DIEP 2015

your core muscles are very deep inside you,you will recover.I had a bilateral DIEP,got out of bed,using my core....had though.More recently had 2 more abdominal ops,due to fluid in tummy,and now,6 months after,core is back,dong Pilates,swimming,body balance and walking.It is a great feeling just getting back out there...don't be too disappointed,day at a time,and look at he progress you have made,Don't be hard n yourselves ....

I had my DIEP almost 12 months ago. I fully recovered, had stage 2 in March and felt really good all summer.

Late this fall I have had a lot of pain in the chest bone reoccur. After surgery they said it was due to shaving the chest bone when attaching the flaps.

This pain has started again and is quite uncomfortable. Has anyone else had pain return after feeling really good for awhile?

Julieho

Smrlvr: Conversion rate is when they go into the operating room planning to do a DIEP and then do a TRAM. TRAM uses muscle and DIEP does not. When I spoke with the PA at that office, I asked if they did a CT scan before surgery. She said no. NOLA does. They KNOW where the blood vessels are they are going to use before going to the OR. The doctors who don't do a CT have to 'wing it' and covert to TRAM because apparent muscle is easier to get a blood vessel from. Use of muscle makes you more at risk for pain.

AFter your surgery, you are hooked up to 4 doppler wires. They plug them in about 20 times a day to hear the bloodflow. It sounds similar to when you have a heart rate monitor for a pregnancy. I had one wire that would be really loud and they would all laugh when the plugged it in. It was very obvious that area had a good blood supply.

How well r u taking it, congrats!!!! I fought hard to have my date before the year ends, on the 21st,guess drs r in a holiday's mood and I am scare that mine will be cancel as well.My bday is dec 16 and i made my mind my new boob its a bd + hanuka present!

I am also concerned with memory loss and had been reading about magnesium L threonate. I am planing to take it after been realesed from hospital to avoid any interference with blood flow.

Hello girls,

Praying for successful flaps to those in surgery in the coming days!

I have been back to work and working 7 days straight! I work retail....so, this is the holiday season...and is expected. So far so good...although had another bout of that red line down my sternum. It is not an infection...but I think it is the skin being stretched. I am still a bit tight. Tried another approach and put vaseline on it, and looks much better this am.

My stage 2 is scheduled for Dec 23rd. Santa is bringing me bigger boobs!

hi girls I'm back 4 days out from my DIEP - thanks so much for all the well wishes- thankfully all prayers were answered and we are on the flip side!! I am home! so first some observations about the surgery itself - wow that sucker is long!! Not that we realize it but BS took about 3 hours for the BX then PS took another 8 hours - add the additional 3 hours for the kinked vessel tweaking and yeah 12+14 hours later I am in recovery! 🙁 So hubby tells me that Ms Sassy came out before they took me back for the tweaking- he said I was pretty tough on my PS telling him "you better make this right"😉 You know if we don't hold them to high standards who will? I later found out the sleep/pain meds given during surgery have a "truth" serum effect. The pain in my chest is probably the worse so far -deep in the chest make sure to grab a pillow to cough or sneeze. Also note, that eating protein will keep your energy up but I have not been hungry at all. Last thing, Bair Hugger is evil!! If you get too hot or feel claustrophobic- this will not be your friend - although it is very important for recovery. I'm only 4 day's out and still very swollen and sore- write more later

Thxs again and take care - healing thoughts and prayers go to all

DaBoys!!!! So good to hear from you! Prayers for comfort and speedy recovery. What is a Bair hugger? Sounds awful! Hang in there

Lee how good to hear that you are feeling good enough to be back to work in what -6 weeks. Wow!

Hi people -- reporting from the other side, now 6 days out from my DIEP, day 2 at home. Cried with relief to sit on my own bed! I'm so happy to have the surgery behind me, the first 3 days were very hard for me. Arm trouble from the single-position constrain during the procedure, 2 blood transfusions, two angry IV sites, challenging reactions to the percoset and general trauma (serious flushed sweats and nausea). Getting on the road to receovery took some trial and error, but after the second transfusion and getting off the heavy narcotics altogether, I started to perk up demonstrably. I think that my biggest struggles were due to existing lymphedema and the fact that I was barely 5 weeks out of chemo and slightly anemic going into the surgery. Those of you who are going in healthier should have an easier time. Even with my hardships, three of the drains were moved before I left the hospital, and the remaining three may be out on Thursday, yay! Showering last night was exhausting, I'm wondering how long it will be before I can happily stand for a few minutes and walk farther than from here to the bathroom.

I'm pondering renting a recliner -- woke up too flat in the middle of the night very uncomfortable -- how long should I get it for? Should I even bother? I'm pretty well propped up in bed now, almost upright, maybe I can make it work?

Lots of prayers Bigsister. Looking forward to your praise report after surgery. :-)))

Kateness I'm so happy you are on the other side. Yay!!!

Daboys. Welcome home. Is the bear hugger the abdominal binder? How are your drains?

Any last minute thoughts ladies? Surgery time is 8:30 tomorrow. Woohoo. :-)

Kateness, I purchased a couple of wedges to use, but I still found that I slid down in bed using them, and they were not all that comfortable. I got a 7" and a 12". The 12" was too high after my BMX, but the 7" worked well. I think a couple of pillows would be just as comfortable.

SA8PG, I'll be praying for you tomorrow as I am the day after. Praying not only for your safety, but also for your children that they won't worry about mommy too much. My youngest is 11 and she has really struggled this year. She'll be spending my surgery day with a close friend and her mom--she needs a mommy that day.

That is one of the hardest things about BC--how it distances us from our families for a time. My sepsis this summer just about killed me, so it was hard on everyone in my family. When I got home, all I could do was focus on getting better. I didn't have anything to give anyone, even though they were hurting. Now, five months later I am almost back to "normal" (whatever that is!) and it is pretty scary to start it all over again.

I have lost a whole year of my life, and with the slow recovery from DIEP, it looks like next year is going to be pretty shot as well, but I am hoping for a happier road as I heal with my own tissue instead of messing with implants.

(Back to de-dusting my bedroom!)

Kate!!! congratulations on having the surgery behind you and sounds like the worst days are over. I hope you continue to feel better! Keep us posted on your progress.

SA8PG will be thinking of you tomorrow. Good luck! Touch base when you can to let us know how you are

Big sister I am also in that getting ready mode. Lists upon lists, picking up this and that. Next wave will be getting organized and then packing. One week from tomorrow for me.

Hope you all don't mind a prayer....Especially SA8PG, TRINEG, BIGSISTER...and for all of us going thru surgeries now and in the coming months...

Lord, we come before you today in need of your healing hand. Give us the strength to move forward on the path you've laid out for us. Guide us towards better health, and give us the wisdom to identify those you've placed around us to help us get better.
In your name we pray, Amen.

TRINEG: I took mine down to pee. It has zips up the sides and hooks and you can easily take it down just on one side to go.

Kateness: You didn't mention painkillers but the day I stopped taking them, I plummeted in terms of my mood.