Exchange City
Comments
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The anesthesiologist definitely put something in because it was nothing like mx when it went on for days. It was really minor. Some of us are just more susceptible than others. My husband, son and two other men are sailing across the Atlantic as we speak and one of the guys has to take Gravol non stop but the others are fine.
Nice day here in Vancouver at -9C but sunny and I plan to have a lazy day.0 -
marianelizabeth - lazy day sounds perfect....enjoy
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I have a question for the ladies that have had myofacial release. What exactly does this entail? Where/what are the therapists touching? What should I look for when searching for a therapist who does this? I have done PT, am having Graston technique massage on my arm, am swimming/practicing yoga regularly, and stretching daily, but my pecs are still extremely tight and am looking for relief. My regular massage therapist told me that she does not do breast massage, however, she does work on my upper chest but it is not helping enough for me.0 -
Hi all,
I'm still in the hospital. May go home Sunday. It's been very painful. Trying to shake a nasty headache too. Had nausa all day yesterday and mosr of today.0 -
Hang in there Sandra - we're all with you in spirit. Rest and heal and don't go too light on the pain meds if you need 'em. I hope the headache clears up and you feel much better soon. Thanks so much for giving us an update even though you don't feel well right now (((((((hugs))))))
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sandra!!
So glad to hear from you!! I hope you are able to sleep and rest well tonight. Speedy healing !0 -
Sandra glad to hear from you! Heal fast. Take the pain pills! LOL0 -
Sandra, speedy healing. Hope you get home soon. Keep us posted.0 -
Sandra, so glad to hear you are on the other side. One day at a time, now! Hang in there, take your pain pills, breathe deeply, and I can't wait to hear about your progress!0 -
Sandra, hope the nausea has passed, if not ask the Dr if you could get the patch to put on behind your ear and eit on for a few days, it is slow release and should help.
Also do you know what implants you have?0 -
Sandra take total advantage of IV anti nausea and pains meds since you are there. I did that when I had my mx and was glad of it. Yesterday was better than today. Nausea when I woke up but I took a gravol and lay in bed until I felt good again and now OK. I think part of it is the bowels and though I have been taking lots of Sennekot I added prunes today too once the nausea went away. As for pain, it is there but not bad other than when rolling out of bed~~that is the hardest thing to do! But lots of areas of course that are sore, both breasts and the lipo site.0 -
Maria, my lipo sites are sooo sore!0 -
Home from the hospital two hours ago on day three. This was a painful surgery and I didn't expect it. So many of you have sailed through the exchange and gone home as soon as you woke up. Usually I'm the one saying "it didn't hurt." Not this time. The left side that had the TE is pretty sore, but the right side that had the implant changed out for a new kind of implant is really painful. Sitting in my hospital bed the pain was about a 3 as long as I didn't move. Then it spiked to an 8 and had me gasping and shaking. (That was something new - didn't even shake after surgery #1, the BMX Direct to Implants. Breezed through that one with a lot of discomfort but the only pain was a minute when I stood up.) Surgery #2 was not very painful either. That's where they took the left implant out as well as dead muscle, skin and tissue, and put in the TE. I've been always been able to do ok with IV Tylenol. Not this time. They added a TINY bit of morphine to my IV and it helped, but since I'm allergic to narcotics, my breathing and heart rate go down with even that little bit. I think I got it a couple of times Friday and Saturday but no more after that. I had developed a nasty headache.
This time getting up to go to the bathroom was torture. Fortunately my husband Mike stayed with me Friday night and helped me get around. I brought a disposable wooden spoon to wrap toilet paper around so I could clean myself but still can't do it with the right side. Way too painful to try to reach. The left side is no picnic, but I can do it. Since they put me on a monitored floor again, I had EKG leads stuck all over, continuous oxygen saturation monitors on one side, and IV's with antibiotics and fluids on the other side. In the middle was the oxygen tubing. Talk about feeling trussed up like a turkey! Tubes were twisted up everywhere. Getting up was a major production. As I started to disconnect the first monitor the nurses would come running! I have a history of heart & breathing problems and have coded 4 times, so they watch me closely.
The plastic surgeon surprised me by not putting in drains. He had told me to expect two. I asked why and he said he changed the surgery plan to avoid chances of infection. Minimizing the incisions was the smart thing to do this time. He did not take off my "mud flaps" or fix the messed up muscle cords from surgery #2. He says we'll do those in 2 months. I was disappointed but I trust his judgement. He also chose general anesthesia, and that upset me too. I had IV sedation last time and it was great...no nausea. Thought that was what would happen this time, but right before surgery he told me he's changed his mind. He had to do more pocket work and felt I had to have general. I was in tears in the pre-op "holding pen". I don't like surprises and my nerves were already on edge. The first surgery I had a general and was sick as a dog for 3 days. The anesthesiologist said he would be putting in an arterial line while I was awake, and that put me over the edge. They are SO painful to get and docs usually have to try 2 or 3 times. So I was a whiny baby, nervous that I'd have another stroke, nervous that my heart aneurysm would break, nervous that my heart would stop again..it stopped twice during the BMX, and now scared of pain and nausea. Bring on the Versed and let's get this over with. Versed did a good job. My anxiety was gone as the surgery started.
I haven't looked at the new implants yet. They are Allergan Natrelle 410 style FF. The card also says 740 cc's.
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Sandra - so good to hear from you. I'm glad you're home, it's just more 'comfortable' being at home, even if you're still in pain. I'm sorry, though, that you had and are still having such pain and anxiety and a surprise or two that you weren't expecting. You had a lot more work done than I did so to compare your post-op with mine would be like apples to oranges. The whole stroke thing and the heart stopping thing and the arterial line thing would likely put any of us over the edge. You got through it though, girlfriend! I laughed out loud about the wooden spoon wrapped in TP to wipe with....omg!! Rest and heal sweetie....xoxoxoxoxo
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Sandra glad youre home and the worst is over, now for the healing!0 -
Bless you Sandra! Hope your pain eases soon.0 -
Would love to hear from others who have had NS BMX with TEs and have had their exchange with fat grafting. Just curious what I am in store for when I have mine on Jan 16. PS is doing lipo from stomach to sunken in divots above each breast and may lipo fat pockets on either side. Are the lipo areas painful? If so, for how long. Will my stomach be compression-wrapped? Do you like your new foobs? How long for them to settle and look natural? Any sensation return at all? Thanks so much. I am SO ready to be rid of these TEs.0 -
I have just gone thru my exchange after having NS BMX back in may, however I did not have fat grafting. I did have a small divot but my PS feels that very well might work itself out in a couple months with massage. I also understand he does not believe in fat grafting. so we will see. So fat I think they are starting to "drop and fluff" and I think the divot has improved a little bit so far0 -
My anesthesia fog is clearing and the pain is down significantly. Coming home from the hospital has worked its magic. The right side which had gotten an implant on the same day as my BMX 3 months ago is the problem. I never had a minute of pain or trouble with it. Now since it was changed out for a different kind, there's pretty intense pain at the bottom. I asked the PS and he said since he was switching me from 800 cc round saline to a smaller silicone anatomical, he had to do a bunch of pocket work. The other side that lost the implant because of the infection and had a TE for 2 months, feels just fine. It's great not to have that swollen half coconut on my chest. Not much pain ...just uncomfortable, and limited range of motion. Since that side looked like Frankenstein after surgery #2, I expected pain there, not on the "good side". Just goes to show you cannot predict how your exchange will go.
These Allergan Natrelle 410 anatomical silicone implants, size FF are smaller than the 800 cc saline rounds but feel nice and soft like the saline. The anatomical shape took care of some of the divots in the upper pole so I'm very pleased. They look great and very natural.
Doc says I'll stay on IV antibiotics for 10 more days to make sure an infection doesn't show up. He said he wants me to take a vacation somewhere and not think about cancer or surgeries for awhile. Three surgeries in three months has taken it's toll on me. It boiled over into tears before we went to the OR this time. PS said he would do the next surgery no sooner than 2 months. Pretty cool, huh? Doc prescribes a vacation! I hear a cruise ship calling my name in about 4-6 weeks.
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Sandra heal fadt. I Hope you get the chance to take that cruise. Much love.0 -
so glad to hear that anesthesia hangover is clearing, Sandra! Hang in there and definitely take a break from all of this and a nice vacation!0 -
Sandra, you are amazing. I tend to be nervous about all things surgical, so if I had your experience, I would have spent a lot of time being terrified, too. SO GLAD all went well! Hopefully, the worst is behind you , and nothing but happy, healthy healing from now on!!! I am especially glad to hear that your pain is down somewhat. I hope that is the END of THAT! Were you expecting the size of implants that you got? Were you expanded about that far?0 -
Glad you are feeling better Sandra. Great time to take a cruise, something to look forward to and busy yourself with!!0 -
Great news Sandra - so glad you're feeling better!
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Sandra,
So good to hear from you!
I had a bit of pocket work with my revision 7 weeks ago. Ouch!!!! It will take some time to heal. PLEASE be a good girl and don't overdo while all of that inside stuff is healing.
A cruise sounds nice and warm. Can we all come?0 -
Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement. Since everyone else lately has sailed through their exchanges, this caught me totally by surprise. Although I was initially disappointed that the PS didn't do all the procedures he had planned, now I'm glad. The exchange part is painful enough with the additional pocket work. My lower ribs are killing me. I can't imagine having to deal with pain from the fat grafting donor area on top of this. Today is a day I wish I could take something besides oral Tylenol. The IV Tylenol works so much better. Don't know why they don't let me have it at home. I get IV Vancomycin antibiotic at home for 10 days so what difference would it make? <sigh> I really have turned into a whiney baby and it's post op day three. I should be well past this stage.
I'm just not used to things hurting this long. Two days is ok, four days is not. I know it will get better but I'm getting impatient. Lingering pain gets you down and causes depression.The size, shape, and feel of the implants is fine. (Allergan Natrelle 410's style FF) They are a bit smaller than the first implants but I knew they would be and really don't care. I've had big breasts all my life and believe me, they are overrated. Even with the tissue expander blown up to 740 cc's, there wasn't enough skin to cover the same 800 cc saline round that was there before the infection. The good side had to go too in order to have some symmetry. The anatomical silicone implants sit a little bit higher on my chest than the saline rounds. The top of the implant covers some of the divots that were so sore since the BMX three months ago so it's all been worth it.
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Sandra - you have every right to whine a bit so take advantage of it girl! If there's one thing God is trying to teach all of us on this journey I think it would be patience. There's no way to rush things in this process, and just when we thing we've had our last procedure, our last surgery, there's something else that needs to be done or tweaked or revised. You may feel like you're whining......I call it small group therapy
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Sandra I am glad to hear you are home and hope to hear soon that the pain moderates. I agree that lingering pain can get you down so I hope this ease sooner than later for you. I looked at my Allergan's Natrelle card today and then asked my PS's receptionist when I called for an appt. what they meant. Mine are Left ST-410 ML and 170 g and she read from her book that means Moderate Height, Low Projection. The left is the augment side. For the mx side it is 410 FX which means Full Height, Extra Full Projection and it is 410 g. I was pretty small to start with so unlike some of you, I will actually be bigger.
Night 3 was not so great. The sennekot and prunes finally worked over the course of the night thank goodness but I felt nauseated again and took another Gravol (yesterday Gravol in the AM and I was fine all day) and lay on the couch for an hour and now OK. This was similar to last time and I am not concerned. As for pain, it hurts the most getting out of bed even with rolling. I can see more bruising radiating from both sides of the lipo site but nothing terrible. I am waiting for a call back to find out when I see PS. The nurses at the hospital told me to leave on dressings until I see him but his office seemed confused by that. We will see when I get a call back.0 -
marianelizabeth - I hope your pain eases too as well as Sandra's. My exchange was so easy-peasy I feel really badly for the pain and discomfort you ladies are experiencing
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orange73 I feel for you and know its so incredibly frustrating to to be able to do what you want with your body. I would have thought swimming would have been gentle? I am about3 month out from exchange and still have lots of pain/aggravation from my right side due to having it radiated in 2010. the tissues just don't act the same as the unradiated breast/chest tissue. Ive begun working out at home and still modify most dvd's. Lots of stretching afterward and throughout the day. Its frustrating as hell, but seems like the road ends here,so we re on our own to deal with our new bodies.. Start small and increase slowly. Ive been at it for 4 weeks now and just seeing the results of my energy/strength returning. Be kind to yourself!
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