DIEP 2014

Lucy -  saw the PS today and he is not concerned about it.  Last drain came out, thank goodness!   Sleeping will be so much easier!   

I guess I am lucky, my boys (20, 24) never gave me any trouble when they were teenagers.  Such good boys!  I have a 9 year old and hope he will be like his brothers.  So far so good!

Ah, the nausea.  I would encourage anyone who is concerned to ask for the patch.  It works wonders!

Maggie - hope you're feeling better!  We were there the same time and sounds like we had the same kind of surgery, one of mine was skin sparing. I had surgery with Sullivan on the 8th - I'm sorry you've had some issues.  I really wish I had brought my mom with me to the appointments, it was a lot of information in a really quick post op visit.  The bras are not for compression, they're to hold the breasts in place.  I ended up with four of them and then the girdle and the white binder.  And so many boxes of swabs and pads!  Got home Thursday, I haven't unpacked yet.  My skin sparing incision and nipple area are black and I'm using the ointment on those areas, hopefully they will heal up ok.  I'm not doing any compression, Sullivan said do one week but it causes me too much pain.  I did three days, the binder isn't too bad, I wore it over a soft t-shirt. I've been off any real pain meds for about 6 days - they made me feel terrible.  I'm getting by on tylenol and advil.  Nights are horrible, I can't get comfy in the bed or recliner, but I'm getting around a lot better during the day and have managed to do a little laundry and some of my own chores.  Today I feel good, very sore, but doing my own cooking and feeling more competent.  

I've got some hard areas along the top of my "totally new" breast vs. the skin sparing.  My breasts look very different at this point, one is much bigger and sits a lot lower.  I was lucky to get my drains out at post-op, very grateful for that.  My tummy incision looks bad but I *think* it's healing.  Major complaints are serious fatigue and sore tummy.  I get winded walking around the house.  I think this is all normal stuff so I'm not worrying about it.  I need to go get my heceptin but feel like it's still a bit too much so maybe will put it off another week.

The main thing I wanted from this surgery was to have two breasts again, to be able to put on clothes and not worry about bending over or having to wear a prosthesis.  TE's were not a option for me.  Mission accomplished!

Thinking about those about to have surgery - it's a lot to go through but seems like the doctors have it down to a good process and most things are handled well and there are some very talented PS who can restore some of what cancer has stolen.

Lucy - maybe there is some sort of a link that hasn't been discovered yet that the odds of getting BC increases w/multiple births???

Phase 1 done and I am exhausted

 they lookrelook really good.

You guys all sound like you are doing great!!!! I hope I am up and around as quickly as some of you. 

Jen, I am so glad your new girls are looking good.  That should be good incentive to help you through recovery.  Just keep looking at them in the mirror, and you will forget you feel bad...lol.

Lucy, thanks for the sleeping tips.  I do a lot of that already.  I am trying really hard not to sit down to long during the day, or I else I do tend to doze off.

Donna, I don't know about multiple births causing bc.  I have heard the opposite, but every woman on my mother's side of the family got breast cancer except my great aunt, who had a hysterectomy in her twenties.  In those days there was no hormone replacement.  She lived to 103.  She watched 5 women in her family die of breast cancer.  I think that says a lot about the estrogen component of this disease.

Kelley, yes ... my surgery was on the 8th.  I'm having problems with hardened areas on the undersides of both breasts and on the right side, it seem to be under the arm, too.  My right side is the cancer side, and they took one or two lymph nodes, so its still swollen and uncomfortable.  Those black bras they sent home with me irritated the underarm area in the right side.  My left side seems to have gone down in the swelling ... at least in the underarm area.   Has anyone else had problems with hard areas in the new breasts after having DIEP surgery?  They sometimes feels very heavy, like when I get up from the bed or sitting. 

I have a lot of fatigue.  I stopped the pain meds on Monday of last week, which would have been 5 days after surgery.  I don't have any pain .. more like discomfort, in my breasts.  The tummy just feels tight.  

No one told me to put ointment on my incisions ... what ointment did they give you?  I have flaky stuff coming off my incisions, so I think that's some kind of bonding stuff they put on them.  All they told me to put on them was betadine. 

Still have a hip drain, but the drainage seems to be going down.  Maybe I can get it out this week.  I'm seeing my regular doc on Friday.  

I've been out of the house twice to shop, so I feel pretty good.  I just get tired pretty easily.  

Belladonna - I chose to do a bilateral mastectomy, and I only had DCIS in my right breast - because I didn't want to go through this again.  Good luck with whatever your decision may be!  It is a very personal one. 

Maggie - it took weeks to feel normal and you will have swelling for quite a while.  Some of the hardness does go away and some areas are addressed at Stage 2.  NOLA protocol is betadine on incisions and antibiotic ointment at the drain sites.  After long surgery, it will take you quite a while to get over the tiredness.  Each of us bounces differently.  I was still taking forced naps at 6 - 8 weeks.  Give yourself time and exercise lots of patience!

Hello Elizabeth,

I see you live in California. Where did you have your DIEP and by who?

Maggie. As Marty said betadine can go on incisions, but don't use ointment. Neosporin ointment can go on drain holes. If you put ointment on your incisions they won't heal and when the glue comes off the incision could open..  The flaking is the glue coming off. Don't take it off, just let it come off..

Kelley.... So not sure what ointment you are using, but double check on that... And when you say black incisions, do you mean bloody glue? If so that is just what it looks like til the glue peels off at about the 2-3 week mark? Or do you have some skin necrosis? That would require ointment, but if it is near the incision be very careful.... I had necrosis and got ointment on my incision and when the glue came off my incision opened. 

Also Kelley and Maggie. Don't be touching those boobies and looking for hard areas. It is way way too early to be worrying about that. And the boobies don't need to be touched. Just let them heal. They will feel heavy and odd for a bit, but at about the 3 month mark you will realize they feel better. 

Thanks, Betsy ... I think all this different information these docs are giving are freaking me out a bit.  I know every doctor is different, but ... man!  I just don't want there to be any complications, as none of us do. 

I admit I have worried the hard areas will stay hard, or they are dead tissue or something.  My incisions are the bloody glue, I think.  Its all flaking off on the belly area, and now that incision doesn't look so bad.  But my breast incisions still look like thick dark bloody incisions.  

My sister, who is a nurse, is coming by tomorrow to look at my incisions ... just to make sure everything is healing as it should.  I developed a blister on the underside of one breast while I was still in the hospital.  It got quite large, popped several days ago and I have to put ointment on it every day.   It's very close to my incision, so I want my sissy to check it out.   I will be glad to see my doctor Friday for an allover check on everything.  

wow!  you ladies are sailing through!  Best wishes to those up next!

Bella, I can only share my own experience.....DCIS was found in my left breast-righty looked to be ok.   I insisted that I wanted them both off, and I am glad I did......I was able to get two lovely new girls out of my tummy fat, AND.....DCIS and LCIS was found in the "non-cancerous" breast......you only get one chance at the DIEP......and I wanted a matched set.  

Maggie - my incisions are also looking black and I think it is just the glue they used.  I saw the PS yesterday and he thought they looked great.   It's nice that you have your sister to come over and take a look.  That will be reassuring to you.

to all the recent "flappers".....I am cheering kelleyb's sentence...."mission accomplished"! Take the time you need to heal and remember that in the early days, things change almost daily...keep your focus towards the future.

bellamomma....No one can (nor imho..SHOULD anyone on these threads) give you any medical/tx/dx advice other than sharing our own personal experiences. We are not experts on anything other than our own bodies, nor can we see into our future, much less anyone else's future. As you can see from the messages, everyone chooses different approaches for different reasons. The only thing I will add, is that when faced with really difficult decisions, I try to put myself in "5 years, 10 years, 20 years" from now.....will I be ok "then", with my choices of "now". Of course, the tricky part is...we only have the info of "today".... so you have to weigh all the options, really examine the "why's" of your emotional and medical reasoning, then make the choice that leaves you with the least amount of chance to find yourself in the "I wish I had" place as time goes on. It's a toughie, and it's a BIG decision.....I'm sure you'll find your path. {{{{X}}}}

Bella - 

This is my experience/opinion:

I had cancer in 1 breast & needed a masectomy.  Before surgery I had the genetic testing done which came back negative.  If it was positive, I would have had a double, definitely.    My MO said that I have no more of a chance of developing cancer in my good breast as anyone else - probably less of a chance, because I am on tamoxifen.  It was my choice - but his opinion was to only have 1 removed, there was no need to remove the other.  I have uni diep scheduled for this fri & am so far happy with my decision.  I like the fact that I will have 1 natural breast and my surgeon has confidence that she can do a good match with reconstruction.  Also, I only have enough belly fat for a B size cup (I am a C now).  If I had both done with diep, I assume I'd only have enough for 2 A's?   Now.....if the cancer comes back in my good breast, I guess I will regret this decision....  Actually, the cancer can't even "come back" my MO said that it would need to be a "new" cancer - so he feels the odds are very slim.

Bella, I think my family is a good indicator of the personal nature of this decision. My great grandmother, aunt and mother all had bilateral multifocal IDC. Then my sister got her dx, 8 tumors + DCIS in her right breast. She had a uni. I got my dx, 1 tumor. I had a bmx. My sister is comfortable with her chances, statistically, but I wasn't. We are both satisfied with our very different decisions, because they are what we felt we needed. You have to talk to everyone you can, get the best advice you can get, then make the decision based on what feels right for you. Only for you.