September 2018 Surgery Support Group

Britspreech, I am with you. I was dx end of July with a local recurrence in 3 places and scheduled for MX on Wed 9/26. This week leading up to Wednesday I have been all over the place with my emotions and anxiety. I know that the day of my surgery i will be calm knowing i have a great BS and PS working on me. I just hope I show up! LOL can I run away?

Hello everyone,

I am 35 and I have just had a double mastectomy with 1 lymph node removed from the left side on 9/20. I have just finished chemo last month, so I'm having surgery after chemo, which was a huge concern to all of my docs, but it was a must because of the type of aggressive cancer I have (had). I had a skin sparing, nipple sparing procedure with incisions under the breast (in the crease to hide the scars). I also had CO2 expanders put in. It's day 3 after the surgery, and I have three JP drains and three incisions. So far, the pain was only bad right after surgery, but the IV pain meds took care of that while in hospital. I only spent the night in hospital, and was then released the next day at around 3pm.

Now at home, the pain is minimal. I think the most annoying part has been the seams on the surgical bra that dig into my skin after sleeping in one position all night, but then again I have extremely sensitive skin. There were some items I didn't see on alot of mastectomy shipping lists, so I believe thought I'd mention them.

I'd recommend getting a nice super soft seamless surgical bra before your surgery, with a torso band that is soft and wide. Also, some soft large sterile surgical gauze, a step stool to get in and out of bed if you don't have a recliner, and a wedge pillow or multiple pillows (place behind back, under knees, under arms. BUTTON DOWN SHIRTS in a size or two bigger than normal (allow room for gauze and JP drains) both the kind you'd wear outside and nice soft cool ones to sleep in. Easy to step into pants with elastic are a help as well. I also bought a grabber thing (it has a handle that you squeeze on one end, and it grabs stuff on the other end), a bunch of new wash cloths and towels (so you can always use a clean one without having to do laundry often).

Another note, they want you up and moving asap after surgery. I got a temperature of 101.8 at home because I laid in bed for too long, and my Doc told me to get up and move, and use my breathing spirometer because the anesthesia affects your lungs and may cause pneumonia. I (begrudgingly) forced myself up with my husband's help and we ended up going to Target to shop. I thought it was a terrible idea, but to my surprise, when I got home, my temp was down to 100. I kept moving and using spirometer, and today my temp is at 98.2 thankfully. So remember, that "get moving" thing is no joke! It can mean the difference of a fever or no fever! Good luck to everyone!!! All in all, the pain meds work wonders, so don't be scared. Just move around! And yes, your boobs will look weird, but don't worry, it's not the final result!

PS, please excuse any grammar errors, as I'm currently on the pain meds Also, is anyone else getting CO2 expanders (uses CO2 cartridges with a remote control instead of getting saline injesctions)?

Wow, you're in Australia! Most of the people I've heard on on this forum who have them are in Australia. I'm in the US, and I think they were only recently approved here. Even the general doctors who were taking care of me in the hospital after the surgery were asking me about the CO2 expanders!

My surgeon gave the same time frame - about 3 weeks- until expansion begins. I do not remember how much air they put in at surgery, but I know I do have a time y bit in there already.

By the way, it's a great icebreaker for friends and family who might be feeling sad for you, or concerned. I tell them I have "remote control boobs", and that always eases their concerns and gets them laughing.

Good luck to you!!!

Britspeech and Del10 - I had the same worries as you about the cancer spreading because of the two months between diagnosis and surgery but my BS explained that even aggressive cancer grows slowly and sure enough — the size of my cancer in the final pathology report was 6cm - exactly what the MRI found.

aisling - thanks for the cool pillow recommendation. That looks great. No, I do not have any type of surgical bra yet. I will ask my doctors about it.

I was forced to go off the oxycodin because I ran out of it and my bs couldn't call in a prescription for an opiate over the weekend. I am now on tramodol which seems to be working fine. I tried to go off the pain meds completely and woke up with a searing pain in my right breast so I guess it was too early.

I meet with both my bs and my ps tomorrow and am hoping to get at least two of my four drains out. They are well under the 30ml/day limit. Mostly I just want to know when I can start driving, doing simple things around the house and maybe even having a glass of wine with dinner. How grand all those mundane things seem right now

Just saw the PS and got two of my four implants out! Yay! The other two should come out Monday.

Britspeech - My PS doesn’t have her patients use bras because she wants the TE’s to fall where they naturally want to go. It’s scary when the surgery gets close but now what I’m on the o

So my surgery is tomorrow and i'm sooo ready! comfy pillow, soft, loose sports bras and most importantly all the meds!.Had my sentinel node dye and scanning today, painful but only for a short period. The only downer is that i have to be at the hospital at 6am for the wire guide but mu surgery isn't til 4pm!!! Taking my laptop and music and will just chill the day away. Good luck to those of you having surgery along with me. We've got this!!!

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is recovering well or warm thoughts to those whose surgeries are upcoming.

I had my masectomy yesterday with immediate implant (nipple and tissue sparring). I could not have asked for a better team of doctors and nurses. I stayed one night and while I didn't sleep much I was well taken care of.

I was nauseous from the anesthesia and had 4 meds for that in recovery. They really dont want you throwing up.

They said the numbed my breast really well and I've only been taken tylenol and a muscle relaxant. Great if it stays that way but I have meds if needed. I feel more tightness than pain.

Once the nurse pinned my two drains to my bra I was comfortable.

I had two sentinel nodes removed that were clear, yay! Was so worried since this was a recurrence in 4 places 4 years out from original dx.

Good luck everyone! Speedy recoveries!

Had L mastectomy with TE under muscle on 9/25. Since 9/27 have been managing the soreness with extra strength Tylenol at night. Feeling good. But....I have 1 drain. It has been producing about 80/day. Today at noon, I emptied 50 cc. Its now 6:30 and there's nothing in the drain. Weird. I milked the tubing. Nothing. I did have 2 small stringy clots - 1 yesterday, 1 this morning. I'm seeing PS on Monday. Curious - is this anyone else's experience? Thanks!

Thank you Aussie-Cat! Good to know. We'll see what PS does on Monday.

Hi September sisters - Had L mastectomy w/SNB on 9/25. It's all been good, minimal pain, great range of motion, no drain. Thursday I had first fill of 60cc. PS put 350 in a surgery. Felt fine until Friday night. Left shoulder, specifically, my deltoid muscle really started to hurt. Took ibuprofen, but it woke me throughout the night. Today is a bit better. Anyone else have that experience? Maybe I slept on it wrong? I don't know, but it hurt! Otherwise all good. No pectoral muscle cramping. 3 more fills - last one 11/8. Wait 4 wks then exchange and reduction/lift of right side. And go the call on Thursday that my Oncotype score was 2, so thankfully, no chemo. Feels like I can see an end to this.