DIEP 2013

Goldie....forgot to mention....tanning an immature scar is a very sure way of making sure it never fades as completely as it could. Once an immature scar "tans", it will always be darker than the surrounding skin. Many people don't realize you can still get the effects of sunrays through clothing, especially wet clothing.

Ok ladies, I couldn't get on yesterday for some reason and just got caught up on all my reading. I read everyday but don't post very often. Yesterday I got a confirmed surgery date- July 29th. I'm so excited. I am a delayed bilateral diep. I don't care what they look like when they are done, I just want them. I went two years as a uniboober and 4 years now with nothing. I want to have something! I can't wait to not take my boobs off when I get ready for bed and put them on before I leave the house.

I've been off work since March due to anxiety and depression- lots of other crap going on in my life and have had this condition since my early twenties. Some days I don't feel like leaving my house! I used to love my work but right now not so much.

I finally ended my bad marriage a year and a half ago and my ex has been taking me to court and being totally unrealistic. Now he wants half of my pension. Have to sell my house because I can't afford it on my own and have huge amount of debt that he helped with but doesn't want to pay any of.

I'm ok with all of this because I'm going to move closer to my family! The house has been up for sale for almost a year and is getting me frustrated!

So, needless to say, this surgery is something that I'm really looking forward to and know is going to happen in the near future!

Thank you all for continuing to share! I take it all in and can't wait to get to the other side. I also get thinking about exercise and eating properly- I have been neglecting myself through all this other stuff!

A new start for this girl- cant wait!

Thanks for letting me get it out there!

Cheers,

Sherry

Oh, Ninahi....I know that about scars.  No sun will ever touch my mx, or diep scars.  These women weren't tanning their scars, but the outline of the tan lines around their breast made them look better.  I guess that's why they were doing it.  But, a lot of their before pics showed tham as tanner's before surgery, so to each his own.  Personally, I am addicted to my fake tan towels.  Even the nurses at the hospital asked me about my tan till they saw they could peel it off with tape, or swabbing it with alchohol...lol.  I had two of them actually write down the name of the stuff I use.  When my scar are healed, and I get the okay from my PS maybe I can use the fake tanner to even out the skin tone of my foobs.

Sherry I'm so sorry you have to go through all that. But believe me, karma is a bitch!

Nihahi good for you writing that letter for your doc and making him read it! Sometimes they need to be remembered that they're human beings just like the rest of us!

Bailey, I had a hard spot on my left breast and the ps told me that it was probably the tissue didn't take in that area. He said to give it sometime because the body would reabsorb most of the blood around it and then it would get softer. It did! I wasn't worried because he said if it didn't he would lipo it during stage 2 and add fat injections on it to add volume.

Nihahi are you sleeping tonight? I guess tonight is not the night for me. Been tossing around for two hours and finally decided it wasn't going to happen;)

Sherry,

Good luck with the surgery. Yes, you will be a new woman with a fresh start and soon your ex will be out of your life. Good for you looking at the positive.



Bailey,

I am so sorry to hear about your friends. You are right to "soldier on"...it is what we all have to do when tragedy strikes, in your case your health must come first.

Good luck with that hummingbird feeder, I always wanted to get one, don't know why I haven't!

Pat

Sherry, good luck and I'm glad you are eagerly looking forward. I love Goldie's idea of flashing the judge



Bailey, when it rains, it pours. Hope today is a happy day or you.



Nihahi, hope your date is soon and that the Dr. took your concerns to heart.



Everyone find a smile today.

Sharon

Goldie- that is priceless! I laughed, and will secretly imagine this when I go to court!



Bailey- so sorry you are going through what you are with those close to you. ((hugs))



Thank you all for your encouragement!

Sbelizabeth so glad you can have all that stuff and your thyroid is fine! Maybe when I read this stuff about goitregens my ears perked up because I'm not fond of veggies??? You know, like when my PS office sent out a newsletter that had the benefits of dark chocolate I called and said i loved the article, but danged if I'm going to call this week after they talk about the benefits of juicing beets and cabbage! I think you can also be titrated with the thyroid meds to take into account how much you eat the veggies, and probably always will eat them! I had a nutritionist who ate tons of soy but also had a thyroid problem and she said her Endo just took it into account when giving her the thyroid RX - knowing she ate soy always! Me - I don't like tofu, or brussel sprouts but your recipe sounds delicious! May make it for DH who loves everything you listed.



There is so much stuff out there about what to eat, what not to eat, what to avoid. Coffee is good, coffee is bad. Chocolate is good, chocolate is better, chocolate is wonderful - that kind of stuff. Sorry if I said anything contrary to what your Dr has said about thyroid!



And, I like the 97% flap success rate as well. I don't know how to say this without sounding like I'm not being real, but when I lost my flap - big surprise since it was not the radiated side!!! It was truly NOT the end of the world! I think I was given the means to get through it, as I needed it, and it didn't impact me as much as I thought it would. It was an inconvenience for sure - but not what I had anticipated it to be before hand, when I let myself go to that place of 'what ifs'. I think we all are given what we need to handle whatever comes our way - when we need it.



I have friends come up to me and tell me "oh, you are so strong." or "you are my hero" and I don't get it! They would do the same thing or better if they had to deal with whatever it is I've dealt with.



MOST people do not lose a flap! That is the thing to hang on to!

Bailey...so sorry for the loss and worries you've recently had...reaching through cyberspace to send you hugs.

Sherry....your ex is a cockroach!!!! Hope you have good legal support to wipe the sidewalk with him, then sweep him into the gutter where he belongs!!!!

Catie...believe your friends....you ARE amazingly strong!!!! Such an awesome attitude...it will serve you well in life.

ssla.........YES....I will spend my day finding things to smile about....great suggestion

Kuka...I was awake most of the night, actually...should have gotten on here so we could chat. What was going on for you????? Hope today goes easy for you.

LOVE HUMMINGBIRDS!!!!! They have just returned to this neck of the woods....but in our condo, I can't have a feeder, so have to find them along the trails. Such amazing creatures....

There is a possibility of another day of no rain here, so after physio, I'm going to check out a trail. And look for something to smile about!

Have good days, ladies.

I decided I could sew so I am ripping the side seems out of a few shirts and putting Velcro in so my girlfriend can get clothes on a bit easier while she recovers. My mom and I picked up a shower chair for her yesterday, too, so I do feel like I am contributing to the cause a bit.



I don't like the hero stuff either, makes me uncomfortable. I just did what most moms would do in order to be able to still be mom to her kids as long as possible.



Y'all crack me up. So glad I found this thread when I did!

Bailey, I thought I had the world cornered on being wordy!!! LOL - even wordy right now!

But want to add my 'hugs' to the mix for all the 'stuff' you've been through this week. So very sorry you've had all that dumped on you! My PS also hates the adhesive, so had to keep the gauze over the 'owie' on flap for quite a bit just using the surgical bra and gauze! Hope it heals better soon! And, love your idea about the shirts for your friend!!! How clever!



Sherry - what to say? But GOOD GRIEF!!!! There should be a forum for DH's (this one not an endearment DH, but the D word that sounds like Rick) of the century and your ex sounds like a winner. What goes around.... Big hugs to you too!



Nihahi and Kuka - I didn't sleep last night either - at all. 3 hours this a.m. with DD calling. Smelled like wires burning in our A/C - so have it shut off (Atlanta, not fun in summer) and called warranty company - good thing I was awake, though, watching recorded tv in den and it was there I smelled the burning. When DH woke up for work at 5:00 a.m. I asked him if he smelled it too, and he did! What did I do next? After shutting off A/C, got my 'stuff' ready for evac!!!! What was one of the most important things? Vitamins and daily meds, jewelry, and stuff for next surgery! HOW NUTTY is that??? The minds of a recon patient!!???

Morning ladies,

Just found out about the frozen berry recall from Costco. My whole family had consumed a bag of the berries suspected of being contaminated with Hep A. As if I needed something else to worry about! Fortunately I was vaccinated in the Air Force, and my kids were vaccinated as a requirement for school so I think we're good except we're not sure if my hubby was ever vaccinated. Sigh... Is no food safe anymore? I truly despise the FDA...

It was the antioxidant berry blend that was recalled. Supposedly it was the pomegranate seeds but I also have a triple berry blend without those and still chucked it. If you google it you'll find the latest news. In AK they were sold at Costco under the name Townsend Farms. Hope that helps.

OK. I did not check in for awhile and it took me hours over two days to catch up with all the news! I am two weeks out from surgery. I was in for DIEP but my PS was able to do SIEA flap instead. I guess this means they did not go near my abdominal muscle and that will make recovery easier overall. I do have some tingling/numbness/pain on my upper inner thighs, but my PS said that was normal with SIEA because of where they pulled the new blood supply from. Anybody else out there have SIEA? I guess there are only about 15-20% of the population who have the anatomy [large enough veins in that area] for SIEA rather than DIEP. The PS figures out when you are open on the table which they will do. I have been off of pain meds for a few days now. That is when I started reading and catching up. The pain meds mess with my head too much to focus and type. Off of them, I am better.

I had surgery on a Tuesday and came home the following Friday. They had me on my feet and walking to the nurses station on the night of surgery. The nurses were great. I had three drains, one for each breast and one hip. They pulled the breast drains on the day I left the hospital but I still have the hip drain. At my first post op appt., my PS said it could be another couple weeks because SIEA tends to drain more because the blood supply is taken from the groin lymph area and that causes more drainage. My pain was always managed. My room was not kept hot but they did keep a warm blanket on the new girls. I never had bandages over the steristrips. so I saw all the work right away. LOVE the flatter tummy! The new girls also look nice and it is weird to have my bellybutton back where it used to be. It feels so high! I was allowed to shower right away as well [my PS is male] and find it fascinating that everybody has such different instructions!!!

The odd SE that I have that I have not read about is pain in my arms. I cannot straighten my arms all the way without significant pain around the elbow. I think it is muscle/tendon on either side of the elbow [above/below]. My shoulders were an issue after BMX but are doing quite well and after BMX I was sleeping in a recliner for weeks before my chiropractor worked on a rib that was out of alignment. My PT thought it was physio that help me to lay flat but I know it was my Chiro. With this surgery, I started the first night in the recliner and then went to bed. Have slept in my bed every night. Very happy about this. Now if I can just straighten my arms....

For all of you that had/have expander tightness...I had my TEs taken out ten days post BMX. I could not take it. They were awful torture devices. I am a violist and orchestra conductor and could not see a world in which I could ever be comfortable enought to play or conduct with those in. I give you credit for persevering through!

Sherry... all I can say is, wow. I cannot imagine have to deal with BC AND all the other stuff!! I hope you find peace and joy in the process of rebuilding your body and your life!

Congrats Katy on your Anniversary! Hope you painted the town red!

Bailey - so very sorry to hear about your friends accident and the loss of your friend. Finding the balance of recovery and mourning and wanting to be there for others is so very hard. Hope your hematoma is shrinking!!!

Nihahi - Good luck with Mohs. Again, hard to imagine dealing with skin cancer in addition to BC.

SheChirple - I understand the work apathy. I LOVE my job but have struggled to feel passionate about work through this process. I took medical leave for BMX [scheduled flap surgery during summer vacay] and was surprised how entirely checked out I was. I thought I would be calling and keeping things running from afar and the reality was...I was completely out of it and did not check in on work at all. They were very glad when I returned. They learned all the things that I do that others do not.

Love the term Flappers. So my fellow flappers...I hope you are all having a great day. Sending up prayers for all the various stuggles. It is hard when life continues around us even as we move through something this huge.

Lynda

Lynda - when you are on the table for your extended surgery, your arms are often at 90 degrees and straight.  That could have effected the tendons and ligaments and muscles.  As long as you are not noticing any swelling in your arms or a feeling of heaviness - that could be lymphedema.  The tightened thing can be worked out in PT, but not til about 6 weeks post surgery (just to protect your new girls).  

Movie - the story about the bath was wonderful.  

Oh darn, now I gotta check the frozen berries I sent my DH out to buy today.  yikes!