I've come to the conclusion that Day 2 post-surgery is my least favorite, at least of the surgeries I've had, which admittedly is a very small number. The day after surgery, you're not expecting/expected to feel good, and you can lie around all day and not feel bad about it. But by the second day, you feel much better, and you feel antsy, and you want to do stuff, only you don't quite feel good enough, and your husband goes back to work, and you have to take care of the kids, and overall you don't really get any rest despite the fact that you still need it. And it also seems like your pain is actually worse than the day before, but that's probably because you aren't taking pain meds and you're up and about doing a lot of stuff that causes pain.
All in all, I feel a little cranky. Originally, my husband told me he was taking the day off, but then he didn't. I get it, I really do. My husband's boss has been great about giving him the time off that he needs to take care of me, take care of the kids, take care of Stuff, and for that I am truly grateful. I have no idea how people with inflexible jobs and jerkwad bosses could do this. At the same time, the very thing that makes jobs flexible also makes them not flexible. In my job, for example, I can 'take the day off' and not grade papers, but those papers have to get graded eventually. If I don't grade them because I'm off having surgery, that's my prerogative, but I still have to grade them at some point. It's not like a shift in a department store where you just get someone to cover for you, then go in the next time and pick up right where you left off. My husband's job is the same way; he doesn't work regular 8-5 hours, but in the end, he has to get stuff done, one way or another. And so... he worked today. I woke up around 8:00 and went downstairs to find my husband on a teleconference and my son playing in the sandbox, at which point I felt obligated to feed my son breakfast and keep him out of my husband's way. And that's about how the rest of the day went.
I really shouldn't complain, though. While I do have some intense, throbbing pain still, I have it pretty good. My parents came over this afternoon and took the kids on a bike ride to get some ice cream. Since my son is only three and just recently learned how to ride a bike (with training wheels), and the ice cream place is almost a mile away, this took a couple of hours. Around the same time my parents came to get the kids, a stellar friend came over with food for dinner. (Gee, don't you feel sorry for me?) After she left, I debated whether I should take my long-awaited 48-hour-post-surgery shower, or try to grab a nap. I eventually opted for the cat nap. And now, my husband has extracted himself from work and taken the kids to the pool, so I think I'll head for the shower.
Showing posts with label re-excision lumpectomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label re-excision lumpectomy. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2015
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Post Re-Excision Lumpectomy: Day 1
I've alternated today between feeling super tired and kind of out of it, and feeling really good ( = went downstairs, outside, walked around my yard, and even pulled a few weeds). I woke up at 6 AM, took a hydrocodone, then - more out of fear than actual pain - took another one at 10 AM. I still have a lot of throbbing pain, which I don't remember from last time, but I've been able to manage it well all day with ice. Overall, I'm still thrilled with how good I feel.
I feel like during the original lumpectomy, I was still reeling from the shock of my diagnosis and in the hysterical mode of GET THIS SHIT OUT OF ME! This time around, there was a much more ho-hum feeling. I know that due to the timing of my surgeon's vacation and our vacation and the ability for us to schedule appointments with various med oncs, there was not much flexibility for when this surgery would be. My surgeon had to squeeze me in, and... it definitely had that feel to it. Dr. L was her usual wonderful self, she just seemed a little more rushed than usual. From a patient's perspective, surgery is such a big deal, you sort of imagine that everyone's day centers around you and you alone, and it's hard to imagine that your surgery is so simple and routine that it's something your surgeon is squeezing in during what is normally her lunch break. It's a little unnerving to think that before she carves you out, she probably did at least 2-3 other surgeries. But then you have to figure that if it didn't work that way, it would probably be 2-3 months before you could get in for surgery.
Anyway, my surgery was tentatively scheduled for 2:15 PM, with a 1:00 check-in time. However, during my pre-op phone consult, I was asked to come in at 12:30 instead, because there was a chance the surgery could happen earlier, depending on how my surgeon's day unfolded. In the end, I think it ended up being pretty close to 2:15, since I didn't get to even start my pre-op stuff until 1:00. And apparently my surgeon had another surgery after mine, because normally she checks in with whoever is out in the waiting room immediately afterward, but she didn't. The good news is that I was awake and semi-coherent by the time she came by, so I got to hear the low down and ask her questions.
Waiting all morning was torture. I was hungry, not to mention thirsty, especially after a, um, fun night with my friends the night before. LOL. Supposedly I could have sips of water up until 8 AM, only I woke up a little after 8 AM feeling slightly dehydrated, so... basically I was thirsty the whole day. My husband had a lunch meeting he just couldn't miss, so my mom took me to the surgery while my dad took the kids. Needless to say, that was interesting. I've written about my parents before, and while it was good they could be involved and feel helpful, it definitely added an element of stress that would not otherwise have been there. Fortunately, my mom behaved herself very well. Unfortunately, my son... not so much. Let's just say that it will be a long, long time before my dad watches the kids again. My parents weren't going to tell me that my son had been a hellion, but of course my daughter informed me after I asked. My son had actually been a pain all morning, and was in the middle of a mega meltdown when my parents came over, which I didn't tell my dad, because I didn't want him to be freaked out about having the kids by himself. Eh, you win some, you lose some.
Before going in for surgery, I had the usual encounters with the patient care tech, nurse, anesthesiologist, and surgeon, and found that when you have surgery mid-day, no one is as chatty, and everyone seems like they can't wait for the day to be over. This is slightly unnerving, but I found solace in the fact that I was having a very simple, 30-minute procedure done, and not a double mastectomy with reconstruction.
I mentioned being a little weirded out the last time because I was fully conscious when they took me into the OR. This time, since the OR was only about 20 feet from where I was doing my pre-op stuff, the nurse just had me walk myself into the OR. I was actually carrying my own IV bag, too, until they realized I wasn't holding up high enough. LOL. The nurse showed me how she was checking herself and another nurse into the surgery on the computer, then had me crawl up and lie down on the operating table. Eventually my surgeon and the anesthesiologist came in, and the anesthesiologist said she was starting the meds that were going to make me go to sleep. I remembered from the last time that it only took 10 seconds before I was out, but this doctor did it in a little different order, I think. She told me one of the meds was going to burn, which I definitely don't remember from last time. When she administered it, I said 'Yooooow!' just to let her know that I felt it. She replied, 'The good news is that you won't remember this,' so I then used my 10 seconds to inform them that I remembered having the LMA taken out of me the last time, even though I wasn't supposed to. LOL. I bet they were super happy when the meds kicked in and I was knocked out. (And for the record, I DO remember the stinging, burning pain.)
And that was it.
I woke up with extreme, throbbing pain all over my chest, so of course my first thought was they had done a complete mastectomy. I immediately held my hand up to feel if I still had a breast at all. Ha. After what felt like forever - it was definitely BUSY - a nurse came over and offered me some pain meds, which helped a lot. Then she asked if I was ready for my mom to come in, and I said that I was not. LOL. After the pain meds kicked in and I was able to go to my Happy Place, they went and got my mom. My husband had also arrived, so that made it a little easier - though he had to leave fairly quickly again. After a while, Dr. L came by and said everything had gone well and 'You did great!' which I've never understood. How does one 'do great' during surgery under general anesthesia?! Hopefully it is the surgeon who does great, and not the patient. LOL. Anyway, since I'm not going to see her for my post-op visit, since she is going on vacation, I asked her what would happen if the margins weren't clean this time, even though I didn't really want to think about this possibility. She said it really depended. If they weren't clean by just a little, she'd be fine going back in yet another time. But if they weren't clean as in there was carcinoma all over the place, she said she would recommend a mastectomy, adding that, 'You don't have very large breasts, so if there is still extensive carcinoma, you wouldn't get good cosmetic results.' So my mom asked her if she felt optimistic about clean margins, and she said, 'I do!' then added. 'I always feel optimistic!' So... I guess all that is left is to try to feel optimistic and pray for clean margins.
I feel like had to wait around forever before I could leave this time. This was different from the last time, when I feel like they were anxious to get rid of me, and I actually left before I felt ready. Maybe it just seemed like forever, though, because I feel like I was home by 5 PM. I dozed and watched videos for the rest of the night, which is pretty much what I did all day today, too. I did, however, actually get dressed and put my contacts in this morning, which is more than I could do the last time. And now... I am off to pop a hydrocodone and hopefully be able to get a good night's sleep.
I feel like during the original lumpectomy, I was still reeling from the shock of my diagnosis and in the hysterical mode of GET THIS SHIT OUT OF ME! This time around, there was a much more ho-hum feeling. I know that due to the timing of my surgeon's vacation and our vacation and the ability for us to schedule appointments with various med oncs, there was not much flexibility for when this surgery would be. My surgeon had to squeeze me in, and... it definitely had that feel to it. Dr. L was her usual wonderful self, she just seemed a little more rushed than usual. From a patient's perspective, surgery is such a big deal, you sort of imagine that everyone's day centers around you and you alone, and it's hard to imagine that your surgery is so simple and routine that it's something your surgeon is squeezing in during what is normally her lunch break. It's a little unnerving to think that before she carves you out, she probably did at least 2-3 other surgeries. But then you have to figure that if it didn't work that way, it would probably be 2-3 months before you could get in for surgery.
Anyway, my surgery was tentatively scheduled for 2:15 PM, with a 1:00 check-in time. However, during my pre-op phone consult, I was asked to come in at 12:30 instead, because there was a chance the surgery could happen earlier, depending on how my surgeon's day unfolded. In the end, I think it ended up being pretty close to 2:15, since I didn't get to even start my pre-op stuff until 1:00. And apparently my surgeon had another surgery after mine, because normally she checks in with whoever is out in the waiting room immediately afterward, but she didn't. The good news is that I was awake and semi-coherent by the time she came by, so I got to hear the low down and ask her questions.
Waiting all morning was torture. I was hungry, not to mention thirsty, especially after a, um, fun night with my friends the night before. LOL. Supposedly I could have sips of water up until 8 AM, only I woke up a little after 8 AM feeling slightly dehydrated, so... basically I was thirsty the whole day. My husband had a lunch meeting he just couldn't miss, so my mom took me to the surgery while my dad took the kids. Needless to say, that was interesting. I've written about my parents before, and while it was good they could be involved and feel helpful, it definitely added an element of stress that would not otherwise have been there. Fortunately, my mom behaved herself very well. Unfortunately, my son... not so much. Let's just say that it will be a long, long time before my dad watches the kids again. My parents weren't going to tell me that my son had been a hellion, but of course my daughter informed me after I asked. My son had actually been a pain all morning, and was in the middle of a mega meltdown when my parents came over, which I didn't tell my dad, because I didn't want him to be freaked out about having the kids by himself. Eh, you win some, you lose some.
Before going in for surgery, I had the usual encounters with the patient care tech, nurse, anesthesiologist, and surgeon, and found that when you have surgery mid-day, no one is as chatty, and everyone seems like they can't wait for the day to be over. This is slightly unnerving, but I found solace in the fact that I was having a very simple, 30-minute procedure done, and not a double mastectomy with reconstruction.
I mentioned being a little weirded out the last time because I was fully conscious when they took me into the OR. This time, since the OR was only about 20 feet from where I was doing my pre-op stuff, the nurse just had me walk myself into the OR. I was actually carrying my own IV bag, too, until they realized I wasn't holding up high enough. LOL. The nurse showed me how she was checking herself and another nurse into the surgery on the computer, then had me crawl up and lie down on the operating table. Eventually my surgeon and the anesthesiologist came in, and the anesthesiologist said she was starting the meds that were going to make me go to sleep. I remembered from the last time that it only took 10 seconds before I was out, but this doctor did it in a little different order, I think. She told me one of the meds was going to burn, which I definitely don't remember from last time. When she administered it, I said 'Yooooow!' just to let her know that I felt it. She replied, 'The good news is that you won't remember this,' so I then used my 10 seconds to inform them that I remembered having the LMA taken out of me the last time, even though I wasn't supposed to. LOL. I bet they were super happy when the meds kicked in and I was knocked out. (And for the record, I DO remember the stinging, burning pain.)
And that was it.
I woke up with extreme, throbbing pain all over my chest, so of course my first thought was they had done a complete mastectomy. I immediately held my hand up to feel if I still had a breast at all. Ha. After what felt like forever - it was definitely BUSY - a nurse came over and offered me some pain meds, which helped a lot. Then she asked if I was ready for my mom to come in, and I said that I was not. LOL. After the pain meds kicked in and I was able to go to my Happy Place, they went and got my mom. My husband had also arrived, so that made it a little easier - though he had to leave fairly quickly again. After a while, Dr. L came by and said everything had gone well and 'You did great!' which I've never understood. How does one 'do great' during surgery under general anesthesia?! Hopefully it is the surgeon who does great, and not the patient. LOL. Anyway, since I'm not going to see her for my post-op visit, since she is going on vacation, I asked her what would happen if the margins weren't clean this time, even though I didn't really want to think about this possibility. She said it really depended. If they weren't clean by just a little, she'd be fine going back in yet another time. But if they weren't clean as in there was carcinoma all over the place, she said she would recommend a mastectomy, adding that, 'You don't have very large breasts, so if there is still extensive carcinoma, you wouldn't get good cosmetic results.' So my mom asked her if she felt optimistic about clean margins, and she said, 'I do!' then added. 'I always feel optimistic!' So... I guess all that is left is to try to feel optimistic and pray for clean margins.
I feel like had to wait around forever before I could leave this time. This was different from the last time, when I feel like they were anxious to get rid of me, and I actually left before I felt ready. Maybe it just seemed like forever, though, because I feel like I was home by 5 PM. I dozed and watched videos for the rest of the night, which is pretty much what I did all day today, too. I did, however, actually get dressed and put my contacts in this morning, which is more than I could do the last time. And now... I am off to pop a hydrocodone and hopefully be able to get a good night's sleep.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Re-Excision Lumpectomy
Wow, that was a long day, but I wanted to write a brief update. I am doing well, and already feel soooo much better than I did at this point the last time around. I am feeling a lot of pain, mostly throbbing pain. When I woke up from surgery I seriously thought they had done a mastectomy, and my pain level was through the roof. This improved fairly quickly after a dose of fentanyl through my IV and two hydrocodones. I didn't get as much pain medicine as the first time, which I think actually helped, because last time I was spinning for the entire day, and that in itself was so unpleasant I think it negated a lot of the pain relief. I got home and got settled about two hours after my first dose of hydrocodone and could not believe I had to wait another two hours until I could take more. (Do I sound like a junkie or what? LOL.) But because I was actually fairly coherent, I was able to manage the pain very effectively with ice and heat. I will definitely be ready for another dose of hydrocodone in an hour, but overall the pain is nothing like the last time. My whole breast, what's left of it anyway, alternates between an intense, dull ache and throbbing pain, but I can move my arm pretty well. Whatever pain I have when I move my arm was already there from before, and I don't feel like this surgery added any additional pain, so that is a huge relief.
I was extremely drowsy all afternoon, and couldn't seem to stay awake for more than an hour or so at a time. I'm a little worried about whether or not I'll be able to sleep well tonight, but... at least I don't have anywhere I have to be tomorrow, and my husband took the day off, so I don't have to worry about the kids. When I got home, I was STARVING, which was actually a good thing, because last time I didn't have much of an appetite for, like, a good 4-5 days. I ate a bowl of soup before drifting off to Seinfeld DVDs, then a friend brought a pizza over (the same friend who brought a pizza last time :)), and I actually ate two huge slices.
I will give a more detailed update tomorrow, but I just wanted to check in and say that I feel So. Much. Better. than last time. I basically feel crappy, but it is typical post-surgery crappy, and so much better than I expected. I am pretty much elated by how much less crappy I feel than I thought I would. I am confident this is going to be a much smoother and easier recovery, and I am extremely thankful for that. Thank you all for your continued love and support - it means so much to me.
I was extremely drowsy all afternoon, and couldn't seem to stay awake for more than an hour or so at a time. I'm a little worried about whether or not I'll be able to sleep well tonight, but... at least I don't have anywhere I have to be tomorrow, and my husband took the day off, so I don't have to worry about the kids. When I got home, I was STARVING, which was actually a good thing, because last time I didn't have much of an appetite for, like, a good 4-5 days. I ate a bowl of soup before drifting off to Seinfeld DVDs, then a friend brought a pizza over (the same friend who brought a pizza last time :)), and I actually ate two huge slices.
I will give a more detailed update tomorrow, but I just wanted to check in and say that I feel So. Much. Better. than last time. I basically feel crappy, but it is typical post-surgery crappy, and so much better than I expected. I am pretty much elated by how much less crappy I feel than I thought I would. I am confident this is going to be a much smoother and easier recovery, and I am extremely thankful for that. Thank you all for your continued love and support - it means so much to me.
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