December 2015 Surgery Sisters Part Deux (with list)

My genetic testing all came back normal! That is good news for my sisters.

Thank you ladies for making me feel much better about the node injection the day before my surgery next week! Glad to known it's really nothing more than an injection! As for the Magnesium citrate I mentioned, it's to clean my bowels (like prep for colonoscopy I suppose). I'm not looking forward to that because I likely won't get home from the node procedure until after 6pm and I have to be at the hospital at 5am the next morning! So afraid I'm not going to get any rest because I'm up &^$% on the toilet all night! ha! I think my biggest concern at this point after reading your replies this month is the discomfort with the lymph node removal and those darn drains. I was told to expect 6-8 of them. I certainly hope after 5 nights in the hospital that I don't go home with that many?! Wishing everyone a peaceful night. xo

I don't feel right complaining to those of you who had mastectomies. I'll go whine over at the Lumpectomy Lounge.

MissV- horray!! They didn't have onco testing for my first rodeo, so many advances! Mine was in the intermediate range. But treatment wont change.

Planet - stage 1! Woo hoo!

Brightside- home the same day? You are super woman....or I am a wuss. My surgery was 7 hours long. I was in the hospital 3 days and would not have minded another day. Took me 48 hrs to feel awake.

Tasal- I'm surprised you're having to drink mag citrate. The only surgeries I've heard of that use that are GI surgeries. Make sure to take your stool softeners and/or senna afterwards. The pain meds did a number on me. The will constipated you if you don't drink enough and take the pills. Seems the average for mx stay in hospital is around 2 days. I think it depends on how long your surgery lasts, how you react to anesthesia and whether or not you're getting reconstruction at the same time. Just go with it, see how you feel. As far as the phone goes, I work in a hospital. Phones are not a problem. I used mine in preop and immediately after waking up. Make sure to bring your charger....and to bring it home. So many leave theirs. Hugs and prayers for you.

Ok....happy birthday to me!!! I'm expecting my first set of falsies to be delivered today. Yea!! UPS is my santa:)

To All My Warrior Sisters, Have A Wonderful Christmas. Enjoy Family and Friends. And Rest,Rest Rest....Goodnight......

NJ-Jen - sounds like we are undergoing similar situations. I hope your fever has subsided.

I hope all had Merry Christmas

I hit an even higher fever last night 101.4 so call doc office. PA give me some crud about I need to breath deeply more. I stress dose (she forgot I have no adrenals) and finally fever spikes a few hours later, but I soaked the bed and pillows and lost a few pounds of hospital fluid. Oddly losing the fluid made me feel much better.

Hope everyone else so doing well

Yes, LoveMyVizla, the deep breathing is a big thing and I always forget, too! If anyone is interested, I just found an amazing video online to help with rehab after mastectomy. Of course, seek doctor approval first, but it is wonderful. http://www.breastcancerrehabilitation.com/Rehabilitation.html. My great aunt, who is 89, has been doing Miranda Edmonds-White 's stretching since she first started , and she is in the best shape. She runs circles around women 1/2 her age... when she realized there was a video for breast cancer rehab, she sent me the link. You can use the site videos and then you don't have to spend any money, just watch the clips by clicking on the sections beneath the video screen....

Duzy- wishing you the best for tomorrow.

I am now very swollen. I can't palate a specific seroma, but it feels as though I have fluid from my collar bone down to my belly button and in my upper back. Lots of pressure and I just don't feel good. I know I did too much preparing for christmas but I have 4 kids and its just me. I tried to be good. Ugh. I felt ok until yesterday.

Ps is gonna see me tomorrow and mentioned possibly reinserting drains. How exactly do they do that? Just thread it in? Can't believe this. Anyone else need drain replaced?

Hi all. I had sentinel node surgery/ removal on Christmas eve. Originally biopsy showed DCIS. Lumpectomy showed small amount of IDC. I believe 3 nodes were removed and my doctor said they looked ok. Original biopsy was ER+/PR+. IDC was ER weakly + PR - and HER+. Hoping I get results back soon. I will have radiation and still not sure if Herceptin and/or Tamoxifen. Inhad a hysterectomy 8 years ago and have been off hormones since dx in September. This is so confusing at times!!

Jerseygirl--thanks for the links for stretching. OT gave me stretching exercises in the hospital but I'm ready for something different---my final drain was removed today but I'm still don't have complete range of motion without feeling tight.

Bethl I had my drains removed, and at my next two visits to the dr, she just drained it right there in her office....no pain at all....both times she got about 1/2 cup...I didnt look....but I assure you I didnt feel a thing....I hope this can be done for you....so sorry you are having trouble...feel better soon.....

Just checking in with all my Dec 2015 Surgery Sisters : ) I pray for each one of you and hope each day is getting better. This is the 1st day I've felt pretty darn good & am happy about that.

Odd news, though. Got my Pathology Report last week...after having the lumpectomy, all axillary lymph nodes removed, chemo port installed and reconstruction on Dec 11th.

The bottom line is...I have to have surgery again next month! A double mastectomy this time.

Originally diagnosed w/IDC only. But Pathology found ILC cancer "hiding" within the submitted breast tissue. (It never showed up on any mammograms or biopsies.) Apparently, it's rare to have IDC and ILC in one breast...but I've got them both.

Can you believe it? This is just my luck! Lol : ) Actually, I'm glad they found it now instead of much later.

Xoxoxo, QueenElizabethTheFaux

Surgery done and home resting. I ended up with 2 drains and so far the pain has not been too bad. I do not handle pain medications well so I have been alternating between Motrin and Tylenol. We will see how that goes. I have medication on hand just in case. I was surprised that they gave me a nerve block before surgery. That was never discussed beforehand. I was told to do as much as I felt like except lifting over my head. And to keep support 24/7 for 4 days. The pathology report will not be back until early next week.

Elizabeth I had the same thing lumpectomy first then a mastectomy - I opted to only do one at this time and will decided on the other down the road. I did not do reconstruction so recovery is easier. I hope everything turns out well for you.

Congratulation for those who have received positive news and/or feeling better from their surgery. To those going in tomorrow wishing you the best in your surgery and recovery. I will be thinking of each of you.

QueenElizabeth, I had IDC in my left breast and DCIS in the right and elected bilateral mastectomy, which I had December 9 (feeling pretty good, once the drains are taken out it's amazing how much better you feel!). Surgical path report showed the right side was actually IDC, though thankfully very slow and non aggressive. SNLB clean on the left, which was the side with the tumor that could actually be seen during imaging. I'm very thin and had maybe big B cup size, so they took all the tissue they could but it wasn't enough to get a clean margin on the right so hello radiation. All very tiresome but my point is that you are not the only one out there with a surgical surprise! I hate what we're all going through but modern medicine is pretty amazing