March 2016 Surgery

I'm having a bilateral mastectomy, no recon. Is that "bmx"???

I forgot to post this: The pre-ops went well. The anesthesiologist said I would "do fine" with being under. There was one brief hiccup with my ekg. The tech looked at it and asked me if anyone had ever told me I had a "block." I thought she meant blocked artery or something and my reaction was "oh crap, not something else." It seems like every time I talk to a doc, there's more bad news. But it turned out the be something about the electrical firing of my heart, and not a major prob.

I know this won't happen, but I would so love it if, after this is over, I never saw the inside of another medical clinic or hospital again.

Anyway, I'm good to go for Monday.

People who have bilateral without recon don't get mammograms, so that reduces the number your friend would see. My BS said in his experience (37+ years), about 50% reconstruct, and about 50% of those who reconstruct wind up undoing it, FWIW.

Mecool - that is so good to hear! Now just rest, rest, rest. You will be healed in no time.

I'm 7 weeks post-op today (UMX in January ) and vacationing in Vail with family. No skiing for me this year but I'm walking about 6 miles a day. Here's my photo from yesterday walking through Ford Park:

iammags - hope that you are doing well!

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday!

Way to go Mecool !! Now rest, rest, rest.

McKayleigh, when I first mentioned the idea of a bmx, it upset my oncologist, who insisted I talked to someone in "plastics." I decided against the "plastics" appt. My surgeon, on the other hand, made it clear that I no way needed to be under for the time it would take to do reconstruction.

That's ok with me. I call my cancer "Plum." I see her as a black mamba who thinks she's a pet. I want to get her gone before she remembers that she's a black mamba and does what black mambas do.

My surgeon sounded like she intended to take it all, but I'll remind her. I want Ms Plum gone, gone, gone.

Ksusan, I never put much thought into it I guess. Do they do US's then? I honestly haven't put thought into the after, just trying to get through the here and now!

Mecool, so glad all went well for you, reading your post calmed my anxiety a bit.

Okbecca, they still wanted me talk to the PS too. He actually agreed that recon is weeks and years of surgeries and understood why I wouldn't put myself through that. He even offered to come in at the end of my surgery to close to ensure a nice close.

Furiosa, I will be thinking of you Mon and hoping you are having much more fun than me, you only turn 40 once, enjoy it!!

Asante314 - your post made me laugh so hard- my kids are grown but I remember that pain like it was yesterday!

Asante, please add me to the March surgery list. 3/16 exchange surgery. Thanks !!

Diane

mecool - So glad you are feeling ok and that you are out of surgery. (Can't believe you feel well enough to get online, but sure glad you told us about that snb. I've been so nervous about it!)

Iammags - thinking about you. Hoping you are resting now.

Just talked to a friend of mine and thought I'd share her funny story. A couple of days after her surgery she called a girlfriend and asked why she hadn't called to ask how she was. The friend replied that they had already talked right after her surgery, for at least an hour! When my friend looked at her phone, she realized that she had made 35 phone calls that day. They were all to random people, not all good friends. For the next few days her friends called her back and laughed with her because she had called and said strange things to them like, "Hey! I got new Boobs today!!!" So. Lesson for us all. Keep those cell phones out of reach until you are well off your pain meds!

Big week coming up...Looks like there are about 7 of us going under the knife.

I think I need to look at Grandma3x calming picture again. I kinda wish I was there too.

I've been busy making list after list. Inlaws are taking care of my big kids. My brother will have my babies. My mama will have me (I decided to heal for 3 weeks at her house so I wouldn't try and cheat by picking up my babies or the house.) . That's a lot of packing.

Was thinking about going topless to let the girls enjoy their last few days of life, free and bouncy, but thought my teenage boys and in laws might get a little weirded out. Hubby said he was all for it...

The drains can't hang. They will pull and be uncomfy. You can pin them to a shirt or vest with safety pins or tuck them in large shirt pockets--no need for a separate garment if you don't want one.

I was restricted to 5# and arms no higher than my shoulders for several weeks. About a month after surgery, my BS cleared me for "everything," to which my MO said, "Yeah, no" and gave me some range of motion stretches and allowed me to gradually increase weight, torque, and reach. This is about reducing the risk of pulling open surgical incisions and reducing the risk of lymphedema. Neither are good news.

mecool - so glad you are doing well!

Chris-miss - that story is hilarious! I remember very little about the day of my surgery, but I think I left my cell phone with my husband, so hopefully did not make random calls! I'm glad my photo is bringing you peace.

Today is my last day of vacation I'll meet my DH in Vail for lunch (he's off skiing for the morning) and do a little shopping (mostly window-shopping! The prices here are a bit too steep for my blood!). Then we plan to drive over to Beaver Creek, where my sister and her husband are skiing for the day. Hope to meet up with them for an after-ski drink to finish off the week.