December 2014 Surgery Sisters

On another note girls.  I notice that many surgery sisters on here seem to have a bad reaction after the surgery - vomiting and nausea.  That always happened to me until I twigged myself that I might be sensitive to the morphine they usually give along with the anaesthetic.  No one else had thought of this, not even the anaesthetist.  Now I refuse it and ask for Pethedene(sp) instead and I'm fine afterwards.  I wake up and have a much faster recovery with absolutely no nausea or breathing probs -  I also had suppressed breathing with the morphine and woke up once after surgery with two nurses shaking and shouting at me to breathe.  Sometimes I worry about what pain medication I can get if I ever have serous pain problems - end of life issues, etc.  Even with anti-emetics (I think they're called) which are supposed to stop you vomiting after being given morphine, it didn't work for me. 

Just a thought for you......

I have bad reactions to morphine as well and now ask for other pain meds. I've had abdominal surgeries in the past and toridol had been excellent for pain relief. I'll be discussing that with my surgeon.

is everyone else exhausted? Had surgery 7 days ago. Talked on the phone a while, took a nap. Watched a movie, took a nap. Took a shower, took a nap... feel like a slug

The only thing I have energy to do is be on my iPad

Chloesmom, that's a big yes for me.  I'm 17 days post and still tiring easy.  It gets better though.  Like you, my first week included lots of resting.

 I listened to many of our BC sisters about taking it slow.  They were right, when I pushed myself I suffered!  There's some smart ladies here!

Sandra, I am thinking of you and your husband. I pray both of you are making positive steps forward.

You deserve an uneventful recovery. Hope your daughter gets there soon she will really lift both your spirits.

Sandra -- Thinking of you and praying your husband gets better -- HUGS!

knmtwins, here's a link to some exercises by the MSK hospital:

http://www.mskcc.org/videos/exercises-after-breast-surgery-reconstruction-using-tissue-expander

I've seen it with hundreds of women on these threads. Everyone thinks taking it easy means instead of running 2 miles and coming home to vacuum upstairs and downstairs, they cut back to 1 mile and vacuum downstairs only. To them, they really have cut down on their activity. When they hit the wall, usually the day after all the "light" housekeeping, they are the first ones to get on their soapbox and shout about what taking it easy doesn't include. Listen to them! No pushing carts or wiping counters. No doing laundry or sweeping floors. No changing bed linens. No lifting your arms above your shoulder. Your body can either heal very slowly and keep you feeling like crap because you are doing too much, or you can sit your butt down, nap, and let your body heal quickly. All your energy has to go towards healing. As a fitness instructor who never let anything slow me down, I was teaching classes when I still had drains from a hysterectomy years ago. If I could pull myself across the floor with one finger, I was "fine."  This time I learned my lesson very early and have been the poster child for a compliant patient. Doing nothing means just that. Glue those arms to your side from shoulder to elbow, don't reach for anything by extending your arm, keep your arms below your shoulders. Sit, nap, go to the bathroom and then back to your chair, eat protein, drink a lot of water, and let your body heal. What you see on the outside is nothing compared to what's underneath your skin. Most women feel good at 3 weeks. Some take a week longer.

Pain can be mild or for a very few, nonexistent. Some define it a severe. Take your pain pills but try to get to where you can go with an over the counter drug during the day and only take that percoset at night. Your bowels will thank you and constipation will go away. It is directly related to pain drugs and is made worse by not drinking enough fluids. It's a miserable condition so it's worth putting up with a little discomfort by cutting back on prescription drugs. 

Thanks for all the well wishes. I took every single one to heart and it really does know you have a cheering section behind you. I was released from the hospital this afternoon. My husband was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. He was still an in-patient when I was in recovery, but signed himself out and came downstairs to be with me. What a surprise to see his face when I opened my eyes. He had just had a bone marrow biopsy a few hours before! By the time I was settled in my room a couple hours later, he was back - officially released. We had thought he would be in another day or two, but all the testing they did on Wednesday and Thursday failed to find a diagnosis so a hematologist was called in. She suspects bone marrow cancer but it's not a sure thing. The bone marrow she harvested yesterday was sent to three labs for specialty testing so hopefully it won't be cancer but will be something weird that can be cured by drinking something yucky or checking into a sweat lodge.  His pelvis is sore but he is feeling much better since he got some blood transfusions. His hemoglobin was a 6 but is now an 8 - still low, but he's no longer collapsing in elevators!

I feel fine as long as I have my Tylenol. Due to the fat grafting, my chest and upper abdomen feel like they are on fire if I move. The incisions under my left arm are still painless due to Exparel, a wonderful foam anesthetic that lasts 72-96 hours. So this was the LAST surgery. The 6th time was the charm!

Knmtwins -- I was told I was HER +, though I would have to find that paperwork from months back where the Doctor wrote that down. The ER and PR is all I recall. I do not recall any targeted therapies other than the Neulasta which was for infections? And the chemo, AC and T. And the one lymph node that was lit up in the PET scan.

On my hospital discharge paper work it stated I had Infiltrating/Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

The pre-staging was just based on the size of this one tumor I had had. It shrunk down to about 4cm, so I do not know what stage I will be once pathology goes through my lymph nodes and all that.

I am only itching a little though its annoying. Its where the tape is in the back on the side. I can later use this special cream I had made thanks to my surgeon for pain and itching but I am to wait a few weeks before using that on the area. Ice packs are helping at the moment. It's weird cause this area is still so numb in parts.

I am not starting radiation until the end of Jan. or beginning of Feb.,as my Doctor says she wants me to be healed up a bit more before I start on that.

I will have to pick up some steri strips being they sure do stick to the skin well. At least they DO work!

Thanks for suggesting them as I was not even thinking along those lines, I was trying to figure out what other type of tape can I use to keep this gauze on here!

Take care ----

Bippy, I would keep that guy! He is one of a kind. So many guys run like the wind.

cassie, hah, you and I are C-rex ! My real name begins with a C also. It fits well too, as I got so cranky I wanted to bite.and I feel about as purdy

Take care all surgery sisters. Hope all are okay, sorry I am so focused on myself right now.

Bippy are our husbands twins? I am so blessed Ditto your post:

"Aj, hoping you continue doing well. Are you using ice packs on a drain incision? I would love to do that! Aj, hoping you continue doing well. Are you using ice packs on a drain incision? I would love to do that! They feel very like fire when perturbed. I am doing tylenol half and half with pain meds today. Much better since i quit DOING stuff. My DH is amazing, he is all up in my drains, redresses and strips them, sees my chest, and just says he wants me aliveThey feel very like fire when perturbed. I am doing tylenol half and half with pain meds today. Much better since i quit DOING stuff. My DH is amazing, he is all up in my drains, redresses and strips them, sees my chest, and just says he wants me alive"

I haven't taken Tylenol in a week since 2 days after surgery, but today the drains are really hurting. Before they hurt if I moved them. Now they just sting. I don't know if it's part of the healing process or if I have been doing too much. See the doctor tomorrow. Drainage is minimal. Anxious to see just how much the drainage has to decrease to before they consider pulling them, I still have seromas but they are on my sides not the chest where the drains are

Chloesmom,

Hope you get your drains out tomorrow. I guess I lucked out in getting mine out early. Sutures pulled out on one side and PS took them all out.

Bippy, my husband is a blessing as well. We've been together 23 years. He's picked up a lot of the slack around here for the past three weeks and even wrapped the presents last night. I managed only his.

Hoping we all get some rest and feel better this week.

Scottie