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Exchange City

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Comments

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited March 2014

    perhaps we need a  NEW thread for info for Newbies on TEs? Not troubles but just discussing them? Kind of like the How to prep for sx (That's the shortcut word for SURGERY people! Get your minds out of the gutter!!! LOL! !) thread? Do you all think it would be helpful?

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    Darn!  I would rather prep for the other SX!!!

    I didn't mind TEs at all.  They were 500's so when they were filled to 750 and 850 they were solid, but never painful.  I got fills 100-130cc at a time and that never hurt either.  If you know what to expect and have the right mindset it can make a big difference so a thread about TE and not their troubles would be great for the new girls.

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited March 2014

    All right. I'll start it. Everyone come over and fill in your best tips for getting along with them. 

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited March 2014

    I've titled it : TEs. A Beginner's Primer

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    Awesome, I will pop by and post something!  Seriously, I didn't find them bad at all!  In Fact, wish I had one right now!!!

  • Smaarty
    Smaarty Member Posts: 2,618
    edited March 2014

    4sew, I'm well aware of your issues. It made me very conscience of what I was doing and not push myself and NOT feel guilty for not helping out when I felt it wouldn't hurt me.  I'm very sorry you are going through this and hope it all ends up where you want to be!  I'm still not suppose to lift anything heavy for a couple more weeks and no soaking in tub, swimming pool or hut tub for another 6 weeks.  Be good, brave and patience!  :)

    I think the new thread is a great idea.

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    Thanks Smaarty! It makes me feel better to know that by posting what I am going thru it helps others be aware of other possibilities good or not as good!

    I'll get back there soon!  I don't know if you picked up on it, but I'm a little head strong that way!  Shhhh. Don't tell my doctors!

  • Smaarty
    Smaarty Member Posts: 2,618
    edited March 2014

    4sew, really?? Nah!!  Keep us posted as you progress. Are you going to Las Vegas after all? Hope so!

  • lizlori
    lizlori Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2014

    Its good to hear that some gals get through this with no issues.  My surgery is set for the 28th.  I see ps this week, fingers crossed he won't back out (have low platlets).  My surgery is on a Friday afternoon, and my hubby wants me to go to the opening season  baseball game with him on the following  Monday.   Needless to say I am annoyed and can't imagine sitting through three hours of baseball??  I don't know, maybe I will be feeling good.....

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    Yup I'm going!  Free week at the Bellagio and I have never been to Vegas. I had my ticket last year and broke my damn ankle. And by broke I mean shattered in like 6 places and screwed back together.  So DH went alone and we lost the miles. While he was gone went to GYN for year follow up and all hell broke loose. Went for mammo and biopsy on crutches. 

    So hell yeah!  I'm going!  Sis in law is staying with kids. Not super confident but no great options. She is an emotional mess. Kids are 9, 11, 14, & 16. If they don't get to school. Oh well. I know they know how to forage for food and they are too lazy to do anything that would burn the house down so I'm not TOO worried!

    Lori!  You will feel great by Monday. Just don't raise your arms to cheer or clap and you will be fine!  Exchange is easy compared to where you have been!

  • lizlori
    lizlori Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2014

    Thanks 4....def will not be clapping, maybe I will be hoped up on pain meds and sail through the game...ha ha.

    I do agree, this will be a piece of cake compared to an eight hour long double mastectomy.   

     Can't wait to get my sisters back!!   I do have to go back for nipples though, and the tattoo aerola.  Does anyone know how soon I will get them?  Guess I will find out from my ps...

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    I didn't take any pain meds at all with exchange!  You will do great!

  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 1,750
    edited March 2014

    The newbie info for TE's is a good idea. I still would want to read this thread too. I'm the kind of person who wants to know everything that can go wrong and what the plastic surgeons' plan will be if and when it happens. I wrote down the problems others had and took that list to my PS. He acknowledged that those things could happen to me, but said he could fix each one of them. I felt confident after that.

    I also was glad to read about things that sounded like trouble, but turned out to be nothing, or to be perfectly normal. Without that knowledge, I would have been worried about the strange things I was feeling and seeing. I believe those of you who taught me, supported me, and advised me all along the way are the reason why my TE journey was smooth sailing until the end.

  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 1,750
    edited March 2014

    Lori,

    My exchange was much harder than I expected. There is no way I could have gone anywhere three days later. If it is "a piece of cake" for you, great. But if not, it's ok. We all heal differently and respond to anesthesia in our own way.  

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    True Sandra,

    I didn't mean to minimize what anyone goes through or sound hoity toity!  We do all react so differently and have different outcomes to the exact same procedures.

    I like you want all the info!  Good and bad!  Then I do usually try to take the positive outlook approach but don't always manage that!  Yesterday was one of those days!

  • sweetandspecial
    sweetandspecial Member Posts: 1,669
    edited March 2014

    Lori - I'm one who had no trouble with the exchange. No pain meds after I left the hospital, felt great so it was hard to follow orders and not work out for six weeks.  The most annoying thing was two drain tubes for 3 days.  But, like Sandra said, easy-peasy recovery is certainly not guaranteed.  I suggest you expect the best, but plan for the worst Smile

  • Mimi68
    Mimi68 Member Posts: 69
    edited March 2014

    Thanks ladies, glad I asked!

    Mimi

  • mnmbeck
    mnmbeck Member Posts: 156
    edited March 2014

    Lori....my exchange is scheduled for the 27th!  We'll be (hopefully) on the fasttrack to normal life again.  I am nervous, of course...but, so hopeful that it will be OK, and I cannot STAND these TE's!

    I am very grateful for this thread.  I knew nothing of this site before my BMX, and was searching desperately after I was in horrific pain from these TE's for what seemed like way too long.  They are still tight, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful.  But, because of the support and encouragement from the women here, I feel that it is possiible that I may feel better someday!  I appreciated everyone's honesty.  I was so afraid of all that was going on after surgery.....It was amazing to hear from women who had "been there." 

  • Jackiegray
    Jackiegray Member Posts: 56
    edited March 2014

    looking for some opinions :)

    Will 7 weeks be enough time for recovery post exchange surgery to go on a vacation that I will be doing a lot of snorkeling and fishing?

    FYI I tend to heal very slowly bc I have lupus

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    Hi Jackie!

    Did you have rads???  I only ask because I tend to heal very quickly and at 6 weeks post exchange I had my incision pop open on my rads side and lost my implant to infection.  Now I am trying to heal but it wont stop draining and close up so I am getting a drain installed tomorrow, a month after the implant removal.  I was doing some stretching and Lymph drainage massage when it opened.  I did push directly on it, obviously harder than I should have, but it had beena little over 6 weeks and looked just like the other one on the outside.  All Healed up!  Underneath, not so much ;0(

    I'm not trying to scare you!  I would just proceed with caution or maybe take my TEs on a nice vacay and see the doc when I got back all nice and rested with a good tan!!

  • Smaarty
    Smaarty Member Posts: 2,618
    edited March 2014

    Jackie, my PS said no hottub, pool or tub soaking for 3 months. Ask your doc. Last June when I had just the bmx, no swimming that summer. It was a bummer.

  • sandra4611
    sandra4611 Member Posts: 1,750
    edited March 2014

    Jackie, I had my exchange surgery in early December and went on a cruise six weeks later. Normally my husband and I do more active things, including snorkeling and zip lines. Not this time. Initially I wanted to take a kayak excursion, but talked it over with my plastic surgeon who said I wasn't ready for such a workout. He said I could do all the hiking I wanted and approved a cave tubing adventure in Belize, but swimming and snorkeling in Roatan was out.

    Why don't you ask your plastic surgeon what he thinks? Just because we are nicely healed on the outside doesn't mean internally we are ready for more active pursuits. I didn't have radiation but I suspect the restrictions go on longer for those women.

  • Jackiegray
    Jackiegray Member Posts: 56
    edited March 2014

    Hi Ladies

    I did not have radiation. I have my pre-op appointment on March 25th. My PS knew pre-MX about this vacation and at the time said it was not a problem. However I have my doubts because he has changed his mind on several other issues as time has gone by. 

    Thanks for the input 

    Jackie

  • sweetandspecial
    sweetandspecial Member Posts: 1,669
    edited March 2014

    mnmbeck - you sound just like me!!  I found this site about four and a half weeks post BMX (not that I was counting) when I googled tissue expander pain.  It was a real life saver for me!  I realized it was not a race and i needed to tell my PS to SLOW DOWN ON THE FILLS!  Now I'm 7 months post-exchange and very happy I went with BMX and reconstruction.

  • lizlori
    lizlori Member Posts: 146
    edited March 2014

    So I had my appt with ps today.  I was informed I have to sleep reclined for two days, and then lay on my back while in bed, for a month....I get horrible back aches if I sleep on my back....she said I could prop my breast on something soft, if I did lay on my side but have to be very careful not to apply pressure.   Also was told I have to keep my heart rate and blood pressure down to lessen the chances for bleeding for at least a month.... It all seems strange, and was wondering if this is the norm?

    The Onc wants to check my platlets again, (a week before surgery)so I am not going to get my hopes up that the surgery will happen....

    I did ask about going to the ballgame, and they said if I feel ok, no problem, but said I have to stay clear of rowty crowds so I don't get jabbed in the chest.  For that reason, I DON'T want to go. I have waited a long time for my new bosoms and don't want anything to happen to them.  I have already asked my husband to find someone else, but he seems to not want to do that...grrr

      The ps and nurse also say this is all a piece of cake and that I will instantly notice a big difference in softness.

    Thanks for your input....Lori

  • sweetandspecial
    sweetandspecial Member Posts: 1,669
    edited March 2014

    Lori - I had no specific sleeping instructions from my PS so I just did whatever was comfortable.  The first three nights were a bit difficult because I had a drain tube on each side, but after that I didn't have any trouble side or even stomach sleeping.  My implants still look damn good, so the side/stomach sleeping didn't harm anything, at least for me.  It was a simple TE swap to implants with very little pocket work, and my incisions are horizontal across the former nipple area (not in the infra-mammary fold underneath).  I could easily have gone to a ball game after the drain tubes were removed.

  • 4sewwhat
    4sewwhat Member Posts: 1,895
    edited March 2014

    I was given the bra that velcros down the front to wear 24/7 until my post op.  Then during the day for a couple more weeks.  I could sleep on my side.  I too get terrible back aches if I lay on my back too long.  I used a pillow behind my back so I was kind of at an angle and not leaning forward on my side.  I also found hugging a pillow helped support me and made me more comfortable.  I never had to sleep in a recliner.  Light use on my arms for 2 weeks, and an extra week for the rad side.  Then just common sense, no really heavy duty stuff for a while longer.

    I find it so interesting yet disturbing that there are so many different sets of rules and instructions out there.  I had never heard of the no bath soaking before.  At least not after the surface had healed and the drains were pulled,  I could shower next day because I had waterproof coverings and the drains came out the bottom of them.  I have heard of people that are told to swim because the water provides support.

    Like I said, SO many different things floating around!  And Jackie, I think it is in the PS training manual that they change their minds.  I have had a few times I thought we had something square and he flopped on me to something different.   Not for the worse, just different than the original conversation.  I also know he is trying to keep a lot of different people straight in his head!

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited March 2014

    I slept in recliner for months. I was alone during the week after my a BMX and during chemo.  I bought an electric lift chair so it's built like a truck, meant for sleeping and goes into negative position where your head is reall

    y lower than your body. That came in handy because after sleeping sometimes I slid down in the chair and when sitting the chair up it pushes you into your chest. Not good. So the negative position means you push with your feet To move yourself up in the chair without using your arms and then when you raise the seat back you dont do that push into the chest. My recovery was complicated by the fact I couldn't get on my feet without using my arms which is a nono. So the lift chair was a necessity for me. I slept in it so long because I could not climb up the stairs without using my arms. So you see a repeating theme?  Besides i still occasionally use it to sleep when my knees are so bad they hurt and those stairs are mountsins!  :)  Sorry I talk so much.

    Now if you can rise from your couch with your arms crossed over your chest just using your legs, it will be much easier and you may not need to sleep on it long. 

    My P'S was no showering till drains came out. 5 weeks is a long time. LOL Even after they came out though I only took a shower once a week. Those stairs! LOL.  But i got real good at bird baths! LOL

    Much love. 

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,427
    edited March 2014

    If you all haven't used Glad Wrap "press'n seal"  it's a wonderful tool.  I was showering even before I left the hospital with 'press & sea'l wrapped around my chest & covering the drains.  Got the idea from people who have had leg or arm wounds and were advised to cover before showering.  It really does seal.

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited March 2014

    Minus I never thought of that..see all the things we learn. 

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