Reconstruction diep and radiotherapy

I had a DIEP with a small TRAM for the same reasons...the muscle he took was half the size of a cigarette packet. My PS told me I wouldn't have known the difference if he hadn't said....and he's right...my rectus abdominus muscle has healed, I can do situps / oblique situps and the plank...feeling no different :)

Congrats on the weight loss. I hope you find a good answer for the reconstruction.
Dont feel bad about anxiety attacks before appointments, I had to have Valium before all my appointments at first, if the specialist was running late at all, I still felt the tension rising.
8 months along and I am getting to the better appointments, and the anxiety levels have dropped.
I will probably still need Valium before scan result appointments though.

The scans for DIEP flap are interesting. My Plastic Surgeon showed us the scan on his computer, running up from my knees to chest, very interesting stuff.
He was following the veins but you could see the kidneys, liver, spleen and other bits coming into the screen.
My veins are not in the ideal place for DIEP flap and are rather small, but he thinks if he uses a little tram flap ( taking a patch of muscle) he should be able to do it. 
I have plenty of tummy for it though, and yet he said if I lost weight it wouldn't be a problem?
Apparently you get the best result from tissue breast reconstruction if you are at your ideal weight, so don't feel bad about losing it, you will have a better chance of a well shaped and matching breast, and you will be fitter and better for recovery too.

Thanks guys I spent a few moments thinking about the irony of life today, the last 3 months I've been on a health kit and have lost about 3- 4 kilos and was proud of being able to fit into some old jeans, today the plastic surgeon is worried that I haven't got enough tummy fat to have a diep and has told me to look at a pap reconstruction, it's hard not to feel slightly peeved off with myself  Am having CT scans on Friday and go back to see her on Tuesday with my decision, at the moment she has penciled me in on the 4th September, I think it's finally starting to sink in and am starting to get nervous and I think I've developed a twitch in my eye jenny66 x

Good luck today @Jenny66 xxx

that sounds really positive @Jenny66!  Wonderful news :)  xx

That's all good news! 

Crossing fingers, toes and everything for you @Jenny66. Xx

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts, feelings and experience with me, reading your comments definitely helps with decisions - some are still too scary to put much thought into - I saw the surgeon today and had some good news after further checks he seems to think I won't need chemo and he's 90% sure I won't need radiotherapy, I'm still having a masectomy and lymph node check but still won't know all the results until after the op so that 10% will no doubt be playing on my mind. I seriously think I had an anxiety attack before I saw him, it is so easy to think the worst I see the plastic surgeon on Wednesday so am still deciding about reconstruction jenny66 x

All good advice, but just reiterating that you don't have to decide now and as Melinda says, you may find a bit of time  therapeutic, financially beneficial and instructive. While many women want and have a reconstruction sooner or later, many don't. It's a very personal decision, and becomes a lot clearer post mastectomy. You may also need time to think about what kind of reconstruction is best for you and that again may be clearer once surgery is over and you also know what treatment you may have post surgery.  Almost everyone wants to get back to normal as soon as possible and almost everyone ultimately comes to grips with the new "normal". It's not necessarily better or worse, just a bit different and your views and thinking can shift. Best wishes, it's  a scary ride but lots of us get through it.