January 2015 Surgery Sisters

So far I have been able to wear my own bras. They had been sitting in a drawer since my bmx.

Yikes. How many nights/days were you in the hospital? I just checked mine, and it was about $22,000 (one night).

I was in the hospital for five nights. It's ironic, because I recovered really well, but the first few days I kept spiking a fever, so my doctor didn't want to discharge me. I actually think part of the reason I recovered so well was that I spent so long in the hospital, but it really cost my insurance.

BTW, I just looked at the bill again, and $68,000 of it was the operating room. So presumably that part would have been the same no matter how long I stayed

MsMath, congrats on finally getting them out! That was a long time. Good luck with chemo. I hope you've found the March 2015 chemo board. I found my group to be SO helpful as I went through chemo.

On Monday, I will go in to meet my oncology team to decide the next course of treatment after BMX on Jan 30. I am scared...my oncotype dx is 20, I am healing okay, but now I have to face decisions about Chemo and/or radiation. Anyone else in this position? I can feel my anxiety and I am worried about the next steps.

I hope all of you are recovering well from your surgeries and for all of you going through treatments may they go smoothly.

I had my last saline fill this past Thursday which puts me at 380 ccs in each TE. I'm experiencing some nerve pain in the form of burning/itchy/tickly feelings. My exchange surgery is set for May 1 and I'm looking forward to being on the squishy side!

trailrose, good luck to you. It's nice to have a date to look forward to! I'd always thought i'd do recon after rads at some point, but it's going to be a while before I can even consider it. I'm hoping that it is indeed an option. My BS seems to think so, but I know rads is damaging to the skin and tissue. Still, he did my MX with the thought that I'd be doing rads and still wanting to try for recon. So we'll see. Maybe over one of my school breaks next year I'll be healed enough to give it a go.

I have a question. I had my lumpectomy on January 30 and finally, had my drainage tube on March 10. Now, I'm noticing my breast has turned red and it's warm (not near the incision). I'm also having white, milky fluid coming out of my nipple. I didn't have this before my surgery. I'm going back to the surgeon tomorrow just trying to calm down...

I know things can happen and it takes time...I'm just worried. Has anyone had this happen after surgery?

SoccerMom, hope everything went well with your visit. I would be nervous too if milky fluid were coming out of my nipple.

Trailrose, good to hear you are in the waiting for exchange stage now. I also had the burning/itchy/tickly feelings mostly near the sternum and at the bottom at the beginning. Right now it's the lateral side (armpit) that's tender to the touch-I can actually feel the hard edge of the TE! Can't wait to get on the squishy side either.

MsMath, hang in there. Praying for a smooth ride for you.

CassieCat, it seems like there are quite a few people on the discussion boards with successful reconstructive surgery. Do you use anything on your radiated skin to soften it?

Hope everyone else is healing well and for those who have to go through treatments, I am praying for strength and perseverance

Nice to see you gals who are a month ahead or so getting better. It is very encouraging. There is an end to this. Love, Jean

Hi Trailrose! I will have exchange surgery in May(13th) also. I had TE placement on left, so range of motion is 90-95% on my left arm. My deltoid feels tight at a certain angle.

The one thing that bugs me is when I shiver, my chest muscle on the left takes awhile to calm down. It feels as if the MX area is very sensitive to the cold temp

I'm new to this group. I had a bi-lateral mastectomy with tissue expanders on Jan. 12. I was dx with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in my right breast and opted to have both removed. I'm surprised at how uncomfortable the TE's are this long after my surgery. I'm still on Vicodin at night.

I haven't quite picked up the lingo and the acronyms yet so bear with me.

Carrie, I'm ER/PR positive too which means my cancer should respond well to hormonal therapy, or Tamoxifin, which I'll be on for five years.

I'm so grateful for these forums. I've tried talking to friends and family but they really just don't get it. They try but...

All my best to all of you!

Trailrose, I just read your post about the tingly, burning sensations and I can totally relate. I'm still packing ice on both sides whenever I can, even at work. I use the binder to keep them in place but they still slip down all the time. I'm using an ace bandage tonight as my binder is in the wash. It's worst in the "side-boob" area, under my armpits. I get pretty miserable sometimes, especially after being on my feet for a while.

I'm probably going to get my permanent implants in early June and I cannot wait!!!

Hi all. My team didn't want to do TEs yet, knowing I was going in for rads. So I've healed well from surgery and finished 7 weeks of rads, but no recon of any sort yet.

Cassie, I was just thinking about you. So glad to hear another treatment is behind you. Only a few months left of Herceptin right? Hoping for minimal side effects with tamoxifen. It is good that your PS wants to delay reconstruction to allow your body to heal properly. It can only increase your chance of a successful reconstruction. You seem like a patient person...well you have to right if you are a teacher?

KBella, with my last fill, which was two weeks ago, I have been having burning/soreness more laterally near my armpit and incision sites where the drain were. I can feel the pull of my skin there. Trailrose is right about how massage really helps relieve the pain/soreness.