I would definately lay off the alcohol for several days before the op. Being hydrated is really important and afterwards too, the nurses on the ward really stressed this. Surely anything that can help you cope better with the anaesthetic and recover more quickly is worth it? Its only a few days out of the rest of your life!
Hope all goes well x
What did I do? Had a really good drink ;))
As long as you make sure in the day that you drink loads, then you’re not dehydrated you’ll be fine. They put you on a drip in hospital.
Why would you want to drink the night before your op.You need to give your body best chance to recover.Not add to more problems.
why would i want a drink the night before an op? to feel normal, to relax, to have fun with the rest of my family. To not sat there with everyone like a naughty shoolgirl that is being punnished.
However the sensible side of me is saying i am not normal, and abstaining for a couple of days cannot be a bad idea, so get over it.
defintatly decided to have fun all holiday, join in the family for the big meal at the local french resturant and then be sensible sunday and monday
Glad you’ve come to a decision that works best for you and that you’re comfortable with OAL. Have a fab holiday and best of luck for the op.
Bev x
i love this post, you are a woman after my own heart ;D
My anaesthestist (spelling?) told me to have a couple of glasses of wine the night before my mastectomy op - he asked about my alcohol intake and i told him honestly that i drink 1 to 1 and a half bottles of wine a night (not good i know!). So anyway he said have a couple to make you feel less nervous (and more ‘normal’) and it would help me sleep better too. So that’s what I did and I had my op no problems at all. Had immediate recon and was in surgery for 13 hours - home 6 days later, been great ever since.
Don’t know if you will be getting chemo? My oncologist advised me never to drink again and if i REALLY had to have a drink i was allowed … wait for it … 1 unit a week!!! eeeek! lots of research linking alcohol with breast cancer. I have tried really hard to cut it down but it’s extremely difficult as you will know! I’ve had 3 chemo’s now and tend not to drink the first week after, but by week 2 my resolve is severely tested and by week 3 i am back to usual!
have you had your op? be really interested to hear how you get on! all the best, Lynne 
x
oh wow, someone like me. I drink up to a bottle of wine a night. or several pints of beer and then a bit of wine for a night cap.
the op is on the 21st. I am in total denial, of course the sential nodes are going to be clear and they will not need to take out any other nodes, of course the margin will be tickety poo and when the manage to find out what sort of cancer cells are in my nasty little growth they are going to be the most benign sort out, curled up like little pussy cats inside the cyst with no thoughts of wandering out into the big scary world that is my body.
they say that at this stage they are not thinking of chemo, and if the sential nodes are clear and it is the cancer they think it is i am not even getting rads. But still cover their backs by saying until it is out and in the lab they cannot be sure.
as to drinking later, well on a different thread i have been having interesting discussions about the fact that my son(canceer research doctor in denmark, the highest breast cancer country) has said for me and my risk factors (and that is not for all cancer patients) the effect of alcohol on recurrance is so small it is not worth changing my lifestyle, and anyway is balanced out by the protective heart deasease figures in the same study.
I dont know how I am going to feel if I have to have chemo. I know if i am ill i dont feel like drinking. A sign i am recovering is me looking for the corkscrew.
I think it is all down to personal choice. Some people who do not have breast cancer choose not to drink, some who do choose to stop and some who do carry on.
it is interesting that every doctor i have seen on this road has asked me if I smoke, but only the admissions nurse asked about drink. when i told him how much he asked if i had ever had liver tests, i told hiim yes and the results were fine.
Oh… O and L
If i had to give up my wine my life would be miserable!
After my mastectomy and recon I decided I would rather have a glass of red than a Tramadol ( obviously not while I was in hospital!)
Regarding your op… there is every reason to believe that if they are optimistic …then that will be the case! In my experience consultants don"t tend to say positive things for no reason. I had BIG tumour but no lymph involvement, no chemo and no rads. Easy for me to say,I know… I always expected the worst until results came in
Wishing you all the best, raising my glass of bubbly to you as I type!
QRT x
Hey hey all you other wino’s - I have WLE & SNLB for large lump DCIS on monday, explained we at feiss festival then covent garden and hotel trip sat night (been planned ages 8 of us going)they said to go and do something normal but no alcohol for 24 hours prior to op. Advised me to maintain hydration on sunday and have a nice time! I want to continue with our big plans and enjoy before all this starts. I know I’ll be having rads as high grade and i was told on thurs I am very high risk for invasive though not yet detected it can not be excluded and to be prepared. Lumpectomy is expected to change my size and shape quite a bit esp with how much margins they want to take too grrrr!
Enjoy enjoy enjoy whatever normality you can but we all need to maybe reign it in a bit - I keep telling myself this and I will but my vino helps no end when feeling crappy!
Regards and love to all
Michelle
You girls are stars!
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oh i wish i could sing, but I cannot, just sit at the back hitting the drums, having a whale of a time. talked to the hospital physio today.Seeing her day after op and a week later and she says her job is to get me back to doing what I normally do asap. I am going to ask her about drumming with one hand. Dont know if its the movement of that arm everyone is so worried about or the blood corsing through my viens and tiring me out.
You could always study videos of Rick Allen’s technique while your arm gets back into full swing again 