Getting Ready for Mastectomy...

Hi Sharon, I am 9 weeks post mastectomy (bilat) my choice DCIS stage 0. Prior to surgery I don't remember much . I was met by the whole team in preop.They were very comforting. I did take ativan before coming to the hospital due to my nervousness. I had permission to take it on the day of surgery. I had an IV started,was given sedation and then my surgery started. It took 4 hours becaause I had reconstruction at the same time. I woke up that day,was able to lift my arms which shocked me but I was told not to raise them above my head. Had 2 drains,not alot of pain. I had an ONCue ball.Ask your MD if they use it. I went home with it for 4 days. The left arem where I had 5 nodes removed was alittle stiffer than the right but I was surprised by my mobility. Not showering for a week was tough,used Oil of Olay wipes very soothing.Used Skalexa which is the best muscle relaxer round the clock every 6 hours with percocet.Worked well. Try to stay calm.I was scared,I am a baby about things,I'm a nurse but it doesn;t nake a difference. I wish you the best. Hope some of my infor helps.Please ask your surgeon and PS as much as possible.Write everything down so you don't forget. Take Care.

Hi Sharon,  I had my surgery in 2009 - uni mastectomy, right side.  Before the surgery, my PS came in and wrote on my chest so they had a plan in place. My BS and PS were a great team and if ever needed again, I'd want them both. Make sure you have a pillow or something really soft to cover your chest in the car for the ride home - since it's on  you left side this might not be so important but better to be prepared than not prepared.  Did you get one of those tank-tops to hold the drains?? The hospital where I had the surgery gave me one - find out if they give those out because my drain was held in that little top in a pocket on the inside. I just remembered:  someone else gave me a small pillow to put under my arm while laying down recuperating. It really turned out to be helpful.  Hopefully they'll only do a sentinel node biopsy which means less nodes removed - I only had 2 out and I've been very lucky regarding NO lympadema. I was using my arm that same evening of the surgery - although if you have more nodes out it might take longer to get back in the swing of things. The first week at home I slept a lot, no showers (yuck), and stool softeners are needed because of the amount of meds in you.  I remember the moment I felt 'all better' was when I could back my car up and put my arm up on the seat while turning my head completely.....that was the 'ah ha' moment for me.  Hugs, Janine

Hi,

i am a weekout post MX.  I have had some discomfort but was sick from the percocet sohave been able to manage on tylenol. I had 30  nodes removed and for a few days it feltlike ants or something crawling on my arm, but that seems to have passed.  The area is certainly tender, but I ahve excercises that I am hoping will help with my range of motion.I was , witht he OK of my doc, able to drive a short distance today.  You will remeber very little once you are in preop, I remeber very little frommy wholeovernight hospital stay and I thought I was coherent!!!  The anticipation is the worst.

You may have already found it but under the surgery thread is a thread for women having surgery in March.  The Feb thread has been a great support as I waited and now post op.

Best of luck and you will do great.

Nel

Hi ohAli, So sorry you are so scared. I was too.It is normal to be scared. I had a bilat. mastectomy 9 weeks ago. It took alittle time to get used to looking at the incisions but,you will have steristrips on for at least 1-2 weeks.So,you realy can't see much in the beginning. My PS spoke to me about nipple reconstruction/tatooing in the beginning but you don't have to make these decisions until you are ready.My physical therapist has the tatooing and it is soooo beautiful. If you want to talk please PM me.Everthing is very new to me but I am finally feeling like me.I had my implants last Friday. I am a nurse and I teach nursing but..I am a new cancer survivor and I am willing to help anyone that has to go through what I just did. Try to stay calm,I went to a support group meeting 4 days before my surgery.I was in shell shock.I met a woman who had a mastectomy 6 days ago.She was fine,moving her arms,had her drains in and this helped me to know I would be ok. Please talk to you surgeon and PS about any concerns.They are there to help you.Take Care

Hi- I also have had a bilateral mastectomy on Dec 2. I had a wonderful team of surgeons between my BS and my PS. It is natural to be anxious and nervous before facing this type of surgery. My surgery was scheduled for the afternoon so rather than wait around the house dwelling on what was about to happen, my husband and I went to my favorite bookstore for a diversion. I felt calmer when I arrived at the hospital. My team came in and explained step by step what we were going to be doing. I had the chance to have friends and family in prop with me if I wanted. Right before we started my nurse anesethist came in and explained again about sedation asked if I had questions, then once they gave me the initial medication- I remember no more until I woke up. Just as the other women have stated, I had drains( I had 5- I usually do not hear of that many) that presented most of my pain and discomfort. Once you are free of those, things feel so much better. My PS used a combination of pain meds and a muscle relaxant. And even in the hospital the
muscle relaxant offered more relief for me. Movement of your arms is key as soon as you are ok'd to do so. I heard someone previously ask about the tank top / cami for drains- that is a must! It just
makes things easier to move around and feels sooo good on your skin. I will be thinking about you
as you take this next step and pray that you will be peaceful about things:)
Thinking of you,
Leah

Sharon/ohAli, the operation for me was actually a piece of cake and I was out of the hospital in less than 24 hours; partly my choice as I can't sleep in hospitals; and I had a BMX with immediate reconstructions. While any operation is scary, this one is pretty routine if you've got a good GS and PS who you like. So keep your spirits high since your outlook will help make all the difference in your recovery.

One thing I would recommend is to make sure they do NOT put you on a Morpheme drip unless you really need it. One of the nurses (against my PS's desires) put me on one and it made me nauseous and was the worst part about my initial recovery. Once they took me off the drip and just gave me pain pills I felt much better rather quickly. But each person is different and if you are in a lot of pain you may want to have that option; talk to your surgeon about it before the surgery if you think you might need it.

The pain from the lymph biopsies I had was probably the most painful part for me, but it did not keep me from moving my arm even immediately after the surgery. I couldn't (actually, I could but wasn't supposed to) lift anything heavier than a glass of water right afterwards, but that had as much to do with the reconstruction as the MX and wasn't because of the pain. I was actually surprised about how little pain there was for me and stopped taking even the Ibuprophen except at night within a few days.

The expanders used in the reconstruction are the main reason I'm still slightly uncomfortable after 6 weeks, and other than the slight discomfort and the fact that I'm still not supposed (the reconstruction again) to lift anything heavy (although I've graduated to milk jugs now), I'm pretty much back to normal.

Since the nipple reconstruction is not done until 3 months after you exchange the expanders for the implants you've got lots of time to decide what you want to do. I went out on the internet and looked at pictures of difference nipple reconstruction before I made up my mine to go with the full reconstruction with tattooing. I just liked the look better although the idea of the skin graft is not something I'm looking forward to!

Good luck to both of you on your surgery and recovery and again, keep as positive an attitude as you can and you'll find that it makes it all go by much easier.  Plus, I'll add my name to the list of folks who you can call if you want some perking up, just send me a message and we can go from there.

Deanne