I Got Clearance

This past Tuesday, I went to see Dr. Bucky with my list of questions and for him to look at his new creations.  I swear that man is amazing!  When I looked at pictures of augmented breasts from an A cup to a B or C cup, my breasts looked just like them.  So why is this so "amazing"?  When the breast surgeon removes all of the breast tissue, the breast is left as basically just skin.  Therefore, when the plastic surgeon inserts the implant into the muscle pocket created by the expanders, he has to recreate a breast without any tissue surrounding the implant and use only the silicone (or saline) implant to mold and recreate a new "breast".  If only I could post pictures so you could see exactly what I am referring to when I say "he is amazing"!I was a bit disappointed when I was knocked back from an A++ down to an A+ but that is my own fault.  As you have probably surmised so far, I hate taking drugs.  Even Val and I have parted ways permanently.  I hate taking drugs so much that I failed to take the important drug that he gave me at the end of the surgery which is Methylprednisolone.  So now, two weeks post-surgery, I am taking them.  Damn..I loved that A++ too!
Today, I am sitting at my laptop at home in Bluffton, South Carolina sipping my coffee and writing this all down.  It has been one heck of a journey and I am glad that I am at the end of it.  I will post on occasion so that you can gauge my progress but I really feel like the only thing left is for the scars to heal.  So far, the scars from the first operation are slowly fading and I have moved onto the cocoa butter option rather than the Neosporin treatment.  Every day, I have to massage the implants because this is the crucial time that they need to be moved so that they do not become hard and continue to soften to feel more breast-like.  In terms of comfort, well...I am not going to lie.  They are still "burning" but Dr. Bucky told me that it is the muscle that is just not used to having to change its shape forever.  It really doesn't like those implants in there and it is making its voice heard.  I hear you but TFB muscle....!!!


If there is anyone reading this blog and is contemplating going through a bi-lateral mastectomy, please please do not ever hesitate to email me or call me.  My email is carpetgeek@sbcglobal.net and I can send you my phone number if need be.  I hope I helped some people.  I've already heard from a few women and I truly enjoyed talking and emailing them.  The whole purpose of writing was to be candid and honest about LCIS and the mastectomy process. I hope I was insightful.  Thank you for listening to me while I wrote down my thoughts along this three month journey.

First Appointment After Surgery

After spending four nights in the hotel room blissfully happy watching TV in my pj's, we packed up and left for my in-laws.  I am feeling okay considering that I just had surgery a few days ago but I look a bit goofy with a big "X" on my forehead with surgical tape.  It is holding up the stitches on my new eyelids.  Even though I am wearing dark sunglasses, the big ole "X" is staring straight at you.  I am at the point right now where I just could care less.  Let's get these eyes healed and those boobs healed and let's move on!

I am having a bit of a tough time washing due to not getting water in any of the stitches but I am doing my best.  I finally washed my hair and, although it still looks like a bird's nest, it is clean.  Monday morning, Bob drove me back down to Philadelphia from his parent's house for the nurse to remove the stitches in my eye lids.  Piece of cake!  Seriously, this surgery was a breeze.  The results are very subtle and I am perfectly happy with them.  Now onto my new boobs.  I was given an A++ on healing.  In fact, the nurse asked if I wanted her to remove the stitches and let me travel home with Bob.  My thoughts were that we lived so far away and I had it all arranged so I wanted to stay the week at my friend's house and then get the clearance from th good doctor himself next Tuesday.  I mean...it's not as if I live right around the corner.

As a reward for my perfect "grade" of A++, Bob took me over to Nordstrom's and I was fitted for new bras since I sent mine to the women of Haiti.  Seriously, there is a woman in NYC that gathers bras from smaller breasted women in good condition and sends them to the shelters in Haiti for women to use.  I figured I was going to be bigger than I was in the past so I sent her all my bras.  I found a nice saleswoman and she measured me and then proceeded to look for very soft, non-padded bras for me with a little bit of underwire.  I settled on a Natori that was as light as a feather.  Good news??  I am now officially a 34B.  Yup....I have moved into the big girl bra section finally at 47 years of age.

Done!

After waiting for two hours after being told to get to the hospital by 9:30, I was ushered upstairs to prepare for surgery.  I got the entire routine down.  The anaestheologist had a hard time finding my vein so I have a bit of bruise on the back of my hand.  Oh...remember that rash I had from taking those pills, well it appeared right before surgery.  I was afraid that the doctor was going to cancel but he told me that while I was in surgery, large welts showed up on my skin so he had to give me a shot of cortisone.  I still don't even know what they were from.  When I came back to the recovery room, I felt so miserable. It was nothing that I read from others on the breast forum, which was more of a relief not pain.  The stitches burned under my boobs and all my muscles were contracting on my chest which hurt really bad.  I also couldn't catch my breath but the anaestheologist said I was breathing at 100%.  The nurse gave me some morphine and that really settled me down.I ended up staying two hours in recover until I felt well enough to go back to the hotel. 



The nurse came over and said that my husband had a cab ready.  Really?  A cab?  What was he thinking?  He said it was too cold to go and get the car.  I was livid!  I felt like crap and now I have to get into a cab with no cushions, no shocks and a crazy driver!  I was besides myself and pissed at my husband.  I know I could have been nicer but I felt like crap and I had to endure a bumpy ride which killed me.  When I entered the hotel, I had to hide my face because of the eyelift surgery that I elected to add on.  What the heck, right? 


I was told by the nurse that I should relax and wear my tiara and watch TV.  Soo that is what I have been doing under some drugs to keep the pinching at bay.  I have to say that the boobs look pretty good.  I am guessing that they are a full B which is what I was hoping for.  They are rounder and not pointy.  I think I can get the cleavage back when I eventually get fitted for new bras.  I sent my other ones to a shelter in Haiti since they collect bras for the displaced women there.

T Minus two and counting!

I cannot believe it but in two days I will be at the end of the reconstruction process and I am beside myself with happiness!  Of course a little anxiety needs to be added since these tissue expanders have now become a part of my body and they are leaving me.  It sounds silly but, as uncomfortable as these TEs are, I know how to work my day around them.  They will now be replaced with a softer, more realistic breast; however, I am anxious because I don't know what it will feel like.  I read other's comments who have gone through this surgery on the Breast Reconstruction forum on Breastcancer.org and the overwhelming consensus seems to declare that this surgery is much easier on the body and the implants are so much more comfortable.  That being said, I am still a little anxious.
We leave tomorrow morning to drive the twelve hours up to Philadelphia with one overnight stop.  My husband is so going to heaven after all of this!  I have the surgery Wednesday morning and I made hotel reservations since I can't imagine feeling horrible and having to stay at someone's house.  We will stay in the hotel until Saturday and then stay at my in-law's home.  I see the nurse on Monday and then my husband will drop me off at my friend's home to hang out for another week.  I have to see the plastic surgeon on the 22nd for the final exam so it does not make sense to drive home and then have to turn around and come back.  Once Bob drops me off, he will drive home and then I will fly back after the exam.  If all goes well, I will be cleared and will not have to come back to Philadelphia for another six months.  There is a chance that a "touch-up" fat grafting may be needed in which fat from my thighs can be extracted and use as a filler, if needed.  Hmmmmm......

I have been off Ibuprofen and all other medications for almost two weeks now which has prohibited me from exercising so once again, those pounds reared their ugly heads.  I just keep telling myself that it is all part of the process and eventually, once I am finished with this, I will have my exercise routine back on schedule.  On an added note, I was given high-potency vitamins which caused me to break out in an itchy rash on my mid-section.  I called the manufacturer and this has happened before so I discontinued use.  Unfotunately, I have not been able to get rid of the red rash but Benedryl has come in quite handy.  Once I am able to comment after the surgery, I will post my experience for you to read.  Good luck to me!