March 2014 Surgery

Toughts and prayers for you, jbdayton. Please let us know how you are doing when you can.

Keep us posted!

Jbdayton, glad you are able to rest a bit. Hang in there. <<hugs>>.

Hey ladies I am back in my room.

Surgery went well (took me down about 9:30 this morning and didn't actually get to OR until shortly after noon.  Got back to the room about 4:30.  He found an angry inflamed gall bladder with two large stones.  In fact one was almost the size of a golf ball.  He doesn't know how I made it this long without severe pain all the time.  He was still able to take it out laparoscopic but had to make about a 2 inch cut on the underside of my new belly button   He couldn't get out the bulk and stones without.  He also said the walls of the gall bladder had gotten really thick.  

God was with us though, this surgeon is also a breast surgeon.  So I felt real comfortable with him getting so near my newly reconstructed and almost healed wound. 

Guess what I started typing this message about 6:00.  Type a few letters then sleep for a few minutes.  

jbdayton  - hope your recovery is going good!!  I too just learned that I have gallstones.  I guess they are not bad and they are not causing me pain so they are going to leave them alone.  I am pretty sure I didn't not have these prior to chemo - ughhh.  I am going to see a gastro on sept 8th though - just to get an opinion from a specialist.  

On a positive note - got my exchange surgery scheduled for sept 19th  woo hoo!!

Jeannine, rest well.  Sorry this happened to you.

Linda, one more month!  Congrats!  I hope your gall stones behave themselves.  

Wow jbdayton, that sounds awful.  I'm so glad it's behind you!  

Yesterday Mark had an endoscopy and today we're at the hospital for his PET scan and bone marrow biopsy.  The endoscopy went well and the doctor said he didn't see any abnormalities other than the mass in the throat.  He took some tissue samples from his stomach to biopsy but said everything looked good in there and he doesn't think they will find MALT lymphoma in his stomach.  That was a relief to hear; we hope he's right.  The PET scan should tell us for sure.  That's been my newest fear because both the MO and RO said this type of lymphoma usually starts in the stomach, not the throat.  The biopsy results take about three days, but we may get the PET scan results first.

ucfmom - waiting for test results ugh - difficult, praying for you and your hubby for excellent results!

Thanks Jbdayton - glad you are feeling better and got rid of the stones and bladder.  Do you have a specific diet now without your gallbladder?  How is your recovery time?  The only issue I have right now is daily indigestion and heart burn - which may just be chemo recovery related or may be gall stone related and a dull pain in my mid back.  Not sure if any of it is related or not.  Oh well - the doc will steer me right.  I had emergency hemorrhoid surgery 2 1/2 years ago and was in the hospital for 4 days.  This gastro doc was the only one that actually came and talked to me in the hospital and seemed to care.  Her also did my colonoscopy a couple years ago so I like him and trust him.  I could have gotten to see someone else sooner but he is worth the wait.

Had my pre-op today for my exchange surgery on 9-2. Very excited to get this done but sad when he informed me that I will have drains just like after the BMX. I have read that so many of you didn't have drains. I know every doctor is different I was just hoping for no drains. May put the skids to the family reunion at the beach on the 13th. Not because it's at the beach but just because I'm not sure a 7 hour drive would be a wise choice with drains in place. Oh well, it is what it is. Ready to put this behind me.

Linda - Happy to hear that Chemo (woooowhoooo) is done and exchange date set. Interesting on the rounds and anatomicals being approached differently -- in terms of drains etc…  Are you going with the rounds?   I think Julie went with rounds.  I am still deciding.  My exchange date is October 2nd.  I had my initial surgery 2/24 before you all and my surgeon is making me wait the longest!

Julie - I know the rule is to not look in the mirror for 2 months -- just wondering if you have broken the rule - and how the rounds are and the healing process in general?  Bruising/swelling etc.  I am leaning toward the anatomicals - as my surgeon thinks they will deliver me the best results.  He's the expert. If I remember right you had 450ccs in expanders and curious as to what was the size of implants your surgeon went with? 

Gallbladder stones - so are these a byproduct of Chemo -- (at least in some cases?) Jbdayton - Glad you are in the recovery stage on this front.  Multiple surgeries for separate conductions is NOT FAIR - in the cosmos of fairness -- although it does seem when it rains it pours. 

Perhaps all bets are off in the Cosmos of fairness when it comes to C.  Sandra - you and your husband are in the throes of understanding what his assault tactics will be -- I am so sad to hear all this -- and am thinking good thoughts and lots of strength and positive energy for your both as you move through the next phase of his situation. 

With a little over a month to my exchange date -- I noticed light vaginal bleeding 2 days ago.  REALLY I SAID TO MYSELF - REALLY.  (I am 58 and hit menopause at 53)  I had an Endometrial  Biopsy yesterday. (uterus biopsy)  NOT FUN.  Mentally a little bit of a train wreck.  OBGYN said - things looked ok -- possibly just the thinning of the skin/uterus'wall, or cervix membrane - that this happens with age -- just light sloughing off.  I hope I am being a hypochondriac - in my train wreck stage here.  Tests back in 5 days.  

KJL - regarding drains -- Everywhere I have read -- the drains on the exchange tend to come out sooner than  with the BMX surgery.  A lot more disruption with the former surgery and drainage from the disruption.  I hope this is the case for you -- so your beach party can come off without a hitch.  

MARCH LADIES ROCK -  

I didn't have drains and before surgery, my PS said I had a 50/50 chance of drains (knowing we had chosen to do rounds instead of anatomicals).  She said if I had anatomicals, I would have drains for sure.  So my 400cc TEs were filled to 450cc and she managed to squeeze in 550cc Allergan Style 20 smooth round implants.  I am very busty!  I know they will change a lot over the next 3 months but i am very happy with them.  I only took 11 days off of work.  It's been an easy recovery except for the major sleepiness!  Sailon and Linda, are you on the picture forum?  If not, you should be!  I have my topless pictures over there.  Here is a picture the next day with a sports bra on.  They are already less flat looking than this.  The steri strips at the top is where she had to biopsied 2 red bumps I had for 2 months (they were benign).

Pictured with clothes about 12 days after (back to work)

Juliecc you look great! I'm just a little over a week away from my exchange date. Keeping my fingers crossed that it all comes off without a hitch. Saw my GP yesterday because of just a slight "feeling" of a UTI. Called it right. They found traces of blood in my urine but no bacteria. Started me on Cipro for 3 days and hope that my PS will go ahead with the surgery. He is a stickler so I won't know until I talk to him on Monday.

Sailon you're right...sometimes we just can't catch a break! I am so hoping for one this time I'm a bit of a train wreck myself. I feel like if I have to take one more pill for one more thing my head will explode! And I am having the hypochondriac feeling as well. My GP says I am just "in tune" with my body. I can't help but wonder if it isn't a SE of the Femara? I felt like I was in pretty good shape until that little pill came into my life. Talking with the MO about that on Tuesday. Another day, another doctor!

Thanks, Linda and KLJ.  No, my nipples were removed.  I am also thinking I'll do 3D nipples instead of nipple reconstruction.  Apparently Kaiser won't pay for it but I think they should since it would be much cheaper for them than another surgery!  Try the picture forum again.  There are a lot of implant and nipple pictures.

Sandra, I thought we had talked about the drains before and that's why, in my head, I wasn't going to have them. My PS said he would be releasing scar tissue and doing pocket work that would definitely call for drains. I guess to me it signals more work being done than I had anticipated! I'm always looking on the lesser side of anything to do with surgery. I hope my thoughts of this being by last surgery is right!