January 2016 Surgeries

I did not have much post surgical pain. All I took was regular Tylenol. I never filled the prescription for 50 oxycodone pills. And, I have a chronic pain condition - terrible Fibromyalgia. I did not permit any pre-surgical drugs by infusion for anxiety. That is because I did not want to miss anything before I went under or be groggy after surgery. However, the anti anxiety drugs pre-surgery can relax you and that will probably help with the perception of pain.

Everybody is different, but if you are having a lumpectomy, you may have little pain! Ask your surgeon if he can do a cavity shave to leave a wide margin. If the doctor has to do a re-excision, I have heard that the second surgery can be quite painful. I have a re-excision, but my wound has had five months to heal. I guess I could have pain from breast reduction surgery.

I took Naltrexone for about 2.5 months to see if it would help with my fibro pain. I probably will not be able to take oral narcotics again safely. There are high dose non-narcotic pain relievers that can be given during surgery. However, the doctors will probably give me a minute amount of morphine and watch my breathing. They prefer morphine.

If I were you and had the level of concern you have, I would insist on meeting ahead of time with the anesthesiologist. He will have the best answers for you. The last few times I have been in the hospital, I never saw the anesthesiologist despite begging to talk to him on the day of surgery. Since I am in danger now of dying from opioid overdose due to Naltrexone use, the big comprehensive cancer treatment center where I am undergoing cancer treatment has to let me meet with the anesthesiologist! I have an appointment with him the day before my surgery, and you can bet that I will be there. I might need a hysterectomy soon, and if so, I will ask my GYN doctor to refer me to the big teaching hospital. I am tired of being shortchanged.

Why don't you join us on the Crazy Town thread? It is a wonderful place where you can get fabulous support from the most wonderful group of women you will ever meet. Just go to the bottom of the page, hit the search button, and type in Crazy Town. Introduce yourself. I promise you will get a royal welcome!

So glad to hear you have the anxiety meds, gemma! They are wonderful when needed. I have a script for xanax. I try to take as little as possible, but somebody suggested that perhaps I might want to take a little extra while I am under the stress of dealing with my treatment plan. So, I am allowed a higher dosage than I have been taking, and I think it is a good idea for me to go ahead and take a little extra.

Oh, no, having a period? I am sure that being pre-menopausal is difficult right now. I went through the menopause late, sometime in my mid-50s, I guess. I was on HRT for two years I think before my diagnosis in August 2015, and that my have fed my tumor but it didn't cause it. The elevated risk for breast cancer comes I think with five years of HRT therapy, although I could be wrong. Anyway, I did not take HRT therapy very long.

What a good idea to go back to bed. I have been wearing a nightgown for a few days now. I just don't feel well. I took Tamoxifen for three weeks, and the side effects were so horrendous that I had to stop taking it. It has taken quite a while to get the Tamoxifen and an antidepressant that I had to take to deal with crushing depression caused by the Tamoxifen out of my system.

Quality of life is important. That is why I am going ahead with the lumpectomy and breast reduction without radiation. Tamoxifen side effects were horrible, but I already have physical problems that probably added to the effects of the Tamoxifen. I am in too much pain for radiation, and the big time surgeon that helped me sort out problems with my treatment plan told my cancer care medical team that it is risky for me to have radiation with fibromyalgia. If I have invasive cancer or a recurrence of DCIS and I absolutely must have radiation then, well, okay. For now, I am taking a path less chosen to protect my quality of life. I had been feeling from the start that radiation might be the last straw for me. The problem is that I look young, I am biologically young, and the wonderful cancer care team had no way of knowing how the fibromyalgia has affected me. I am permanently and severely disabled. I am hoping that the breast reduction surgery will eliminate the back and neck pain. It may also help the fibro too. I read that breast reduction surgery can sometimes have a positive effect on the entire neuromuscular system. I cannot wait to have these big boobs reduced. I can't stand how they effect my life.

Many people tolerate the Tamoxifen just fine. However, once you go into menopause, the aromatase inhibitors will be more effective than the Tamoxifen. The AI drugs are off the table for me due to possible side effects including heightened arthalgias and myalgias. It is a real pain in the you know what to sort through all of this stuff and figure out what is right for each person. I would imagine that the doctors may recommend at some point that your MIL stop the hormone therapy. Twelve years is a long time to stay on female hormones. However, if they help her, and she is willing to take the risk, then that is her decision to make with her doctor. I understand where she is coming from. HRT improved everything in my life and reduced my pain levels.

Gemma, I am sorry to hear about what you are facing. I will keep you in my thoughts. You are young, and my bet is that you will get through all of this just fine. It sounds as if you are well-informed and comfortable with going through treatment. My mom went through mastectomy, radiation, and Herceptin and Tamoxifen at the age of 78. She did fine, but I am starting to understand that breast cancer treatment has a profound effect on a woman. My mom now has metastatic breast cancer (stage IV) at the age of 85. She wanted to live so she is on heavy duty chemotherapy with KADCYLA. I don't know if I could fight the cancer and tolerate the treatment she is going through. The doctor told her that her scans were great and the chemo is beating down the cancer. She was declining rapidly, but we just kept supporting her desire to live. If something else does not kill my mom. I think we may have her with us for a while. Again, please join us on Crazy Town thread. Someone invited me to join (anyone can join), and it has been a great experience.

I have 8 lumps being removed from my right breast on Wednesday, the 6th, with a possible MX depending on what the rest of my breast looks like once he gets in there. Also removing lymph nodes from under my right arm. Trying NOT to be nervous... But I'm terrified. 25 years old, 2 kids, and a family history of BC.

vitrine, welcome, I'm so sorry. I'm 46, two kids 10 and 13. I'm finding these boards a great source of info and comfort! My surgery is scheduled for 1/14. You might want to post your info in "just diagnosed" as well. I've found that some of the senior members who have lots of great advice and experience watch for posts there. In the meantime, I'm here, we all are, in a similar boat and it feels good to have others on this un-wanted journey, not so alone.

Vidrine, I'm so sorry you are going through this at your age! Please know that we are here for you.

HI ladies, joining you all on this thread.

I was diagnosed in August with an enlarged lymph node on the left side which was caught on my mammogram. Turns out that I have an occult primary (no primary tumor was ever found despite several MRIs and a PET scan. I was BRCA1/2 negative, but did come back positive for a gene variant called BRIP1. Both my aunt and her daughter, my cousin, have had breast cancer. My cousin's original BC has metastasized and she's dealing with treatment for that now. I'm also triple positive, just had my last TCHP chemo on New Year's Eve.

I was just scheduled for 1/28 to have the first in a series of surgeries. The first one on the 28th will be an axillary node dissection with a breast reduction. Then 12 weeks later I'll have BMX with TE's. Then 12 weeks after that they will put in the implants and I'll start radiation.

I still have several questions that I need to get answers to. This seems like a lot of procedures to me. I'm 43, married with a 3 year old. I also work full time so having this many procedures/recoveries is going to be really disruptive.

I was told that the first surgery would take a lot of tissue that they would then send to be analyzed and may provide some helpful information, though I'm committed to doing BMX. My BS doesn't think BMX is necessary. But I got a second opinion from a BS from Hopkins who said BMX without hesitation due to my family history.

So I just need to get to the bottom of how necessary it is to have 3 surgeries instead of having the first two at the same time.

Hi Marijen

They did a biopsy on the enlargedlymph node and were able to type it from there.

SVGsurvive, thanks for adding me and all the great links you provide above! Just checking in because I don't have a surgery date scheduled yet. I've just finished rads to my bone, so I expect to hear something next week. and then I'll give an update.

Best wishes for a joyous & healthier 2016 to you all; I'm so over 2015!

@decionfreak - I too have fibromyalgia and have told my surgeon but she did not seem to make any notes or comment about it. My fibro was very bad about 10 years ago and used to take Neuronyjn daily but it has gotten under control past 5 years or so and I only get occasional flare ups when stressed or cold damp weather. I no longer take Neuronyjn in regular basis but do take ambient cr and klonopin (loss dose) daily to sleep. My BMX & SNB is scheduled for 1/12. Is there something I should be requesting from surgeon about my fibro.

Also whoever posted about the nerve block...my surgeon mentioned this to me as an option. She said she sees it help about 50% of the time. Is this in addition to general anesthesia? Does it hurt?

Thanks and HNE to all

Hi Balthus - I have been looking into the paravertebral block. It numbs the whole breast area so that you need less pain meds. I don't think it hurts- they numb you up pretty good before they put the block in. If you look in YouTube there are some videos that explain the procedure. Molly50 had her surgery a few months ago and told me that it was pretty effective for her. She only needed additional pain meds once while in the hospital. I plan to have propofol as general anesthesia. It is supposed to be less nausea-causing than other types of anesthesia. Other anesthesia drugs will only be administered as needed during surgery but with propofol, the amount needed is generally much less (I think this is correct but still looking into it). I think there is a thread on propofol, if you go to the menu and search propofol. Sassy may have also included the link in her post above.

Decision - you are right about not sleep-walking through this! Two months ago I knew nothing about breast cancer, and the number of decisions I've had to make since then just for the surgery is a bit mind-boggling. I have talked with surgeons and survivors but found that the discussion boards here are the best place to get information.

Have a great day everyone!

DecisionFreak: Based on what I know I will not be needing radiation as I am having BMX but was concerned about how overall surgery and post-effects will have on my fibro.

Grandma3x: When I went to prep testing & had general questions asked about anesthesia no one talked to me about specific type that would be used. My surgery is supposed to last 4 hours and isn't proponol what they use for colonoscopies? I;d be afraid it wouldn't put me out deep or long enough. I'll look into nerve block more. Thanks.

Balthus, when I asked about the propofol, here's what my BS said: "For these types of procedures, our anesthesiologists routinely use propofol. Either with or without a paravertebral block." I'm having a UMX with TE, so I think they just continuously stream in the propofol as needed, and may supplement with other anesthesia as needed. I am scheduling a phone call with the BS this week and will see if I can get more details.

hello, I am a scheduled for bmx and diep flap reconstruction, just waiting on date, they tell me it will be the end of Jan or first week of Feb. The wait is almost as bad as the diagnosis.This forum has been a great relief to be able to read and learn from so many brave and beautiful women and realize your not alone. thank you everyone.