March 2016 Surgery

grandma3x it is so nice to hear that you are doing well. I 'met' you when you first posted looking for information before your surgery. My PBMX with TEs was in November. I am now 12 days pre exchange. Nervous for this surgery. I have heard many horror stories about disappointing results. I just want to be finished and will hope for the best.

I am a new grandma!! My first grandchild (girl) made her appearance 5 wks early on Jan 25. She is doing just fine as is my daughter. And our son and his wife just told us they are expecting their first baby in Sept! I will be a grandmax2

Much joy after a very rough year.

Sheree66 you and i will both have surgeryv the same week. But my surgery is to exchange my TEs with gummi bear implants. I had a BMX SNB with TEs last November. I am sure you will do just fine. The drains are annoying but not painful. It helps to have someone around to empty them for you and record the volume. My PS wouldn't remove them until each one was down to 20 during 24 hrs. I will have 2 drains again with the exchange surgery. Hopefully only 5 days. So back to sleeping in the recliner again! And no lifting arms above shoulder height or lifting >5 lbs for 3 weeks. Oh well the time passes quickly.

new-me - congratulations! Grandchildren are the best! November seems like such a long time ago. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have the support of you and others on these threads! Best wishes for your exchange. I go in next Wednesday to have my nipple removed because of close margins, then in May for a prophylactic mastectomy of the right side. I plan to wait until this fall for the exchange and hopefully will be done with surgeries by the end of the year.

Okbecca, what time zone are you in? I don't go in until 8 because I asked them to schedule me later if the could (it was originally 5 am) because I needed to see my son off to school and didn't have any other options.  You will most likely be done before I even go in as my surgery isn't until 10, unless you are west coast.  I will be thinking about you (and Chris-MIss)!!

I'm in the central time zone. I'll include chris-miss and McKaylaleigh in my morning prayers before I go in.

Dumb question: Does anybody have a guess as to how long it will be before I can play the piano again? I'll settle for gently playing scales, at first. It just makes me feel good and I miss it when I can't.

Thanks Mecool.

Thank you Diane. You answered a lot of questions at once both about piano and sewing. Thanks especially for the prayers. They are needed and appreciated.

Asante314 - I just realized that I put my date of surgery wrong - it' should be 3/10/16

Sheree66, those xxl's might be a bit too much lol! But they will definitely be comfy! I made do with old cardigans worn over the cami provided by the hospital. You only need the button/zip fronts while you have drains (for access). Remember to have elastic waist pants/leggings to wear. It is difficult to pull up and zip jeans. For sleeping i used a large pregnancy pillow to wrap around me for support. Sitting up was the most comfortable way to sleep and the drains didn't get squished. I also kept a pillow across my chest to prevent the dog and cat from climbing on my chest. For the first day or so it is difficult to get up off the couch or toilet without help. I kept a broom handle nearby to help me get up. Because yoy shouldn't use your arms too much at first it is sometimes hard to get up from laying flat on your back and you need to roll off (think of a turtle tipped on its back lol)

My husband and i set up a whole drain emptying station in the bathroom. We used a small plastic box and kept the measuring cup in there along with alcohol and cotton balls for cleaning the drain opening. It is also helpful to have hand sanitizer in there and some kleenix for dabbing up leaks. Also kept a notepad and pen to record the drain anounts for each side. Important to correctly record left & tight separately. The surgeon will need totals for each side separately to monitor progress.

It all sounds more dramatic than it is. All in all it wasn't as horrible as i imagined it would be. I spent most of the first 2 days sleeping. Pain was manageable with Tylenol alone after third day.

Good luck and i will be sending prayers and warm hugs to you and the others. See you on the other side ♡ Diane

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you're able to do after surgery! I had prepared for the worst, practiced washing my hair with elbows stuck to my side....all that! It's been much easier The hardest part is staying in one position all night to sleep, that's when the meds come in handy! I'm making the transition to just motrin during the day today!

Mc - as a mother, the feeling is so intense. My experience has been that the anxiety was a constant companion for a while, then began to wane. Now it comes and goes. I had 19 hours notice before surgery (there was a last minute cancellation), which I think was a blessing. And it's not easy, but let me say this... I would do it 50 times over again before chemo. No joke. You will get through it! You will be up on your feet in no time. Xo.

I ended up taking a Xanax about an hour and half ago and it helped tremendously. I will definitely be asking for something as soon as I get to the hospital though. I didn't have anxiety this much when I was younger with medical stuff, I am not liking it!

Prayers are going your way this morning - okbecca, Chris-miss and Mckaylaleigh!! 🙏🙏

Good Morning,

I'm a little late to this, but would like to share. I had surgery on 3/1. Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy with tissue expanders for reconstruction.

I thought I read lots but am learning more each time I read posts.

Recovery in hospital was rough. Anesthesia seemed to stick with me for at least 2 days. I got a Scopolamine patch for nausea/motion sickness the day after surgery. I woke with such a headache I couldn't even raise my head or turn my eyes to look at people. I didn't walk further than the bathroom for over 24 hours. Finally I took a stroll down the hall and somehow got home the night after surgery.

The next day after researching Meds I was taking and several phone calls we determined my headache and nausea was coming from the nitro bid paste that was being used on my right nipple to increase blood flow. We wiped it off, put ice packs on my head (seriously that bad) and in 1/2 hour I felt much better, in 1 hour my headache was gone.

Nothing could have prepared me for that. I knew that there was a chance I'd lose a nipple or both if blood supply was poor, but I had no clue about nitroglycerin being used in an attempt to save them.

I am supposed to apply 1 inch of paste 2xday. Ha! I use less than a pea size amount and I can feel its effect within 15 minutes because the blood vessels in my temples begin pounding but without the debilitating headache. I don't think my doctors agree with that, but my nipple is looking better now.

On a positive note, I can cough comfortably and I think my arm movement is pretty good.

Looking forward to having my drains removed. I am below the 30 ml a day they want but one side is still mostly blood, while the other is getting much lighter.

They are smack in the middle of my arm pits. Goodness, they can itch!

That's part of my story for now. Good luck to remaining March surgeries!!!