October 2016 Surgeries

Janniree I woke myself up a few times rolling over last night trying to get on my right side. My little pillow and an ice pack have been my best friend's today. I'm happy how good I'm feeling though. The worst part of the surgery was the injection of the dye before hand! Who the heck decided a needle in the breast was a good idea? Ouch!

It's amazing how fast the human body works to heal itself. I'm feeling much better today, my underarm isn't sore at all at the moment. Of course part of that could be I've been keeping either ice or the little pillow there for the last 15 hours or so. Can't wait to have a shower this afternoon...feeling gross. Interested to see what my incisions look like when I remove the bandages.

Glad your exchange went well...and you are on the road to recovery!

Janniree57,

Glad to hear everything went well! Take care!

I had a lympectomy and lymph node disection on Sept 26th. He took 17 out, 6 were cancerous. Missing those 11 as I try to heal. My visiting nurses say all is healing well. I just wish I weren't so uncomfortable and yes, in pain a lot. I may get my #2 drain out tomorrow. Maybe that will put me on the road. Family trying but tension galore here as we all try facing this.

Sorella, I'm sorry the nodes came back cancerous and you are having so much pain. Now you know what you are dealing with; may the rest of the road treat you better.

Just had my BMX with expanders placed yesterday. Home today and healing. The worst part BY FAR was being in the hospital getting poked and prodded and monitored every 10 minutes. Now that I'm home I'm starting to feel human again. I have 4 tubes and 2 pumps. PS will remove a tube from each side and the pumps next Monday. Then I'll only have one tube on each side left. Yay! Hoping the worst is behind me. Although I can't imagine it will feel good to have those tubes pulled out. Anyone with experience that can share?

I had my bilateral mx last week. It went quickly. I took xanax during the days I felt most nervous. It helped a lot. If you are afraid of addiction, I recommend camomile tea. You can drink that all day long. It works.

Do not cancel the surgery. You will. feel better when you realize they will get it out of you. Hundreds of thousands of people get put under Anastasia everyday. The have it down to an exact science.

You will get to talk to the doctors to go over your concerns.

Joy - glad you are doing so well. I'm not up to sewing either. Can barely concentrate to read a book but am hoping to get some strength back soon.

Ruby - congrats on being home already and resting. If by tubes you mean the drains I had 2 of my 4 drains removed today. I'd describe it as uncomfortable, a little pinchy (they have to snip stitches) but not terribly painful for me. The worst was when the doctor said something like oh gee this one is really stuck up in there .... yikes. Hope that helps and that yours go smoothly.

I was warned, and I laughed out loud when I saw it. Tomorrow is one week since surgery for me. The worse for me has been the constipation this week. It was a rough week. Between the surgery and the T3's I took, I should have known it would happen. Feeling better now, but I'm really drained. Heading to bed.

Hello!

I completed neoadjuvant treatment on September 8, 2016. My treatment included Herceptin, Perjeta, Carboplatin, and Taxotere. I did not get Carboplatin in my last two infusions due to its toxicity. My RBC and platelet counts are still low and I am still experiencing thigh, leg, and ankle swelling and pain. I am scheduled for bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction (yet) on October 20, 2016. I might be undergoing radiation depending on the results of the pathology report.

Salve, welcome to the list. I am sure you are ready to be done with everything. I'm sorry about the constipation Leslie. Mine wasn't too bad. The surgeons nurse made a big deal out of taking stool softeners after surgery. She was really comically serious about it. I'm glad I took her seriously.

The rest of my plan is starting to fall into place. Appts with RO and MO to be set up soon to iron out the details. I admire all of you that have been through so much. It keeps me going.

thanks Mary. I'm wishing you guys all the best as well. Nine more days!

Javamama - Best wishes to you today, I'll be thinking of you.

Reneepod - Welcome and glad your surgery is done. I had BMX on 10/7 without recon or lymph nodes so much different than yours. You sound like youre doing well for all you've had done. Ive had prior lymph node surgery so I know that it is difficult and for me it is ongoing. It's interesting you mention your other side bothering you. My non node side this time has been terrible in the armpit, it burned really badly. At first I was worried they'd found something bad in surgery and actually done node surgery there (the dark places our brain goes) or as you said maybe nerve damage. Yesterday when I had the drains removed I was complaining to the Dr about it and he said dont be surprised if it gets better from the drain removal. Something about the way the drains press on nerves. This morning is 75% better! Hopefully yours will ease up after the drains come out. Rest and take those meds if needed. I dont like that knocked out feeling either but I took it before bed for a few days and slept better. Range of motion shouldnt be very good right now, dont lift those arms. My doc said picture having tyrannosaurus arms, use that much motion.

Yogadedra, I had a lumpectomy, not a BMX a few weeks ago, and they gave me a little book sized pillow that a volunteer made to tuck into my armpit to keep the incision from rubbing on my arm. I know it's not exactly what you are going through, but that little pillow was my best friend for 4-5 days! Having a cushion really helped. If the pillow wedge is anything like that, I would say it would be helpful!