Monday, February 22, 2010
OMG that HURTS!
Sorry for the silence lately, but I've been a bit busy having surgery & stuff. I had my bilateral mastectomy w/ reconstruction using expanders done Friday. The surgery was about 9 hours long. The breast surgeon located my sentinel lymph nodes and dissected 3 of them - all were negative preliminarily for cancer. The plastic surgeon placed expanders under my pectoral muscles and inflated them w/ about 300 ccs of saline. Then they stitched me up & woke me up. It wasn't a great experience. The doctors were great though. There just isn't any way to prepare yourself for this kind of experience. I knew it was going to be utterly painful, but the realization of the pain was MUCH worse than I anticipated. I think I look horrible, but Andrew says its not that bad. The breast surgeon did a slit under my arms - that's the only scar I'll have eventually. I even got to keep my nipples! Right now w/ the swelling & stuff its pretty horrid in my opinion. However, the worst part is the itching right now... Pain meds & antibiotics plus all the tape they put on me makes me ITCH! I can't reach most of the spots - so its frustrating too. The pain can be controlled by the meds, so its not too bad.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My Chemo-Jane hair-style
I just had to have my mom buzz my hair because it was falling out so badly.
Pre-op wearing my hand-crocheted cap with my prayer shawl.
My loving husband is watching me distract myself with a game on his iPhone.
2 days after my BMX w/ 100ccs in the TEs
I even have a fashionable belt to hold up my drains.
3 weeks post-op w/ 400ccs in each TE
The smile is fake because the TEs were irritating!
Girlfriend. You are amazing. 'Nuf said. I know it is gonna sound weird, but you should have done a before and after picture...yes, I am that oddly curious. (Others are gonna be scared to death by this comment of mine...but all in the name of medicine, it is fascinating). You're a ROCKSTAR...hang in there :)
ReplyDeleteYou've been on my mind a lot the last few days. I keep wondering if I should have considered reconstruction right away. I guess I'll always be 2nd guessing myself. Do you have drains? Those were the worst part for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to keep your nipples!
I bet...once the swelling is gone and all the surgeries over....they will look quite nice!
I think you're doing a great job of keeping a good attitude! You are an amazing woman! Thank you for sharing your story! I sure wish we lived closer!
Janine - I do have before photos of me in a t-shirt & I'll do some after's in the same t-shirt once I get home. I'll probably try to do them at least bi-weekly or something as I continue to heal & change!
ReplyDeleteNancy - Thanks. I have 4 drains & they're a pain, but if they keep some of the swelling down I guess they're worth it. I wasn't strong enough to not consider the reconstruction right away. I just want to make it seem like nothing happened as soon as possible!