June 2016 Surgeries!

tsoebbin,
How awful! I can't believe you went home the same day of your surgery, I stayed two days for my BMX, which I think is pretty standard. Glad you are doing better. Rest and take care of yourself.

I haven't had a fill yet. Does it hurt? Does it cause spasms again? And what is cording? I'm nervous about any more pain. The last week has been horrific

I had my first TE fill yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect but the actual fill process was easy and quick. Due to thin skin I did not have any fill when the TE was placed during surgery. My first fill was 60cc and my nurse said our goal is only 200 so I am well on the way! I had some strange muscle contractions a few hours after the fill. (it reminded me of when your eye twitches involuntarily) Per the PS suggestion I took 1/2 tablet of muscle relaxer last night. I was somewhat uncomfortable during night but no pain. The contractions and tightness has improved greatly today. My PS says I can have next fill in a week as long as it is tolerable.

I'm jealous of all you ladies already getting you fills. I have to wait 3-6 months just for the expanders to be placed. I won't be done with reconstruction until next year.

Hopefloat, thats great news...your lymph nodes are clear ..yay :-

hi all,

I finally got the chance to read all your posts, and boy do I feel somehow lucky that I didn't have too much pain, malfunction drains or some reasons why I should be kept at the hospital. At the same time I hear each one of you and hope this uncomfortable feeling goes away soon.

I would like to share the latest with my process, and make this a chain of hope that we all will do fine sometime soon.

I went to my first doctor's post op. Check up yesterday and he said everything is healing accordingly. I still have my both drains. One that looks like it has grape juice in it, and the other one that has grapefruit juice in it ( so I joke!).

Today I got a call from my surgeon and he broke down the pathology test with bigger tumor than initially biopsied but negative for areas surrounding it and negative for lymphs removed. Overall, this is great news. I have an appointment to see the oncologist and radiologist next week. I am not sure if regimen will be changed a little or not at all.

It's been 8 days since the surgery DMX and I am still sleeping at the recliner. My lower back was killing me, my chest is still numb but I feel signs of healing through the itching skin, and fewer pain killers I am taking. Anti biotic is just over, so I few I am moving along to the next step.

I saw the movie " do you believe? " tonight and it brought me some piece of mind knowing that God has some plans for all of us. Eventually we will pick up the pieces to put together, but now I am taking one day at a time.

I read some of you had instructions to not shower within 24 or 48 hours after drains come off. The moment I got the excessive cotton out of my chest and refresh the surgical tape, I took a "shower" with a special soap. My back was in need of that. I am planning on having one full shower per week, unless I hear something different.

The thing I miss the most is to be able to drive. When can we do that? Any idea? Are you all mostly resting or doing things from home ? I would appreciate if we could exchange some thoughts even if it's not doctors suggestions. Just speaking from the heart.

Good luck to all of you and gang in there. We are not alone!

Love to all

Clauclau, good to hear your lymph nodes were clear also.

I drove on the 10th day, I drove to my PS office and that's when I got the first fill that sent me into a roller coaster of horrible pain. That lasted for another 10 days so I didn't drive much after it. I felt better a few days ago, had a 2nd fill on thursday and yesterday I had a full long day of driving, doing some work, meeting a friend for dinner, went to do my hair and nails...Yes im still sore and my right breast hurts when I drive, but I keep massaging it while driving. I have had many guys look at me funny while stuck in traffic as i am massaging but I really don't care...Next monday is a month from my surgery. I am also taking a shower every other day but that's because I am mostly home.

The problem with driving is your shoulders are not fully flexible and it can be dangerous if you need to maneuver your car in case of an emergency. In the beginning I was driving slow and not really changing lanes...it got better with time.

you'll know when you're ready to drive or your doctor should be able to tell you when it's ok for you to drive. You can also drive locally, around your house and see how you feel. Good luck !!

Mom2four, I have read many posts in this board and I have read many cases of recurrence even on stage 1 and after double mx. I am a stage 1 with clear lymph nodes also, of course our chances of recurrence are low but one never knows. My BS couldn't guarantee that it wont come back. My fear is if it has spread in my chest wall, which means now it cant be visible, but it might be in a few years ...and what if I don't catch it on time.... But you know what, I thanked God mine was stage 1 and hasn't spread yet. There are other women here with stage 3 and 4. My heart goes to them that they are going through more aggressive treatments.

So for now I am just thankful, if it comes back (knock on wood) at least I will know what to do. The past 2 months for me have been hell, so nothing after this experience will scare me...

Glad to hear you're out and about...going out last night helped me a lot mentally...Enjoy the weekend

ClauClau, my right side, after my first fill, was hurting a lot. There is one spot (on top) of my right breast that was hurting and was and still is swollen. That spot still hurts more than everything else, but now is manageable. The pain started about 2 days after my first fill. The nurse said it wasn't a seroma, so it might be a muscle spasm. In fact, it does feel way better when I massage it. Everyone here seems to have different issues, and some have no pain at all, so it doesn't mean you'll have same or any issues.

I am seeing my MO next tuesday so I won't know if my treatment includes chemo until next week. However I was told chemo shouldn't interfere with the expansions.

Hope this helps,

Can I just say... these drains are a darn pain?! I have 3 left... one failed so my surgeon walked my husband through the steps to remove it. That was an experience we won't soon forget.

The 2 on the right are slowing down and light colored... hope they come out Tuesday when i see the BS.

The one on the left is a dark red/brown color but it's the side that had the second surgery to stop the bleed a week ago. I think the old yucky blood from the series is still finding it's way out

I'm ready to sleep on my tummy again!

tsoebbin, don't apologize for being whiney. This is the place to put it all out there because we know how you feel. This journey isn't anything any of us had on our bucket list. Some days we will be energized and ready to fight the battle and some days we will feel overwhelmed and drained. Let's not sugar coat our feelings. We have to be strong at home but here we can just be us.

I like your idea of restrictions. My dr said I could take a shower. It seems wrong to me because I still have those drains. And I can raise my right arm more so then the left. But it is getting better. I'm hoping to be able to put on a pullover shirt all by self soon. Ahhhh the little things. I can't wait to drive. I just need to get out of the house . Not sure when that happens.

My rear end is getting numb! 😎

Any good Netflix or Amazon prime series suggestions?

I haven't heard of that channel. Sounds interestingg.

How is your DIEP reconstruction DAWN41?

I don't think I'll do any recon at this point. Who knows!?!?