2bubbas

No need to wig out.  If you don't have a choice, you will be fine. 

 Why did you have your saline imiplants taken out? 

 I'm unilateral, so it was just one.  I had some rippling issues, plus my crease was lower and I wanted a higher profile.  Also, you could see a round indentation right front and center that was the fill valve.  I'm sure the nipple would cover it.  After the surgery, one big ripple is still there (he did NOT go up in size and only went from low profile to moderate, I don't know why he didn't use high profile).  I no longer have that round indentation.  He fixed the crease (which is a pocket thingl) but I went surfing and it dropped a bit againl.  I'm done with surgeries like this, so I'm not pushing the ripple, size and crease issue.

 Did something happen to them or were you just unhappy with the results. 

If I'm totally honest with myself, I was pissed that he told me he did 5 silicones the same week he did my saline.  I wanted silicone too darnit!!  I read somewhere that someone thought silicone was steak and saline ground beef - and I bought into it.  Plus, I think my expectations of how wonderful silicone would be were way over the top.

 Did they feel like the "water ballons" described on the info section of the boards, and if so, how soon after your exchange?

They do NOT feel like water balloons.  I'm sure they feel vastly different out of the body and on the doctor's table, but they truly are not that different from the silicone.  Silicone is firmer, but softer.  That sounds contradictory, but I can't think of better words.  No sloshing.  The only other weird thing I can think of is when I ran my finger along the bottom of my boob, I could feel creases in the saline implant.  I couldn't see them.  But really, who does that?  My DH doesn't hardly ever touch it.  But that's us, not necessarily you.  Maybe it'll change when I get nips?  THe silicone one is cold.

 I don't think the dropping is what you think it is.  A lot of gals have their expanders and implants start way up in their collar bone.  Usually that settles down into a more natural slope.  I did not get a large size (I'm about a B cup), so that didn't even happen to me.  I will say, that because of the nature of saline, all the water rests on the bottom, and in silicone, you have more up higher.  Not a whole lot, but some.

 If you nitpik and compare, you can be very unhappy.  If you have realistic expectations, you can be very happy.  I'm sure I nitpik way too much, and still do.  But I'm happy that I have something there and pretty much no one can tel.

So my DH just told me about a show on the Spike channel (the he-man channel) called "Manswers" or something like that.  The question was, just how tough are silicone breast implants.  They put them through a myriad of tests (including the microwave, being hit with 100mph line-drives, being implant in a man for 5 years, etc).  The only test they failed was being shot.

 Makes me feel better about my choice.  I hope it helps others.  Or at least gives you a chuckle.

(and pardon me if this has already been discussed, I've been off the boards for a couple of months)

morning - hysterical ninnie - been there!!  Breastoid - love the term.

I've seen a picture of a gal who had the skin sparing without immediate reconstruction - she looked like what you described.  Her after photo looked really good.  I wish I could remember where I saw it - it might be reassuring to you...  I'll poke around a bit.

Hang in there!

mittmott, I haven't been following your progress, so I was wondering if maybe you are babying your arm since you are having so much nerve pain.  I know that I would!  If so, then that would do it.  Ask about getting some physical therapy.

I haven't had a flap surgery or radiation, so this may not help you, but walking really has helped me get full range of motion.  You have to swing the arms bending at the elbows to get the benefit.  FWIW, I don't do strengthening exercises, just stretching.  (just being lazy)

I hope you find the right cure for you!

so this thread got me curious and I got on the horn and tried to find out my manufacture date and location.  No go.  They were not giving out that information and said that I needed to ask my plastic surgeon.  I was honest and said I didn't have a problem and was just curious - so I don't know if I had lied would I have received a different response.  She did ask her manager (or so she told me) and that was the response I got.  I think I was the first person who has ever asked her that.  :-)

Anybody else try this?  You must have better phone skills than me Marian!

I had saline, now I have silicone.  There is no real difference in softness - to me.  But I don't have big boosoms, so maybe there is more of a difference the larger they are.

edited to say: so to answer your question, yes, you get a noticable softness with saline.  Very comfortable.

I'm not sure what others mean by thickening, but in my mind it's what you feel with your hand when you touch yourself.

I've always had lumpy breasts, and never knew what a normal breast felt like until after I had my twins.  My boobs just totally deflated (after the engorgement was all done) and totally lumpless.  Never felt that before - it was fantastic!  But eventually some lumps returned.  Most of those have a particular size and shape.  I would call a thickening a gigantic lump.    Like a quarter of your boob.  But not a round thing.  Just an area.  Thick feeling, not squishy.

Does that make sense?

I'm not sure if that's right, but that's what it is in my mind.

Brenda, I'm glad the pictures helped.  I just took another glance at them and wince at how, um, unpretty, it was.  I'm not perfect now by any means, but surely much better than at the start.

Have hope - you'll get there soon enough. 

Every time is slightly different.  But it's always," hey, it's over already?, I don't even remember falling asleep."  Usually I wake up hungry and thirsty.  For some bizarre reason I feel the need to fight to stay awake, I don't know why I don't just allow myself to drowse back off to sleep.  I like to know what's going on.  And also, after my first biopsy, the nurses were very chipper and talkative and commented about how happy I was.  So I also bizzarely have this need to be happy when I wake up.  The last surgery I was asking the guy, "does it look okay?" and he was like "I don't know, I wasn't there".  LOL!  Poor guy.  He's just there to push the bed...

I've only been sick a couple of times after surgery and realize that every time I do a pre-op I need to tell them about it so that gets taken care of.  They have drugs, you know.  You don't have to suffer.  Just speak up.

Right when you wake up, you are still pretty heavily drugged, so the pain won't come until later.

Good luck on your surgery.