Discussions

 Hi everyone!! I'm back. I had my bilateral mastectomy on June 23. They also placed my port and the expanders. I was taken back into surgery on June 24, due to blood clots in my left breast. I came home yesterday afternoon. The drs. did say they were impressed with me at the hospital. I was walking a half hour after I woke up from the 1st surgery and 15 minutes after the second. I'm not pushing it, but I'm not going to lay there and end up sicker.

I go Tuesday to see the surgeon and the plastic surgeon (for post op). I have a ton of questions right now and I'm going to ask them as they pop into my head. I'd appreciate any info you can give me about what is next and I few things I'm wondering about now.

When I woke up from the 1st surgery I had blister all over my lips. Is that from the tube they put in my throat? It feels like I have cold sores all over. How long do drains normally stay in? The right one is draining less and less but the left one is still draining quite a bit (cancer was on left side). The right side is barely bruised, but the left side is one GIANT bruise. The cancer did not spread to my lymph nodes from what we understand, but I'll find out for sure Tuesday.

I know I will be having 6 rounds of chemo and then something else. I was groggy at this point. How soon should I be starting the chemo? I'm not giving up on the expanders yet, but any suggestions on dealing with the extreme pressure in my chest? I literally had to sleep sitting in a chair last night. I had tons of pillows to prop up on but it wasn't working.

Why do I feel so itchy all over and when can i scratch my own back again????

Beyond that, I feel okay for the most part. I am very sore and sleepy but I make myself get up and walk around every hour.I thought I would be more upset to see my breasts gone. Don't get me wrong. The first thing I said when I woke up was that I was ugly. My husband told me I was more beautiful today than I was when he first met. My next thought was I'm not ugly. I may not have boobs right now but my cancer is GONE! In the last few days, I believe my husband has finally opened his eyes and saw what I'm really going through. He is now there 100% for me and helping me in ways I didn't think he could handle.

Hi hun, well it sounds like you are doing really good. That's good that you are getting up and moving around. Don't forget to start your excercises, but slowly, don't overdo it. They are very important to get you range of motion back in your arms, and you certainly don't want, Lymphedema. Get your sweet husband to go get you some Jergens Ultra Healing lotion, rub it all over your chest, you'll be sore, so do it carefully. It's OK for it to sit on top your skin, it will go in. My surgeon had me do this and when I went in 1 week later I was already healing. Your cold sores is from breathing out of your mouth during surgery, that a pain too. I did not have any brusing, but I'm sure that will go away. I did not go with reconstruction, I still do not know if I will. I have to give my body some time to heal. I had my bilateral Jan 21. As for the itching, that could be caused from the meds given during surgery, or fron the anesthesia, if it get worse call your doctor. I came home with 6 drains, in one week he took out 4, and the following week the other 2 came out. By the way it does not hurt to have them removed. At 2 weeks I was hardly draining anything. I had 4 chemos before surgery, after surgery they waited 6 weeks to give me my last 2 chemos. They have to wait, you won't heal very good on chemo, so they have to make sure you are healed. You are like me, we both have very supportive husbands. Well I think I answered your questions, if you need to ask more, feel free to ask. Good luck, and don't forget your excercises.

Cajun Lady 

I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. I can't really help with too much at this point, because I had a lumpectomy and not a mastectomy, but I just wanted to wish you well and commend you on your attitude and outlook. You will be an inspiration to many women on this site.

Hi!  My bilateral mast surgery is scheduled for July 14th and I'm really nervous.  Your post helped me alot as far as figuring out what to expect.  I'm glad to hear you are able to get up and move around some.  Question for you, how long were you in the hospital before they let you go home?  How long was your surgery?  I'm going out for a huge bottle of Jergens lotion too (thanks for tip Cajun Lady)!  So I take it that stuff is safe to use.  I'm going with expanders too. I hope I'm able to suck it up to keep them in.  Good luck with everything!!! 

 Hey dgirl,

The surgery was right around 4 hrs, removing the breasts and placing the port and expanders, oh and the drains. I was set to go home the next morning but they had to put me back under because of a little internal bleeding.Don't freak, it happens. I went home the next day. Do and DO NOT do what you are told. If they say don't lift, DON'T LIFT. Trust me, you will only do it once. lol

By all means, get up and move around. Don't just lay there and feel sorry for yourself. Take your meds exactly as told, they will help. I got the Jergens also. It really does help. The dr. says I'm healing great. You may not be able to rub it in totally because you will be sore to touch. Do what you can and just leave the rest sitting on your skin.

The itching and burning sensation were rather annoying. The dr. said it's a good thing. It means my nerves are healing and coming back to life, so I just grin and bear it, and ask my hubby to scratch my back alot. The first few days home I had to sleep sitting up. It felt like a ton of bricks on my chest if I laid down. But last night I slept almost half way down flat. It was great!

The expanders! What to say?? LOL I won't lie, they are rather painful, but I know it's part of the healing process. I cry, I get mad, but then I suck it up. I know I am strong and this will not beat me. I am a winner! You will be just fine. Stay strong and take care of you. I will be here if you need me.

 Thnx for the follow up email williesredneckbabe!  Can I call you WRB?  ha!  Where I work we shorten everything...so much so we can't remember the original names! ha!  You will get through this and so will I.  I think what gets me the most is I have all this time inbetween doc appts etc to think...thinking can get bad.... so I try to keep focusing on other things.  Hard though!   I'll keep checking in on you to see how you are doing.  I'll send a follow up post too after my surgery.   You sound like one strong woman and I'm really proud of you for how you are handling everything.  I hope to follow your footsteps!  We can do it!  Stay strong! 

I'm right where you are, just had single mastectomy 5 days ago. Went from GP to biopsy to surgeon to surgery in less than 2 weeks. I haven't seen the oncologist yet, hoping to come up with good questions. Does everyone get chemo? Does everyone who gets it stay sick and lose their hair? How many sessions is typical? Is there typical? Is radiation typical? If there is no breast, what do they radiate? 

Hi Carol. First off, welcome. Not everyone gets sick from chemo. The doctor will prescribe anti-nausea meds to help that. If they don't work, be sure and call your doctor right away for a different prescription. There are several different meds out there, so they should be able to find one for you that works. Most women do lose their hair, depending on the type of chemo they get, by the 2nd session. I was one of the lucky ones. I still have mine after 6 chemo sessions. That doesn't mean I won't lose it, but I haven't yet.  The number of chemo sessions you have depends on the type of cancer, the stage, and the type of chemo meds you will receive. As far as radiation is concerned, its not always the norm with a mastectomy, although it is with a lumpectomy. You'll have to discuss that with your doctor. I hope I've answered your questions, and if you have any more, feel free to ask. Again, an unfortunate welcome to our group here.

 It sounds as if things are going well for you.  You asked about the pressure from expanders???  That was my same question when I woke up.  You see no one explained nor told me what it would be like.  Now what I am going to share is a negative story, but keep in mind that for one negative outcome there are a mulitiple of successes.  I too woke up with extreme pressure.  My surgery was Feb 3, 09.  When I woke up I already had some saline in.  We waited three weeks and I went in for my second.  The best way to describe this for me was better spoken by another woman she said "it felt like someone was pushing on your chest with a crowbar".  My personality type is anxious and nervous individual, but I did try to hang in there.  After my second fill the skin started to separate no big deal just pushed things back another three weeks before my third fill.  But already I was beginning to see the effect it was having on me -- I stopped eating and I felt like I was trapped in a box with no way of getting away from the pressure.  I made it to the third filling, but that night I lost it.  I thought I would need some antidepressant meds to get me through this so I started cymbalta.  Well I don't do well on these types of meds so being that I already was not eating now my stomach was really upset.  I took the pills for about 20 days and got sick of feeling dizzy and sick to my stomach so I stopped.  By this time I had had enough and felt that I had lost myself.  I called my dr's nurse and told her if she had any compassion she would get me in for surgery asap as I felt like I was losing my mind.  Sure enough my dr's appt was Monday and on April 25, 09, I had my final surgery.  My intent is not to disappoint you, but to let you know that there are a few out there who didn't succeed.  I am one of them.  Of course, all this prolonged my healing, and to be honest I'm sick of being sick.  Each day gets better both physically and emotionally.  I've had two doctors tell me that I can always go back since they left sufficient skin, etc, etc.  You could not pay me to go through another experience like that.  It has been difficult accepting this as I am only 51, but I know I can't go there again.  The reason I write is because i wish I had read someone's experience like this -- I definitely would have asked more questions and given more thought.  But anyway, I am just one person if you read there are a bunch of success stories.  Ask them to share their sides.  You sound like a strong individual.  I wish you well along with a speedy recovery. Much blessing

Faith

Faith I'm sorry to hear about your experience.  It's sad that we have to go through so much for our recovery!!!   I did meet with a woman not too long ago who had a mast and decided against reconstruction from the beginning and hasn't looked back.  She said you just get used to your new self and move on.  She does were a prosthetic and you would never know.  I asked her about bathing suits and stuff and she said nothing stops her.  Your story does make me think twice on both counts!   I have a pre op w/ the plastic surgery on July 7th and I have tons of questions for him.  I know no decision is easy when it comes to this disease.  Good luck to all of us and stay strong!