September 2014 Surgery Sisters

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  • Mulligan
    Mulligan Member Posts: 205
    edited October 2014

    Looking good ladies, hope everyone is recovering. I love your pics Marie you look great!

    Sandra your pics always puts a smile to my face. Thanks!

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  • Mischief46
    Mischief46 Member Posts: 217
    edited October 2014

    Marie, so glad too see you!  It looks like you are on the road to recovery.  Looking good.

    Enlm20,  it is still early in your recovery...it takes time.  I think the stiffness and pain lasted a few weeks for me, but was pretty manageable with Percocet  or Tylenol.  You' ll get there.  Praying for some relief for you soon.

    My recovery from exchange has gone well, I am almost 4 weeks out.  But I really don't  see any changes which is fine, I guess,I liked them from the get go... I have the Seintra shaped implants, I don't know if they change much.  Anyone know??

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  • Sjacobs146
    Sjacobs146 Member Posts: 770
    edited October 2014

    Post op appointments with Radiation Oncologist, Medical Oncologist and Breast Surgeon to see what is in store for me next.  Wish me luck ladies!  I'm sure that they had my results last week, but I am compartmentalizing and decided that it made no sense to find out until the appointments because all I would do is worry about possible treatments.  Better to be blissfully unaware for almost two weeks.

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  • Mulligan
    Mulligan Member Posts: 205
    edited October 2014

    Good luck Sjacobs, I wish I could be blissfully unaware, my mind goes into overdrive from the wait. Happy thoughts your way!

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  • Mischief46
    Mischief46 Member Posts: 217
    edited October 2014

    Sjacobs, best of luck today!  I am the same way...I don't want to know till I Have to know!  Ignorance can be bliss.  :).   Praying for best possible scenario!

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited October 2014

    Any idea? I can't sleep more than two hours at night without waking up withy chest on fire. I'm on 1-2 Percocet every 4 hours.

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  • noonrider
    noonrider Member Posts: 464
    edited October 2014

    Minivan, I am the same way. Here's the cycle I go through:

    Go to bed freezing. Cover up with a blanket.

    10 minutes later have a hot flash and sweat. Kick off blankets. 

    5 minutes later I'm freezing because I sweated during hot flash so now I'm dampish.

    Fall asleep.

    Two hours later wake up freezing, because I have to pee, which for some reason makes me shiver (this is new since surgery) which causes all my muscles to tense up and my chest to burn. 

    Get up to pee then repeat the above cycle in its entirety throughout the night. 

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited October 2014

    noon rider

    Thanks for making me not feel alone. The burning elephant on the chest where meds don't help and you have to pee is a hellish place to be. Here's hoping tomorrow night is better!

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  • linda505
    linda505 Member Posts: 847
    edited October 2014

    Noonrider you just perfectly described my nights perfectly except the urge to pee makes me sweat - also never did this before chemo.  Drives me nuts!!  I would like to have one night that I sleep through the night.  

    Hope everyone is recovery nicely from surgery! 

    For those of you interested - I posted a post exchange picture on the photo forum.  

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  • Lilith08
    Lilith08 Member Posts: 163
    edited October 2014

    Where is the photo forum, linda505? I haven't seen that anywhere yet.

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  • linda505
    linda505 Member Posts: 847
    edited October 2014

    Hi Lilith - it is a seperate forum so that the pictures remain private - you send a  message to 

    nowheregirl

    at https://community.breastcancer.org/member/11047/p...

    and ask her for permission and she sends you the link and password and instructions

    read the top of this thread first

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/824546?page=1#post_4164041

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    Yep, I have the old burning chest too this time. Anytime you feel burning pain, it's nerves complaining loudly. You probably won't be able to chase it all away with drugs. Those nerves are pretty stubborn. Some pain is going to be there, no matter what you do but the goal is to bring it down to a tolerable level. You can't get out of this without some suffering unfortunately. Just find your own tolerable level. The first two days were a challenge, but now Tylenol is working fine and keeps the burning down to something I can deal with.

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    image

     

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  • Ilovecoasters
    Ilovecoasters Member Posts: 199
    edited October 2014

    Noonrider I could have written your post   I hate the night! I'm talking everything you wrote is what I deal with every night.  I'm fine through the day, running a bit cooler but would rather be cold than soaking wet from sweat.  Will I ever be able to sleep on my belly with the expanders? This back thing is frustrating.  

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  • noonrider
    noonrider Member Posts: 464
    edited October 2014

    After my kids leave for school in the morning I often go back to bed for a couple of hours. Today I brought my thermometer with me. I was sleeping buried under blankets and woke up shivering. (full body, can't stand up straight or really talk kind of shivering) Stuck the thermometer in my mouth and my temp was only 96.2. WTH???? This surgery really screwed me up.

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  • enlm20Erica
    enlm20Erica Member Posts: 216
    edited October 2014

    An update. . Saw My PS today and he said everything was healing beautifully (any bit of good news just makes my day lol) two drains came out yaaay! 2 more to go tho :/ I'm trying to stop the percoset so I bought a bottle of Advil to take and some Aleve Pm for those really rough sleepless nights. I'll see how it goes.

    Sandra, those panties gave me the laugh I needed! Thanks!  lol! 

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  • Mischief46
    Mischief46 Member Posts: 217
    edited October 2014

    Ilovecoasters,  I never could sleep on my stomach with my TE's but did eventually sleep on my side.  I have heard of some who have but I wasn't one of them, It hurt to much to lay flat on my TE's. 

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  • Sjacobs146
    Sjacobs146 Member Posts: 770
    edited October 2014

    Good news and bad news today.  Good news is clean margins, so no more surgery.  Bad news is that one lymph node had cancer, and combined with my intermediate Oncotype score, I have to do chemo before radiation :-(.  I'm getting Cytoxan and Taxotere, 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart.  MO called it "chemo light", but I will lose my hair nonetheless.  RO and MO were really nice, they spent a lot of time with me and DH explaining everything. MO gave me her email address, said I could email her any time with non-emergency questions.  I guess I'll check out the chemo boards and see what they say about wigs.  

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  • noonrider
    noonrider Member Posts: 464
    edited October 2014

    Sjacobs146, sorry to hear this. I would NOT call this "chemo light". There is a reason there are only four treatments in this regimen, and thats because its all your body can handle of that particular combination. People think since there are so few sessions it must not be a big deal. SO WRONG. I was on the same combo. I just finished in July, so I'm 12 weeks out from my final treatment now and my hair is about 1/2 inch long now. Hang in there! You can do it! And when you're feeling super anxiety levels when you for each treatment just remember, "I have one down, only three more to go." etc. I had about 10 bad days after each cycle, then 10 REALLY good days where I felt better than I normally do. But I won't lie, the bad days were really bad.

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    Sjacobs, well crap. I know you'd hoped everything would be negative. We're here for you, sweetie.

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited October 2014

    Thanks all for being my BFFs in the middle of those dark nights when I felt like acid was burning on my chest.

    Today is a better day.  Plastics follow up tomorrow.

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  • Lilith08
    Lilith08 Member Posts: 163
    edited October 2014

    Linda505--thanks for the link; it sounds like it's for reconstruction photos, which makes perfect sense. I'm not taking that route, so I won't join.

    Enim--yay for the first two drains and healing nicely! Good to hear you sounding more upbeat :)

    Sjacobs146--I'm so sorry about the positive node. Hope all goes well for you.

    Noonrider--night sweats, day sweats, shivers...hang in there!

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited October 2014

    I know that you all will understand.  I took 12 weeks from diagnosis until surgery. They are just slow.  I kept saying "it's growing!'  and they told me "no, the proliferation rate is only 10%.  It's only 1 cm."  Well, I went from 1 cm to 2.1 cm and from a 3+1+1 to 3+2+2.  So, I guess med school doesn't teach them everything!

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  • Lilith08
    Lilith08 Member Posts: 163
    edited October 2014

    Minivan, it's a real pity that saying "I told you so!" won't fix anything. Man, that sucks! What was their response? (And what does the 3+2+2 mean?)

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    Hmmm. That sux. You know, SOMEBODY had to graduate last in their med school class.

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  • Dlove72
    Dlove72 Member Posts: 54
    edited October 2014

    did anyone experience crazy back pain after fills? Not sure what to take or make it better

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited October 2014

    Thanks Sandra!  It made me laugh.

    Today I get a check up with plastics and then I get to go see a "regular' doctor because apparently strep throats aren't part of the plastics deal.  Although without surgery I think I would have been just fine!

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  • Ilovecoasters
    Ilovecoasters Member Posts: 199
    edited October 2014

    Dlove,

    My PS gave me a muscle relaxer to take prior to fills and another for at night.  Hope the pain passes quickly for you.  

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    Dlove, sounds like the hard back of your TE is pressing on a nerve. I'd get down on all fours and do some stretching to see if you can move it from that area.

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  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 2,913
    edited October 2014

    I'm five days out from surgery #5 and other than the normal depression that always hits me about this time, I'm ok. It's so weird, but I'm used to it. My heart just feels heavy and I feel like I could cry at the drop of a hat. It usually lasts a couple of days. Doc says it's primarily due to recovery from general anesthesia and quite common. So today I threw myself a pity party. Tomorrow should be better.

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