September 2014 Surgery Sisters

Ever and Frost..such good news! We September girls are really rockin' it.

Your husband heard right about fat grafting. It is a time consuming process and is injected in tiny amounts in just the right places. Fat grafting can go wrong and you can end up with lumps, some of which turn to fat necrosis - dead fat cells. Slow, small, and steady wins this race.

Thinking of you Stasia and noonrider!   Wishing you textbook surgeries and speedy recoveries!   

I think we all need super soft and snugly pink sweaters to go with those slippers.   And I really think we should listen to Pretty Woman on the way!   

prayers for Stasia and noonrider!  Climbing on the bus with a bunch of party balloons and a crockpot of chili!!

There's a good chance I'll end up in the October group. There was some rescheduling this week, so I won't see my BS until next Friday, 19th, and will find out more about a surgery date at that time. I haven't said much on this thread, but I've been following along and will continue to do so!

Hi Lilith, I will be in the October group as well. I have been following this thread and all of the September surgery sisters have been in my prayers. 

noonrider, so glad to hear good news. I am getting anxious for my surgery on Thursday. I see the plastic surgeon a second time tomorrow and register at the cancer center.  

Hi everybody, I've been lurking here watching your stories for a couple of weeks. I guess I felt like actually joining and posting would make it too real. Time to accept it I guess. I'll be having a bi-lateral mastectomy on Friday 9/19 and am terrified. I'm not so worried about the physical aspect but much much more about the emotional. I'm delaying reconstruction because I don't know for certain yet about radiation and chemo - too many unknowns to feel comfortable starting the reconstruction. So I'll be waking up without boobs and despite doing everything I know to do to help with the grief in advance, I feel like there's just nothing to compare it to. I want to be with my boyfriend sexually while I'm still intact, but when he touched me yesterday I just broke down in sloppy red-faced hyperventilating sobs. I'm just finding this whole experience to be exposing my most guarded parts of myself - I feel stripped bare of all my protection mechanisms. I feel terrifyingly vulnerable. Thank goodness there's a psychiatrist on my team of docs at the cancer center.  She's been very helpful to talk to, and she also gave me buspirone to help with the anxiety.  Wondering what others have experienced from an emotional standpoint? 

i had my surgery (MX) on Thursday (outpatient!), and am doing great.  I am a left arm amputee, so dealing with the drain is a bit awkward, but going OK.  My sister-in-law was here at first, so I am just now adapting to how to do things all by myself.  I am a bit bruised and sore, but no significant pain.

Our good outcomes continue! Could it have something to do with the support we give each other? Maybe it's the rollicking ride to the hospital on the Pink Bus, complete with great music, fuzzy sweaters & slippers, balloons, yummy chilli, and a full bar with snack dishes of Xanex like last week. I'm not asking questions...just enjoying all the positive reports. Mischief, Armamp, Noonrider and Everforward, congratulations on the progress you've made. You all have come through a challenging situation and are managing to figure out how to do tackle day to day post op life.  

Women ask, "How soon until I get back to normal?" I'm sorry to say the answer is never. BUT you will find your way to what we call your New Normal. As far as initial recovery goes, the majority of women report the 3 week post-op mark is significant in their recovery. Emotions have their own timetable and I find them more unpredictable than the physical recovery. Anesthesia plays a role in that. An anesthesiologist told me it generally takes a week to metabolize general anesthetic for every hour you were unconscious. You may feel fine at home, but upon leaving the house, you feel overwhelmed. I remember feeling sure I could drive after the first two weeks, but when I was a block away I realized my responses were delayed, I couldn't press the brake as hard as I wanted, and couldn't turn the wheel without discomfort. I was a danger to myself and everyone else! Two weeks after that I was perfectly fine.

Tears come at the strangest times. Before surgery is the worst. Some days you can deal with what's ahead and everybody remarks how strong you are, but the next day you think you will never be able to stop crying. Once you get a surgery date you feel better. After surgery when you see the oncologist and have a plan of action you can go into warrior mode or fall back into a depression. Learning as much as possible, including what kind of complications could occur and how to prevent them, helped me prepare for the BMX. Other women prefer to put blinders on and sing "la-la-la." Please don't judge either ends of the spectrum. We have to get through it our own way.

Although many of your fears are gone after surgery, I always have very weird dreams in the first post-op weeks. They are usually about finding out my husband has been having an affair with a woman (with perfect breasts) because he couldn't really deal with my situation although he was doing a good job of faking it in front of me. Even though I expect the nightmares, I wake up unsure of my future without my husband because the dreams are so real.

THIS IS HARD. You have every right to feel what you feel. Doesn't matter that your loved ones expect something different. They can be a terrible burden or a wonderful help. You may appreciate them one day and wish they would go away the next. There is no right or wrong is this battle.

Hi Peanut.

Welcome to BCO as an active member. We have unknown numbers of lurkers (readers not yet joined) as many people just need the information, but don't want to join for a range of personal reasons. That is fine, as we are still providing a valuable service as an educational resource for them and that is one of BCOs primary focuses.

You will be able to obtain valuable feedback on
your own concerns now you are a member of the community. You will find
excellent responses to questions and sisters with similar problems and
interests that you can chat with in the safety of this forum.

We wish you the best with your BMx and hope that pathology is great. Until then, it is a very stressful time  and there is only spending time educating yourself on your options that may keep you busy - there is lots to learn.

You are welcome to contact the Moderators for any questions or assistance and we'll help as best we can.

All the best,
The Mods

I've been reading all your posts for weeks now, and they have helped me so much.  Finally decided to join the group.  Had surgery on Friday 9-12, lumpectomy with sentinal nodes removed.  So far recovery is going well.  I've never had surgery before, so not sure what to expect.  Things going well so far, just terribly bored and feeling rather useless while healing.  I guess this all takes time.

I'm scheduled for lumpectomy on Sept. 23.  I'm a little confused about what I'll need post surgery for that as opposed to mastectomy, if anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it.  I don't want to spend a ton of $$ on front hooking bras, silk/satin pjs, front buttoning shirts, etc. if I don't need to.  I have a pre-op appointment on Sept. 16, so hopefully I'll get some information there.  My tumor is in my right breast, not quite under the arm, just at the top of where my bra covers.

Hi all, I am officially joining the Sept. Ladies.  I will be having surgery on Sept. 29.  This will be revision #1 following my  reconstruction flap surgeries.  

I will be having fat grafting to get some symmetry .  I lost a lot of bulk in my right breast due to some healing issues.  

I will be jumping on the pink bus for hzzr, lindad505 and Sandra this week.

Hzzr and linda505 I pray your exchanges go perfect with no complications.  

Sandra I will be praying this revision will be your final one needed to repair everything so you can do fat grafting soon and get to the end of this road.  

I will read up on all my other Sept. Sisters and get up to date so I can share in your journeys.  It was so great to have others to share our ups and downs.  

Have a great week to all.

I had my follow-up appointments with both BS and PS this morning. Pathology report looks good so my BS said I am officially cancer free! They also removed 2 of the 4 drainage tubes and I removed the two pain tubes yesterday so I feel less like an octopus and more like a human being. I also switched the annoying surgical bra for a more comfortable camisole. I've been on pain meds virtually non-stop since my surgery a week ago; I'm hoping to wean myself off this week but I'm not pushing it. Will decide later when I feel up to going back to work. Both surgeons are pleased with how I look, even though I think I have a long way to go reconstruction-wise. But no sign of infection or dead tissue, so I'll take it. All in all a pretty good day!

Those dreaded pre-op nerves kicked in as we arrived for my pre-admission appointment at the hospital this morning. The situation did not improve when they told me (1) I was not on the surgery schedule for Friday and (2) my plastic surgeon had not sent his paperwork telling them what he was going to do. No big deal, my husband scolded, but it doesn't take much to go wrong during the days before surgery...no matter how many you've had...to lose your patience. Fortunately my surgeon was paged and his "minion" sent the required paperwork, also confirming I was indeed on HIS schedule. His assistant had failed to notify the pre-admin people. (Then why the heck did the pre-admin section schedule this for today if they didn't have....aw, shucks. There I go again, stressing myself out over nothing.) Within 10 minutes everything was fixed so I joined the parade of other pre-op people cycling in and out of different offices for vital signs, EKG, to sign lots of papers, to receive the anti-bacterial sponges and instructions, to see the anesthesiologist, to get a chest x-ray, and finally the blood work. This is my 5th surgery in a year. You'd think they wouldn't have to do all this every single time, but I guess in the age of medical errors, it's necessary.

Thursday I'll have another PICC line put in (I get these the day before a surgery) and find out which case number I am for Friday morning. First case is always good although I have to get up at Zero-dark thirty to go to the hospital. I don't sleep much the night before anyway. If I'm second or third case, my nerves take me to a place where I'm checking out the exit signs and contemplating an escape.