February 2016 Surgeries

I got a front-closing mastectomy bra and an Amoena Michelle camisole from the hospital. I found the bra was easier to put on, but the foob would ride way up and it wasn't comfortable. I like the camisole much better. It doesn't give my right breast as much support, but looks more natural because I can better adjust the foob from riding up and it's more comfortable for me.

StaceySue, what a bummer about the seroma and another drain! Sorry to hear you still have the original one, too. It does seem the more active one is, the more drainage, so take the doc's advice and try to take it easy.

Happy Easter weekend to all those who celebrate. We're in for more snow, but Sunday is supposed to be bright and sunny. I hope so.

StaceySue2U I am sorry you still have to have your drain in etc. My nurse said my dr said he wanted the drain to be taken out because I told them it was getting clogged.. someone I had paged for it actually had me take the bulb apart. Maybe he was afraid it would get infected because I bet I shouldn't have been told to take it apart. Anyway I said all that to explain that he said mine could be taken out even though it was in the higher range because where he trained they were taking them out at 50ml. (Not sure the difference between ml and cc but my drainage measurer was measured in ml) But I was told that on a Fri so they didn't remove it until Mon. By then it was down to 20-30

Skittlegirl… I liked my dr I will miss him

My last drain just came out on Thursday after I had just 2 days of 30 ml output. It had been 22 days since my surgery. How long do you think I have to worry about seromas? I mean, when do you think the risk of getting one is past?

StaceySue - so sorry about the drain issues you're having. I didn't walk much and everywhere I looked said to have light activity. Increased activity, even household chores, would cause more fluid to come out, making the drains stay in longer. I didn't start walking again until mine was out.

shpva57 - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I just got the Amoena camisole and bra. They are so much more comfortable than anything else I've worn. The cami is more supportive and comfortable than the bra, but it's nice to have options.

StaceySue2U… Would it be obvious if I had a seroma? When they took my drain out.. they commented if I had swelling I could wrap the ace bandage they used after surgery back on me. Not sure if I had any swelling or not, I wasn't sure where it would be. Sometimes my underarm feels bigger to me but was not sure if it was just sore and not actually swollen. About taking the bulb apart... I called the hospital number to have an on call person paged because the bulb was clogged over the weekend. That person told me to take the bulb apart. I was even told to use a toothpick to try to dislodge the clot from the top of the bulb. She told me it was not sterile. I thought it would have been but I was being told it wasn't so I did what I was told. I know it is a teaching hospital so that makes me wonder if I got a student. She did not even tell me to wash my hands! When I talked to my doctor's nurse later, she said the bulb was sterile when it was attached. If you want to read about it, I put the link at the bottom of the post... Not sure why they commented about it being ok at 50ml to remove... because unless my surgeon changed his profession later in life.. when he would have been in training was probably decades ago. They could have decided 50ml was too much to remove the bulb since then. He isn't really old but he has graying hair. You could tell he was much younger on his nametag picture.

Mecool I was originally told it was ok to remove the drain after I had 2 consecutive 24 hour periods of 30 ml or less. Later I was told even 50ml is ok, that it was done at that amount where my doctor trained. I comment on it too above

here is the thread where I talk about my drain being clogged etc

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics...

StaceySue2U… I hope you are doing better.

The valve isn't in the tubing. I had to explain to the doctor over and over again how the bulb was constructed. The clot was past the tubing. Inside the bulb at the top is a sort of sleeve looking thing.. and the clot was stuck at the end of that. It would be impossible to reach it without taking the tubing off the bulb and sticking a toothpick in it like she said. She was telling me to do stuff that was impossible.. which she would have known if she understood how the bulb worked. (Such as to dislodge the clot with my fingers from the outside of the bulb. Of course that is impossible. A person's fingers would not be able to affect something deep inside the top of the bulb. Yes the bulb would not be perfectly sterile but no reason to help it be filled with germs by having the patient stick a toothpick inside of it. She should have reminded me to wipe stuff with alcohol as I went along or at least to wash my hands! At least wipe the toothpick down with alcohol. The instructions for the bulb showed to wipe everything down that you touched with an alcholo wipe.

I went to my first physical therapy the other day. The therapist thought I looked swollen. I thought it looked the same as always. She showed me how to do massage. The exercises I was given mostly involved a broom stick. Such as lie down holding the stick in front of me and move it side to side.

The next morning after doing the exercises the night before I noticed my back was worse. I didn't really think anything of it. I have back pain from being in 2 car accidents and I have fibromyalgia. The day after that, the back pain was severe. I called and left a message for the therapist. I feel the pain was because holding the stick in front of me and moving it side to side is making my back twist back and forth. For someone who didn't have a back injury, they wouldn't even notice that they are actually slightly twisting their back with each movement. I didn't notice it.. I had no idea the exercises would affect my back.

Before the cancer surgery, I was already off of work due to the accident, The physical therapy for the car accident had to stop because of me having surgery.

Glad it was not as bad as you thought it might be.

I am still not back to work. How is everyone doing?

Hi all. Just popping in to see how you are all doing? I finished rads in mid-June and have adjusted well to no recon and my prosthetic; don't even notice it once it's on. Except for some energy issues, I'm doing pretty well. Getting Zometa tx once every 3 months and started Arimidex in March 2016 which makes me achy. Mammo in June was clear. Yay!! And so it goes.... Hope you all are doing well, had a great summer and are now enjoying fall.

Hello BJ and everyone! Yes, this nasty disease is becoming a distant memory- thanks for posting and giving all of us an update!!! It will be one year since my BMX with implants on Saturday! (2/4)

I hope everyone is finding the blessings in each day and planning a life ahead that is full of love and gratitude!!

Best always,

Janet