DIEP 2013

Thanks Marty - I appreciate the advise. I'm settling down for the night.

Wow! BUSY Flappers! I've lost all my trains of thought and who has what going on....going to have start taking notes as I read!



I am 4 weeks out and still have large, open area where I had a blister that is not healing and 5 other tiny spots in various areas of delayed healing. My PS wants me to keep it all dry, change the gauze twice a day.



I am a unidiep....huge swelling....still swollen 4 weeks later but getting better slowly. I was told not to worry about swelling for at least 8 weeks.



Robin....I only had three drains (again...I am unidiep). 1 breast and one on each hip. Lost one hip drain at day 10. Breast drain (had a hematoma in the breast) @ about day 15 and last hip drain @ day 19. Coming home with 4 sounds within the normal range.



Canada girls- so sorry to hear about all your flooding! It all sounds devastating. Prayers for you!



And prayers for all who are having surgery this week. Thinking of you.



We (friends and neighbors) had a garage sale the last two days for my friend who broke both of her arms a month ago and can't work (she is a hair stylist)...we made $1200 for her!!! Unbelievable! So fun. All of the items were donated and there is still enough stuff for another garage sale next week. People are good.



Have a good week!

I had hot room (78°) with "bear hugger" blanket (blows warm air) for 48 hours. Was drugged up enough I mostly didn't care for first 36 hours...was I increasingly aware during last 12.... was grateful for my chillow ( as seen on tv) and cool cloth on my forehead.



BUT.....from what I have read here....it varies wildly from surgeon to surgeon....ask your PS their protocol.

The camisole found a home!

SheChirple - I've had to buy outfits for both Stage 1 recovery and Stage 2.  I went to thrift stores and bought outfits a couple sizes larger for Stage 1, and for Stage 2 -dresses went down to the floor and roomy to hide the girdle.  I am going to have a big bonfire and throw all my cancer clothes in it.  You are waaay early in the recovery process, I didn't go back to work until I was eight weeks post-op.  I used to have to also fight the feelings that this will never end, that I will always feel crappy, and why is everyone doing so much better than I am?  As MartyJ kept telling me, give it time.  I heard from the doctor that start to finish it takes nine months, I am thinking that it will probably take a year to get a new baseline normal, but then IT"s OVER!

Hugs to all, back to wresting with my new girdle. 

I just had stage 2 last Monday and my room was kept cold according to my aunt and my daughter which preferred to wait in the family room instead of my room cause of it being so cold while I was in surgery. After my surgery I had 5 blankets on me so I wasn't cold. The nurse came in and gave my daughter a warmed blanket after I was settled in.

Cuetang and sfin good luck today. Hoping everything goes as planned and wake up pain free

Blessing to everybody in surgery today.  I know it will all be fine.  

Since I have gotten back into bed, and stopped sleeping in the recliner I am sleeping better.  I know I will be back there soon, but for now bed is better.

I found a interesting article about what causes blisters on flaps last night, and now I lost it somewhere in cyberspace.  It said somethig about a certain kind of tape that is used after surgery needs to be removed no later than 72 hours after surgery. It was an article out of Canada.  I am going to try to find it again. 

Bailey, Kuka, I had the same issue, the blister on the flap (are yours on the flap??). I had it from April until September. First I applied silvadine then the wet to dry gauze a couple of times a day. I was scared to death that the flap was going to fail. And I sent more pictures to my PS than a years supply of Playboy of that floob (or do we call them gloobs on this forum?). But every time something looked nasty on it, I'd send him a pic.



I found out that (this may only be mine and not your experience, and for the new ladies not all or many get the blisters/eschars either!) was a process in healing. And, mine went from looking like a blister to looking like black tar to looking red like blood when the eschar (scab) was removed to yellow, then red again and finally pink. Now, all healed over. Lots of vitamin C and protein taken during this time. BTW the flap where the blister was was the radiated side, skin very thin there according to the PS.



Not sure if this is your experience, but it does get better and amazing to see how our bodied make new skin over where the blister was!

Here is a paragraph from the article I read that mentions the blisters, and the tape.

Dressings

Your incisions are closed with absorbable sutures, so no stitches need to be removed. There are small strips of paper adhesive over your suture line called steri-strips. These should remain in place until they fall off by themselves or in about two weeks, whichever comes first.

The dressings placed over your incisions in the operating room are water-proof, they are called tegaderm. Take these dressings off 3 days after surgery if the surgical team has not already done this. If you do not remove these dressings there is a chance you could get blisters on the skin around the edge of the tegaderm. If you see any blisters, remove the tegaderm immediately. This is not an allergy.

If the white dressing, called telfa, under the clear tegaderm does happen to get wet or soiled with blood, do not leave a wet dressing on your skin. Take the tegaderm and telfa off of your skin leaving the steri-strips in place. It is OK for the steri-strips to get wet in the shower. Don’t allow the water jet from the shower to directly hit them, just let the water roll over your shoulders gently. Blot them dry when you are done. Do not soak in a tub or get in a pool or hot tub until advised by your plastic surgeon

that's great info on the dressings and thank you for it.  I noticed with the steristrips that my skin gets itchy right where they were in March so I'll mention that and the above info to my ps tomorrow at my pre-op.  ooh geez a week away. 

prayers and good healing thoughts go to Cuetang and sfin as they go through their surgeries today!

I know that they used the glue on my incisions and threre is one spot that looks yellowish/brown. The PS saw this and told me to put the silverdene cresm on it once the glue came off. Problem is, I cant tell if theglue is still there or not. I can tell on the other side, just not this one.

Jeannie57 my pre-op is tomorrow afternoon, its the surgery that is a week away.  :thinks calming thoughts:  tomorrow morning at 8 I have an EKG and then a stress test (treadmill run) and then another EKG, then in the afternoon ps pre-op,  Wed afternoon bloodwork and all that with my PCP and then I really just wait.

5 days post diep today. I am still enormously swollen but I did notice that my boob seems somewhat softer today so I guess some of the swelling is down. The breast drain is still not putting out anything other than a few drops. The abdomen drains are still filling fast and furious. My blister looks about the same as it has. I am walking a bit faster today but maybe even MORE haunched over than before. Ugh! I have appointments coming up tomorrow and the next day and I am gonna look like a freak walking in bent over so much.

Jackie - you are a saint.  We cared for my stepmother who had Alzheimers for 10 years, but not in our home.  Couldn't bring her to the house since my mother was already here.  That would have been a real mess.

With the plication, I think you should be prepared to be somewhat incapacitated for about 2 weeks (or less).  The drains are the real stopper.  My breast drains came out at 5 days, hips at 11.  I was not overly medicated beyond the first 3 - 4 days.  I didn't plan anything because I didn't want to go with the drains.  My first big outing was a dinner with 40 people at day 15.  I stood a lot at cocktails, walked up and down docks, climbed on my neighbor's new boat (with help).  I only had lipo at the flanks.  My movements might have been a bit inhibited more had the hips and thighs been done.  That will be in August and I will attend a wedding at 15 days.  Hope it works as smoothly for you!

Marty, can't believe you were even THINKING of putting the two of them together....LOL! . One question.....does incapacitated mean bed-ridden, or would I most likely be able to fix breakfast and lunch for my mother? Since I had family here for 5 weeks (and paid help for mom for an additional 2 weeks courtesy of my family) not sure they will be up for another trip to Oregon from all four corners of the country... . I know we're all different in terms of healing, but if I can get a "sense" of what's involved.....



Jackie