December 2011 Surgeries - want to wait together?

I had my surgery (BMX) last Wednesday (21st) and was lucky enough to have the 3 drains out the following Monday (26th). I too am having a lot of difficulty with the TEs. I think all the pain I have left is from those suckers. I can feel them pressing in my ribs and it is painful trying to find a comfortable place to sleep, and sonetimes even breathe. The best so far is on my back laying on a wedge pillow with pillows under my knees and pillows under my arms. Now we are back to waiting for the path report about my lymoh nodes. Very anxious about that this week.

Hope everyone else is doing well and good luck to the remaining surgeries this year!!!

Momof2in ME - praying for a good final path report for you...

Keeping gabe2011 in my prayers for a successful procedure today...

No blue dye for me, but I sure notice the difference in my SNB armpit and my non-SNB armpit!

A week out from just a SNB...no blue dye evidence (other than peeing blue for 1 day) BUT on day 8 and now day 9, a larger area under my arm is much more sensitive than it was and seems a bit swollen, but only by feel.  Maybe I never felt it before, but it definitely feels sorer.  Could this be normal?

I never peed blue nor do I have any dye marks on me, but I know they injected dye right under my nipple to find the SN.  My breast around the incision and nipple area are still sore and sensitive and it's been two weeks and two days since surgery.  I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow so I'll ask him if this is normal.

Does anyone remember how long we are supposed to wear the sports bra after surgery (had a lumpectomy with SNB but was closer to a segmental mastectomy)  I'm so tired of the sports bra and want to get back into the normal underwire bra but am afraid to switch or not wear one to bed.  I still have some weird feeling in the area and under the arm so I'm not sure if it's okay to switch and to keep it off at night.

 Good luck to all our ladies coming up on their surgeries.  Sounds like the ladies who have recently had surgery are doing well --- prayers for all! 

Kayce:  I stopped wearing my sports bra to bed about a week ago.  It just felt more comfortable to sleep without it.  As for the day, I wear it most of the time, unless I'm wearing something that needs a real bra then I switch.  Doesn't seem to make a difference on how I feel either way...I'm still somewhat sensitive in that area.

BC is a maize! Just when I thought I had studied everything that could or would happen, I discovered I might have Axillary Web Syndrome- referred to as "cording" in my armpit, from the SNB. Feels as hard as a new muscle, located in my armpit and running parallel to my SNB scar. Not a muscle, but a part of the lymph system that isn't draining properly. I'm realizing now that being 370 miles from my care facility is going to be a big problem! Anyone else experience "cording?"

I have considerable lumps under my armpits (worse on SNB side), but doesn't sound like cording. I do have an appt with a physical therapist/lymphedema specialist next week, so I am prepared to ask lots of questions!

I was wearing a tight compression sports bra after the bandages came off and the drains came out, but found they were way too tight to sleep in. Others I had were too loose. I compromised and wore my mastectomy camisole (which I never wore while I had drains) with a looser sports bra on top. Today I just have on a smaller MX cami, which is just about as compressive as a sports bra, with the added feature that the band doesn't roll up under the IMF. Ow. Love my Genie bras, but the bands roll up.

I think I may have discovered a combination of meds that work with the almost constant TE pain. During the day I kind of tough it out with either Aleve or Motrin, and a muscle relaxer.

But at night, I start with DH giving me a back massage with some trigger-point therapy. Then I take a nice long relaxing shower.  I take a Norco at  7 pm, a Norco at 8 pm, and a Valium at 9 p.m. That helps me get to sleep and stay asleep for a few hours, and even if I wake up in some discomfort, I don't have to get up and take any more pain meds.

A Oncotype "2" is fantastic Janie-Bug!!  That means NO Chemo from what I know.  I friend of a friend of mine got a "0" and the doctor had never seen that before, so these low to zero numbers are rare indeed.  Congratulations!

Can I ask how many cc's they fill you up each day and how many days or weeks apart??  Do you know your final goal?? 

I don't know if this is correct, or not, but my (very young) Onocologist said to me about the Oncotype Score:  You start out at 100% survival, subtract your Oncotype Score, and that is your probablity for survival....I didn't ask over what timeframe...probably 5 years, but I'm not sure of the 5 years part.  (This calc does not include the positive affect one would get from Chemo or other therapies.)

I just got back from the hospital a few hours ago. I wasn't for sure if I would come out with one breast gone or blmx. About an hour before surgery, the surgeon came by. I said, I didn't have peace about taking off the left breast. The bc surgeon said before surgery the debate was over, and what I wanted she would do it. The plastic surgeon then came in and I said the same to him. He shook his head and said both had to go. I brought up the RSD pain syndrom (from a broken wrist). He knows all about rsd, so he said, ok, I'll do one now, and the other when it heals. I said, what if I want to keep the one that's clean of cancer cells. He then said he wouldn't give me my implants until I did a mastectomy on the left. I wasn't about to argue at that point knowing I was about to go to surgery. There is a time to speak up and a time to shutup

Due to the rsd syndrome I was on IV antibiotics and IV for pain meds for about 48 hours...so I stayed in the hospital a little over 2 days (2 nights, 2 days and a half).  I also took meds in pill forms for pain, vitamins and for whatever. I was popping pills right and left. The food was delicious...got to order my own meal plan...no gluten. The private rooms with their own shower and etc...very nice set up. My daughter said it felt more like being a hotel.The nurses were sweet and so helpful. The nurse gave me a shower yesterday. They put something over (mesh?). The biggest problem I had was feeling dizzy when sitting up or walking. It was probably due to all the pain meds. The other was or is my skin  turned yellow, and today it's orange. I look like I have a recent sun tan. Can't complain about that except I wonder if the orange/yellow skin is due to toxicity of the liver.

Tomorrow morning I have my first post-op with the plastic surgeon. Next week I will have my second post op and also with the beast surgeon. So far the four nodes that was removed showed no cancer. Good news...I won't know more until the pathology reports comes back sometime next week. I'll probably know when I meet with the breast surgeon next week.

I havern't read some of the recent surgeries, and how those girls are doing. I hope it went well for them.