May 2016 Surgeries

another question ladies: do they give you a binder/camisole? how long does that stay on? do you take it on and off, or are you just bandaged up?

sorry for all the questions, just wondering should I buy a binder/camisole like they advertise on some of the masectomy websites?

Hydranne you made me cry. I've never been the superhero of anything, and that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me that knows anything about what we've all been going through with this stuff. It's been a rough day of nausea and crashing into things dizzy and I've been feeling pretty low. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

Checked tonight - second nipple is now turning black, so I guess they're both going to be a lost cause despite all efforts.

More than anything, anything in the world, I wish the constant dizziness and nausea would go away. I can't walk unassisted and I can't even sip water now without fighting small batches of vomit (sorry, gross). I've left a message for my dr's nurse but I've given up trying to eat. If I just knew which of the 6 meds I'm on was causing it we could make changes but I'm too terrified of the pain to go cold turkey and self-experiment. There's also a good chance it's a combination problem. I have my post-op appointments Tuesday so we are definitely discussing this then.

Re: binders - I woke up after surgery with gauze over the incisions, "fluff" over the nipples to cushion them slightly, and a super tight elastic breast binder wrapped around me, so tight that it took two people both hands to stretch it and fasten it. It's meant to squash everything down and seal the tissues and help force the excess fluid out into the drains instead of building up inside. I mean it is so tight that opening it makes me light-headed from the blood rushing around.

They ALSO prescribed to me two post-surgical prosthetic camisoles (Amoena brand) from a specialty store, which insurance covered. They zip up the front and also completely detach at the shoulder straps, so someone can put them on or take them off you even if you can't lift your arms at all. They have pockets inside them to hold the drains securely so none of the tubing is showing outside the cami. They also fit quite snug, but that's so the drains don't swing around. It's one more layer to get through when I need to sponge bath or empty my drains, but I love them.

What makes them prosthetic is that they have breast pockets and breast-shaped padding to go in there and fill you out from flat to C-D cup so you can look the same if you put a shirt over all your layers. I don't wear the breast protheses because right now I don't care. Anyway, I had to buy them with insurance and bring them to the surgery myself, and the nurses helped dress me in the cami over the binder when I was headed home. I love that I never have to worry about my drains catching on anything as I do stuff - especially the way I'm constantly dizzy and stumbling and tipping over and falling into things.

You ladies are my rock stars. We can all get through this one day at a time. *hugs*

I'm tentatively scheduled for BMX with TEs on May 24, just waiting on confirmation from the plastic surgeon. My BS recommends nipple sparing on both sides but I'm unsure if that's the route I want to go. I've had saggy, 36DD breasts for as long as I can remember. My nipples are always "on". The silver lining in all of this for me is the potential of not having to wear a bra. I'm worried that by saving my nipples they will still protrude and I won't be able to go braless. Has anyone else had experience with the nipple sparing procedures

@GreyKat, thanks for your response! My BS told me that sometimes the nipples will flatten out which I would be fine with. I just feel like there is no guarantee of that. I haven't had my consult yet with the PS, so I'll see what he has to say. After lots of research I still don't feel like I'm any closer to making a decision....everyone's body reacts differently and there's no clear cut answer

My husband was surprised when I said I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep my nipples. I think he thought that would help me feel more "normal" by still having a small part of my original breasts. But, he's also never had to deal with wearing a bra 7 days a week! I know he will support my decision either way, but he's also good at pointing out the pros and cons of everything to help me with my decisions.

HuskerFan, I attempted a NSBMX on 4/15 – it was done at my request rather than at the suggestion of either the BS or the PS – I think they both would have preferred I go only with skin-sparing. The PS was mostly concerned with the right breast which was the site of prior lumpectomy/radiation. Nevertheless, I wanted to give it a go. Unfortunately, I did start to see some necrosis which, at first, we thought was on both sides, but turned out to be on the right side mostly. The left side did get dark but then sort or scabbed over and started sloughing off and the areola beneath that was pink and healthy. By the time I went back in for nipple excision due to the necrosis on 5/11, the left side was almost completely healed. The PS said he would just clean it up a little, but they had to excise the nipple and areola on the right. I'm not scheduled for f/up from the excision until later this week and I am bandaged up, so I haven't seen what the end result really was yet. I went through a really low period and cried a lot when I knew the nipples were going to have to go – I just felt like if I could have kept the nipples then I would have some chance of looking "normal" and pretty again, you know? In the meantime, I've come to terms with it and have some very pretty flower tattoos picked out that I will do in a year or so on the right side once I get to my "new" normal.

Whether or not you need a bra anyway may depend on the protocol of your PS. I've seen some posts where the PS says "no bra needed ever again" and I've seen others where the PS says "you'll always need a bra for extra support for the implants".

hey valstim - I will think of you on the 24 and hope to compare notes after xx

Valstim, WenchLori - I appreciate it all. I'm sorry i can't keep up with everyone's progress on here the way I wanted to. I'm consumed with this brain fog I can't seem to shake and my pain is going up as I'm quitting all the pills in stages trying desperately to reduce the dizziness and nausea and the seeing double. I actually felt better in the hospital, a lot better, than I do now. I'm trying not to give in to a sinking depression but it's been one week and I can't do anything because of seeing double - no reading, nothing - and can't walk by myself without still crashing into walls and stuff - and it's utterly depressing. I'm so grateful I can move my arms but all I want to do is throw up and hide in bed until the world stops swimming. The best thing the drs can tell me is it looks like I can't tolerate the narcotics for pain, at all, so quit them and see if that makes a difference. Which is already hurting more.

My inner five year old is starting to rise up with lots of tears about being hurt with no end in sight. I may have to disgrace myself one night soon and have a big old pity party for one just to get it out of my system. I love my body. It is strong. It will heal. It just needs time. And I am just going to have to trudge through the pain until it lessons because it looks like I have no other choice.

At least my legs work, sort of, when I'm not weak or stumbling into walls or falling because I'm dizzy. At least my bum left hand is growing stronger, so the nerve damage from surgery will probably heal within a month. At least I still feel like a woman even if I look really weird in clothes right now. At least one day I'll be able to make my post-surgery goal of taking my usual walk in the park where I don't need breasts to enjoy the breeze in my hair and the leaves rustling, the squirrels chattering, and the birds flirting and nesting. I just have to be able to walk on my own first.

I have been prescribed paracetamol only for when I leave hospital, so from day 4 onwards?... Could be worth getting off the heavy duty painkillers and alternating ibuprofen and paracetamol. X

it seems I have so much to catch up on this afternoon. Maybe after I feed everyone they will give me more than 10 minutes to myself

Here's you wacky post-mastectomy funny for the day - I was just pinning Flotsam inside my outfit and stuck the safety pin straight through the tube, so now I have two pin-prick sized holes at one point in my drain tube. Oi.

Good golly.

Well ladies I've reached my limit. I quit all my meds this afternoon. One solid week of double vision, constant dizziness, the inability to walk without assistance, and vomiting up every last sip of every last thing and I feel worse than when I was in the hospital. Not as bad as when I had no pain killers after the surgery and my chest was screaming on fire, of course, but I've just had it. What's the worst that can happen - I hurt a whole lot? I've already hurt a whole lot. I'd rather be able to walk to the bathroom without slamming into a wall or drinking water without spitting it back up like a baby.

Besides my spouse seems to have lost patience with my not improving and I'm tired of apologizing for not doing better than I already am and for being so "needy". It's making me angry and I'm just sick of this whole thing. It's not like I can control any of this!

Bum left hand is now developing a green bruise. I cannot wait for my post-ops on Tuesday because we are going to have a long list of things to chat about.

Good luck to this week's ladies heading into surgery. You all will be in my thoughts and it's true what everyone on here says - once it's over, it's such a relief to not have to dread it anymore. I have every confidence in you all that this is something you can make it through with grace.

hi everyone!! I had a oncoplasty done on May 9th. This is basically a lumpectomy with a reduction and a lift done to both sides. Unfortunately my margins did not come back clean:( now I will need mastectomy. They are trying to decide the order I should proceed. I have some stinky nodes under my collar bone that can not be touched surgically. I find out this week what my plan will be. I'm doing a BMX first chance I can get. Need to wait for reconstruction due to rads. Wishing everyone well!!

Keeping everyone who has surgery this week in my thoughts and prayers. Update when you can to let us know how you're all doing. Healing hugs to all!