Diep 2012

Hi hoppytrigger. I hope Friday the 13th is a fine day, because I am flying across the Atlantic that day!

Your recovery depends not only on your physical parameters but also what you do at work. I stayed 5 nights at the hospital, starting 10 days before Xmas, and I was doing all the usual Xmas visits and went to the office on the 27th or 28th to do some work even though the workplace was on holiday closure, and snuck in a few other times, and worked at home on the computer (for nothing because I was officially "off sick" but I wanted to do those specific things.) At first, I was walking very feebly and slow, but I was able to do things on MY terms. I worked when I felt up to it, not at predetermined times when it was "time to work". I did a half marathon at 6 weeks but did not go back to work for another 3 weeks and even officially was "off" longer just because of HR had their paperwork up their butts. So you can probably expect your recovery to be gradual, and able to do some things sooner and other things wait longer. Aside from what you want to do and feel up to, lifting is out for 6 or 8 weeks, and there will be a limit to what you want to wear for a while, so it depends on how you have to dress to work. I think the rule of thumb is usually 6-8 weeks as a prediction, until you see how the specifics work out for you. 

Hi Hoppytrigger - I was out of work for 6 weeks after my BMX & DIEP but probably couldve gone back at 4 weeks.  I felt fine but did take a nap each day in the afternoon.  Ive been back at work for 2 weeks now and feel just find, waiting to see when my stage II surgery will be.  I was a DD before the surgery and am a B now so will be doing implants and/or fat grafting to get back up to a D. 

I think the drains were the worst part for me, I had 6 with 2 being removed the day I left the hospital.  The other 4 were removed a week later.  They werent TOO bad just an inconvenience and gross.  Also not being able to sleep on my side sucked but overall it wasnt as bad as I thought it'd be.  Good luck on Friday, Ill be thinking of you!

Lala63 - glad to hear your wife's recovery is going well.

I have a question for those of you who have finished Stage 1.  Did you lose weight as a result of the surgery?  If so, how much?  I'm borderline on having enough fat to make barely "B" cups, and have actually gained a few pounds to try and help.  But I am concerned that if I lose 8-10 pounds after surgery, I'll shrink away the good results.  Do I need to be concerned?  My surgery is in July.

LuvRVing - glad you asked that question regarding weight because I am in a similar situation.   I'm in a quandry because I don't want to lose too much weight before surgery but I don't want a lot of weight to lose afterwards.   Once I had decided on DIEP I let myself get a little carried away with my eating since I had to have the belly fat (quite the rationalization, don't you think!  ha!) so now I"m trying to drop a little of it without going too far.  My PS had told me that we could add implants underneath to make me larger but really I don't want implants at all...that is what I'm wanting to get away from but neither do I want to look out of proportion with a chest too small and bigger hips and bottom....some of that will not change even losing weight (thank you JLo, Beyonce and Kim Kardashion for making full booty a good thing).  LOL!

TexasRose - Nipples are a personal call - If I had a BMX, I think I would pass, but since lefty still has a nipple, I figure righty should match. I wonder when all this is done if I'll be able to go braless, right now, there's NO WAY. But I'm reducing to a C or D cup from a G cup, so a big difference, but a welcome reduction.

I find it fascinating that so many of us have such differing opinions/thoughts on so much of the BC related stuff.

I'm still undecided on the nipple too, although I still have a lot of time to think about it.  TexasRose, I am so excited to hear that you have the all clear to work out and that everything feels ok while working out.   I was just telling my yoga center (Bikram) the other day that I'll probably be out beginning with my surgery June 12th through the end of August....maybe I can go back earlier?  I know...everyone is different and I'll just have to play it by ear - it is a very strenuous workout.  Mmm, now I went back and reread your post where you said stretching was the hardest...  Have you done any abdomen workout?   Oh, and glad to hear your weighloss didn't affect your new boobs.   I read in another thread where someone lost a lot of weight and lost all their new boobs leaving them saggy skin, YIKES!!  I wonder if it was a substantial amount of weight.

Lala's husband, thank you for sharing her recovery.   It is so helpful to hear how she is doing and I'm happy that things are going so well for her.

iswim - YAY for you!   No tamox is wonderful!

How far out from surgery are you now?

Thanks!  It will be 4 weeks on Monday, Julianna51.

 TexasRose-I can't wait to be told I have no restrictions.  I still can't stand up straight and am not allowed to lift more than 15 pounds.  But, I've been doing "long walks" of 4+ miles and daily walks of 2 miles, so I can't complain too much.  I'm hoping they'll let me run at the beginning of May. 

After my surgeries (stage I and II) I lost about 10 pounds... and have dropped another 5 or so... But before stage II B I'd like to drop another 20 or 25.

To lose those 10 pounds, I did have bilateral hip flaps and DIEP flap... plus lots of lipo. My originals were like 700gm each... so that explains a lot of the weight I think... and then one failed, so in the end, 2100gms was removed surgically.

rtnyc - time between stages can vary a lot. For me Stage I was Dec. 15, Stage II was April 5, Stage III is scheduled for July 11. You want a few months between stages to let things settle so you and the PS can see what they'll be like and then can move forward from there. Weight loss does happen in the new boobs too, so I suppose if you lost a ton of weight you could have that fixed with the next stage. For me Stage I was unilateral DIEP (right side only), Stage II was reduction on DIEP side (PS left it a bit big in case of radiation which I didn't end up needing) and abdominal scar revision (dog ears on both sides and removed dran scar mess as well). Stage III will be matching lefty (no surgery done on it) to righty (lift and reduction to match). PS wanted a minimum of 2 months between Stages II and III so that righty would be healed up which would making matching lefty to righty much easier. I think you can wait longer between stages and do it when works for you, but too soon and you're not healed up and things are still changing.

I hope that all made sense.

Was excited this week as I actually noticed a reduction in the swelling in the belly!  I'm over 4 months out now and don't have a muffin top, the belly is very flat, but swollen about 4 fingers wide, from the belly button to the public area.  PS said is could take many months for it to go down.  And it still swells with activity, like walking. 

Stage II hopefully in June, still some insurance issues.

My weight loss story and how it tied in with my surgery:

We couldn't believe how heavy we had gotten over time until we saw ourselves in our daughter's wedding pictures.  AARRGG.  I just happened to have dinner with a friend that week who mentioned she had quickly lost 25 pounds.  She told me the name of the program.  I came home, looked it up online and read the reviews.  Everything I could find.  I ordered the book on Amazon and read the whole thing in November.  Then after we purged the house of all the bad stuff - by eating it all - we began on a Monday.  Day two was difficult but most every day there'd be a pound gone. My husband is a big man and needs a lot to fill him up.  But he managed and at the end of the first cycle, 17 days, he lost 17 pounds and I lost 12.  We took off time for Thanksgiving and the days afterwards, then started back on again.  I lost 30 pounds and he's down 43.  (All though Easter, I ate all the candy.  You just mount back up)  All this before my diagnosis on December 22.

It's a dicipline but after reading some of these posts, I thought I'd share it.  It's called the 17-Day Diet.  It focuses on water, lots of vegetables and lean protein, yogurt and other probiotics, etc.  You add in red meat and grains.  It was extrememly successful for us and I've shared the book with many friends at church.  Just thought I'd put it here.

There are three cycles where you add in more food - each lasting 17 days.  The whole plan is designed for 51 days.  I put a calendar on my fridge so we could mark off the days.

Once I was diagnosed, the issue of my weight didn't weigh so heavily on me.  Once the ab fat was removed, I can't believe I can actually look down and see the floor.  I do think it helped in the recovery process with my other numbers being down.  We casually do the plan now and I've not gained a pound back. 

Question for those of you that are post surgery.....

At the time of my BMX I rented a recliner.  I'm not too anxious to do that again and I'm looking at one to buy this time around.   Have been looking at the reclining chairs with ottoman but they seem a little tough to push back and I figure that might be pretty difficult with a abdomen incision so I'm looking at a powered recliner (nice!!).   Just not sure about it all as it is a bit of an investment.   What are your thoughts....will I be sleeping in a recliner for a few weeks AND would it be pretty diffucult to recline a regular recliner?

Thank you for any input!

Juls