June 2014 Surgery Sisters
Comments
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Worryocd and ojoyjoy, I'm glad your surgery is complete and your recovery has begun. I thought I was going to be the last surgery here, but with Sandra now scheduled for September, we will of course keep the bus running for her. I had pushed my surgery out to July 2nd so we could celebrate my husband's 50th birthday yesterday. What a great day it was! Now I am both looking forward to and apprehensive as July 2nd approaches. I sailed through my lumpectomy and re excision surgeries six years ago.This time around the surgery will be more extensive with bmx and lat flap/TE's. Turtle and finnigan,how are you both doing with recovery from your lat flap? Looking forward to joining y'all on the other side next week. This board has been so helpful and I am glad to have connected with you ladies!
Purple
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Wildflower50- So glad surgery went well and you are home. Rest and let your body heal. Staying ahead of the pain is so important those first few days and you will feel better each day. Know we are thinking of you!!
Allly
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Thanks for all the well wishes. Surgery went good. Struggled with nausa til around 2am in the morning but my night nurse was wonderful at keeping on top of nausea/pain meds. The best news was my BS said she is 97% sure it didn't spread to the nodes, woohoo! My pain level is pretty high and was shocked when they said I was good to go home. I survived the 2 hour car ride and glad to be home. I was home in a little over 24hrs from the time of surgery....hard to believe. I have 4 drains and yes....I can't stand them. Big day today with coming home....nap time for me. Forgive any typos as I'm pretty loopy on Percocet.
Worrycod - hope your surgery went well.
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Hi ladies! Thanks everyone for your support. Ojoyjoy glad your home and happy to read your surgeon is confident about the nodes! I am very sore. I am also on Percocet and an antibiotic. So glad the procedure is over. Is this how it's going to feel for three weeks? I have taken some walks. I feel extreme tightness in my chest. I don't like to lay down for long periods of time because I feel super stiff. I know I am being a baby..it's only day two. This is rough!
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Hi ladies! I saw the plastic surgeon today and switched my meds from Norco to Percocet. I feel somewhat better with the compression bandages off but still stiff and hard to lie down for any length of time. I find myself restless and sitting more vs lying down. I've developed a cough and omg...it hurts to cough!!! I'm day 4 post-op and its slowly getting easier.
Worryocd, you aren't bring a baby...this is rough!
Ojoyjoy, glad you got the nausea under control. I had nausea too and what a difference if made once it was under control.
I also forgot to mention that my nodes were clear!
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Lots of good news from our surgery sisters. Don't rush the healing, patience is the name of the game.
So glad to hear everyone is getting clear node reports. That definitely makes the healing go easier. Get lots of rest and lots of protein for healing and lots of water to keep your system flushed out.
I love good news.
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Hi is it too late to join up with the June Sisters? I just found you! I had a nipple sparing mastectomy on my left on June 4 due to multifocal DCIS. Nipple looked black/purple right after surgery, and by 6/17 I was back in surgery having my necrotic (dry, black) nipple and oddly discolored areola off, drain back in. healing clock was reset a bit, so my first fill is July 1 - anxious.
I was so disappointed and saddened that the nipple/areola didnt thrive Ive slipped down the rabbit hole of depression. Im having a lot of trouble focusing on how lucky I am, instead deeply mournful of what Ive lost and how my chest looks. One minute Im fine 5 mins later Im head- in-hands, sobbing. My poor wife is at wits end, its breaking her heart to see me so broken up.
Im grateful to you all for sharing your stories.
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Wildflowers, worryocd and ojoyjoy- glad you guys are home and recovering. And to hear you've got clear nodes.
Ojoyjoy- I can't believe you poor thing, you had to travel two hours home.
Wizard-hope your well soon. A cough must be awful painful at this point.
Purplegurl-I'm right before you on July 1st. And I definitely understand the anxiousness.
Thanks for the tips on anti-nausea meds. SpecialK- I'll have to write that one down, I'll never remember it.
I guess I'm getting the on Q pain pump. I think I'll have it for a few days. Which sounds good as I'm reading about the discomfort you guys are feeling.
I also wonder if they will use my port during surgery?
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Hello all my surgery sisters. A very quick note to say. I'm Home!!! So happy to be on the flip side. My best to the ladies recovering and also the ladies who went in the same day as me.
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We've had such a busy thread the last two days. Except for a few bumps, we're still doing great overall.
Our Pink Bus has served us well. Loved the pink party hats, pink daiquiris, fruit and cream. We're going to park the bus for now but will use it for our final two members next week.
Welcome SullivanSF. Of course you can join us. How did everything go with your surgery? I see you had a mastectomy plus got a TE and two weeks later another surgery? Do I have that right?
Marren, I get an echocardiogram every year because I have a large aneurysm in the ascending aorta of my heart plus a aortic valve that doesn't stay shut like it should. I had the last echo 5 weeks after surgery #3 and I wouldn't recommend it. Although I was healing nicely and the technician was pretty quick (less than 30 minutes), it was quite uncomfortable this time. Later that day and the next I was in a lot of pain all across my chest and sternum. For those who don't know, you lie on your left side (not fun after breast surgery) with your left arm stretched up by your ear and out of the way. (Ouch with range of motion issues.) The technician stands or sits behind you, reaching her/his arm across and around to your left side. The technician moves the device all around your left chest getting pictures of your heart and pressing pretty hard sometimes. An implant gets in the way for sure. Her arm leans against the top & side of your right breast. (Maybe you'll get a tech with long arms instead.) Marren, put it off if you can. A couple more weeks of healing will help.
So sorry to hear of the problems several of you had with nausea. I feel for you as that's the WORST part of surgery for me. You are in enough pain as it is and adding waves of nausea & vomiting makes it such a miserable experience. I was sick as a dog for nearly three days after the BMX. If you haven't had your surgery yet or to keep in mind for another surgery in the future, you should ask to meet with an anesthesiologist before the surgery date. Post Operative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV pronounced pon-vee) is a recognized problem that anesthesiologists can help you with if they know about it. As SpecialK said, you will want a scopolamine patch - a little round "Band-Aid" that goes behind one ear. Also ask for a pill called Emend. You take it shortly before surgery begins. During surgery and for the first day or so, you can get Zofran. It's an anti-nausea med that goes in your IV. Finally, discuss what medications the anesthesiologist plans to use during surgery. Many are known to cause PONV in people prone to it. Gases are the major culprit but there are others such as Fentanyl that can be a problem. They also use a drug to paralyze you during surgery so you don't move. The drug to reverse that can cause PONV. After 4 surgeries I know what works for me. I had the ear patch, Emend pill, Zofran, Propofol and an anesthesia method called TIVA. No nausea at all.
Finally, for post op pain, ask about Exparel. The surgeon injects it into the incisions at the end of surgery. It's an anesthetic foam that bathes the whole area in blessed pain relief for 3 days. I learned about it from another woman on my March Surgery Sisters thread. (Her brother is an anesthesiologist.) OMG. It works so well. I'll never have surgery without it again. I am allergic to narcotics and opiates, so have to get through every surgery with only Tylenol. Adding Exparel was wonderful and I felt great for the first time. No PONV & no pain!
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Wizard, you must have been a nervous wreck having to wait until 3:30 for your surgery! Glad you have relief from that tight compression but sorry you have a cough. Ouch!
Mommy, I hope you have help lined up to help with the 4 kids after your hysterectomy. Doing as much as you can ahead of time will certainly pay off, but it's going to be hard to make yourself rest. You CAN do it.
Jbdayton, I have enjoyed meeting everyone on this thread and doing what I can to support all of you who had surgery. Now that I've bonded with everyone, I'm here to stay. You had such a big surgery, made even harder by healing issues, so it's no surprise that it's taking longer to recover this time. No wound vac is good news. Hope your husband takes on much of the reunion prep this year. You deserve a break.
SpecialK, I loved when you said you tend to "spawn more surgery." Made me laugh, even though it's nothing to laugh about really. Just so true with you. (You are such an overachiever. LOL)
Wildflower, Worry, and Ojoy - hope you are feeling better. It's two steps forward and one back it seems, but most of us feel pretty good at the 3 week mark. Ojoy, can't believe they sent you home so soon with pain and nausea PLUS a two hour drive. I couldn't have done it, that's for sure.
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Just getting on after my surgery which was the 24th but I'm doing really well. Came home early the morning if the 25th and was so happy to get home because you really get no rest in the hospital. Surgery was about 5 hours and i got in my room about 8:30 pm. At 3 am, the nurse got me up and made me walk the hallway and I knew then that I was ready to come home. I had breast augmentation about 10 years ago so PS was able to fill my TE to almost the same size as I was prior to surgery but the TE still move around and are uncomfortable at times. I was able to get my drains out yesterday and that was great although I had no idea it would hurt so much when they came out. My pathology reports came back clear so no cancer in my lymph nodes so you could probably hear our cheers all over the country.
Concerning nausea, if you are prone to motion sickness and nausea, please tell everyone at the hospital and they will give you plenty of medications to help with that. They gave me several different drugs for nausea and I was not nauseated at all.
As far as those asking about recliners and such for comfort, I have a recliner that I sit in during the day but also a large wedge pillow that I use when I want to take good nap or sleep in my bed. Pain meds wire me up instead of making me sleepy so I've had some problem sleeping but have also been trying to take ibuprofen instead of the pain meds as much because that seems to help me more with the swelling and muscles. I've also had an allergic reaction to something as I have hives on my stomach. Drs aren't sure what so we're just watching it but I've had no problems with breathing or anything else.
Hope ojoyjoy and worryocd are doing well after surgery and that wizard50 is home and recovering well. Thanks to all of you on this site for all the well wishes and support. It really is helpful to know what to expect during the process even though everyone is different.
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Ugh. When I woke up this morning, I noticed dried blood on my pajamas top. The left-side incision had opened a bit near the sternum.
My husband fussed at me that I must have done too much. In my sleep??!!
Of course it's Saturday and I'm unsure if I should call the surgeon's office about this.
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Hi Shycat,
I would call so they can tell you what to do - they will most likely have you cover it with something and maybe apply some kind of cream or something but you need their advice as to what to do.
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Go ahead and call. I had many incisions open in spots after my surgeries. He had me take a picture and email it to him. In my case, he just told me to keep it clean and covered to prevent infection and come see him when they were open again.
I did have one he made me come in for because it appeared to have a yellow orange blister and he feared infection.
Apparently not really unusual for this to happen. Eat lots of protein to help in healing.
Good luck and HUGS.
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Yes, ladies, you should be aiming for 100g of protein daily to help with healing. Also, drinking a sports recovery drink (not Gatorade, one from the sports nutrition store) that has amino acids is helpful. Pineapple has an ingredient called bromelain that helps with healing. Some people take arnica Montana also.
marren - I have had echos with TE in, TE out (the worst since it is skin over bones), implant. You will be OK, but be sure to warn the tech.
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kcat- thanks for the reply, sorry I just saw it.
Sandra- thanks for adding me. This is a great thread. Also so sorry your surgery has been postponed.
Did your BS tell you you wouldn't need mammograms anymore after a bmx? Mine did, but my aunt still gets them.
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Home from the hospital today. Boy not a fun experience to say the least. 24 hours of nausea/vomiting after surgery was awful. My PS said the surgery went well, but did say the skin was so thin from my mastectomy, he said aggressive mastectomy, and my pec muscle was thin and damaged from radiation, that he put the TE under my pec muscle to give him another layer to work with. The flap looks good, but boy are things sore!!! Weird to see something on my chest after almost 6 years with nothing. See PS on Wednesday to get rid do a couple drains hopefully, I have 4 now, 2 for breast and 2 for back. Can't wait to feel better but I know I can't rush it.
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Have any of you ladies experience a a sore throat? My throat is so sore.
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The sore throat is probably from the breathing tube they put in during surgery. I had a problem only after the first and fourth surgeries, but not the middle two. Don't know why. Skill of anesthesiologist? Maybe I was thrashing around. The last time was particularly difficult. My throat was raw in one spot for a couple of days. But, it quickly gets better.
Kfinnigan, sounds like you are doing better. It's amazing how much better you feel when the nausea/vomiting goes away, isn't it? You are at a tough stage but things WILL get better. Rest is the most important thing.
Marren, I won't need mammograms because I don't have breasts anymore. The breast cancer clinic says they will show me how to check myself once my surgeries are over. Apparently if it comes back, the most common place is along the incision scars. I was hoping to get a yearly MRI, but have heard they don't do that routinely.
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Worry, I had a sore throat after this surgery. The first thing I told the nurse when I woke up was that my throat hurt.
It hurt so much I had trouble swallowing pills, so the nurse crushed them for me. Like Sandra said it's from the breathing tube. Mine was better after 2-3 days. I sipped ice water constantly , kinda numbed it up some, have you tried that?Kendra
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Cold ice water helps and throat losenges. Thank you. Glad to hear it goes away in a couple ofdays. I am day three from surgery so hopefully It goes away.
I am also scared to shower. I don't want to change the bandage. My appointment is Wednesday. Do you think that is a long time to wait?. I have been washing with a wash cloth. -
Worryocd, I took a shower yesterday and it really felt great. The warm water helped some of the soreness. My PS actually took my bandages off on Friday when I had my drains removed and just put a little gauze over where the drains came out and said I should take a shower because it would help. My throat is still a little sore too but it's feeling better this morning.
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Hi ladies. just checking in. I've had my secong lumpectamy on the 27th after having 1 bad margin from the first one on the 3rd.Got my port placed at the same time this time. Waiting on path reports now and mentally preparing for chemo. TCH will be my regimen. Praying for everyone and sending positive thoughts your way.
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SpecialK you have given me something new to research! I had been "mostly" vegan and my daily protein intake is LOW, so I have started to add seafood maybe three times per week but of course no soy now. I had been aiming for 50 g of protein a day. If I need 100 I really need to change things up!
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bethq - I use vegan protein powder (Plantfusion or Vega) and make a smoothie with organic strawberries/blueberries, coconut or almond milk and a tablespoon of chia seeds. You can also drink an exercise recovery drink, not Gatorade - although that is good for the electrolytes, but rather one with amino acids. If you eat dairy Greek yogurt is a great source of protein.
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If you want to shower and still have bandages, it's still possible. My husband wrapped me in Saran Wrap (or Glad Press N Seal.) It covered my chest and underarms. I used a hand held shower head to get the bottom part of me wet and my husband helped with the soap down. I rinsed myself off then got out of the tub and leaned over it. My husband washed my hair, neck, and arms. The bandages stayed dry and I was clean. Win-Win
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Hi thanks for including me Gals. My surgery went ok, but my nipple didnt thrive so I had to go back in 2 weeks later to remove the nipple areola complex. So now Im having my first TE fill tomorrow, and starting counseling. Ive sunken into a depression since losing my nipple, crying jags , loss , isolation. I just thought after all of this my reconstructed breast would look basically the same but with different stuffing. This whole experience, it feels like I stepped on a landmine.
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SullivanSF - It's ok to cry. This is not an easy experience to have to go through. There are many happier days ahead.
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My doctor allowed showering within 2 days. My surgery was on a Thursday and the nurse was giving me my first shower on Saturday sitting on a shower chair, drains and all. It felt really good. I took another one in the hospital on Sunday before being discharged. Once I got home, my daughter helped me to shower, while sitting on a shower chair that a friend allowed me to borrow. My ex-husband came over and installed a hand held shower head, which worked perfectly.
Also, I did not experience the sore throat after surgery either. I guess that was a blessing. I think my surgery lasted about 5 hours. Maybe the longer the surgery, the greater the possibility of a sore throat. There's an ICEE machine at the Center in NOLA. But, believe it or not, I only had one ICEE during my entire hospital stay!
sandra, I love the creativity and the hubs wrapping you in the plastic wrap! Su-weet!!!
Sullivan, the complications are tough and we all wish things could just go as planned. After all, we've been through enough, right? But, it's okay to cry, my friend. The tears will actually help you feel better, most of the time. And, just keep on keeping on, taking it one day at a time. Things will get better, I promise. Stay encouraged!
One love,
tp4ever
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