Exchange City
Comments
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I saw my primary care doc today and she said Ambien is known for causing "vivid dreams." So at least my nightmares will be in color! LOL. Thanks for all the support. I seem to be more needy this time than the last two surgeries.0 -
You're not alone Sandra - we're all there with you in spirit and you're in all our hearts...xoxoxoxo
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I had my exchange this morning and it went well. My PS exchanged my Inspector Gadget boobs for squishes - Sientra 425 natural shaped gummies, and from what I can see so far I love the shape, size, and feel. She also did fat grafting from my thighs to smooth everything out. I'm in some pain but it's minimal. Slept all day and did just take a few percocets but in general this is SO MUCH BETTER than the mx. I can see how I'll have to make an effort to take it easy with this one. For what it's worth I had a tough recovery on the MX. I was still taking gabapentin and atavan once a day, and tylenol 3x a day, and still in low-level pain most of the day, until yesterday. (I'd have still been taking Advil up until the surgery because that worked better, but had to stop before the exchange because of the blood thinning properties.)
I've had nightmares for the last week or so too. With or without Lunesta, didn't matter.
Thanks sweetandspecial! My surgery date was so close I didn't bother adding it to the list.
Maillotjaune thanks for your account. I start a new job in two weeks and although it's a desk job I've still been worried but reading your post I'm much less worried.
Good luck to everyone who is up next! I'll be thinking of you in the background. :-)
PS I did the nausea patch behind the ear and it's working great. No nausea and I'm eating miso soup crackers and ginger ale with zero problems. Might even try a slice of the chocolate cheesecake I made last night. :-) Also my PS found a way for me to rent a machine that constantly circulates cold water through an ice pack vest I'm wearing on my chest. I love it.0 -
I thought I had this thread on my favorites list too, but I guess I didn't. I started out in the July 2013 surgeries thread, ended up in the TE Troubles thread, now here I am! My exchange is on the 16th. I had it added to the list.
I have been using ambien occasionally for a couple of months now, but I've been having vivid and weird dreams ever since my BM in July. I used to sleep so good, now I feel it necessary to give Jesus extra thanks for a good nights sleep, even if it's aided...lol
So excited for everyone! Praying for all the surgeries this week. I keep telling everyone I'm getting new bewbies from Santa for Christmas!
Julie0 -
Rio, you had your exchange and you are home, and on the computer the same day? WOW - you are my hero!0 -
If Im not on already: Jan 10 for me!
I started taking generic zoloft around the time of my bmx, for hot flashes, and especially in the beginning had nightmres. Then just were vivid dreams-like being awake when youre asleep. Unsettling. I just switched the time I take it to earlier in the day-- Im going to see if it makes a difference. You might try moving med time to see if it helps, if you guys are getting bad / vivid dreams.0 -
Hi everyone! I wanted to jump in with a quick update. My exchange was Friday. I used the patch behind the ear & am very glad I did. No nausea at all, even with a 5 hr drive the following day. The pain and burning sensation that I had prior to Friday hasn't returned since, thankfully. I have had some pain due to the exchange (incisional) & fat graphing but it's manageable with Perc. Ativan at night still helps my muscles and helps me sleep too.
Restrictions: no lifting over 10 lbs, no drive, pulling or pushing. No lifting above my head either - all for 2 weeks. Surgical or sports bra for a month.
As far as the girls are concerned... I believe my PS went with 45 rounds 550cc - I like the size and graphing that she did above the implants but they don't seem close enough for my liking. PS explained my sternum restricted that.
Could someone explain the drop & fluff I'm reading about? Is this something I should expect.
Post op appt tomorrow so ill update again afterwards. Jenn, hope your feeling good & taking it easy (I know it's more difficult this time but we're worth it). To all those going in, the TExchange is just as everyone says: much easier, much better & not even comparable to the BMX.
Finally Squishy
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Speaking of 'squishy' , do your breasts actually conform to bras after the exchange? Like for push up bras and such? I keep reading about cohesive meaning one unit, not runny.0 -
Here's a weird way my DH found to mark my "drop and fluff".... put a pencil under there! He said see if you can fit one in the IMF fold (once it no longer hurts if you have an incision there!), then just keep adding pencils! He's pretty silly about all this stuff which suits me just fine!0 -
I am so out of it on pain meds and left over anesthesia, but here goes. Got exchange today to Mentor anatomical's. 440cc. They look to be about the right size for me body. I am disappointed that they are not more comfortable immediately, but my PS had to move the pockets closer together to give me better clevage, and he did some fat grafting on the top, and to soften the cleavage area. I think the harvest sites for the fat grafting are the most painful areas.0 -
DMarie and Goldie, so glad your surgeries are over and you are doing well. You all are amazing...you are home and on the internet already. I was battling nausea or sleeping for the first two days. I didn't open the laptop until later.
Goldie, where did they take the fat grafts from? Did they do it with a canula like liposuction?0 -
Hi...OMG almost six months post exchange. I wanted to update everyone. Okay, my PS loves his job. In fact, when I was in there last, he admired them for a long time. But did not want to do the nipple reconstruction. He wants me to get the tattoos. Okay, scheduled for late March 2014. With Vinnie of course. BTW...very inexpensive and going there as I do not want anyone else messing it up. I talked with his assistant Richie, and he swears that BC surviviors should not go with nipple reconstuctive. They have seen too may bad cases.
As far as life post exchange...well I was an A before and now a C, so I have had alot of attention from men. Can not beleive it really. Holy moly, missed out on this attention all my life!!! But it is all good. I do feel the muscle stress of them every few days. It helps to massage them.
Still can no belieeve that I went thru this ordeal this year. Second time ladies...and it has been a hell year with my dad almost dying, grand daughter passing after five hours of birth, and sister currently dying from stage 4 C. WTH???
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Hugs to Not Me. Sorry you had a rough year. Much love0 -
Moon....my daughter just moved to Port Washington during the summer of 2013. I recently visited, love that town. Maybe we can connect?
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Lala: thanks for the explanation. Did your PS indicate if they are suppose to drop & how much? What about massage, when can that start?
Sandra: my PS lipo'ed my thighs a bit for the fat graphing. Not that I can tell by looking at them (other than the horrible bruising & tenderness ). Wishing she would've taken a little extra while she was at it
btw: I slept for the first 2/3 days after as well.
Not me: so sorry to hear of your heartbreak this pass year.0 -
Not Me: so sorry for the rough year, hugs
Goldie and DMarie Congrats on your moe to the squishy sides, heres to quick healing!0 -
Goldie and marieD - welcome to the squishes! Hope you feel better soon!
Not me- wow! What a rough year. Big hugs to you!
On a lighter note, been wearing normal clothes now and I think I'm adjusting to my new smaller size which was more like the size I had before the overfill. Not bad just waiting for the whole drop and fluff.0 -
DMarie24---My PS never said anything about drop and fluff...as a matter of fact, he basically said what you have a couple weeks after EX is what you'll end up with. He's very young so not alot of experience with the long term. I learned about D&F from here! I asked him about massage. He seemed to poo-poo the idea but said to go ahead after all was totally healed. He said to move the breast in all 4 directions for a few minutes every day. I had myofascial release therapy because of pain along my ribcage from scarring from the drains and such. That helped me the most with drop and fluff. She really helped with loosening my pec muscle which helped the implant to drop into place.0 -
I just have one thing to say about lipo OUCH!!!!!! I can hardly move. Between the places he took it from, and the places he put it. OMG0 -
Hugs goldie!0 -
Sandra, sorry...I just saw your question. I have been a wee bit stones from the drugs. They took the fat from my inner thighs and my flanks, as he called them.
Ouch!!!!! Really, it hurts!!!!!!0 -
'Flanks'.....seriously??? That makes me think of a cut of beef! And it's actually kind of making me hungry......
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lol, Sweet. It's the area right below your waist and right above your butt.0 -
I hear ya Goldie. That's where they took fat from me too. Hurts to stand up, hurts to sit down. Hopefully this part will heal soon!0 -
ladies I hope your pain fades quickly!0 -
rlo, the Norco doesn't even touch the pain. It just puts me in a slightly better mood. And, where they grafted the fat doesn't feel too swift either.0 -
I do have to say though (for the sake of people whose exchanges are still coming up) that, for me, even with the butt pain the recovery from this surgery is SO much easier than it was with the MX. I've only had to take Percocet twice; the rest of the time Tylenol and Gabapentin have been enough. This, from a girl who took Percocet around the clock for six weeks straight after my MX, so it's certainly not that I have a high pain tolerance. It's just that the exchange has been so much easier for me.
I've been using Traumeel cream on the fat grafting bruises and it seems to be helping. I didn't ask my PS whether it's safe so standard disclaimer - ask you doctor first, but for me it's the only thing that really helps.0 -
Lisa, you're so funny...flanks make you hungry.
Questions for those who've had fat grafting: Does fat grafting hurt more if it's taken from different parts of your body? Seems those of you who had it taken from your thighs are having more trouble with the "donor site" than anything. Can you see a difference right away in the spots where they put it? How many cc's did they take? My doc said he would only take 100-200 cc's, which isn't much so I assumed there would be minimal discomfort. Wrong? The other question I have is what about fat necrosis? Did your docs give you info on that? I've heard it can happen but don't know much about it and how you tell if you have it.0 -
You know what Sandra, I have no idea how to answer any of your questions! I am usually an info-gatherer for medical stuff but have so much else going on right now that I just haven't asked many questions. My PS is very highly regarded and has done a great job so far, so I'm just trusting her judgement. (Again, so unlike me, but it's working out so far.) I figure if complications arise then we'll deal with them then.
As to how it looks, I think the fat grafting made a nice difference in shape. For instance she filled in around the grand canyon between my implants so now that looks natural. And I think my thighs might be smaller. But it's hard to get a final read because there's still so much swelling going on. Ask me in a few weeks...0 -
My gut is really rolling around. Guess I won't be able to control my anxiety very well today. I'm trying to stay busy, but this surgery has me more worried than the first or second ones. The concern about getting another infection isn't panic level yet, but probably will be tomorrow morning when I show up for surgery. I'm not afraid of what they are going to do, just afraid that something will go wrong. Three surgeries in three months is just too much.
This morning I had to go to the hospital to have another PICC line put in prior to surgery. It went fine the first time I got one 3 months ago, but not this time. Even though it goes in the same vein (inside your upper arm) they had a hard time getting it to advance because of some obstruction at the top of my shoulder. (Possibly scar tissue from the first time. I had the PICC for two months so I wouldn't be surprised.) It wouldn't make the turn across my chest and down to my heart. No matter what they tried, it wouldn't advance and the stress was increasing for them and for me. I couldn't help the tears, not because it hurt (they give you lidocaine) but because it confirmed my fear of something going wrong. After an hour of being covered in sterile sheets, holding absolutely still, more lidocaine sticks and seeing concern in the eyes of everybody in gowns, hats and masks (my husband and me included) the PICC team members had a discussion and came up with a plan that worked! They used a wire to move the obstruction so the catheter could advance. I was so relieved. A couple of stitches to hold everything in place and some sterile bandages later, we were out the door and headed for breakfast.
All my IV meds and blood draws will be through the PICC, which stays sterile and is nicer than getting stuck a million times. Since I'll be on that same strong antibiotic, IV Vancomycin, I'll be discharged with the IV, a bunch of bags of Vancomycin and will have a visiting nurse at home to do blood draws. They have to do every other day to make sure your organs are tolerating it. Hopefully there will be no sign of infection and I can get off the antibiotic in a few days. Last time I was on it a month before my liver started to act up.
I'm taking Lysol and hand sanitizer to the OR tomorrow and keeping it in my room afterwards. Anybody that comes near me will have to be de-germed. That's how I got the infection after the BMX. If I had my way, I'd leave the OR and go home right away to avoid hospital germs. Since I've had a stroke and have an aneurysm in my heart, they like to watch me for a day or so afterward. It's ok. Gives my husband a chance to relax a little before he has to be on nursing duty. Thanks to everybody who gave me ideas of things I could ask for to prevent PONV - post op nausea & vomiting. I've already talked to the anesthesiologist and we're going to go with the patch, drugs pre op and post op, plus eliminating drugs and gases during surgery that make a patient prone to PONV. Hope all your tricks work for me too.
The TE will be taken out, the good implant will be taken out of the other side, repairs will be made to muscles on my side and underarm due to damage from surgery #2 for the infection, and two new smaller implants will be put in. I'm going from saline to gummies to help solve some anatomy divot problems on my chest. Fat grafting in a month or two will fill in the remaining problem areas higher up on my chest and under my arm. Wish he would do it like some of your docs do - at the same time as the exchange - but he wants to wait until the implants have settled and the swelling is down. Makes sense, but I'm not looking forward to it.0
