May 2016 Surgeries

downdog - that's a shame, I was hoping age would triumph over fitness I am an active mum but far far from having your six pack... Unless it's the six pack of beers in the fridge

I kept meaning to get in shape before this op but life just kept rolling and it never happened.

You make recovery sound pretty straightforward though and for that I am super grateful - thanks. I bounce back quickly from 3 c sections so I am hoping to tolerate this surgery as well. I know they are entirely different but I can hope!...

I'm resting comfortably after my surgery at 7:30 this morning. I had a paravertebral block and then they used propofol to put me to sleep. I woke up in recovery at about 1:30. As I was coming out if anesthesia, I felt like this was the most wonderful deep sleep I had ever had.

Very little pain- more like as ache - along the back of my arm pit. They have me extra strength Tylenol in recover at about 3:00, and just gave me a Tramadol. Pain level is about 1 or less

The room I'm in is normally reserved for the rich and famous, which I'm not 😄 but it was the only room available. It looks more like a swanky hotel room than a hospital room, and it's huge! I'm a little disappointed that I will be going home tomorrow! Here's a photo

I'm sorry I have not caught up with everyone's posts today. I'll try to get caught up tomorrow. I did see the question about drains. When I had this surged in Jsnuary, my drains were removed at my first post op apptmt my, so that was 9 days.

Grandma3x, that's what they are giving me, glad you are doing well.

Oh no Greykat, so sorry things have been so bad for you.Sending hugs

Angtee, so sorry about the possible hematoma, please keep us posted.

Welcome dctexas, sorry you have to be here, but we will support you. You are in the right place

Papillon1, not sure i that's standard practice but it was explained to me by a friend that is an anesthesiologist that for radical modified mastectomies they like to do both anesthesia and some time of blocking agent, due to pain afterwards. They want you to have a head start on pain management

Welcome Bfuruseth and dctexas! I'm sorry you all have to be here but this is such a great place for support. Bfuruseth I am not sure but ask your breast surgeon (BS) to explain things more to you.

Angtee-So sorry you are in the ER! Praying for you and hope they can resolve the problem!

Hydranne-Congrats on the great report!

Raven4mi-I had 2 drains taken out on day 7 and they were getting 5-20 ml.

Grey-Kat-Wow what a bad roller coaster you have been on. Bless your heart! I hope you feel and get better soon!

Grandma3x-So glad you are recovering so well!

Hope everyone else is healing well and those with surgery soon have safe and effective surgeries!

hello everyone! I can answer some questions. I had a BMX with TE placement last July, and then the Exchange surgery in October. Other than a little redness on my foob that moved my Exchange surgery up, I have had NO PROBLEMS. It is important to remember that most of use who have NO PROBLEMS just go on with our lives and unfortunately don't spend a lot of time on here; so it is skewed a bit in terms of the seeing lots of problems (the people who are here are seeking help and solace too, and so it can seem like everyone runs into difficulty). That's why I put it all in caps! It can indeed all work out in the end.

DRAINS: Don't compare yourself. The drains are wicking away fluid that is pooling in the area where your breast tissue was; more breast tissue removed equals more liquid pooling (the body doesn't like empty spaces and sends fluid there). If they take the drains out too early, the fluid will pool and you can get an infection or other nasty thing. The drains are truly the worst part of it because they are uncomfortable and disgusting. But they are keeping you from having an infection. As a note, I was a freak about preventing infection: my advice is do not touch your drains unless you have surgical gloves on. So when you empty them etc etc have gloves on. And don't let nurses touch your drains without gloves on (at least one will try haha). Those drains lead straight to your insides, and germs can just crawl up them. You can get a box of gloves from Amazon for cheap.

NERVE BLOCK (PARAVETEBRAL): I had this twice, once for BMX and once for exchange. Let's be clear: this is IN ADDITION to General Anesthesia (you are completely asleep and the anesthesiologist is making sure you breathe and then wakes you up when the surgery is done) and pain killers like morphine after the surgery. If you are having a lumpectomy this will be different (not as major a surgery, same day, and sometimes done without general anesthesia; I had one of those and it really was not a big deal). But for a BMX, it is general anesthesia (or it should be; you want an anesthesiologist in the room watching you, and that is what is required with general anesthesia). They will give you some calming medicine (versed) before they give you the injections for the Nerve Block. It was a wee bit scary for me, but hey none of this is a thrill ride is it? Studies show that women have much less pain upon waking with the nerve block; also, that they have less of a chance of cancer recurrence -- how about that one? I figure the body isn't worried about pain and so can kill off some errant cancer cells.

Do all of your research (and ask me questions I go on here in the evenings for the last few nights), and then remember my mantra: "It could also all turn out okay." We get so involved in eventualities and possible problems that we forget that it can turn out okay.

For those of you fighting infections and other painful nasty things, I'm so sorry and just hang in there. I've had other medical problems (that frankly make my BMX seem like a cake walk at this point, although it was not I'm just wrapped up in my problems now). This was a tough road; it was a rough surgery and a rough recovery. But if you plan for your hospital stay and set your house up everything can turn out okay (and I live alone!)

Grandma3x that's one fantastic room, love the chair. And you make the operation and everything sound so easy.

Valstim, when did you finish with chemo?

Yesterday I went to the big hospital to discuss about the operation and they freaked me out. Today I talked with my surgeon (in my city) and I trust him. He knows me, I know him and I know he's going to do his absolutely best for me. Although he didn't give me any guarantee for the scars.

Hydranne - that's great news!

Ipsy- thank you so much for posting! This is my second mastectomy and I had a pretty clear about was involved but wasn't sure if my first surgery in January was just a fluke (I felt great after surgery and had minimal pain during recovery). I know from the first one though that reading about other women's experience really helped reduce the anxiety.

GreyKat - I feel so sorry that you have had such a rough time! Im glad that things are looking up for you.

I slept well last night except for the nearly constant stream of nurses into the room, lol - at least it seemed that way! My poor DH slept in the recliner and I'm afraid he did not get much sleep. For my last surgery he went to a hotel room. There was a Orioles game last night, though and any hotel room that was not already booked cost about $400 for the night!

For those of you who have not had surgery yet, I posted about my first surgical experience in January in the "No pain, no nausea" topic. If you search my name (grandma3x) under the "surgery-before, during and after" thread you will find it.

Sending good surgery mojo to Scared and Knardo!

Papillon and Valstim - they gave me a dose of versed before doing the paravertebral block and it did help to calm my nerves. Then they did a series of injections down my back, about an inch to the side of my spine. It didn't really hurt, just felt a little strange. The block lasts for about about 24 hours, but it's been over 24 hours now for me and still feeling little pain. The propofol is not for pain, it just knocks you out for the operation. It's good stuff and doesn't induce nausea the way some anesthetics do. I asked for an "opioid-sparing" regimen, so they gave 1000 mg of Tylenol, some gabapentin, and Celebrex just before starting surgery. This way they could avoid giving me morphine during surgery. Oh, and I forgot to mention, SpecialK posted earlier that they monitor pain levels during surgery, so if the block fails, they will give you more meds during surgery.

There is also a difference in the types of blocks. I had an epidural block when I had a C-section years ago and while it did block pain during the surgery, it wore off pretty fast. I could feel a lot of pain but was not able to move my legs yet, which made me feel really panicky. The Paravertebral block that I had for my mastectomies blocked nerves to my chest, so there was no pain but I could still move. It also lasted longer. When I was researching it before my last surgery, I PM'd someone one the boards here and she said they gave her a second dose before going home, so she didn't have any pain for about 2 days.

My plantar fasciitis is gone again as it was during my first surgery. I'm pretty sure it's due to the compression sleeves they put on my calves to promote blood flow.

Thanks to everyone who responded on my informal poll on the drains. It seems like most of you had very low output by the time they were removed, but I've seen others who are at 20-30 CCs when the drains are removed which is the part that's frustrating for me because that's where I am and I'll be disappointed if the PS still says no. Ispy, thanks especially for your input. I also have had no problems post-op with the exception of the annoying, never-ending drain saga. It's annoying me so much that I seriously considered lying about my output at my appointment this afternoon just to get it out, but then you popped up with your sensible voice of reason (darn you! jk) and then I ran into a friend this morning who pointed out that the nipple necrosis is so rare and yet I had that, so why take a chance on something else? Couldn't really argue with either one of you, so I'm being a good girl and writing down my actual output. *sigh*

GreyKat, so sorry you're back in the hospital and that you've had SUCH a rough time. Please know I'm thinking about you and I sure hope that things start to normalize for you very soon.

Papillon1, you mentioned bouncing back quickly from three C-sections. If you can do that then, barring any complication, post-mastectomy should be a piece of cake. I hated the aftermath of my C-section so much and was so miserable that I fought – and got – to have VBAC for my second. For me, the recovery from mastectomy was WAY, WAY easier than C-section! No comparison at all.

Bfuruseth and dctexas, sorry to see you both here, but you've come to the right place for support.

Angtee15, so sorry about the hematoma! Post an update when you can and let us know how things are going.

Grandma3x, that's some swanky room! I ended up in some junky old part of my hospital after I was told that I'd likely be either in the new multi-million dollar women's center or the birthing center, so I was pretty disappointed.

Hydranne, so happy for all your good results!

Hello,

I had a BMX on May 2nd. I am new to posting on line. I am doing well but feel so alone, I am glad I found this thread. Now I need to read all of it

Welcome Mom4four. No need to feel alone anymore - we're here for you! You'll get lots of good advice and support from this thread.

Welcome Mom4four! I'm sorry you feel alone but this group will make you feel more connected.

I have a BMX in my near future. We all learn from each other. How is your recovery coming along?

GreyKat - have you been seen by a good neurologist or ear, nose, throat Doctor? If you have, please go find another one for a second opinion. It could be an inner ear problem. There are crystals in your ear that may have become unbalanced, causing the dizziness, or it may be neurological. Sending hugs and wishes for a solution soon!

Edited to add the following: it's called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and can be caused by surgery when the patient has been lying in a supine position for a long period of time:

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/bpp...