I saw the plastic surgeon today for the first expansion of the tissue expanders I have in preparation for the insertion of the implants later this year. Luckily, he was able to expand me a lot during the actual surgery so I should not need many additional expansions. Good thing, because today was NOT a pleasant experience. He had told me the actual expansion would be easy but I would be sore after. The actual expansion was quite unpleasant and now I feel like I have basketballs glued to my chest, rather than softballs. After the expansion of the first side, I got incredibly dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. This is not the first time this has happened to me during a medical procedure but it s definitely my worst incident. Then, he had to do the second side which made me feel even worse. I basically just laid there taking deep breaths for a while, with a cold compress on my head and a garbage can next to me. Luckily, I got myself calmed down before I needed the can! Somehow, I tolerated the sentinel node biopsy dye injection so well and nearly lost it with this. Very unexpected! It is going to take a lot for me to do another expansion...
I had to recover kind of quickly so we could get to the appointment with the oncologist on time. That went really well and I will provide an update on that later. The Valium I took is kicking in and I need to rest...
Amanda, I am so sorry to hear the first expansion was such an unpleasant experience. I hope the next one goes a lot better. You are doing so wonderfully with this heavy load you have been given, and I hope you are as proud of yourself as the rest of us are of you! Your strength sets the bar so high and you are truly an inspiration. I am praying for you every day and sending you all the good vibes I can.
ReplyDeleteTricia ;)
You poor thing! Like you haven't been through enough?! I nearly passed out reading your entry so I can't imagine actually DOING IT.[Deep breaths]. The good news is that the basketballs are perfectly timed for March Madness! The Valium is probably the only thing standing between you and the NCAA. You'll get there.
ReplyDeleteLove you!
CST
I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience...I get woozy at the eye doctor, so I know that sicky/fainty type feeling and it is not fun! But I am happy to see that you continue to keep up your spirits and kick BUTT!
ReplyDeletelove,
Judi
( I'm sorry! everyone is different. the first time I had mine I took a muscle relaxer beforehand and the numbing cream worked really well so I didn't have any trouble with it. the 2nd time was even easier than the first for me so hopefully the same will be true for you. Once you're done with expansions you'll have enough skin/area for the surgeon to work with for implants and finishing touches and it's easier to go smaller when you have a lot of area to work with so my doc recommended I do one more expansion than I wanted so they'd have plenty to work with and I'm glad I agreed to do it b/c all the subsequent surgeries I"ve had to fix things along the way have been easier for them to do since I had done that one extra expansion. Hugs to you.
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