Exchange City
Comments
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Hi Scrappy girl: I had my exchange surgery yesterday (Friday) morning and understand why you were nervous. I was calm going into BMX surgery, but will admit this time I was very anxious. It turns out, I didn't need to be.
I am a single mom with an 11 yr old son, who is at his dad's for the weekend. Everyone's experience is different, but I'm not in any real pain and took nothing after the initial pain med they gave me before I left the hospital, other than at Ativan to help me sleep last night, and some Tylenol this a.m., mostly for my sore back.
I do have my mom here until Sunday evening and am certain that will be fine. I can't drive, so I do have people lined up to take my son to and from school. I also can't get my bandages wet for a week, but will definitely be using my hand held shower wand to take the below-the-waist shower, and have dry soap I'll use under my arms. I would say if you feel okay, you could get by with 2 days. You can always tell the person who is planning to stay with you that you want to play it by ear.
Hope this helps.
((Hugs))
Diane.
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Thanks for responding Diane! I am so glad to hear you are doing so well. I am thinking I might be able to be alone on Saturday, which would be the 3rd day. Here's hoping!
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scrappygirl. I can't advise about how much help as having my exchange 9th May. My surgeon said I will only need 1 week of work (then back full time),
good luck
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scrappygirl - Dtkd's experience sounds very similar to mine. No pain meds needed after I got home. I had a drain tube on each side but was allowed to shower when they came out at 3 days. I wasn't allowed to drive for two weeks but my mom was around to help run me around and get groceries and such if I needed it. There was absolutely no need for her to come in every day to take care of me like she did after the BMX. The exchange surgery recovery was a completely different and much easier experience for me. Also, DH works just a couple hundred yards down the road from our home so he would have been able to help me out too if I needed it. I truly wish for you a wonderful exchange experience, with a sense of relief and contentment, minimal pain and uneventful recovery. It'll be here before you know it......YAY!!!!
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Hi scrappygirl I had my exchange april 9th and pain level is okay, not bad at all. Taking advil now for discomfort and swelling. I was allowed to shower 2nd day after surgery. I also have my mom here to help because the doctor doesn't want me to raise my arms up or reach for things as he wants the implants to settle in. Today being 3 days post op I am light headed at times I guess due to the antibiotics and being outside in the sun. Can't pass up a beautiful day...Lol. Just sharing my experience so far. I hope it helps. Happy exchange day!!
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Hi ladies,
I have a question. .I'm feeling great, but my chest actually feels cold...kind of like a waterbed with the heater off. I have silicone implants. Is this normal, and if so, does it go away? I can call my PS Monday, but thought maybe one of you ladies might know.
Thanks!
di
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Hi scrappygirl, I had my exchange surgery on April 4th, I took a pain pill when leaving the hospital and I have not taken anything since. I was able to shower after 24 hrs and because I was able to work via remote connection from home, I worked all last week working my normal hours. I have been out and walked and today I drove the car with no issues. I am not allowed to left anything more then 10lbs and I have to wear a support/sports bra 24/7 but that is the only restrictions I have. I have my follow up on 17th and expect all restrictions to be removed.
Kathy
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Usually things go fine after the exchange and most women report an easy recovery with the most difficult part being making themselves take it easy. It doesn't always work out that way, so I think it's wise to have someone who can help you if you end up needing it. Recovery depends on several things: the most important being what the plastic surgeon did. The second is the anesthesia used. The third is how your particular body responds.
If the PS does any pocket work, you will have some pain from that. General anesthesia after affects can take a week to wear off for every hour you were under. Your body may snap back slower than it did before.
I've had four surgeries in seven months and the exchange (#3) was my most difficult. It took a full four weeks with lots of one step forward, two steps back days. I had no complications but a good bit of pocket work on both sides so I felt like the doc had used a baseball bat on my ribs. All my other surgeries involved pocket work too, so I have no idea why this particular one was so challenging. My PS said my body had just simply "had it" and said I needed a vacation away from doctors, hospitals, and pain. Amen! Six weeks later my husband and I were in the Caribbean. Surgery #4 was three months after #3, and was my easiest surgery by far!
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Dtkd - In answer to your question - "I'm feeling great, but my chest actually feels cold...kind of like a waterbed with the heater off. I have silicone implants. Is this normal, and if so, does it go away?" Yes, it's normal. I don't know if it goes away or not because four months post exchange, mine are still cold. It does come and go. Occasionally, they actually feel like they've reached room temperature, but the majority of the time they're just cold.
And congratulations on the very BEST description of this phenomenon I've ever read!
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Thank you AZ. Good to know that they will occasionally feel normal.
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I never notice that mine are cold unless I check by touching them. I first noticed it in the shower after a summer bike ride. The rest of me was warm...and they were quite cool. I'm 6 months out and mine are always cool to the touch.
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I'm 8 months out and mine are consistently cold too, even after working out. After a warm shower they might be warm for a while but they cool off again. And......I just reached into my shirt (I'm sans bra at home today) to check and they're both cold right now.
It's been raining here for about 3 hours with the first thunder I remember hearing for this spring. I suppose that's not saying much since I have the occasional day where I can hardly remember my own name much less if I've heard thunder yet
. Also had pea size hail for several minutes, enough that it looked like a light dusting of snow on the lawn.0 -
Dtkb - To be clear, Dulcigirl is right.
Mine aren't ever cold from the inside, they're just cold to the touch (like when my arm brushes up against one or the other). 0 -
Yes, what AZ said. It's a surface coolness, like your tush gets when you've played outside for too long in the winter. You go to soap up in the shower and it's like, whoa!!! My ass is COLD! My boobs don't get quite THAT cold, but you get the picture.
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Sweet that gave me a good laugh! I know that tush in the winter feeling very well!
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Rosebuds...happy to hear that you are feeling well.
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shorfi - How are you feeling three days post exchange?
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I agree with the "cold tush" description.
Since I've had 4 "alien invaders" on my left side and 2 on my right, I've observed some things about cold foobs. The ones on the right haven't been warm most of the time. The ones on the left, on the other hand, are cool most of the time. I talked this over with my PS who explained that the breast surgeon took more tissue and fat on that side so there was less "insulation." 0 -
AZ...I'm ok, in a lot of pain, but I think it's from the lipo. I'm taking Percocet as we speak. I'm very depressed about the dog ears hanging from my sides. Doc said he would lipo that, but it looks the same to me, he did do something because it is so tender in that area and I see a new scar.
So yes, I'm disappointed with my results, except the breasts look good, projection is good, it's just the side fat that bothers me the most.
I gotta stay away from the mirror.
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Scrappygirl--I had an equal stay in the hospital with my BMX as you did--4 nights when they only told me to expect 1 night, however, the exchange was a breeze! It was outpatient--I had to report to hospital at 6:30 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. surgery and I was home by 2:00 p.m. I felt so good and was very coherent that I was even texting (from the passenger's seat of course) on the way home from the hospital! My exchange was on a Friday and I worked from home (computer work) the following Monday-Wednesday and returned to the office on Thursday. I did not have any pocket work and no drains for the exchange. I think I was told no showers for 1 week but I used a hand-held shower wand below the foobs and a soapy washcloth above the foobs. I washed my hair over the kitchen sink and had no problem using my arms after this surgery (had a terrible time using my arms post-BMX with ALND). I was given lifting restrictions of nothing over 5 pounds for a few weeks after the exchange. Every PS is different as is everyone's surgery but if you don't need any pocket work and don't have drains with the exchange, you will probably have more trouble keeping yourself inactive because you will feel so much better with the TE's out! I would plan to have somebody stay with you for at least a couple of days for sure just to make sure that you don't overdo it. Good luck to you and let us know how you feel post-exchange when you are able. The squishies are almost here for you!!!!!
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scrappygirl - A friend from out of town stayed with me for two days, (the hospital required someone be with me for the first 24 hours). I had exchange surgery in the afternoon the day after Christmas (Thursday) and my friend left on Sunday morning. I was fine as soon as I got home and mostly slept. I didn't have any drains and tried to keep on track with pain meds, but gave up. I took them when I left the hospital and once more when I got home, then slept through the next two cycles - so I figured if my body didn't need them, neither did I! I was allowed to shower the day after surgery, but didn't even try until Saturday. (Be sure you have someone standing by when you shower the first time - you're weaker than you think.) Two days should be fine for 'help', but we're all different, so playing it by ear and being flexible would probably be wise...
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Shorfi - I had quite noticeable dog ear after my exchange too (although my PS didn't do any lipo at the time of the exchange). When I asked about fixing that he said it would be no problem but that we needed to wait for a bit. As the implants have settled in and found their home some of the dog ear effect has dissipated. There is still enough, however, that I'm having a revision on 4-25-14 specifically to take care of that. PS will excise the tissue rather than lipo. He feels, at least in his experience (which is 30+ years in plastic surgery), he gets better cosmetic results for this with excision rather than lipo. My BMX scars will simply be extended further toward my back. As well as my BMX/exchange scars have healed I'm sure the new extensions will be hardly noticeable within a year or so. Anyway, I guess my point here is, you've gotta be patient with the dog ear situation too, and give it time. It's hard, I know, I really, really do. It's disappointing to think about yet another possible surgery, but you DO have that option to tweak things down the road to get closer to what YOU need to see and feel. Please don't spend valuable time being disappointed that you're not the masterpiece quite yet that you had envisioned. You're simply still a work in progress and you may need a little more work to get closer to what you want.
Hang in there and as many have said - step away from the mirror and give your body time to recover from another traumatic invasion. You may find that the majority of the dog ear problem is really just from swelling at this point. ((((((hugs))))))
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shorfi - It's very early, so don't expect too much this soon. I would guess that you're really swollen in that lipo area - I remember mnmbeck was when they did hers - so that may be the extra skin you're seeing (just the swelling from the lipo). It looks like I'll have to have fat grafting eventually, and I'm not looking forward to that lipo part at all, but I'll survive....
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Shorfi, I had terrible rolls of tissue/skin under each arm after mx and TE's inserted (yes, even evident on the delayed recon side). PS told me from the post op appt it would not be addressed at exchange sx, it would be done as a separate revision. And that's what happened
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Thank you ladies for all of your responses on the cool foobs. I'll have a discussion with my PS next week. Maybe the fat grafting will help. I chose the silicone to feel more normal...thinking maybe some day I'll have a man in my life, and it will matter. It would be nice if it wasn't just my cold feet he has to contend with.
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I just want to chime in and address shorfi's question about the dog ears. I also had lipo for that, and I don't know that I notice a huge difference, either. I had my 2 week visit the other day, and he thought things look great. He said that the lipo area is still quite swollen (It's very 'hard' to the touch). I didn't think it was really swollen. It is hard which he said it would be. But I was surprised to hear he thought it was swollen...and I told him so. He said I also still have swelling on my breasts. I swear I didn't. He pointed out discoloration (something I was concerned about). Originally, I thought it was staining from betadine or something....right along my incisions. But, he said it's bruising. I have NO rippling, puckering, etc. I feel I have a smooth shape on the top of my foob....nice transition. But, he still thinks I will need fat grafting. He thinks it's all still pretty swollen. I guess my point is....we don't have a clue what we're looking at sometimes! Give the lipo area time. If it's anything like mine, yours is probably pretty ugly right now!
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mnmbeck. Thanks for understanding. I just thought they would not be there after my final exchange. And it is ugly. Looks like rolls of fat along my back. I must admit I am overweight but not morbidly. Everything seems like it has shifted as far as my weight is concerned... To me my
back and my stomach is bigger than ever.
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I would take pictures and post on the picture forum, but I have no idea what to do
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I too thought I didnt have much swelling about 2 weeks after exchange. Said so to ps and he (nicely) gave me one of those 'Ive been doing this a million years and know what Im talking about' looks.
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You can post a picture here.
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