Exercise post bilat mast w/expanders

Hi, I'm new to this area of the site. A slight warning: brevity is not my strong suit! I have questions about fitness, but I'd also like to introduce myself and put my BC and fitness goals in context. If you can make it through the long post, I'd appreciate any recommendations or suggestions.



I had a bilateral mast with expanders on Apr. 9, 2008. My incisions are healing beautifully. Drains were removed after one week. I was told by the plastic surgeon's office to take things easy, only do light walking (no huffing and puffing) in order to avoid damaging the pocket the PS was creating for the permanent implant. Well, this got me so paranoid about lifting and doing anything, so I have been taking things very slow. They gave me valium to relax my chest muscles to reduce pain (I had an allergy to narcotics at hospital and an nsaid-induced ulcer in past) and I'm also taking tylenol. This has been helping, but recently I noticed that I'm starting to feel very tight. The PS's office said they didn't want me to do any type of serious stretching, training, weight lifting. After 4 weeks (at the time of first expander fill) they would refer me to a physical therapist if I noticed I had limited ROM. Otherwise, I was to resume normal activities, letting my body be my guide of whether I was doing too much.



When I called the plastic surgeon's office the other day and explained that I thought some of the pain and tightness I was feeling was due to lack of movement and the need to do some stretching, the assistant agreed, said that after three weeks I wasn't in danger of doing anything terrible, but to continue to resume my normal activities around the house but still no heavy lifting of objects or jerky movements.



I understand my PS's initial concern about letting things heal, but I feel like I've babied myself too much and didn't have enough info about how/when/the type of exercises I can do each week, and now I'm at the point where I will have to start from square one in regaining normal ROM. Maybe they were just concerned I would overdo things. On the other hand, maybe I'm just being my normal impatient self!



Are there more exercise restrictions placed on those who undergo bilat masts with expanders than those recovering from a mast without reconstruction?



Anyway, part of the issue here is, I'm 51 yrs. old, and while I'd always been very active and fit, nicely toned, etc., during the last few years as I've been working my way through menopause, I developed trouble sleeping, anxiety and this left me with no motivation. So, I went from being a fit and healthy mid-40-something woman, to a thin, out of shape 50-something woman, who has lost much muscle tone. Last summer when I finally got back on a roll and was doing 5-mile walks and feeling good again (had started to incorporate weight lifting again), I had the misfortune to get Lyme, which put me back into fatigue mode for a while and I promptly lost my momentum. It was so depressing.



Anyway, when I found out I had breast cancer in November, I got caught up with the testing, appts., etc. which continued until March of this year. My stress level was through the roof, and I continued to have trouble sleeping. Motivation became limited to getting through all the doctor appts., making a final decision on treatment and surgery, and doing what I needed to do to prepare for surgery. Well, I finally made it through all that, and my prognosis is super, and I'm so happy to BE in this world that I'm feeling ready to get back on with my life. And that means getting out there and exercising and taking good care of myself. Cancer gave me BACK my mojo, I just need to know how to properly use it so I get back into shape safely.



May 9 will be my first expander fill, and I'd like to use the next five days to slightly loosen those tight muscles. I've heard some women with expanders complain of muscle spasm after fills so I'd like to avoid that, however, my PS does go fairly slow with his fills. Any suggestions for the most basic of stretches that are safe for those with expanders?



Tina



P.S. -- I do plan to purchase the "Staying Abreast" book, which looks excellent.