Diep 2012

julianna51, I took a 5+ hour plane ride, ran a 5K and a half marathon (36 hours apart) at 6 weeks post DIEP. Clearly it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I was pretty much 100% of mine at 6 weeks and the surgeon cleared me to do anything and everything at 6 weeks onward. Your road trip sounds like just what the doctor ordered for you!

RaeBob - We're all so different. I was off pain meds once I came home from the hospital. (on the 4th day after the surgery) But my back hurt a lot too, it's from not standing up straight (you probably know that). Go easy on yourself and don't expect too much. Walk as much as you can, but don't make yourself miserable.

Take care.

-Judy

My PS gave me Valium for back spasms which was extremely helpful.

Hey RaeBob- Waving at you from up I-35 a little ways! I am two weeks out from my surgery and I'm still taking pain meds as needed. I still take one at night to sleep and if I need one during the day, I take it. There is no reason to be in pain. My back was also the worst pain that I had from the surgery. Bending over to brush my teeth was agony in the first few days. I also got Flexerill and it helps. It's a muscle relaxer. As you start to loosen up and can stand up straighter, the back pain diminishes. Walk as much as you can. It really does help.

Today is my 2-week followup appt. There is one small spot they are keeping an eye on. PS thought it will probably heal from the inside. I hope so. Don't need any problems now! I will get the pathology on the healthy breast today. Not expecting any surprises but we all know how that can go.

Healthy healing vibes to all!

Posted on the surgery site but forgot to post here that March is finally here and am sending Light, peace, and healing thoughts to all of you going through your procedures this month.  

You all (and those on the similar DIEP 2011 site) have been a HUGE inspiration and source of knowledge for me.  Can't say I'm any less nervous about my own upcoming procedure but certainly feel well-prepared for both the great and not-so-great outcomes. 

Because of you:

1) I knew the right questions to ask (and what the answers should probably be);

2) I know not to expect perfection after the first surgery but to rest in the knowledge that I would be a "work in progress";

3) I know that I will probably hate my decision to have a DIEP for the first couple days post-surgery, but then turn a corner and be thrilled (FYI, my PS told me the same thing...he must read you, too!);

4) I know that not all PS do the same things (i.e. binders) so I will not be surprised when mine does or does not do something (but will ask "why" anyway);

5) I know about leeches (that's knowledge that I probably didn't want to have but at least can now make a running joke about it with my PS);

6)  I know that sometimes they rush you back into surgery and do everything possible to save a flap--and are more often than not successful (but if they aren't for some reason, that I can live through the disappointment);

7)  That my healing may be different than yours in many ways, but there are lots of commonalities and that I will continue to learn and find support from the most amazing group of women I've ever met.

Thank you! 

Elisabeth, that is all summed up so very well! Now the calendar has turned over and your month is here! I know the closer it gets, the more freaked you will get. But honestly, I am absolutely amazed at my new boobs and my tummy. And how little pain there really is. The tightness is annoying, but it doesn't hurt. My breasts never had any pain. The only pain I had was in my ab incision and at the drain sites. I do have one small spot they were watching and now it has turned black. I am leaving in a few minutes to go to my 2-week followup, so I'll see what my PS says about it now. Other than that, I look and feel great! Still very tired, but that is to be expected.

My mom told me that my PS told them while I was in recovery that the worst part of the recovery for me would be the 24 hours NPO following the surgery and he was right. That was miserable! And they didn't really wait that long. They let me have some water the next morning. Probably more like 12 hours. They did give me mouth swabs, but they were lemon flavored and frankly kind of gross. But they were wet so I didn't turn them down!

The first day or so in the hospital, I thought I had made the worst decision of my life. I was pretty miserable, but I just kept telling myself that it would pass and it did. And it was all worth it! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

We are some pretty tough broads, aren't we?!

Massaging probably won't help, no.  Some people have tried it but I haven't heard of anyone seeing a difference after doing it.

Puce... I have necrosis and at first, massaged it and it would temporarily soften (or so it seemed) but went back to the way it was... I plan on giving it a few months and then having another consult with my doctor... they say that fat grafting or a small flap may be the way to fix it... depending on how much there is.

Thanks ladies for all the support. Last night I was definitely having some " oh my I elected for reconstruction?" thoughts. It was nice to get on here and validate the things I was experiencing were pretty common.

I had double Ds and opted for a C this time but they are so swollen looks like I am still sporting the Ds. Is swelling rather substantial after surgery?

TexasRose: howdy glad to see someone from my neck of the woods:)

Ysa: I was cleaning everything before surgery and praying to stay healthy. By the time you gear up for it you definitely don't want to postphone it.

My followup with the PS went very well. He said everything was healing and looking good. Reminded me to rest and take it easy. I'm only two weeks out and the better I feel, the harder it is to remember that I am still recovering. The one area of concern is dead. He is having us do the wet/dry bandage on it. He told me he wasn't worried about it or anything else at all. He sees no potential problems. I go back to him again in 6 weeks. Oh and pathology on my healthy breast was negative. All in all, great visit! But as soon as I got home, I took a two-hour nap. I still get so tired so easily.

I know how you feel Elisabeth. My DH had a terrible cold the week before my surgery. I avoided him like the plague!! I went to Sam's and bought a huge container of hand sanitizer and lived in fear of catching it from him. Luckily, I didn't.

I am two weeks post-op. Diep reconstruction on left breast and reduction on right breast. I feel wonderful. Everything back to normal except for the lifting. I've been grocery shopping a couple of times....took truck for servicing, yesterday. Except for the binder,  would hardly know I had surgery. I had little pain when I left the hospital and did not even bother to fill my pain prescription. I am not to the point of sleeping on my belly but I can certainly cuddle hubby's back. I am pleasantly surprised as I expected the surgery to be much harder. The hardest thing i find is holding myself back and not do too much and possibly injure myself. I wish everyone well.....Take care.

I had a lumpectomy on Mar 28/11 but most of my breast was taken and 15 nodes. I had chemo, radiation on a large area and am on herceptin until July 2012 plus Arimidex for 5 yrs. I just went for a consultation and was told since I had radiation and most of my breast taken, my case is more difficult. I am seriously considering the DIEP reconstruction as I cannot just do an implant as my skin won't stretch since I had radiation and I have large breasts. I have had 4 major operations (tubal pregnancy, 2 emerg c sections and partial hysterectomy) but the doc said since these were all horizontal scars they wouldn't interfere. The only place that performs the DIEP in BC is at the coast and the doc said she thinks he has a low BMI cutoff before the Vancouver specialist will even consider the operation which I find frustrating since I only want to lose 30 lbs but weigh more since I have done weights most of my life and have a large bone structure. The local doc can do a latissimus dorsi reconstruction but that does not thrill me since I feel it is more invasive to take muscle and also think this is an older type of operation. I am nervous though about the DIEP as she said it would be harder than the previous abdominal operations but since most of my operations were emergency ones with the tubal pregnancy being the most serious (it burst and I lost a lot of blood) I wonder just how hard the DIEP would be to do. For those who have done this operation, was it worth all the pain of the operations? The doc said the DIEP is about a 4 hour operation. I still have my nipple so wouldn't have to fix that and they would also do a lift on my left side. I don't want to consider a reduction on my remaining good breast to match the lumpectomy as I barely have anything on the one side and couldn't believe it would even be considered an option-might as well grow a beard since I have slim hips, my waist is not much smaller and have broad shoulders! I did get a breast prosthesis right after radiation and was pleasantly surprised at how much better I felt-more complete-I am so not a high maintenance woman so didn't think getting it would make that much of a difference but it does. I also do belly dancing and swim and am already noticing problems with the prosthesis. I do have a lot of arm movement as I was a freak about moving my arm after the operation since I wanted to maintain for belly dancing but I do find that it still really pulls at the breast especially since I also have a 4 inch scar in my right armpit too. So I am interested in hearing the pros and cons of the DIEP. I also don't have much feeling in the back of my arm and was told that probably wouldn't come back. Thanks!

Barbie... I travelled to New Orleans where they do some procedures there that they don't do other places... and you may want to consider it if you fear you don't have enough fat. The doctor in NOLA did HIP flaps (basically took the fat from my butt), and DIEP. So I have a scar all the way around, but it is faint and all under a string bikini. My local PS wanted to do the lat flap and said I didn't have enough belly fat, but the docs in NOLA can find fat. I didn't want the lat flap because of the muscle thing and also the scar on the back. I also had a C-section and the DIEP was no problem... And if you are wondering, at stage II, they gave me a butt lift to fill in the void, and now I have a very nice butt to boot. Check them out: The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery.

It is a cold rainy day here in Maine. Im about 10 weeks from my DIEP. The pain under my breast where the new crease was made is bad again. I dont think I lifted anything heavy. Originally my ps said this pain would go away as scar tissue would be formed to support the flap and it did but now Im having pain again. Has anyone else had pain there that lasted or came back?  

Thanks for the help ladies,take care

Ellena... I had some pain there and was told it was where the flap is stitched to the chest wall... and so I had limitations for lifting my arms up high (thats when I felt the pain)... Perhaps you lifted too high and it tore a little??