May 2016 Surgeries

Raven, glad your DH is home to support you. When I had my meltdown before surgery, my DH came home early from work and my stress really diminished. I found I was unconsciously clenching my jaw, giving me a headache.

avmom, glad things are going well!

Raven - I've been thinking the same thing. How about a fanny pack? If you could somehow thread the drains down the side of a camisol into a fanny pack and then maybe wear a thin button-front (unbuttoned) shirt over the top?

So I have a prominent vein in my upper arm that I swear was not visible before surgery. I thought at first that it's cording or LE, but the descriptions do not match. Any idea what this could be? It's the kind of crooked vein going up my arm from my elbow but also extends down toward my wrist - it looks more prominent in real life, and is right at the surface so that my skin is raised:

Still ticked about the drain issue. My drains are putting out 13 ccs and 16 ccs per day but I have a feeling the nurse will still only pull one. I hate that I will have a 4 hour round-trip drive next week for a 5-second procedure, and that my husband will have to take a day off. I'd feel better if I knew that this was the standard procedure for my PS, but when I had this done in January with the same PS, the other nurse just took both drains out without even mentioning the option of keeping one in. So it's all based on the nurse's opinion of what's right and doesn't seem to have much to do with medical protocol. (I realize, of course, that if one drain is putting out more than the maximum of 20 cc's, it's better to leave it in to prevent a seroma).

Avmom, MoreShoes, Papillon, Momof6littles - I hope you are all doing well! I've 8 days postop and feeling better every day. I only had to take 2 tylenol and one ibuprofen throughout the day yesterday - pain is minimal, more like discomfort.

Huskerfan - sending good surgery mojo and healing thoughts your way!

@Papillon1 I ended up needing blood products and got to watch the fun of them ordered a pressure bag to force it in quickly (dr was a real hurry this was becoming a crisis!) only to have the poor nurse scurry out for the bag and scurry back to report they were all being used and none were available. Dr's face was priceless. I hope you get to stay as long as you need.

@Raven - when I was down to one drain on a warm day I wore a dress and hid the bulk under the dress's sash's bow. Otherwise, I'd wear a long/purse and tuck them in.

Pain definitely has increased on left side. Nipple bleeding again today after I showered. Got bear hugged at the funeral. Got scalded by hot tea. Today just isn't my day so far.

Well, scab fell off the right nipple. Looks like a nice pink-skinned normal (well, pink and shaped normal) nipple underneath. Definitely missing part of the left one by comparison. It's like 1/4 point of a normal nipple sloping down to flat, with a good chunk missing. It's hard to see where the nipple stops and areola begins, because the skins is all flat together and the nipple part is missing. Stupid necrosis.

So that makes me feel weird. Weirdly upset. The PS told me I had only a 2% chance of necrosis and nipple complications because of my size/etc and that's why I opted to give them a chance at nipple-sparing. It was such a big concern of mine I had to have a second appointment just to discuss how likely the risks were that they weren't going to match up because that was really important to me, that at least they match however they came out or I wasn't going to try to keep them at all. And now I have a normal right nipple and a partial pointy-piece-flat spot left nipple that somehow has the nerves to be issuing constant pain signals.

PS has some 'splainin to do. At any rate, I guess I'll see how this finishes healing up and if getting fills makes them change shape or look worse. Sigh.

Edit: Actually, since the first scab/chunk came off last night this has been making me feel queasy. I don't think I ever want to hear the word 'nipple' again. I can't shake this sort of horrified disgusted queasiness.

my insurance only covers a shared room so I too have been very lucky!!

Hope everyone is recovering well. I had my surgery yeasterday at 7:30 and was in my hospital room in time for lunch! I had minimal pain until this morning. I moved a certain way and sharp pain in my chest so I was given Percocet. That knocked the pain back and I was released. I am glad to be home! I didn't have a private room and got a roommate at 9 last night. I barely slept...too much going on. I am keeping up with pain med at least for a day or two then see how I feel. My dh and daughter are pampering me. My daughter just made chocolate chip cookies. Every thing is better with chocolate chip cookies! I am going to attempt a shower in a bit. I am afraid I will cry when I see my naked chest. I looked at the incisionin the hospital but I didn't think of it as looking at myself, if that makes sense. I didn't get reconstruction so I am trying out the uniboob thing for a while.

I got my first fill of 60cc on Tuesday, it really hurt going in, then I felt better, well after the Tylenol. Only a little sore on Wed, then today I felt tired and sore all day. This journey sure is strange. The nurse said it wouldn't hurt when it went in only pressure - not true for me. They said the second day would be worse, not true for me! So when I hear you ladies sticking up for yourselves and getting one more day or persisting in getting what you need it gives me strength to ask for what I need.

Thanks - today is a lay on the couch day

SpecialK - you have my awe and serious respect for what you have endured to get to where you are today. All I can say is, WOW!

My journey up the recovery path has been extremely easy so far. 3 weeks out from PBMX I've got a clean biil of health on my biopsies, had two of my 4 drains removed, already had two fills, have healthy skin, no infections, and only minimal and short term discomfort with the fill process so far.

I'm made extremely thankful for how well I'm doing compared to what you and so many others are or have had to go through! You ladies are Superheroes for sure!!!

So, just in case I scared any of you about having your drains removed and then developing a seroma, let me set your mind at ease, because I just found out tonight that the horrendous pain and fluid build-up I encountered was likely NOT a seroma or hematoma or a result of the drain being pulled at all, but from a rather rare bacterial infection that usually causes urinary tract infections. How on earth it ended up in my boob is a mystery – I never had a catheter during any of my hospital stays and I am fastidious about washing my hands before handling my drain at all times and I use anti-bacterial wipes to "milk" the drain every time. The fact that the infection happened to occur at the same time my drain was pulled seems to be mere coincidence. The PS says it's a "chicken and egg" thing – he's not sure if pulling the drain caused the infection or if the infection caused the fluid build up or if there was some other combination of imperfect conditions that all just converged at the same time.

And to make things even better, according to the PS the strain of bacteria I have is responsive only to IV antibiotics. I have an appointment with an infectious disease specialist tomorrow to see if there's an alternative treatment, but I may end up with IV abx either in hospital or, hopefully, at home. And there's a chance my PS may need to remove the TE on that side for a minimum of 3 months, depending on the outcome of the treatment for this infection.

The road on this journey never is smooth, is it?

I'm scared as f(@# right now.

raven ugh ugh ugh ugh. At least your husband is home while you get this news? So sorry you are going through this.

moreshoes I've had so many surgeries (not even related to bc). YOU LOOK AT THAT INCISION WHEN YOU'RE READY AND NOT A MINUTE BEFORE. Sorry for yelling, but I find that offensive and inappropriate that people are telling you when you have to look at your own body. Honest to pete I am so sick of medical professionals acting like they own us or are our parents or something. I looked at my BMX scar at home, in my bathroom, alone, four days after surgery, because I was ready to; I wasn't ready before that. And you know what? I cried and cried for 10 minutes and then it was over. I haven't cried or lamented since. Who knows what would have happened if I'd done it before I was ready? Same with my hysterectomy scar, and every other scar. It is your body and you'll look at it when you're good and ready. Honestly. Ok I'm calming down....

skdc the good news is you're seeing your ps tomorrow, so all of your concerns will be addressed. I don't recall bruising specifically, but you didn't mention in your signature line what surgery you had (TE's placed? Immediate implants?). They are certainly rough with tissue so bruising would make sense. I also don't recall any blisters; but again, you're seeing the ps tomorrow so you'll know.

As far as exercising, it depends on the type of surgery, reconstruction, and implants or TEs; it also depends on the doctor. In general, they want you to get your shoulders moving, but you should follow your doctor's orders. Write down a list of questions for tomorrow and make sure you get them all answered before you leave.

GreyKat - I had a choice to keep my nipples or have them taken. Interestingly I had very different sized breasts due to my prior surgery and radiation on the right, so one nipple has been 4 inches higher than the other for years. I wanted to keep them but my PS suggested removal since then I could maybe get new ones that were on the same horizon level. I am ok with it but it does look different.

I am hoping to get a fill each week and the PS will stop at about 250 cc. They are thinking that is all my radiated breast can expand to. The breast tissue they took out on the right weighed 204 grams and the left weighed 420 grams. It was a big difference, so I am hoping to have a more even look when this is all over

Raven - I'm so sorry to hear about this! Thank God we live in an age of modern medicine and they have something to treat this. Sending hugs.

Skdc - I think every PS is different. I was annoyed when I had my MX in January that I was not given any instructions about exercise. The PS told me to just use my arm as I normally would, but if it hurts, don't do it. I started physical therapy about 4 weeks after surgery. I thought I had good range of motion anyway, but PT helped immensely (and I can't emphasize that enough!). With this recent MX, I am being careful not to use my arm too much because I think it may increase drainage, but I am doing shoulder rolls and doing my own hair, etc. to prevent frozen shoulder. After my drains are removed, I'll start doing the hand crawl up the wall exercises and then the exercises I learned in PT last time. For your postop today, you can ask your PS to write a prescription for PT - most insurance will cover it if it's prescribed by your doctor.

I go for my postop today too. The whole "one drain at a time" thing has put a damper on my mood all week. I hope I was worried about nothing. My nipple is also getting a black spot on it - it's been 9 days since surgery - does necrosis usually start immediately, or is it delayed? I'll see what the nurse says today. I also meet with my BS today and will probably get my pathology report. I have a sinking feeling about this. It was just a prophylactic MX and we don't expect to find anything, but I'm just as worried about this pathology report as I was about the one from my cancery side.

Hugs to all my surgery sisters this month! We are approaching the finish line I know we will be scattering in different directions soon - rads, chemo, hormonal therapy, or just trying to pick up our lives where we left off - so I want you all to know how much your fellowship has meant to me over the past 4 weeks! Have a wonderful holiday weekend