prophylactic mastectomy after RNY

Glad to hear that you are able to proceed as you want to. I would agree that dealing with the cancer is more important than the ulcer at this point. I am surprised that they want you to wear a bra right after surgery. I didn't wear one for several weeks post op. in the beginning, I had some necrosis on each breast that I had to use a cream on and had bandages. I also had two drains, one on each side that would have interfered with a bra. I would think something that is loose would be better.

Good luck to you.

Jo Ann

They told me I would go home in some kind of compression bandaid, with two drains, and to get a sports bra that opens in the front. Well at the thrift, who knows if they have those, right. Then I found out  that my surgeons office has some other kind of thing that they will give me when I get to my post op appointment.

I am trying to figure out how much I will be able to use my arms after the surgery. I have a mobility impairment, and noticed this week that  I rely quite a bit on my hands and arms to get up out of chairs and stuff...my legs are shot. Also carrying stuff...is it hard to carry like a cup of tea or a bowl of  soup afterwards? what about opening medication bottles that are  in childproof caps?

 

I am pretty sure my ulcer is healed...I am waiting to get scoped, but the GI department is down a couple of doctors right now, and all the messages seem to be bouncing all over the place. Fortunately my primary seems to think it's ok.

I didn't have any issues using my arms after surgery. Since I had reconstruction from my abdomen, I had a large incision there as well so I relied on my arms to get myself out of a chair. No loss of motion or strength there. Because of the abdominal work I had a 5 pound lifting limit for a couple of weeks but didn't have any issues around the house. No restriction in terms of arm movement. When is surgery scheduled?

Thanks for the encouragement. I am all set for Monday August 12. I got scoped today, and my ulcer is healed....still a tiny bit red, but not ulcerated, just a scar. I have to be at the hospital at 530 and surgery is scheduled for 730.  They are going to start the reconstruction at that time as well...I don't get the tummy tuck because I JUST had my bypass, and  all the docs agreed it was too soon. But they are taking everything, nipples, and some sentinel nodes. I am a little nervous about the mobility after surgery, but my doctor said that I should be able to do my hair, and put on a T shirt and stuff like that.....he doesn't want me lifting anything over 5 pounds. Said he was worried about me using my arms to stand up or pull myself up..I have no idea how I am going to get out of bed and into my wheelchair if I don't use my arms, at least a little, but where there is a will there is a way. (I use a power wheelchair cause my legs are shot). Anyway, thanks again for being there for me. I've been watching all these you tube videos and it's hard to not let my mind run wild.  I am trying to focus on the relief that I feel that this is happening, and on the fact that maybe now I can reverse the hands of fate for long enough to at least enjoy the WLS!  I should be discharged on the 13, and will try to post as soon as I can...I have no idea if the hospital I will be at actually has wifi in the room or not.

They took my nipples as well.  I had asked about nipple sparing surgery but since I have brca1, they didn't want to risk it.  Apparently they are concerned that in nipple sparing surgery there is a possibility that some tissue can be left behind.  I have had nipple reconstruction too.  They look wonderful but don't feel natural.  Projection is an issue - getting some additional work done to correct that hopefully. They didn't touch my nodes, so there was no work under my arms.  I had no issues with using my arms but since you are having node work, that might impact your ability to use them.  I did wake up the next day with that sense of relief that I had a very small risk of breast cancer now.  That helped me recover from the surgery mentally.  From a physical standpoint, the first couple of days were challenging - learning to function with all of the bandages and drains - it was my first surgery with drains.  But I improved noticeably each day.  I was in the hosptial for either 4 or 5 days - I can't remember how many. 

Good luck on the 12th.  I will be thinking about you and looking for an update of your status.

JoAnn

Thank you!  My sister just tested for brca1 and was positive. No shock there, but I am still glad I did not have to test. I don't trust what the insurance companies will do with that information. The politics of that scares me worse than having cruddy insurance and chemo. I am so grateful for your posts. Will be in touch as soon as I can.

Good luck tomorrow!!!!

JoAnn

Thanks!  I am home, made it through. The surgery itself was fine, and the pain is not too terribly bad....the hospital experience was absolutely horrible. At the pre op, the doc discussed using demerol or something like that for pain, and in the room he ordered toredol.  My bypass surgeon was adamant i not take that, as I JUST had an ulcer, so I refused it....had NO pain meds in the hospital at all. I am also on like twenty other medications, and he did not order any of them....the nurse from the hospital called to verify them and everything, but none got ordered.  I had a little "stash" of them in my purse so i took them anyway, but honestly. I also had some tylenol with codene in my purse which I took for pain...but the doc was insisting on toredol or nothing.

They sent someone from oncology down to try to talk me into brca testing, which I again refused.

They sent an occupational therapist in to see if I had any questions..i was like yeah, how do I get from the bed to the wheelchair if my legs and my arms don't work to hold my weight up? and she goes "I have no idea, I don't know why I was even sent here"/

 

The y sent a nutritionist down after three meals had passed and I flat told her I don't understand what is so hard about a diabetic soft food diet.

 

I was offered steak, mashed potaotes with butter, a muffin with butter, no fruit, corn, on the cob.

Breakfast was eggs swimming in butter, some kind of muffin in butter....

fortunately I had brought my isopure shakes and I just had those and some bars. Sent most of the food back.

I have two drains, and it's no problem to dump them myself.

I slept in the recliner at home last night cause I can't get out of the bed...between my legs and my gut and my chest I can't sit up.

 

I get some break through pain about halfway between doses of Tylenol three.

 

They did not send me home in any kind of bra, and the Physicians assistant said if I wore one it would just delay the healing process for the scars, which are under the folds in my breasts. When I got home I tried one on for a second, and it's a C cup...she said I would only need one or two more fills before they put the implants in.  Thank God for that.

The drains fit in my jeans pockets. so it's pretty easy to hide them. Anyway, I am SO GLAD to be out of that hospital. That was right up there with horrible. At least they did not drop me off the gurney like they did when I had my knee replacement, but it was pretty close.

And, even though it hurt like hell, I still feel so much relief over the reduced risk for cancer. That part makes all of this worth it.

 

 

 

Wow what a horrible experience.  Did you have any expectation that it would have been this bad before you went in?  I can't remember what pain meds I was on - either morphine or dilaudid drip - I've had them both, just don't remember for what surgery.  That is a shame that the support staff wasn't more helpful.  You already have enough to deal with.

I had some trouble with the menu as well - they kept giving me sugary things.  So I was picking and choosing what to eat.  I also had my husband bring in some ready to drink protein drinks to make sure that I got in my daily quantity of protein. 

You are having implants right?  So no abdominal surgery - just in the breast area?  You mention that your legs can't support you - why is that - bad knees?  My legs were fine so that wasn't an issue for me.  I also didn't have any node work so my arms weren't affected.  Not being strong in these areas has got to be making getting around tough. 

 

Two drains isn't too bad.  I remember they weren't difficult to care for by myself.  My issue was I had drains in both my chest and my abdomen so that made getting clean and dressed challenging - just making sure that I wasn't pulling on anything.

 

All of these are things that will get better as each day goes by.  How involved is the implant part of the surgery?  When does that happen?

I really didn't have any issue with getting in my bed.  I had to take it slow, and I needed a step to assist getting in - but I managed to get myself into a comfortable position and rest fairly good each night.  The first night I pretty much stayed in the same position all night then gradually was able to move around a little more each night.  Hopefully you will get there shortly.

 

The good thing is that you have taken care of a very important part of your health.  The sense of relief really surprised me.  As I have said before, I really didn't realize how much it preyed on my mind.  Just consider that benefit as you struggle through the remaining recovery.

 

Take care of yourself.  I am here if you have any questions or need some support.

 

JoAnn

Thanks a lot. We had talked about diloted   (sp? )and  but when he came out with that toredol stuff was after the surgery...he was all excited because it wasn't a narcotic.  I think he was freaked out because I do take a lot of medication..........he never mentioned toredol in the pre op appointment. And it doesn't help that I am allergic to a bunch of pain meds. There are certain ones that work good, and they tend to be higher potency drugs. And the other ones not so much. But there was no way I was taking the toredol with the ulcer just barely healed. The pain is actually a little better today....Note to self....in the future, I am bringing a clandestine supply of all of my medication with me to the hospital.

I am okay as long as I stay in one place I typically use my arms to push myself into a standing position because my legs are both in braces...I have a knee replacement but more importantly my tendons and ligaments are not attached due to complications from a dislocation in both knees that never healed correctly...there is a misnomer that the WLS helps with mobility since not as much weight is being carried around on the joint. In some sense that is true. In another sense, what happens is that the fat was sort of holding the tendons in a particular spot on my leg, and now that the fat is gone , the tendons and ligaments are like streched out rubber bands, with nowhere to go except flop around. They need to be "hemmed" eventually....I need about sx more surgeries on my legs before I will reliably be able to walk without falling down.

So I use a wheelchair to get around...I have a walker with a seat on it that I drag around behind me, because I need to sit frequently when I DO walk....the angle of the walker does not really hold me up as I have the same tendon problem in my right hip, and the walker throws my gait off....it's sort of a mess.

So I use my arms quite a bit.

 

The plastics guy did not want to do a TT because I am only two months out from my RNY and there is not a lot of sagging skin, and I am still losing weight. I am finding that I need to sort of force myself to raise my arms over my head a little bit cause it really hurts to do that...the last thing I need is to lose range of motion in my arms.

 

The pain is only really bad when I sit or stand when I am still it's not that bad. Also one side is draining a lot more than the other. The doc said that is normal.  The drains come out right where my bra would go, so i am not wearing one right now at all. It's strange, but I don't know my own body anymore.

Thanks for being here.