tissue ended and where the implant began. The ladies on the exchange thread call it a "step-off" or a "shelf". I think it's a pretty common occurrence. My PS filled that area with fat he took from my lower belly. It now looks perfect. The PS did tell me that my body will absorb some of it, usually as much as 30-50% of it. I'm hoping it's closer to the 30%. 

Getty 

They took a skin graft from my belly to make the areola.  That incision is about 5 inches across at/just below my bikini line. The fat is taken (and also inserted) with a needle.

Laurie - sorry to hear about your grandad, but as you say he had a good long life, but still very sad.

I PM'd Ducki and had no reply - maybe she's on holiday somewhere lovely

How are you doing Getty - everything still good?

Laurie:  So sorry about your grandfather.

Brazos: It sounds like you're on the same rollercoaster that I am. LOL. But, I can say that most days now are up days.

I am still doing pretty well. I'm seven days post surgery now. My bruises on my belly and in the cleavage area and along the top of my reconstructed breast are a sight to behold. Yesterday I wore a shirt that, unbeknownst to me, showed a bit of the bruising along the top. I'm sure people thought I was a battered wife. :0 I still am sore in the abdomen area, due to the lipo not the incision, but it's getting better every day.

I went to my PS' office today and the nurse removed the sponge and all the stitches. I didn't see the PS, but the nurse told me that, barring any complications, I am done with them. It was a little weird, I think, to be dismissed by the nurse without seeing the PS at all after surgery, but whatever. She said that in 2-3 months, if I feel that I need to tattoo the new nipple/areola to match my natural side, to give them a call and the PS will do it in the office. I think that if I decide to go with a tattoo, I'm going to go with one of the 3D tattoo people like Facecrafter (Judy) who posts on this board. 

I had a slight scare as I was changing the dressing on my new nipple/areola just now. One of the scabs had stuck to the gauze and it seemed to me that the skin graft came up oh so slightly in one small area. My husband checked it out carefully and he thinks that it was just the scab that came off, but I'll be keeping a careful eye on it. This is all a bit nerve-wracking. 

Getty 

Getty - you are doing great - and the sponges are gone - how does it look and is it painful??

My left Frankenfoob, as I like to call her, is looking pretty ugly now as I get back to playing sport, thinking I will have to have remedial work on her maybe april time next year in which case I might get nipples done then.

Melissa, great to see you post, glad you enjoyed your trip xx Rather typical to get toothache when you are away from home 

I've had pain in the same muscles on my LHS but not constant for me though luckily.

Had an appt with my BS yesterday. All OK, but we discussed my Path report. He said that after reading it he felt vindicated because when he'd discussed my case with the other team drs, they felt I should be monitored....... he said I was without doubt going to be the 1 in 4 to get invasive cancer. The massive lump I had had for 13 years, was and still was B9, so only the poking around it checking it out, turned up the other stuff...... How lucky is that. Anway, I'm feeling a very fortunate lady right now

xx

Awww, Reneemac, what a bummer about your cruise! I'm sure that your spring cruise from Galveston will be worth the wait, though. And you'll get to go with your squishy implant instead of the TE! That's pretty freaky that your PS thought your TE was out and that he was ready to move forward with the nipple surgery. These are the things that make me scratch my head and go "Huh?".

Melissa, I'm so glad that you got that time away to think and reflect on everything that has happened this past year. Sorry you had to deal with a toothache, too. Great news about the pain management!

And the both of you have your exchanges coming up so soon! That's great news!! 

Robin, besides the soreness from my bruises, I have no pain to speak of. I really think the nipple is looking great! I check on it every couple of hours to make sure that it's still there. lol!  Even though the color doesn't match the natural side yet, it really, truly does put that finishing touch on the whole thing. I'm really happy that I did it. 

Getty 

Laurie08 - Are you on any pain meds or muscle relaxers?  I took a Valium as a muscle relaxer the day of and day after most of my TE fills - and that can definitely make one a little out of it.

Getty - That is weird not to see your PS after your surgery.  Unfortunately, I just saw mine again today.  I had my regular post-op appointment on Tuesday (we both had our surgeries last Wednesday), and I was fine, except for an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the bandages.  Then last night I noticed that my left breast was larger than my right (they were pretty even right after the exchange surgery) and that it was red and swollen on the bottom.  Went to see my PS today and she said there was some fluid and an infection, but she thought we could "nip it in the bud."  She gave me two different antibiotics.  I go back to see her again on Tuesday.

Reneemac - I can't believe your PS thought your TE was already out and was ready to do nipple construction.  Good luck with your exchange surgery in a couple weeks!  I've had some complications following mine, but on a positive note, it feels great to have the TEs out.

I take nothing, no pain meds etc, Haven't since 8 days after surgery back 6/30.  See?  I have no excuse!

Laurie: I do think I've gotten, if not dumber, then definitely more distracted with everything. No rads, no chemo and no Tamoxifen (yet!) for me. I tell myself it's normal after all the mental trauma that I've been through this year.

LG: Sorry to hear of your infection! I hope the PS is able to get it under control quickly. 

Just wanted to respond to stlcardfan's post about i-cool.  It looks like you ar ER-, so it may be alright for you to take it, but women who are ER+ should not.  In the FAQ section on i-cool's website, they recommend that women always check with their doctors (standard supplement warning), especially those who have had estrogen-dependent breast cancer (not a standard warning).  Their website also states, "During and after menopause, a woman's estrogen levels drop.  This drop often brings on discomforting symptoms such as hot flashes....  The pure genistein in i-cool combats this drop in estrogen and alleviates, if not eliminates, miserable menopausal symptoms."  If you are ER+, you do not want to "combat this drop in estrogen."

Robin, so happy that you got this great news. It is such a confirmation of your intuition and decision to go ahead, as some of us didn't know if our condition merited such a big operation. This will definitely boost your immune system having this knowledge. And getting more reconstrucion will probably feel better in April after some time has passed. Time is our friend here!

LG: Sorry to hear of your infection. Sounds like the antibiotics are taking care of it. Glad you posted the Darvocet info. Saw that today. It makes me so mad that they allow so many dangerous drugs for us then only take them away years after so much damage has been done I remember my first breast biopsy in '97 for a cyst. They gave me Darvocet. I took one and felt so ill in my gut from it I threw the rest away and went cold turkey through the pain.

Renee: that would upset me, too, to hear my PS get confused. But then they are doing so many surgeries all the time. Your surgery is just a few days before mine on the 7th, so keeping good thoughts for us. My PS said it will be a four hour surgery, so I've been taken aback these past few days thinking it was only gonna be two or so. But I know he will do a great job, and that's what counts. So sad to hear that your vacation got canceled.

Getty: I'm so excited about your nipple, and can see you are in the honeymoon stage, checking to see if it still there. What a miracle of modern medicine that they can fully reconstruct our parts. Is your foam removed, yet? How do you camoflauge it in your clothes?

Laurie: I"m so GLAD you brought up this mindlessness thing. I have it too, and have been wondering why as I'm usually pretty sharp, and have put myself on a regime many years ago for mental clarity with diet, exercise & supplements, smart nutrients. Now I feel like I am partially senile! Renee, I have the same thing like forgetting the name of a common object, or someone's name. Have two cooking classes scheduled for the new year, so hope I don't blow it in front of my students! I  agree with Getty that all the stress, meds, and anesthesia we've been subjected to takes its toll, and want to believe that in a year or less our minds will clear up. Having chemo, rads, or post surgery hormone therpay only adds to this, so hope you find the right thing to do for those hot flashes, Renee. Friends keep reminding me that gen. anesthesia really gets our mind numbed out for a while. I figure since I've had three surgeries while being under, not counting that horribly painful stereotactic core needle biopsy, that so far in the last  seven months I've been under general anesthetic for at least ten hours. In a couple of weeks there will before more hours to add to that. I guess as strong as these drugs are, (hello - Morphine!) plus the stress on so many levels we aren't even aware of all adds up to having brain freeze. LG: I agree that the Valium does do a big number on our brains, although it is sort of necessary going through recon. Yesterday I went to pick up my surgery meds at the pharmacy, and didn't realize they'd also called in for Valium for me. I bought it, then saw when I got home that I still have a lot, and since I get name brand they were $100. The pharmacy wouldn't take them back, so I have some very expensive pills that I won't be taking, and attribute this to my brain being so numb. Normally I would be on top of it for something like this. My plan is to do a lot more aerobic exercise, hiking up hills is my fav, and maybe that will renew the blood flow and promote better circulation, especially after all these hours laying around and in bed! Let me know if anyone has anhymore ideas on this. Sorry you guys are experiencing this, too, yet glad I'm not alone!

Ladies, I thank you.  It (once again) is so nice to see I am not alone.  It really is frustrating when I make mistakes with my work.  Most of my time is spent with my boys, playing running etc.  I can't screw that up too badly, but doing the books for a business?  Yup, you can mess that up pretty easily.  I only took the week off after surgery and have been going strong ever since.  Or kinda strong.  Yet, I just always think what the heck is wrong with me?  I am so sorry that some of you have had the same experiences, yet glad I am not alone.  Why is no one else talking about this?  I read a lot of threads and have never seen anything?

On a side note- in case no one else saw, Stcardsfan was very upset about a recent post and felt she was "bashed" on our thread.  She said she wouldn't be back and deleted all of her posts on our thread.  I Pm'd her and asked her to stay with us, but she felt she had to move on saying it was the second time she had felt this way . The whole thing frustrates and saddens me.  I don't think it was intentional but she still felt hurt and that matters.  Anyway, I wanted to share what I saw, I know she will be missed.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I feel very thankful for so much, including all of you.  Jpy, I have been thinking of you your baby Vida will soon be here!  Good luck ♥

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I'm thankful for all the support and information from my BCO sisters.