August 2014 Surgery
Comments
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IM my surgery was at 7:45 and I had to be there 2 hours ahead, and had to be at admitting by 5:30 am so woke up 4:30 am. Very early start, but better than a later surgery. When I had the biopsy I had to be there at 7:45 am. I think I was home by 1:30.
I did not get compression stocking and boy I was glad about that. I had them when I had thyroid cancer surgery and hated them.
I am a little stiff and little sore today, but guess it is from the fluid that the drain was taken care of. How long did you feel this after drain was removed. I am amazed how well I do feel and it is only 10 days ago that I had surgery.
Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. Careful hugs.
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Happy Labor day w/e ladies...got 2 oif the 4 drains out Friday..Didn't even feel them coming out ! ;-) And of course, wouldn't ya know the other 2 drains were ready yesterday, now have to wait till Tuesday
Friday night was the worst night for me since I came home from the hospital. I was awakened several times by THE WORST pain Ive ever felt. It was like an air pocket or something rolling thru the middle of my chest and where the TE is on the left, felt like a machete scraping the rib bone or something..not sure how to describe it but I woke in so much agony ! Called PS they said to add motrin to the tylenol and oxycodone...so much better ! but Im wondering if the pain had anything to do with having 2 drains out that day ??
BS called Thursday with some of the path results...nodes negative and cancer was smaller than they had thought, good news I tthink !! No radiation ...wont know about chemo until september 8th when I see MO..I was so happy with the news they gave, I forgot to ask what my onco score was. Soo...more waiting ..and waiting.
Hope everyone is doing ok
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Ganzgirl-shame about the pain, but fantastic news on the path results!
The compression socks are a cruel joke by the doctors...they made everyone wear them...I guess to prevent blood clots from inactivity. The worst part is that they have a hole in them. I guess it is so they can expose your toes and keep an eye on your nail colour (I was a good girl and didn't wear polish) but for the rest of the stay the hole would shift and one or two toes would pop out. So annoying! One nurse told me I was supposed to wear them for six weeks! Another said until I was back to normal activity levels, likely a couple of days. They were off within minutes of getting home! LOL Normal weekend activity for me varies, so I decided to choose a lazy stay-at-home level as "normal".
I had serious throat irritation that kept me coughing and another reason to not sleep at the hospital. Unlike Canadian hospitals, they didn't offer my a sleeping pill. But at least I scored a small private room just off a huge ward. Maybe 20 people? The toilets were at the other end though. The first time I had to pee, I was still on IV, drain and oxygen up the nose, so the brought a chair...I though they were going to wheel me to the toilets until she removed a keyhole piece from the seat to reveal a pressed paper bedpan underneath! Very difficult to pee when if feels like you're doing it in a chair! Once they removed my drip I made the long walk myself. Still awkward with one hand holding the drain. Had to wash each hand individually.
Nutrition...what a laugh! UK hospitals are not aware that lactose intolerance exists. Or that sugar isn't good for people with compromised health. Or that people are supposed to eat fruit and veggies. For breakfast I had the choice of 3 types of cold cereal with milk (declined) or a dry roll. No juice, no yogurt. I finally settled for digestive biscuits...breakfast of champions!
My breast had a low grade ache the first night, so I took some sort of codeine pill, I had one or two anti-nausea just in case, but no pain meds since. My incision seems to go to my armpit and it's a little irritated by the granny bra, so I tucked a sanitary pad around the edge. I'm sure I won't need them for anything else now! :-D I haven't removed the dressing yet because I want to talk to my clinic nurse first...the hospital nurse who took out my drain was going to remove the dressing but it was stuck to a steristrip so she stopped. I hope she didn't cause an issue with it. I did, however, bite the bullet and look at my breasts with my husband. Lefty is higher and smaller...I won't know for certain how much until I can put on one of my standard underwire bras. I think this granny bra has too much stretch to know. Will be taking a short walk tomorrow by myself, but hubby will be there when I go back upstairs, just in case.
Anyone taking supplements or special nutritional support?
Happy healing!
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Ganzgirl, YAY for tw drains ut, and I'd say tripple summersaults for the negative nodes (great news!!) if I didn't know that just the thought of that kind of maneuver is painful for lots of you. So-- forget that, and I'll stick with a more traditional YIPPEE!! I'm sure sorry to hear about that terrible pain you were feeling! I'm glad the PS was available to give you a phone consult (I guess you had to hang on until morning to do that though?...) and that the suggested pain therapy change gave you some relief. I hop you're continuing to feel better.
Milaandra---Oh good, Scotland stories!! Those compression socks certainly do sound like a cruel joke, (that it seems gets played also in some US hospitals). I'm giggling thinking of lipglossmom's toes sticking out of them and docs getting grumpy about it! Six weeks!! I like your interpretation of normal activity!
Boy-- You scored good, getting the private room and not the mega mega mega ward!! And sounds like, in perverted way, you even got a sort of private bathroom at least for your first pee! Well--- At least a private chair in your bedroom. Eek! Did your drains not have any clippy things to hook them onto your clothes, at least for time to wash hands? I saw that the drain bags in italy did. And best of all, in my "luxury" Italian hosptital, saw that they gave all the draining women a cute little over the shoulder cloth bag in designer colors to match their pj's that nicely held the drain sack/bottles. (I think those were only for use while in hospital-- not a gift).
Food--- Yeah-- European Hospitals (at least in my country and yours) really have no clue about nutrition! I was expecting that, since I saw them try to serve my hubby a load of fatty meat and cheese after his heart attack. Since I'm Vegan, I knew they wouldn't have anything I considered food, and had my hubby bring me real, healthy food for my pre-surgery and day-after-surgery days! (Another nice thing about my luxury hospital is that it had a refrigerator in the patient lunch room!)
What are these "steri-strips" you gals talk about? Is it a tape they use to close the wounds instead of stitches? Or something that goes over the stitches to protect them? Either way-- your dressing stuck to them doesn't sound great...
Today I thought I'd get my stitches taken out, but they looked at it, repainted it orange and covered it back up, and gave me an appointment to come back in another week. OK. My path report isn't in yet, but I didn't expect that anyway. (seems like the docs did though-- at least to be ready for them, and they sent in an alert about it.) The encouraging thing (at least from the point of view of feeling that I'm no longer fallen in the cracks) is that they asked me where I wanted to go for my future oncological care. I was thrilled to know they're thinking about guiding me on to the next step (since while in one of the many waiting rooms these past few months, I heard a horror story about someone who was never told that she had to do chemo...) Anyway, I've got a choice of seeing a University doc or moving over to see the hospital docs. Don't know anything about the Onc doctors in either place (guess I need to ask my general practitioner if she has any advice) but my roomate did tell me that the chemo room in the University is a total zoo, with 20 people fighting for five chairs, and others balanced on wooden stools, and the nurses over frazzled (nurses even wrote a letter to editor seven years ago about how in those conditions they can make mistakes in stuff that's real bad to make mistakes in... I had been hoping things had changed by now) Roommate said that in the hospital, instead, there is a new chemo ward, where patients go in rooms and lie on beds during infusion, and if you happen to react really badly to the chemo they're set up to keep you over night, whereas at the University they are not. So that sounds a whole lot better, but, of course, I don't even know yet if I'll have to do chemo or not. Still just waiting for path report....
Good day and good healing to all!
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No clips. The little designer bags sound great. Leave it to the Italians! Did you say you live in Sardinia?
How did you feel a couple of days after surgery? My temp is fine, and blood pressure seems okay or just a little high normal, I don't feel any heat from Lefty, no oozing or smell... but I feel a bit shakey. Is that normal?
And how are you dealing with the Picasso issue?
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My lumpectomy incision has healed well, but my sentinel node incision not so well.
I have been trying to manage it on my own, but there is a 3mm opening that won't dry up and heal. I had started to become infected (pink and smelled foul) I cleaned and dried well and applied neosporin with stick free bandaging for two days. It cleared up..
But it's still a bit pink and not drying up. I start chemo on Friday, so I might have to call my Dr. tomorrow
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Lori, I would definitely call today and get that checked. Some ladies have had infections that require IV antibiotics.
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milaandra,
I'm drinking the green smoothy below that my PS highly recommends;
Place in a blender not juicer -
1/2 a fresh pineapple
1 banana
1 orange, peeled
1 cup kale
1 cup spinach
1 cup of water or orange juice
I definitely made a face when he was talking about this but ....it's good. I do not taste spinach nor kale. It's loaded with vitamins and important nutrients for optimal healing
Feel well everyone
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I had SGAP hip flap 11 days ago, I feel pretty good! I never had incisional pain at all. Hip donor sites are sore but not painful. The worst part is sleeping on my back, which I hate. I go for another post op tomorrow, we will see how it goes. I must say I thought I would feel much worse after this surgery. It's great not to like sh... at this age anyway!
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Good morning ladies
Well...the other 2 drains still aren't ready to come out yet
Maybe by wednsday I hope. I have a question...when the BS called last Thursday with some of the path results I asked her if I needed rads and or chemo, she said no rads (great!!) but wasn't sure about chemo. Since the cancer was much smaller than originally thought Im thinking no chemo..the thing that scares me is, no chemo, no rads sooo then what ?? Last year when I was diagnosed with LCIS all they did was a lumpectomy and sent me on my way...no further treatment, and look where I am now. Are they just going to send me on my way if they decide no chemo ?? If so, that scares the hell out of me. I cant take tamoxifen and Im still premenopausal so I wouldn't be able to take the other preventative med that is given to post meno. On a good note, my pain is soooo much better !!gramof2...I just noticed you had your surgery the same day as me..how are you doing ?? I agree about back sleeping, absolutely hate it ! I cant wait to be able to sleep on my side again...I wonder when I will be able to do that
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Ganzgirl, can you do ovarian suppression + an AI? Read about the Text and Soft trials.
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Julie...what is that and where would I find info ??
If they don't prescribe any other treatment then I was thinking a prophalactic (however you spell it lol) ovary removal -
hi all,
Glad to see everyone is done with their surgeries and on the mend. I'm sorry Genny5775 that you didn't get the results you had hoped for, but you sound like a strong woman and you have great goals set! You can do this!
Ganz - I had some wicked muscle spasms after the drains were removed and took flexeril and oxycodone, It got better after a few days. In fact by day 4 after drain removal I switched to IBU, but still have to take the flexeril to sleep at night. These TEs are so annoying.
While were on the subject of surgical wound healing, did any one have a purse string closure? My PS did a modified mastopexy incision with purse string closure. There wasn't enough skin left after BS did the BMX to fully close the wound, so there's some drainage, but at my post op a week ago, the PS took off all the gauze and wrapped me in tagaderm. He called it my tagaderm bra and I have to wear it for 5 weeks total. It's kind of cool because I can see everything (like how much the swelling has gone down this week) and the purse string closures actually project like nipples in my camis - although they're pointing in different directions! The down side to the tagaderm is that I can only do sponge baths for those 5 weeks. Joy!
I got my path report back and it was pretty good news. Now waiting for tumor board to discuss my case tomorrow and hopefully my BS has sent my referral to Onc. I want to get this train rolling.
Anyone else work out regularly before dx/surgery and having a hard time sitting around? There are so many things I want to do (stuff around the house, gardening, a good sweaty cardio work out) but can't for fear of damaging the good work my PS has done. What are you all doing to keep occupied? I don't work outside the home...and all my kids are in school full time this year. We signed up my 3yo for all day preschool 5 days/week since we don't know what we're dealing with treatment wise. So my days are going to be long and empty. Maybe it's time I forcefully take over our business finances?!
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Ganzgirl, check out this link where there is a lot of discussion about taking an ovarian supressant and an AI vs taking tamoxifen. I haven't researched it much since I am taking tamoxifen. My onc said I would be taking it for 10 years, not 5 but if I go through official menopause, I would switch to an AI for the remainder of the 10 years.
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Juilee thank you so much !!..just checked that thread out and put my question out to the ladies. Doesn't seem like an active thread right now tho...hopefully I get some feed back
Sunflower..yes, these TE's suck lol....really looking forward to exchange but that is still a ways out for me since Im at the beginning of all this..hope your doing well
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How old are you, Ganzgirl? I would definitely talk to your onc either about ovarian supression or even removal. Is your inability to take tamoxifen due to the blood clot risk? The problem is that AIs have side effects, too, like bone loss and joint pain. Tamoxifen is good for bone health, while AIs are the opposite. If you don't do chemo, hormone therapy will be the only systemic way of taking care of any stray cancer cells that may have escaped. Also check out the hormone therapy board. Were they able to send your tumor for the Oncotype Dx? This can still be ordered after surgery because apparently they store your tumor for awhile.
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please tell me this is normal--I suddenly started getting these stabbing and deep burning pains. They are so sharp and painful that I have been brought to tears. I don't see any bleeding and don't feel feverish. Anyone else have these feelings?
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I've been taking fresh pineapple juice as well, but for the greens I've been relying on Amazing Grass Green Superfood (berry). I'm back on 300 mg of coq10, 2000 iu of D3, 400 mg of indole-3 carbinole, my flaxseed/quark with Brazil nuts...I bought liposomal vitamin c but I don't think it can be right because it's giving me GERD. I'
ve ordered some of the recommended brand to see if it is better. I have any other stuff to take, but I'm working up to it LOL!
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From what I have read, Iwannacookie, those are nerve pains and perfectly normal, but it is always a good idea to contact your doctor's office, particularly since I haven't healed enough to know firsthand. Did they give you a breast care nurse to contact with questions?
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Julie..I am 41 yes they did onco test but I forgotto ask bs what the score was and of course they closed for the holiday weekend so Im going to call tomorrow. And yes Im a smoker so they don't want to give me tamox..my aunt had idc stage 2b, I was talking with her today and she was in the same predicament a me with the tamox..she had her ovaries out..I think that will be true for me if I don't need chemo.Iwannacookie...if you read my posts from saturdaay..sounds like your having the same pain I went thru Friday night...my ps told me to take motrin and it helped tremendously ! But that pain sucks bigtime..I woke up in agony..crying so badly my nose was running all over my face, almost went to er ..I don't know if I fell asleep or I knocked out from the pain..hope it gets better for you !
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Ganz congrats on the path report. I hope you were able to get those drains out today.
Gram I'm glad you are feeling better than you thoughts. It give me hope for my recon next year. I will be having some sort of flap done also and since I'm still in pain from this surgery I'm really not looking forward to another one.
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Psalm - great to hear all went well with sx and you're feeling good! I hear ya on that sentinel node being a doozy. I had more pain with that sx than this BMX!
Ml - yay for a smooth sx and seemingly clean nodes and margins! All fantastic news!
Miaandra - so glad you're home! What the heck is up with those compression socks? You have me chuckling about your little toes popping out! That would annoy me too. I was given a shot of Heparin (blood thinner) in my tummy every day while in the hospital to prevent clots. It bruised me up pretty good, but I think I'll take the poke over those socks lol. Glad you don't have to deal with those anymore! As far as supplements, my PS put me on a daily vitamin and 1000 mg of vitamin C to help healing.
Genny - my heart goes out to you as I read your update on your path report. Your bright spirit shines through your post and I have absolutely no doubt we'll be celebrating together on the 10 year thread…and you'll be helping plan your granddaughters grad party.
I know things are hectic right now, but please keep us posted on your plan on how you're doing. Sending you love, hugs and prayers. Sunny - glad sx went well and nodes are clean! It's wonderful your daughter is there taking such good care of you. Keep us posted on the HER2 report. Sending good thoughts that it's negative. I've been looking for a good kale/spinach smoothie recipe and am going to give yours a whirl. Thanks for posting!
Jules - we are also extremely thankful for you, too. You are such a bright light on this thread, always caring and positive. And I couldn't agree more about hoping we all stay in touch here. I might be hunting you down specifically from time to time to check up on your hair status! How's that coming along by the way? Not much change on my end.
And so sorry to hear you're still having some pain. I hope you turn a corner soon. Sending you many gentle hugs. Violet - my same day surgery sister! I've been wondering how you were doing! I'm thrilled to hear you're having a superwoman recovery! And can I just say, thank you so much for mentioning the abdominal swelling is normal. I carry the BRCA2 gene and was starting to freak myself about ovarian cancer, as my stomach was extremely distended after sx. It's finally starting to go down, but you've given me a great deal of peace of mind.
Imhere - I love reading your posts! You are so caring and spunky!
Ganza - wonderful news on your nodes, path report and no rads! And yay for that pain being better too. That sounded terrible.
Lori - I hope you've given you PS a ring about that infection. How's it looking today?
Gram - waving to you from over here as well, since I also see ya over on the TNBC thread.
So thrilled to hear all is going well with your recovery! Sunflower - I can't say that I worked out regularly, but I'm an on the go type and this sitting around all day every day is for the birds!
Iwannacookie - Oh man, I'm so sorry about the pain. How is it today? If it's not better, I hope you've called your PS. I know those types of pains are pretty normal, but it's best to keep them in the loop with things like that. Sending you gentle hugs.
To everyone waiting on path reports or treatment plans, my heart and good thoughts go out to you. Please keep us posted.
And on another note, as Jules so eloquently said in her post a couple days ago, although our surgery month has come to a close, I truly hope we continue to check in with each other and lean on each other here. I was nervous to start this thread, afraid of not getting any responses, but it warms my heart to see what it's now become. Our bond is strong and we can never have too much support during this arduous journey.
Love you all, my beautiful, strong, fellow warriors!
xo
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Allydp - I am truly so grateful you were brave enough to start this thread. It has been such a place of solace, laughter, support and reality. And, thank you Ally, for giving so much. You were such a fabulous hostess. I am so glad you are doing well.
I also want to thank Juliecc, iwannaseeyoubebrave and Ally2345 for your ongoing contributions and support to everyone on this thread. I felt supported and learned so much just reading your posts. It was lovely to see different women jump in to make sure everyone was cared for with such a positive, generous spirit.
Thank you to all my beautiful, intelligent, brave August Surgery Sisters! True Warriors! Hope to see you here again soon.
Sassy
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I second sassy's post!!! Thanks Allydp for getting this month started right!! You can absolutely touch bade with me about your noggin anytime. I'm still in the same boat...a receding hairline and bald spot. I'll pm you a pic!
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Hopefully you all will continue to post here from time to time to say how you are doing or to seek advice. I grew very fond of my March surgery gals, and now my August surgery gals! I still check in on the March thread. We all branch out to different boards here at BCO depending on what our situarion is but it will be nice to come back in here too. We had an incredibly busy month. Thank you, Allydp for being so supportive to everyone and keeping track of all of us. You are all amazing!
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Fire ~ August 14
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Iwannacookie - I'm sorry for the pain you're in. I had a few days where it felt like a hundred tiny bolts of lightening going off in my chest randomly. It took a while to subside, but now thinking back since I started taking IBU regularly (after switching off the hard stuff) it seems to have disappeared. Not sure if it's the IBU or just the nerves needed some time to calm down. It went away by a week post op. I hope you find some relief soon.
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Funny story. I dreamt by boob grew back!! Which apparently in dreamland that's supposed to happen because I wasn't surprise.
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Question ladies, when can I take off my surgical tape. Do I have to wait until it falls off? Or the doctor takes it off? I have took off some that are just hanging on, but I have double strips.
Thank you Allie for starting the August sisters
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Ah, Jules! Big hugs!
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