I had a bilater mx in May this year and know that the decision was right for me as I was at high risk of a second tumour. I don’t have children so cannot offer advice on talking to them except to be truthful.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your nurse, onc, surgeon anyone. Whatever questions you have are not trivial, it is essential that you get answers you are happy with and it doesn’t matter how often you ask, carry on until you are satisfied.
Keep posting on here, we will offer encouragement, support and cyber hugs. This is such a momentous event that it does take time to sink in and you will cope and come to terms with everything in your own time.
The wating for something to happen is always hard, but it will be over, it is already a week since your first post. To answer your question about a bra, it depends on the dressings and whether your surgeon wants them kept on until your post op appoitment. If you get a crop top that is not too tight, then this should be wearable over the dressings and able to accommodate softies.
One thing I can pass on to you is this tip - take a couple of carrier bags into hospital to put the drains in as this makes it easier to mange them walking about.
It is only natural that you are worried and concerned about your situation, there were many nights when I was awake in the early hours. Just be kind to yourself and don’t expect too much of yourself.
You will have up days and down days Catherine, I still have up and downs now 5 weeks post. Like you Catherine I wanted to see pictures of women with bilat.mx. but found it difficult to find any. I thought about the end result of my op and wanted a flat chest with two nice scars. I did not have any pain post op, but felt extremely thirsty after the anaesthetic. To be honest I felt really quite well. You will be bandaged up after the op so you will not see the results of the op immediately anyway, you will find you have drains coming from your chest which will come out over the next few days. The hospital actually gave me bags to accommodate these drains. The drains do not hurt they are just awkward having to carry them around with you. I looked at my scars when the bandages did come off and was pleasantly surprised, my surgeon had done a neat job, I did not find them ugly at all. I had my op on Thurs and was discharged from hosp on the following Tues. I did have a soft bra and the nurse gave me some softies to come home with, which I decided to wear to come home with, although with a bi.mx you dont necessarily have to wear a bra if you dont want to. I think the worst part of all this Catherine is waiting for the results and waiting for the op. Its fear of the unknown. I also wanted to talk about myself, but dont you have a right to? This is a big thing in your life. I think people did/do understand. I found this site a godsend when I couldnt sleep, its very reassuring to think you can put your thoughts in writing, and there is always someone up at 5.00am. I did start a threat entitled ‘Bilateral Mastectomy’ which I started before my op, I am still writing posts on this now. What part of the country are you from Catherine. Enjoy the white wine.
Hello everyone,
A big thank youto allyou lovely people for all your support. My op was brought forward and I am now day 6. I still have two drains I but they will come out tomorrow. For the girls who are waiting for surgery I want to say that there really
isn’t too much pain involved but the drains just limit positions for sleep. I have to be honest and when I first looked at my scars the tears came and I am still very up and down but I think that is normal. As you say Angela waiting for results is part of the stress, role on thursday!
Much love catherine x
Catherine, Nice to hear from you, to be honest I have just picked up your pm today and responded to that, not knowing that you have undergone your op. How are you girl? I hope you are feeling well after everything that has happened. when did you have your op then? How long were you in hosp? I suspect we will always have tears over what has happened to us but hey, Catherine they are battle scars! We are here to fight on. Hope Thursday goes well for you.
Lots of love
Angela xx