March 2014 Surgery

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2014

    vln - mine stung coming out, but just momentarily. The bad one for me was the axilla drain after ALND, the others not too bad. I had no problems with the drain holes closing, the exit became much less sensitive and sore once the drain was removed. I just kept a small bandage on it for a bit.

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  • Lakegirl1
    Lakegirl1 Member Posts: 316
    edited April 2014

    PS. MALE

    General surgeon. Male 

    MO. Male

    Infectious disease male 

    Hadn't really thought about it before. But I know at work, I tend to have better working relationships with men. This is now my job...get better!!!

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  • Juliecc
    Juliecc Member Posts: 4,868
    edited April 2014

    My 4 drains were painless coming out.  She told me to cough and she pulled each out in 1 second.  But mine didn't look like the pictures I've seen that are like a long thin popsicle stick with holes.  It looked like just more of the tubing.  The drain holes did remain sensitive for a few days.  They cover them with bacitracin and bandaids.

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  • Lakegirl1
    Lakegirl1 Member Posts: 316
    edited April 2014

    Vin...agree with Specialk...the tiny bit of pain is so worth getting them out!  The irritated skin will feel so much better!!!

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  • Kitty62
    Kitty62 Member Posts: 102
    edited April 2014

    Vinmama, got 2(of my 10) taken out on the hospital. The PS said take a deep breath and by my exhale it was out. Today went in and the RN took out 3. Had Percocet an hour prior and hardly felt a thing. She asked if it hurt, from my expression I assume, and I said it was more weird and shocking than painful. Hope that helps:)

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  • vlnmama
    vlnmama Member Posts: 98
    edited April 2014

    Juliecc, 1 second? Seriously? I am having imaginations of this taking at least 5 minutes, maybe 10, to get that one drain out! LOL Let's hope my BS can take this little devil out in a matter of a few seconds!!

    Feeling a little better about it now, thank you. 

    I also managed to forget to take my antibiotics last night, and didn't even think about it until this afternoon. I didn't want to take it this afternoon because the only way to minimize the side effects is to take it when I step in bed to go to sleep. Of course by now my temp seems to be going up slightly again. Ugh. Hopefully it's just from being nervous. Will for sure remember my antibiotic tonight though. I only have to take it once a day, so you'd think I'd remember... 3 more pills left now.

    I might take 1 tylenol beforehand, not sure yet. Tylenol does mess up my stomach, but not usually just one tylenol, it seems to be more after it builds up from several doses. These days I really only take it when I have a fever at or above 102.

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  • Gramof2boys
    Gramof2boys Member Posts: 194
    edited April 2014

    Vin mine didn't hurt either, they told me to take deep breath when they removed them. All I felt was a little pressure when they did it.. They remove the sutures and then unplug the bulb so make sure they unplug the bulb so there is no suction when they remove it. You will feel so much better after it's out. Good luck, you will do fine.

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  • vlnmama
    vlnmama Member Posts: 98
    edited April 2014

    Thanks for the tip, gramof2boys, I'll make sure the bulb is unplugged before she starts!

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  • Juliecc
    Juliecc Member Posts: 4,868
    edited April 2014

    Yes Vinmama.  One second.  Actually on the fourth one she didn't have me cough and just said, "It's out."  I said, "Hey you didn't tell me to cough!"  Apparently it slid right out.  

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2014

    Vin, for me there is absolutely no pain whatsoever getting a drain out. None of the ones I've ever had anywhere in my body have hurt coming out, so it's not just that your chest is numb. If the skin around the drain site is irritated and the drain is NOT removed carefully so it doesn't rub on the sore part, you will feel something just at the exit site. Make sure the nurse is careful because you are SO sore. She can also put some numbing cream on that irritated skin or at the very least, some ointment so the drain tube slips out easily. You may feel the stiches holding the drain in being snipped before the drain is removed, again especially if your skin is irritated. But it's nothing. I don't usually feel it. I don't watch. One time a nurse said she was going to pull a drain on the count of three. She said "one" and when she said "two" she was holding up the drain in front of me. Never got to three and I never felt it. She told me her trick was not to stop once she started and not to let it touch the exit site if possible.

    Your picture shows that red raised shape and you said you can feel the end of the tubing stabbing you. Since the drain tubing goes in only a little bit and the rest of it consists of what looks like a flat white shoelace, I wonder if your drain is placed strangely or it's some other kind than a common JP drain. You shouldn't be able to feel it under the skin, no matter how much you move around. You can feel the pull on the stitches if you tug on the tubing or bulb, but that's it.

    Sometimes there is a little bit of drainage for a couple of hours after it's removed - no need for anything more than a Band-Aid or piece of gauze & tape. The opening closes up by the next morning if not sooner.

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  • fayth
    fayth Member Posts: 30
    edited April 2014

    My drains came out in just a few seconds each. I felt them coming out, but it was more of a strange feeling than a painful feeling. 

    I just ordered my new bra,....(Bare Necessities) thanks for the sites SpecialK. Because I only had a single mastectomy, and I am going to a bigger size than my pre almost non existent A cup, my tissue expander will soon be much bigger than my little one. I will have to figure out how to manage this, especially with the summer coming. 

    Can I also say,... I am not a friend of my tissue expander,...grrr

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2014

    For those of you who have a PICC and wonder if you will have a scar, the answer is no. I got my PICC line taken out today. The only problem I ever have with them is the adhesive on the dressing irritates my skin. I always have a problem with tape and all kinds of medical adhesive even though they paint on a clear film that's supposed to help. Boy, this time it stings, stings, stings. Glad to have that bandage off. By tomorrow it will be fine and in a couple of weeks, you'll see just tiny specks where the two sutures were put in to hold the line in place. Any bruising will go away within a couple of days.

    image

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  • KLJ
    KLJ Member Posts: 284
    edited April 2014

    Panama, I was scared to death to have my drains removed because the one on the right side hurt and burned every time I moved. I let the nurse know about my fears before she started and she was very understanding all the while very busy at my side. After she told me I wouldn't feel a thing she said "there, it's out". Never felt a thing honestly!

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2014

    Julie, your incisions look pretty "new" for being three weeks out. Of course your photos are close ups, so from a distance I'm sure the incision line looks smoother. How were the incisions closed? My PS uses surgical glue. Here's a photo of my left side, taken at a weird uphill angle so it makes the foob look HUGE. But it shows me at 1 week post op. This is the fourth incision in the same place in seven months so some of them overlap. There's also a vertical incision that used to be in the middle, but is now off to the side. You really can't see it because it's just pale pink after seven months of healing. (It was in the middle after the BMX, but all the skin between the vertical incision and my side was destroyed by the infection. When I got the TE, it stretched the skin that was left enough so the PS was able to pull it over to the side to cover the new implant. So the vertical incision is now on the side, not the middle.

    image

     

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  • Juliecc
    Juliecc Member Posts: 4,868
    edited April 2014

    Sandra, I thought they would look better by now but when I look at my photos right after, they are a lot better looking.  Since I was instructed to not put anything on them, they feel very dry and tight like someone tied a shoelace around my chest.  The PS said it was all looking good last week.  I see her again Thursday.  

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  • iwannaseeyoubebrave
    iwannaseeyoubebrave Member Posts: 226
    edited April 2014

    Anxious tonight.  I officially start back to work tomorrow.  I'm fortunate to work from home though for at least this week and will see how it goes next week.  I'm starting to itch a little lately.  I'm chalking it up to healing.  Next fill is next week.  I'll ask her (PS) then.  Finally have the perfect pillow situation set up in our bed. It's so nice to start having a little bit of normalcy coming back into my life.  I still miss my big hugs from my kids and hubby.  Just gives me something to look forward to. :-)

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  • vlnmama
    vlnmama Member Posts: 98
    edited April 2014

    Juliecc, I am not really recommending you do this of course, I'm not a dr, or even a nurse, but if it were me, I'd probably put pure, organic, extra virgin coconut oil (food grade of course) on it. Coconut oil not only is moisturizing for the skin, it is healing in other ways too, because it kills germs such as yeasts, bacteria and viruses. I have used it after each surgery I've had: C-section, groin hernia repair, my lumpectomy, and I will use it now too. I do wait until staples, sutures or steristrips have been removed though. I still have my staples now, but as soon as they are gone, I will be putting coconut oil on, once a day, unless there seems to be a reason to apply it more frequently. But not too often or too much, as you want the area to be able to get some air also. But like I said, it's difficult to really recommend that to others, since I'm not a doctor. Maybe ask your dr about it though?

    ETA: my lumpectomy scar didn't get enough time to really disappear, but I have so little scaring from both my c-section and my groin hernia repair, that you nearly need a magnifying glass to find those scars!!

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  • Juliecc
    Juliecc Member Posts: 4,868
    edited April 2014

    Thanks, Vinmama.  I actually have a brand new jar in my cupboard.  I'll ask the PS Thursday.  I had dissolvable stitches and glue.  The PS's nurse told me last week that in 2 weeks I could use lotion.  I have unscented Lubriderm here, too.  I would love to use either of those to lube things up!  In the shower, I've been using unscented body soap that I have gently patted on my incisions then rinsed off.

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  • mnmbeck
    mnmbeck Member Posts: 313
    edited April 2014

    vin....I was worried about my drains coming out, too.  I didn't think they were painful inside, but the site that they went was pretty sensitive, since I had accidentally 'caught' those tubes on things from time to time.  OUCH!  I agree with everyone above who said it was painless....and literally took less than 2 seconds.  I think my PS was on one side, his nurse on the other.  1-2-3-, deep breath, DONE!  If I felt anything, it was almost like they pulled out a string of mucous....gross, huh?  Not sure how else to describe it....and then....FREEDOM!!!   Try not to worry.  The good news is....the pain you have from those stinkin' things now will be gone.  YAY!!!!  I will pray for a comforted heart, peace, and no pain.  Hang in there!

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  • Juliecc
    Juliecc Member Posts: 4,868
    edited April 2014

    Getting the last drains out is such a relief!  Focus on that.  As you can see, it rarely hurts and it is very fast.

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  • FrannyM424
    FrannyM424 Member Posts: 55
    edited April 2014

    So wonderful to read about all your amazing supportive husbands & boyfriends. Can I share probably the brightest moment of this whole BC journey for me? It was during one of my panicky, anxious, tearful moments when I just needed him to sit next to me and hold my hand. 3 surgeries in less than 2 months almost seemed more than I could handle. I looked at him and apologized for being clingy and needy as I'm usually a pretty strong and independent gal. He gently smiled and looked at me with love in his eyes and said "I've waited over 20 years for you to need me like this." I'll never forget those words. I always knew how much I loved him but never before realized how much I also needed him and I guess that's more than ok.  We'll be married 23 years in August.

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  • mnmbeck
    mnmbeck Member Posts: 313
    edited April 2014

    Franny....that put a lump in my throat....beautiful.  I am so grateful to have a supportive husband and friends.  My mother was diagnosed some time in the late 70s.  She had an abusive husband, kept her cancer a secret (advanced, scary stuff) as best as she could so she wouldn't bother anyone, and there was no such thing as online support groups.  I cannot imagine how she did it.  Absolutely cannot imagine.  I am so grateful for all of you.

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  • Kitty62
    Kitty62 Member Posts: 102
    edited April 2014

    Franny, that brought a lump in my throat AND tears too. I dont think we even halfway realize what our DH are and have been going through. They need to be needed and feel as if they are useful. My DH has been so scared, stressed and nervous. I was asking questions tonight about that first night, that I barely remember. I knew he slept right by my bed,but didn't realize he held my hand most the night and when he heard me moaning  in pain he would squeeze my hand and tell me to push the PCA pump. He got so very little sleep that night. Thank God my nurse was on top of things and coaxed him to go home and sleep. Second marriage for us both. Sept will be 9 years for us.

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  • Kitty62
    Kitty62 Member Posts: 102
    edited April 2014

    Thanks ladies. I owe it all to my PS. I was very happy when I woke up. Flashing all my girlfriends like a desperate porn star.lol

    Kelly, my PS is a male, what you see is what I woke up with. No bra, no cami. Just the tape.My MO is a female and my SO is a female. I got THEE best team in Spokane. I could have had my BMX sooner but waited to get on my PS schedule. Which I'm glad I did. His partners may have done just as good, but I didn't want to risk it.

    Julie, I had 250 in each I was told. will try and get a clearer pic tomorrow.

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  • linda505
    linda505 Member Posts: 847
    edited April 2014

    Well woke up this am and both of my TE's were sitting next to my  pillow....

    APRIL FOOLS!! :)

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  • EverForward
    EverForward Member Posts: 242
    edited April 2014

    Thanks to everyone for the pink bus of support yesterday. This one hurts more than the previous 2 surgeries, which is what the surgeon said would be the case. Neither the Vicodin nor the Percocet seems to have an effect, other than making me sleepy or hazy. I hope I get clean margins this time because I'm really nervous about getting a mastectomy. It was hard enough for me to ask a friend to take time off from work to pick me up at the hospital, I can't imagine how I would deal with recovering from a mastectomy. I know my mother would fly out, but just how long could she sleep on an inflatable bed in my small apartment?

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  • Footballnut
    Footballnut Member Posts: 742
    edited April 2014

    good morning all!  Just popping in to say hi!!  Right now I only have steri strips on my incision. The swelling seems to be reducing. I wear a small cami during the day if I go out or am seeing people. It holds forms if I want to put them in 

    I seet surgeon tomorrow morning and have no idea what he will be telling me. For sure he will assess my healing and hopefully give me details about the cancer

    Even though I know that my scans came back clear I  getting tense all over again. 

    I'm pretty tired today. This is the latest that I've woken up so I suspect that I'll watch baseball and doze until my hubby gets home making the day pass fairly quickly

    I'll keep you all posted!!

    Have a nice day everyone!!

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  • VintageGal1111
    VintageGal1111 Member Posts: 705
    edited April 2014

    Hi~ good to hear from you EverForward! Heal well. Hope the report is a good one!

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2014

    Kitty and Franny, you have wonderful husbands. What touching stories! We March girls have some pretty fabulous guys. You are right about men "needing to be needed." I said yesterday that I was feeling fine and planned to cook dinner. He looked crestfallen and said, "Don't take away my job."

    Everforward, it sure doesn't always work out the way you think it will, does it? You didn't expect to be in any more pain than the last time. I think I know how you feel - kind of betrayed by your body. My third surgery was the hardest too. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you don't need a mastectomy but if you do, we'll be here for you.

    Linda, good one!! I forgot about April Fools Day. (Wouldn't it be cool if we really could take out TE's out at night?)

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  • linda505
    linda505 Member Posts: 847
    edited April 2014

    LOL sanda - I would love to take them out at night - wish I had velcro pockets in my foobs.  Called my PS this am - forgot he is in surgery every Tuesday so no chance to see him today about those areas - one actually looks lighter this am so I think I will just wait until my appt on Thursday.  I must say I feel really good other than the fact that I can feel my TE's 24/7.   My energy level is about back to normal and really no pain to speak of - hope these spots clear up and don't cause the need for something to set me back.  Sending positive healing thoughts to all my March sisters.  

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