The Foob Report

Shortly after changing from the surgical girdle to off-the-shelf shape-wear my back broke out with a rash. Not sure what is going on, but boy does it make it hard to get a decent night's sleep. Not sure what is below exhausted on the sleepless scale, but I've been hanging out there a lot these days. Hopefully Dr A will have some answers or suggestions. 

My follow-up visit with the plastic surgeon today went pretty well. He seemed pleased with the progress so far. Said the lumpy placed in the foobs is normal and I should become familiar with the feel so that I would notice if anything new (e.g., a cancerous lump) ever showed up. Any cancer would be external, within the remaining original breast tissue, not within the tummy fat, so it would be felt by an external exam. I do need to find a new bra or two as mine are leaving marks on the breasts. I don't want to spend too much money as I'm not sure how much of the size increase is due to continued swelling.  Things may also change after the second surgery where there will be some touch-ups.  I'm to continue massaging for 3-5 minutes a day which should help with the swelling and the need to get-to-know the territory. Massaging the foobs still weirds me out a bit. I'm fine with massaging the tummy scar, the only time that gives me problems is when I stand up after sitting or lying for a while. It's like it has to stretch out and I find myself talking to myself "stand up straight." 

To add insult to injury I had H and Dr A look at my back. Imagine my surprise when they said I had shingles. It never even occurred to me that the back pain I'd been having for a few weeks and the rash were actually related and due to shingles. It's good to know I'm not going crazy as far as the back pain is concerned, but really? Dr wasn't too surprised to see it even though I'm younger than the normal shingles sufferer (breaking the curve again) as my body is a bit stressed after surgery.  A bit stressed?  I would call that an understatement these days.  

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." — Ernest Hemingway