September 2014 Surgery Sisters

Here is my rant. I have only told a handful of close family and friends a bout anything going on with me. So the problem is I want to be a private person that takes care if things in my own, but on the other hand I am feeling a little alone and depressed. My husband helps me but emotionally I feel like he doesn't step it up. So now what? I have created this by not letting people in. So thankful I have you girls.  I also agree, I HATE these drains!!

Thats great! 3 weeks is to long!!

Everforward when is your next dr. appointment?  I would want them out also after 20 days.  

Hopefully it will be very soon.  

Hello ladies. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier when Sandra said I'd pop in. My phone has been wonky in charging. I'll have to get it fixed. Sorry. I'm reading back posts to see if I can offer suggestions or help. If you have specific questions pm me. I'll be checking. I have had drains in as long as 5 weeks, fluid output over 100 for more than 3 weeks, plenty of sx, and a lot of info on weird things. 

Much love. 

Ilove, are you doing better? I think we should wrap you in bubble-wrap to make sure!

Noon, you will be perfectly fine. Fills look scary but I never felt a thing and that's true for the majority of us. Remember, don't watch. Chat with someone across the room. Once you realize it's not going to hurt, you'll be able to relax. You may feel tight in the evening but that's a good thing. The added saline is expanding the TE and stretching your skin and muscle, just like it's supposed to. Take a Tylenol. You'll be fine in the morning.

Congrats to those of you who've gotten rid of some or all of your drains. No one on the face of the earth likes them but they are necessary. The best advice I can give is to guard the place where the drain enters your body. The skin around stitches gets more sore every day and it's pretty painful if there is an accidental pull on those stitches. The long tubes get in your way and more than one of us has trapped a tube underneath us while we shift in bed. That hurts-s-s-s-s. I was rushing to pull down my pants in the bathroom and didn't notice I'd also grabbed a drain tube. I'm sure they heard my YOWL in the next county. Do what you can to secure the site around the stitches. Putting a little sterile gauze there will help position the tube in the least painful place. You can tape down the first few inches to your skin so nothing moves. Also hold on to the drain tube to prevent accidental pulling when someone else is "milking" the tube before emptying the drain. Ask your doc to cut some the tube shorter if you are having problems. When you have your drains pinned to your surgical bra or hanging from a "necklace" of dental floss by safety pins, the rest of the tubing should not hang down so low that it gets caught on things.

ugh Noonrider, how very sad. I hear stories like this and it puts my anxiety into overdrive.  I just don't understand this disease and how quickly lives end.  My father came into town to help take care of me. He lost his mother to BC when he was ten.  He is reliving all the pain again just being around me.  

Oh my, Noon. Scary is probably an understatement. Your poor husband.

And Ilove, how awful for your husband too.

Oh Noon - so sorry for your friends family.   I guess she had her reasons and we all have to deal with this the way we feel is best but it is just too sad.  Also so sorry for your husband - that must be really hard on him  and you.  

My stepson's girlfriend lost her mom to BC last week.  She got diagnosed the same time as I did but she was Stage 4 at diagnoses.   She knew she had a lump for years but didn't have insurance until this year with Obamacare but she never told anyone about the lump until she knew it was cancer.  It was very tough to watch his girlfriend go through this and I felt guilty about my recovery.  I went to the celebration of life on Saturday and everyone thought I was someone she met at the cancer center.  I could tell everyone there thought I was dying and it was very strange but I felt I needed to be there for her (the daughter).  I never met her mom.

On a positive note, I went back to work yesterday - worked for about 6 hours then I was tired so I came home - but in general I feel very good. My incisions look good and are very thin so I think my scaring is going to be minimal and are a huge improvement over the BMX incisions. I am definitely more comfortable on the squishy side!  I was cleared to do some arm exercises yesterday and I have full range of movement without any pain so am very happy about that.  My healing seems to be going very good.

sandra4611:

Nice of you to ask! Yes, the eternal discomfort of the lower edge of the TE, my ridiculous noodle-arm, and the much-detested underarm nerve pain DID actually improve a bit the last couple of days. Just in time for my first fill (250cc) this morning, after which I removed my second drain. After this stirring up of the meat-pocket I am a hurting puppy tonight, but with luck will be back to baseline tomorrow. I have another fill (probably my final one) scheduled for next week - I am hoping that the greater fluid volume will poof out the TE in a way that makes it sit more evenly in the pocket and get more comfortable. In the meantime there is no bra in the world that can make me comfortable, so I cycle through the drawer-full I have bought in an effort to avoid too much rubbing in a single spot. Of course none of that rubbing can be in any of the creepily numb areas, which would be way too easy! :~) All of this is really just an annoyance in that it prevents me from doing work I thought I would be doing more than a week ago - so mostly a mental stress versus real physical challenges. My issues are teensy compared to what many others are enduring, and I feel very blessed to have had a smooth process overall to this point. 

noonrider:

The news of your friend's sister is just heartbreaking. I have a distant family member that made a similar choice to hide knowledge of a terminal illness, except that she left behind a devastated husband and several teenagers when she died abruptly. It was terrible and no one could understand the choice she made. I always wondered if she thought she would have more time and was planning to inform her loved ones, but the disease caught up with her more quickly than expected.

So much pain and loss in the world - I really treasure this little oasis of kindness, compassion, and support. Healing wishes to all of my September surgery peeps.

Flannery, that's a deep realization about coming to acceptance. It reminded me of this, which I happened across recently at just the right moment:

I just wanted to say I'm thinking about you sandra and hoping all goes well for you tomorrow!   You deserve a break!    I'm on the pink bus and bringing more of those margaritas and nachos that you like!  

There's so much pain and suffering from bc and I for one didn't realize what my SIL went through 5 years ago until I started on the same path.   This is not easy but we get through it and are stronger because of it.    Take care everyone and hope today is a good one for you!

Sue

Flannery thank you for being so kind.  Yes the head bruise is gone and I've had no further fainting.  I saw the oncologist today.  He was very concerned that the cancer on my one lymph node, although small at .4mm, was on the outside of the node.  He has recommended six months of chemo and likely radiation followed by tamoxifen.  I see the specialist for the radiation decision next week.  My plastic surgeon said if radiation will follow he wants to take the expanders out and stop reconstruction.  I am heartbroken.   Next week is a consult for the chemo port along with chemo class.   I just need to stay focused that my prognosis is excellent as long as I complete all treatment.  I may need reminders.  

mischief I peeled mine off slowly, I thought it would hurt and was afraid I would accidentally peel off skin but it didn't hurt and ones that were stuck on to the dissolvable stitches I just cut them so that I wouldn't accidentally pull out my stitches, you can try a little bit of baby oil too to help loosen it up.

Enlm, you'll just have to sit on the floor or a sofa and hold them in your lap. Where there's a will, there's a way. Surround yourself with pillows so a little elbow or foot doesn't kick you in the wrong place. How much help do you have? When you have small children, you have an extra level of "I want to but I can't" to deal with. The temptation to do what you shouldn't is huge. 

I know it's hard. Your body has been through an assault and what you are experiencing is probably normal, under the circumstances. I'm glad your doctor says you are doing fine at this point. You are still under the influence of general anesthesia so expect weird dreams and plenty of tears. Can you try to switch over to over the counter meds? Lots of women use Aleve, for instance, during the day and keep their prescription pain relief for bedtime. You'll feel better when you aren't so out of it. Is there an incision in the axilla? (arm pit) Sounds like your surgeon took some lymph nodes on your cancer side but not the other. Be really careful not to over do it. Perhaps some Lidocaine patches may help.

Sandra. . Yeah I had 3 lymph nodes removed I'm gonna ask about that patch too! And yes I'm gonna have to improvise some kind of way to interact with the babies I'll give the sofa and pillows a try. That also sounds like a good idea with the aleve in the day and scripts at night. On another note, I'm praying that all goes well for you tomorrow and once and for all be done with surgeries! Lol love the pics especially that last one lol. ..I definitely can relate! Be strong my sister you will be in recovery before u know it! Much love : )