Helen - good luck with all the tests etc (I remember MRI - noisy!!). Really hope all turns out to be OK. Thinking of you x
Heidi - my recon boob was a bit of a ‘bowling ball’ to start with! Was at least 1 size up and quite firm, started softening at around week 6-7. It’s still a little larger but PS says can take 6-12 months to settle down properly. Having said that, mine was DIEP so only skin and tummy fat used. I think you need an LD lady to properly get a comparison as you’ve got muscle (and implant?) in the equation too!! Don’t be afraid to give Salisbury a call (I rang both the ward and ‘wound care’ dept a few times and they were pretty good, even when busy.
Tracy - hope all’s well with you and you’re taking it easy(?!). Has the rash started to subside? Is wound OK? (my little wound infection took about 2 weeks to heal).
Lenny - hey, how about your wound? Hope you haven’t overdone it what with all the moving about etc!
Thanks Cathy - feel a little more reassured.I can’t remember who had LD flap on here??!!!
Salisbury nsh hospital far better than New Hall private hospital in Salisbury. The nursing care at New Hall was pretty poor, wish I had said that i would prefer to be at Salisbury district now, but still i am out and happy.
Hi girls…Heidi, my boob was bigger too and hard now its a bit smaller and softer…settled down nicely. It is really early days yet love, it will settle down and stop being all tight. Thats the worst part waiting for it to become almost perfect!!! It will.
The CT scan was to check no cancer cells had run astray in other parts of my body…hurrah its all clear!! the MRI was of my brain and although they found ‘something’ they don’t think that it is cancer cells, but they aren’t sure what it is so I have been referred to a neuro surgeon next week…so hopefully that will be nothing as well… I’ve had this hard tissue in my recon breast for weeks now, and my PS said he thought it was damaged fatty tissue. My onc examined it a week ago and yesterday decided to do a core biopsy just to make sure…but she more or less agreed with the surgeon.
So three tests, two almost deffo clear, one I’ll find out next week…so all good, or getting there!
Heidi it was Christina I think who had an LD flap…mmmm could be wrong though. Have you been able to have a shower yet, it was ages before I could…had to keep all dressings on both tummy and boob, and couldn’t get them wet…but neither wound has ever been a problem, I heal really well.
Thanks for your thoughts girls, and I hope Lyra and Tracy are recovering well and that Lenny has settled in her lurvvley house. Anne is it this week you see your PS , I see mine on Friday. Hope all is well with you all, take care now…
Glad to hear your going ok Heidi - ALOT bigger?? my hubby would be so pleased. I’m going to have my good one reduced to level me up and lets say he’s not over the moon (once a boob man, always a boob man!) Seriously, mine relaxed quite a bit by about 5 weeks. Good luck for the rest of the summer hols, bribery with the kids always worked wonders for me.
Helen - Brilliant news about the CT and fingers,toes and everything else crossed for the MRI. We all need these rotten tests now and then, its the waiting for the results thats the real hard bit. I’m seeing my PS on Monday 24th so hopefully find out next course of action, but still sooo pleased with job so far.
Wedding plans are in full swing, just bought extra waterpoof mascara cos I’m know I’m going to be a blubbering wreck hehe.
Hi all…thanks Anne. I’m still waiting for an appointment with neuro surgeon, so I guess thats good news, they obviously don’t see it as a ‘rush’ job…hurrah!
Not long now Anne. have you got wedding nerves? Bet you can’t wait. Weddings are lovely but they can be stressful too. This is going to be sooooooo emotional for you with all thats happened this year…
I’m sure it will be perfection!!!
Take care all those recovering and those who are getting their lives back on track…back to normality!!A good thing.
Nell - thats great news that 2 tests clear so far, fingers crossed for the next one - keep us posted!
I am doing ok, still moving around like a 90 year old! My back scars are so tight, and it feels like i am compensating using my other side of my back more and it feels like my back is breaking in half by the end of the day. Scars are healing nicely though. Yes I have had a shower, it was soooo lovely, finally felt clean!
New boob still very hard, high and big. Feel a bit self conscious about it being bigger than the other one, but have taken your comments on board that it will go down in time.
I am desperate to go clothes shopping, but don’t have the energy to try things on yet in the changing rooms, and still not driving. All in good time as my friends keep saying.
My dad has paid for me and the children to go on a weeks holiday to the Isle of Wight on 29th August. Sea air will really do me good, hubby can only come over for the weekend which is a shame, but me and the kids are looking forward to it. Fingers crossed for sunshine. The kids have been really good for me this week, I have been really clumsy since the op, dropping things! The kids have to keep picking things up for me that i have dropped on the floor!
Think I am able to start putting cream on my new boob very soon, they recommended acqueos(spelling?) for the first couple of months and then bio oil. Did any of you have to massage your new boob? Nothing has been mentioned to me about it and i don’t see the PS until November.
i am finally back on line… only took 3 weeks!! longer than when i had my op.
haven’t read all that has been happening but so glad you are well heidi and you sound like you are going great guns… just be careful now it is still really early days. i think everything will seem tight for quite a while, i know mine does.
anne - a wedding how lovely and it’s nearly here, cry as much as you like! that’s what mums do.
helen i really hope they find out what is wrong and that it is nothing too serious and congratulate your son, on his play, for me. sarah i think you are still in sunny spain… let us know when you are back but we don’t need to see the tan! i understand that yesterday was the last day of real summer…
cathy, lyra, tracy and all who my chemo brain won’t help me remember hope you are well at whatever stage you are at…
my wound is well healed now, saw my ps 2 weeks ago and he is really pleased, i’m discharged and on the waiting list for the other one to be tweeked and my new nipple. my house is wonderful, just wish we had the weather… but we all love it, we have soooo much more room. it will be a shame when i have to go back to work in sept. my boy tom was amazing in les mis and he got some good reviews we were proud to bursting and i cried and cried and cried much to his embarrasment but that’s what mums do.
well i must go now as we are all going out for the rest of the day…
Nice to “hear” your voice again Lennie. Sounds like you are recovering well.
Still lots of healing to occur Heidi - especially internally, so you’re bound to feel tight for a while. My tummy still feels really tight and hard at times, and I take it as a sign that I need to have a rest! Felt so much better and more capable of doig things last week, so I think I overdid it a bit, and began to feel really tired again. Trying to be more careful now. We’ve rebooked our holiday and are off to Spain a week on Saturday - so I want to have enough energy to enjoy that. So looking forward to it. We’d cancelled because of my op, but the villa we’ve now got looks even nicer and my oldest son has decided to come too, so I’m so chuffed we’ll all be together. He goes off to uni in September, so it’ll be nice to have a bit more of him for a little while. Plus I shall be starting back at work in September - that doesn’t seem so long off now, a bit scary…but so nice to feel like life is getting bsck to “normal” - and still celebrating the fact I don’t need RT!!
I have an appointment to see my ps in Oct - will be our first meeting since the op. Just hoping there won’t be too much tweaking required - have any of you been “tweaked” yet?
Hope you see the specialist soon Nell, and that it is all good news for you.
And Tracy hope you’re better after the E45 drama.
Fondest wishes to you all, and those I haven’t mentioned,
Have a wonderful holiday in Spain, nice to have something so lovely to look foward to!
My rash has cleared up and the weeping has almost stopped too. I took antibiotics prescribed by my GP and they started working almost immediately. I am now massaging the scars with good old aquaeous cream and so far, so good!
I have another sick cert that takes me up to the 9th Sept, by which time I will be 10 weeks post op - am still debating whether to have another 2 weeks after that.
Hi all…Lyra have a great holiday…it will so make you feel tons better…and going with all the family helps to make you feel more upbeat too…your recovery seems to be going really well.
Tracy, great that your ‘weeping’ wound problem has taken a turn for the better. And if I’m being honest, if I was you, I would take a further 2 weeks off. If you are thinking about it then it means that you probably aren’t quite ready for work yet…you’ll know when you are.
Hi Lenny it sounds like the move was the right thing to do. Glad you are enjoying your new house. So pleased about your Tom and Les Mis, its a great feeling isn’t it. He must be a lovely singer, some of those songs are very hard to do. Congrats to him from me. You’re right about the crying…a mums privilege…
Have a great holiday Heidi. You are right a change in scenery does wonders for the body and soul…you can sit and watch your kids, taking it easy yourself. Kids are pretty special aren’t they…but I bet they haven’t surprised you with how they have handled all this stuff. They need that break too eh!!
I have an appointment with my lurrvvley PS this afternoon…don’t know if the chat is about the biopsy or cosmetic…will soon find out. Hope I don’t swoon at his feet when he gives me that dashing smile of his…hehehehehe
Hi there Sarah, Helen, Anne, Cathy and everyone else…hope your day is an upbeat one and have a grand weekend.
happy friday night to you all. lyra i agree with helen that another 2 weeks is a good idea, i go back to work on the 2nd and that will be 12 weeks post op. how lovely to have spain to look forward to and the same for you heidi… so good to be going away we are not having holiday until oct. helen hope you had a a good date… oops i mean appointment with your ps. tracy so glad the wound id getting better keep an eye on it once the antibiotics are done.
o and by the way i haven’t had a sex change, this is a photo of my don in his leading roll, helen he says thanks, i won’t leave it up for long… he gets his good looks from his mum!!
Hello everyone - I got back yesterday from my holiday in Spain. We had a good time, lots of sunshine, food and wine ! It could have been better but we had problems with our son who at nearly 15 didn’t want to be away from his girlfriend and at times was a real ‘Kevin’ !
I swam several times a day - well tried to swim. I think it helped my tummy muscles and my arm but even by the end of the holidays I couldn’t get my body flat enough in the water !
How are the other ‘tummy’ girls doing ? After travelling back yesterday I had a very stiff tum last night - I’m 14 weeks now. My sick note runs out on Monday so I guess I should be going back this week although it would be nice to have another week to take me to the end of the school hols !
Heidi - glad to see everything went well for you with your op. Soon you will be able to get those clothes down from the loft. I have to admit it was lovely not having to hold my top when I got out of the pool and to be able to wear low t-shirts.
Helen - hope you MRI results will be good.
Lenny - will speak to you soon.
Love to everyone else.
Autumn is coming - Match of the Day is on !!
Adios
Sarah
x
Helen - how did it go with your hunky PS on Friday? I saw mine last night and am probably having other boob reduced. Will mean another op and overnight stay, but I’m sure will be worth it.
Heidi - it WILL be sunny on the 29th, have put my order in - its the wedding, fingers crossed. Have a lovely holiday. Isle of Wight is great, spent quite a few years there when kids were younger.
Lenny - good to have you back and congrats to your son, I would love to see LesM again, and again, and again…
Talking of holidays, Sarahs back from Spain, Lyra’s going soon and after the wedding me and hubby are jumping in car and driving there(thats a first!) better start practising my French and Spanish. Sarah, we’re meeting up there with our son, he’s 22 and I can remember vividly what he was like at 15 - they do come out of it!!
Glad to hear rash is now all ok Tracy. I have recently been doing tummy exercises, pilates, general gym stuff and plenty of walking and something must have given in the belly button area, cos I’m back to that burning pulling sensation that we all know. PS said last night it could be stitches still dissolving - four months on - or nerves trying to connect, so for now have tummy girdle back on to hold it all tight. Getting better gradually, but probably being too impatient as usual. Trying to get in my posh frock for Saturday didn’t help hehee.
Will try to get on here over the next few days, but am running around like headless chicken at moment, picking up wedding cakes, wedding dresses whilst organising new kitchen (hubby decided it was a good idea to have this done whilst we’re on holiday - bless him!) so good bank holiday to everyone and catch you all soon.
Hi all…just a quickie. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, I can’t wait to go somewhere…anywhere!! soon!
Anne…I didn’t get to see my PS. They put me with another doctor, who was very nice, but didn’t have the X factor for me…sigh…
Good luck with the wedding love…not long now eh! You probably won’t have time to think, busy busy busy. 29th a date to remember!!
The doc didn’t want to talk about doing anything to my boob yet, until The ‘head’ thing is sorted…been waiting 3wks now though for an appointment that they said needed attention…obviously not, but I still want to know what is happening, even if its just a head cold that they found on the MRI…
sounds like you had one great holdiay Sarah and I like the analogy of a ‘Kevin’ moment…made me chuckle. it sounds like the tummy thing will take longer than any of us first thought to get completely right…probs an ongoing healing…Take another week until the end of school hols Sarah…its a reasonable request.
Lenny what a handsome young man you’ve got there…
Well hope everyone is keeping well and recovering without problems too…take care all…
I agree with you about New Hall - very poor but I’d heard such horror stories about Salisbury District.
I hope your pain has lessened by now. Mine is still pretty intense after 2 years and isn’t likely to improve. What did you think of Mr. Whitworth?
I’m hoping BCC will let me do a “top tips for LD flaps” just to warn people of all the things the surgeons conveniently leave out until you get desperate enough to attend a pain clinic. I have a plastic surgeon standing by, ready to advise.
It’s high time some complications were listed for this op.
If they’ve given you exercises then stick to them religiously; frozen shoulder is always a danger and you don’t want that!
Helen - I’m so sorry you’ve got the added frustration of still waiting for the MRI result, hope it comes sooner rather than later with good news.
Sarah (& all other DIEP’s) - oh tummies!! I’ve just gone back to work (week 16) and couldn’t believe how shattered I was and I’m only starting back on 1/2 days. I’ve been doing 5 mile fast walks every day for the last 3 weeks so thought my stamina would have been better (just physical over mental energy I guess!) I too have been trying to ‘swim’. My method is donning a wet suit with swim suit and bra under to protect scars, then using a couple of ‘pool noodles’ (polystyrene tubes), I sit on these and ‘swim’ pulling myself backwards and forwards with my arms - it’s great fun and may look a little wierd but I don’t care, I’m getting some salt water to the wounds and getting exercise and I’m back in the sea Definately can’t swim ‘properly’ yet as, like you said Sarah, my stomach won’t quite let me.
Tracy, hope you’re well. Wish I could look at the video for DIEP op as it would help me to understand exactly where all the internal ‘chopping’ has occured so I’d understand any ‘pulling’ or ‘gipping’ and not worry that I’d pulled anything apart - lovely!!
Dahlia - did you go to New Hall too? Did you have LD flap? What complications have you found with it during the 2 years? I am 3 weeks post op now. I am not taking paracetamol or anything any more, but by the end of the day my back feels like it is going to snap. I am still pretty concerned that my new boob is considerably larger than my old one, but it sounds like everyone has this problem and some of you are having tweaking to old breast?? Had a breakthrough last night and managed to sleep on my side for an hour or so - it was so lovely! That is ok isn’t it!!! I loved Mr Whitworth. I have known him for 6 years and think he is sooooooo lovely. There was another question that i wanted to ask everyone but i can’t remember what it was!
Lenny - great to hear about Tom’s reviews, I might just google him!
Anne - will be thinking of you on Saturday, don’t forget the tissues!
Nell - book a holiday!
Sarah - walking 5 miles! wow that is impressive!
I have had a sneaky little drive in my car, me and the kids are climbing the walls with boredom. The sun HAS to shine next week on the Island as we have stayed there for so many years and we have done EVERYTHING on the island, so its really just a little beach holiday for the kids. We stay in this gorgeous little chalet 6 steps from the beach on Ventnor, we love it there. If i won the lottery i would have a house in New York, Sydney and Ventnor - ha ha.
changed photo again, doing a heidi!!! not the best of my face but you can just about see the cleavage! it was taken on a day out in bath earlier this week.
thanks for nice coments about my little boy…
anne i bet you are now counting the hours til the big event, hope you have an amazing time and that the weather is good and even if it isn’t it is what is actually happening that counts.
helen i hope the waiting for the scan date is soon over and you can start dealing with what ever it is or isn’t, you sound much more patient that me.
heidi we love the beach and haven’t made it so far this year… enjoy your break.
cathy - lovely picture of you ‘swimming’ what beach is that, it might be good for some light relief!! hehehe the things we have all done that we never even imagined before bc.
sarah, the tan might be fading but at least you’ve had one, see you soon
lyra, tracy and all others hope your healing is going well.it seems we are all moving to the next stage for some driving, walking further etc and i like others will be back at work next week, that will be a shock to the system!
Hi all…just to let you know that the neuro surgeon rang this afternoon. He wanted me to come in and stay the night, only so I could have bloods done and be there ready to chat about the MRI and the results of the bloods in the morning. Well he changed his mind and I’m going to the hospital about 7.30 tomorrow morning. So at last I’ll get to know something, then I can start getting on with my life again…I can be patient Lenny, but I’ve been feeling very fed up this week…I want to go on a holiday and now maybe soon I can!!!Yeh!!
Enjoy tomorrow, hope the weather is great for you all…
Definately can’t swim ‘properly’ yet as, like you said Sarah, my stomach won’t quite let me.