DIEP 2011

carberry ~ I remember feeling so weepy before my rads too.  You're not alone.  I SOOOOO did not want radiation.  With 30% recurrence, you're doing the right thing.  One day at a time.... and soon you will be one the other end.  It might not be a big deal for him, but it is for you!  Do something special for yourself today and be gentle with yourself.  I really hate BC!!!!!!   Sending an extra hug your way....    ~ Daiva

ladym, what does she do at stage 2?   I'm thinking she may use a method that doesn't make dog ears.

ladyM ~ don't freak out.  I don't have them and I'm 4 wks post op.  Ask your PS about them and see what he says since he doesn't do stage 2.  I wonder if it's because you're in Canada that he doesn't do stage 2.  I'd be curious to see pics - will have to google it.

I found a good sized lump at Christmas and IDC was diagnosed in January. I decided to go for DIEP right away and on March 14 I had a double-mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. I had spent years farming usable tissue (in other words a very fat, saggy belly from overindulgence and having babies) so there was a lot to work with and I think my PS must have transferred all of it to my breasts. Have had no real problems, very little pain. Still have one drain but it is finally getting down to about 30 so it should go soon.

I have my first appointment with an oncologist 5/5 and go back to the PS on 5/12. The pathology reported clean margins 3 cm with 0/1 node. Of course, I won't know anything for certain until the oncologist check things out.

My question is about Stage 2 of the DIEP. I have two huge, shapeless masses on my chest and while I am glad to have them, they barely resemble a breast. One of them is quite a bit bigger than the other and both are at least a DD. How much shaping can they do? Do you know if they can reduce the size of the breasts? I would like to end up with a full C and certainly a little more uplift as these hang down A LOT. A couple of more inches and I would have to strap them in my belt.

For those of you who are facing your DIEP I can tell you that my experience is that it was relatively painless. That is not to say that you won't feel helpless and VERY WEAK the first two days but the third day was a real turn around and for the most part up hill from there. I am six weeks out and going back to work on Tuesday with a reduced schedule. I am 66 and I was anemic after the surgery so my energy level has been a little slower returning. I am sure it is also because I have been fairly sedentary for whatever good excuse I can find.

I have trolled this site for a long time and have taken so much support and knowledge from it . Be assured that each post is well appreciated and that someone out there who is just coping and may never comment is comforted by your post and the love and understanding that goes with it.

mscal02 - Happy Birthday!  Aren't they wonderful?  For me knowledge is power.  I watched the DIEP on YouTube and also the nipple construction.  Each bit of information made me feel more in control.  My biggest worry was the anesthesia and the long surgery.  I always believed the procedure was the right choice.  With all the ups and downs I am glad I made this choice and I am sure you will be too.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  I can only give you my experience but that I can share.

Brigadoon: That is fantastic that you are doing so well! How long were you in the hospital? Someone told me the tricky part of anesthesia is the 'take off' and the 'landing' and that reduced my worry. Will you have a stage 2 surgery?



mscal102: Happy Birthday! Are you doing immediate or delayed reconstruction?



Yep, all we have to offer each other is encouragement, our experience and a listening 'ear' (or computer!).



I came down with a horrible cold day before yesterday; I'm so glad it waited for me to be well into my DIEP recovery. So many of my friends have been really sick this past month; one friend joked, "we sent you all our healing energy and didn't have enough left for ourselves!"

@x-raygirl Davia, what size do you think your PS was able to make, cup-wise? Mine seems to think he can make a couple of "C's" for me, which would be great. I sure hope I obtain a decent shape after Stage 1 - at least I hope they'll look like breasts in clothing and a bathing suit. In my wildest dreams - I imagine a set of DIEP boobs that are so convincing that I will be able to go bra-less - at least around the house and in the yard (NEVER at work), and look *H*O*T*, HA HA! After BF'ing 2 children, that would be awesome. Time will tell....

 @as an aside... Re: dogears. I am not thrilled at the thought of ending up with any extra ears on my bod - dog-style or otherwise. I do know that a Stage 2 procedure is an option for me as part of the insurance-paid-for reconstruction. After the new DIEP-boobs settle - if I have any ears down below..they will have to go. 

~Lori   

Hi Ladies, I had a strange night last night. Woke at 1:30 ( which isnn't unusual) but for whatever reason started feeling my bc mx side and I'll be dammed if I didn't find lumps at least 3 in my pectoral area just before it turns into my arm pit. So I couldn't sleep had the major fear of death gripping me again. Called the family Dr. at 8 and was in at 9. He felt them and told me to get to my bs and I go in Fri. at 12.  I had a lump in Oct. it was a lipoma. So I am saying extra prayer again that it is anything but the big C. This disease is going to drive me crazy. I was doing well with moving on and not thinking about it the bam another lump ( or 3).

@Sue Believe me, I feel your pain. I was blessed with fibrocyctic breasts (well, now only one left breast) that feel lumpy all of the time. Ten months after my dx and mx, chemo completed, was still receiving weekly Herceptins...I don't know what came over me, but I decide to feel up my left breast (should have known better). Sure enough, I feel an odd lump, and suddenly I am freaking out and calling to my DH to check it out (as if he knows what BC "feels" like). I was convinced that the dreaded curse was back, and I would be a goner. Next thing you know, I am feeling aches and pains, and think the BC is invading my bones. Mind you, I am no hypochondriac. I've had coughs that I dealt with for months (before BC) and just took OTC cough meds without a second thought. Well, I called my Onc., had a mammo and bone scan, both were normal. I vowed then to stop checking out my breast rather than driving myself (and my DH) CrAzY. Point is = I feel your pain and suffer along with you. BC has scarred me for life and taken away my innocence, so to speak. While I do not dwell on it everyday, the fact that I had BC is evident in the fact that I have only 1 breast. By all means, get your lump (or 3) checked out to ease your fears and put your mind at ease. You will move on ~ we all will...some days we take a step forward and the next day, 2 steps back. Get past this and then take a running leap so you'll be ahead of the game. *****positive (((((vibes)))))******* going your way. Keep us updated.

~Lori 

@bdavis. I really doubt that a health insurance carrier will agree to pay for an expensive test such as a MRI after a BMX. You can call your ins.co and inquire. Even if you are able to pay for one yourself ($$$), I don't think your Onc. will order one. The BS that I consulted with to remove my left breast prophylactically told me that I will be diminishing my odds of getting a new BC in my "clean" side by 1 to 2 % as no surgeon is capable of removing every last bit of breast tissue. I would think with only a 1 to 2 % chance, no insurance would pay for a MRI. I was lucky to have a free breast MRI of my remaining breast as the hospital that I work at needed a few volunteers to have a breast MRI 6 months ago. I volunteered and the images were read to be normal by one of the Rads that I work with. It sure eased my mind at the time. 

WOW!  Things are really moving on this thread!  I was 3 pages behind!  I hope I can remember everything I wanted to respond to.

First of all, I saw my PS today.  He was "VERY pleased" with my progress, told me to start exercising AND dog walking and removed ALL of my restrictions.  Can you spell C.O.F.F.E.E?  I'm not ready to go run a marathon (not that I did that anyways) but I'm way ahead of where I thought I'd be at exactly 4 weeks out from stage 1.  I've got a smile as wide as my abdomen scar!

My Stage 2 will be scheduled around June 22nd.  Then it is Goodbye Muffin hips and extra bits-o-fat.  You're need to support the new girls in town!  I've got some hard spots at the edge of my right flap that will either go away on their own or he will fix.  I've also got a dent on the right side where the drain tube was - that's being fixed too, as well as my dog ears.  

My dog ears are becoming a bit more apparent as my bloating goes down.   (Really, they just look like what happens when I sew gathers or corners - which I don't do well.)  But, I feel GREAT!  I think my feeling so bad before had to do with a combination of drains coming out, yeast infection and UTI.  Once those factors were all gone, I felt great and haven't stopped.  I rarely even take Advil these days.

Oh, and (TMI ALERT) I did "the nasty" and it was great!  I was most concerned about having "half baked boobs" with no nipples and the oh so attractive tummy scar. Vanity - I thought you left me in with the scent of the sharpie the Dr used to draw all over me?  Well, I solved my little problem by going to "A Touch of Romance" and buying some pasties (heart shaped purple) and some sexy, but not too tiny bottoms that highlighted the unscathed rear and hid the tummy scar.  I'm glad I also bought those black X's and 3 pair of little knickers because I think I'll be doing THAT again!

OK.  TMI over with - safe to return. 

For everyone who just scheduled their dates for stage 1 - keep laughing!  I swear I survived TWO surgeries (DIEP plus complications causing a second to add another vein) but just finding the humor in things.  If I wasn't doing that, I was too prone to yelling the F-word at the incessant beeping of the hospital monitors and the irritating "bear hugger" blanket.  Also, EVERYTHING you're going through IS JUST A TEMPORARY SITUATION.  Repeat after me: "This too shall pass".

Lisa

Not afraid-loved your post! 

Yesterday I was 8 weeks out.  PS was extremely please with how i have healed and how I look.  I too am so pleased with everything!  I am back to my old exercising habits.  I am holding off on my cross fit training for another month or so-it is just too much intense workout for right now.  But, I am jogging, using the eliptical and starting back up with yoga.

I am so glad I did this surgery.  I was worried that I was doing this all too soon.  But, I am so glad I did it when I did.  I now don't have the thought of having to get my reconstruction done in the back of my mind.  It is done.  I can move on with my life.  I plan on having Stage 2 done in September-I want to get my weight back to where it was just in case I need any lipo or anything and more importantly I want to enjoy the summer months without any incisions to deal with.  We do boating, water skiing and swimming.  I want to enjoy that this year.  Last year I couldn't because of rads.  Oh ladies, I am so glad to be having my life back!!!!

Hope everyone else is doing well.  

xray-girl- Love your idea of the eye lashes!!

Thanks Ladies for referring me to this thread.  I didn't notice it before and felt fortunate to have found the DIEP 2010.  I have such mixed feelings about this.    My BC dx and masectomy happened superfast and I wasn't able to have the immediate reconstruction.  I am scared but you all make it sound worth it and a perfectly normal thing to do.  I hadn't thought of the standing naked while the PS draws on me....yuck.  Why can't they do that while we are out?

And my mom is trying to discourage the tats, doesn't see the point as no one will see them...but hey I am doing this for ME not everyone else.  I'd like to not do a double take every day when I get out of the shower and pass by the mirror.  I know it will still be different than it was but I won't have my glasses on yet!  I am sure the recon will not make me forget about BC but maybe it will help put it behind me.

sohardbnme and alexanbj: Welcome!

In the overall scheme of things, the marking before surgery is nothing. For the PS, it is all business and about making sure you have the best outcome possible. If you keep your eye on your goal, every step in the process takes you one step closer to that goal and each step is brief in relation to how much time you will be living with breasts that are all you.

Originally, I thought I would get a flower or something other than an aerola tattoo, but my PS's nurse said that many woman start out thinking that but when they do get the aerola tattoo done, they are really happy. After that and looking at photos online, I plan on going with the natural looking tat. 

It is interesting how people are so willing to give their opinion when they aren't in our shoes. Thank goodness for this forum. I know some of my family and friends think I'm crazy. I really had to get my head on straight about my committment to this process in order to stand strong throughout. It makes me realize why so many women don't do any kind of recon. I knew from the start that I would do recon and I knew fairly early on that I wanted DIEP; then it just became a matter of getting information and jumping through all the hoops one 'hoop' at a time (and every once in a while, getting through second guessing my decision).

NotAfraid: I LOVE your post and how great that you found a way to make it fun and playful! That really helps keep the spice alive in your relationship. I've been married 34 years and I love springing surprises on my husband in the TMI department and he loves it too!