Surgery Update

I want to thank everyone for all of the well wishes on Thursday! I am happy to report that surgery went very well. It took him less time than he originally thought, and I warned the anesthesiologist about all of my post-op nausea from last time so they gave me a lot of good drugs while I was out. Luckily I had no nausea this time around. I did develop an irregular heart rhythm for about an hour and a half after surgery so they kept me a little longer just to monitor that, but fortunately it resolved on its own.

I am amazed at much easier this recovery is compared to the mastectomy. Even the night of surgery I was much more functional than I had expected. In terms of pain control I am just taking occasional Ibuprofen. I am definitely not functioning at 100% yet, but I am already back out walking and on our treadmill and elliptical.

The biggest hassle has been dealing with the drains.

If the drainage stays below 15cc/day for 3 consecutive days then I can have them removed at my post-op appointment Thursday morning. As of right now the drainage is almost double that so I am preparing myself for having them for 2 weeks. They are sore, uncomfortable, and incredibly annoying. I will be back at work tomorrow so I am planning my wardrobe carefully in attempt to hide them as best I can.

Overall I have been very happy with the surgery. I am excited to get rid of the drains and finally feel a little more "normal again" It's nice to think that out of a 4 step process (surgery, chemo, surgery, Herceptin) I have three of the four checked off!

Surgery #2 and Bye Bye Wig

Tomorrow I will be going in for surgery #2. It is scheduled for noon and should take about 2 1/2 hours. My plastic surgeon wants me to stay overnight but he will let me go home if I am feeling ok. I am starting to get a little nervous, but not as much as before my mastectomy. Our weekends lately have been very busy so I am actually looking forward to spending a weekend at home.

I checked my blood counts at work this week and the good news is that I am no longer anemic! My hemoglobin level is getting much closer to what it was prior to chemo. My white blood cell and platelet counts are still low, but slowly increasing. The other good news is that according to my hormone levels my chemo-induced menopause seems to have resolved. My oncologist said this could take anywhere from 6-12 months but, as usual, I am an overachiever! My energy level has definitely improved. Last weekend I was able to run a 5 mile race, which was something I didn't think possible until just a few days before.

My hair continues to grow. To everyone else it seems to be coming in quickly, but to me it feels like it is taking forever! Even though it is still VERY short, I have pretty much stopped wearing my wig. I still feel a bit self-conscious, but I am getting more used to it. I still plan to continue taking pictures to document the process. Here are the latest two.

I'll do another post later this weekend to let everyone know how surgery went!