Surgery over and done!!!
Surgery over and done!!! Hello all,
Had my mastecomy Tuesday, out Thursday and am now in my local library keeping you all up to date with progress. Surgery went well - with sentinel node and a couple of axillary nodes out also, results on Thursday. I was a bit iffy after the anaesthetic. Not nauseous but it felt like the mother of all hangovers without the pleasure of feeling drunk!!! Could’nt stand up until late on Weds afternoon, the room was rolling about like a ship in a gale force 10!!
My family,friends and partner have been brilliant - I even managed a couple of ciders in my local yesterday afternoon.
Still very stiff in the front of the chest but can easily lift my arms over my head and do all my physio excercises. The wierdest thing of all is the rippling and gurgling sensation under my skin where incision is. I’ve still got my little “pet in a bag” with me draining away all the nasty fluids. Skin is still swollen and very lumpy under my armpit but I was quite fleshy there anyway. Hopefully I won’t need a seroma drainage as skin feels firmer by the day. Scar is going to look very good I think once all is healed. Bit wierd looking in the mirror at a flat chest and a boob next to each other but it’s not nearly as bad as I thought.
My partner is not best keen on looking at it at the moment but he is a total wimp anyway when it comes to surgical things. He has to go out of the room when botox is shown on the telly. He goes as white as a sheet so I suppose it’s best if he sits down when he sees it eh?
I hope you are all coping and keeping well and I’ll let you know what further treatment is required for me.
Love to you all wherever you may be XXXX
Hi Red
Great to hear you so chipper! Looking back at my time post op things were not so bad really. The drain was a pain in more ways than one but I managed to get out a bit by putting it into a bum bag and under a baggy jumper so I looked ‘normal’!
I know what you mean about the flat chest thing but it is truely amazing what we get used to.
I posted on here about my hubby who wouldn’t look at my wound. I just wanted to get it over with thinking sooner rather than later. He was not as sure being a whimp like your OH!
It took us 6 wks. When he did look he thanked me for letting him have the time to do it his way. Now that was a first, he never thanks me for anything!
Now 7 mths down the line, I am beginning to think about a reconstruction next yr, I never thought I could face anymore surgery. As I said, the body is a great healer, and so is time.
Good luck, hope all continues to go well.
Irene
I’ve had the first bit of surgery too! Hi Red Vixen
I’ve also had first surgery, a lumpectomy and a node taken out using the sentinal node treatment on 24 May and still have a blue boob hence my name!
You are brave looking in the mirror to see only one boob I can’t imagine how you feel but it must be hard.
My home brew in a bottle kept me in hospital I wasn’t allowed out until I was draining less than 20ml of fluid so was in from the Wednesday to the following Tues! I carried it round in a fancy gift bag!
I’ve been practicing the exercises too I call them the mexican wave and air hostess. I have got movement back fine so far and I’ve been doing the exercises four times a day as I too am paranoid about a seroma. I’ve taken off my dressings as wounds are healing well but now sore as I feel more aware of them.
I felt brave and I asked my boyfriend to help take the dressings off and we looked at my scars together. He said that to him it looked no different but found my scars sexy and wants to help rub cream in to help them fade! So that made me feel better and helped my confidence. By keeping a fun approach it has helped me deal with it.
Unfortunatley I have to have further surgery soon as one of my lymph nodes has tested positive so need to have some taken out, then chemo, radiotherapy and tamoxifen.
May the force be with you Red Vixen and keep in touch
Ginger Smurfette 