Exchange City
Comments
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AZ, I was just reading back on one of your prior posts and it was helpful to get the encouragement to go forward with the revision if we are not pleased with our results. I too have had to listen to multiple comments that " everything looks good to me! " and. "You aren't going to have more surgery are you! I think you look just fine the way you are" It can make me doubt and feel like maybe I'm expecting too much. But I don't really want to be left like this either. I just don't feel like I should have to feel guilty for wanting nice results. I hate when I feel like people think I'm being ungrateful. This isn't like we would choose this path, but it is the path we have been given and I'm happy to have all of you to help me through it!
Thanks for letting me vent!
Now forward for the next step!:)
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simplelife - I'm so happy that you're back - we've missed you! Ah, yes, the spitting sutures! I hated those. My former PS kept saying, 'but they're supposed to dissolve...' and looked confused. Well, guess what? Some of them don't. The first one freaked me out and after that I just found them to be a nuisance. I know what you mean about the end being in sight - I have a date with Vinnie for 3D tattoos on January 8, 2015, and I think that'll be a fitting way to start the year off right!
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congrats Janet. I go in for my exchange in the morning!
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Best of luck, Lorbgoo! We'll all be in your pocket tomorrow!
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Lorbgoo, sending good thoughts your way, and please let us know how you are doing.
Janett
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SIMPLELIFE2!!!!! Hello my friend! I had my hysterectomy TAH/BSO on July 1. I've been pretty sore and the incision won't close in like an inch space in the center. Truly sucks!!! It hurts most to get up and down or in and out of bed. But pathology reports came back- no cancer!!!!!! I got into an argument w a gyno today. Not feeling good about it. It wasn't the dr that did the surgery. She came in and questioned why I'm not taking estrogen or tamoxifen and just kept going !!! She was like you don't have boobs now the estrogen won't cause bc... She's like why aren't u on tamoxifen? She said without estrogen I'm putting myself at risk for heart disease and bone issues etc... My God I'm like can you just fix my flipping incision?!?! I was trying to get to a positive place, no cancer I'm good and this just really hit me and hard! I go back to bs in August do I'll ask her again..... Not sure if I need revisions on breast... They seem ok.... I'm debating on getting a decorative tattoo on breast rather than traditional nipple.... I have never had a tatoo my family's going to think I've lost my mind but I'm really looking into it. Hope you're well!!! Hope to hear from you soon.
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Janett - welcome to the squishy side! I'm glad you're feeling good so far. And do please remember to take it easy even if you feel great......
Simplelife - you are totally justified in pursuing a higher level of satisfaction with your results with revision surgery. Anyone who hasn't traveled this path has no right to tell you that you should be satisfied. You're the one who has to look in the mirror, you're the one who needs to feel attractive and pretty and sexy and womanly. You need to do what you need to do, not what anyone else in the universe thinks you need to do...........and now I'll step down from my soapbox. You go, girl!
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sweetandspecial -
simplelife - I ran into the very same thing. 'What another surgery?' 'Haven't you had enough?' 'Do you think it's really THAT bad?' Yes - no - and YES! I felt exactly the same way - it got to the point that I was ashamed that I wanted a more normal looking result from reconstruction than what I had been given. And then I realized (just like sweet said above) that they weren't the ones who had to look at this the rest of their lives - I was. Well, you've seen the pictures - I could have been a compass for Halloween - one nipple would have been West and the other North. I had more ripples and ridges than a Shar Pei and was more lopsided than I care to remember. The pain from the internal scarring (or so I thought) is what pushed me. It turns out that the Alloderm had bunched up and folded over in places and that was causing the majority of the pain and had to be removed during the revision. All I can say to you is listen to that little voice in your head. OK, I'm off the soapbox, too... I'm with sweet - you GO, girl!
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To all the ladies who recently exchanged, congradulations! Its a long and tough road. I'm excited about my pre op appt today. I've been waiting 8 months since BMX. I requested access into the photo forum so I hope I hear something soon. I'll need a copy of my before photo from my PS. I have never taken a nude photo before, so I'm hoping I don't cry when I see it, ha ha. Just kidding. One week until exchange!!!
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Janet, congrats and I'm glad all is well. Did I read incorrectly? Did you have your nipples done at the same time as your exchange? I have to wait 3-4 months before nipple recon. I'm sure I missed a post somewhere. Sorry...
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Question for those of you who have completed the exchange surgery: Would I be crazy to do my exchange in the first week or two of August and then go on a two week overseas vacation (New Zealand) 2-3 weeks later during the first half of September? It's been a rough year and I really want to take a vacation to celebrate the end (knock on wood) of my treatment, but can't wait too long because my best friend is due with her first baby in mid-October and I want to be around for a few months to help out after she has the baby. Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions!
I should also note that I will be getting the anatomical gummies with some liposuction/fat grafting, in case that makes a difference in estimating recovery time before I travel.
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lawyergirl- I have not had my exchange yet but in talking to some friends who had surgery and traveled, here are some things to consider: Does your PS require you to wear a compression bra 24/7 for the first4-6 weeks? Can you take your trip without carrying a lot of baggage or can someone help you? Luggage on wheels saved one of my friends as well as a small backpack for a purse. Some docs limit amount you can carry 5-10 lbs for awhile? Will that cause a problem for you? If you go, your PS might want to recommend compression socks while traveling...my friend took a trip to Europe and had to wear special knee socks on the flights. Just talk with your PS. Here's hoping you can go!! This darn cancer prevents us from so many things, I really hope you can take this trip!!
Ally
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I had exchange surgery yesterday morning (see a few posts above).
We did the unveiling before I got in the shower earlier this morning. The black stitches on the nips threw me a little. Since I only had internal stitches with the mastectomy, I guess I was slightly surprised. The nip size isn't bad because I was expecting huge (they will calm down over the next few weeks). I definitely have soreness from the extra work he did on the right side. All in all though, DH and I are both very pleased with the results. The external stitches will come out in two weeks at my post-op appt.
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budrfligal13, I just noticed your question.
Yes, I got nipples yesterday at the time of the exchange surgery. He does the kind where the skin is "twirled" (kind of like play-doh!) and stitched. It is where the mastectomy incision was. My sister had hers done the same way a few years ago by the same PS, and they look great. It is not skin grafted from another part of the body. He will tattoo them in Sept.
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Janet, that's terrific. I can assume that you are happy with your surgeon's technique. I kind of wish mine was going to be done at the same time, however, I would probably be worried that the nips were too high because I am leary about how the implants will drop and settle in their spaces. My nurse assured me that yes, the new breasts will not be up to my chin like the expanders. Wish you a comfortable recovery!
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lawyergirl Do you mean 2-3 weeks after your surgery you'd leave for vacation? As we all say on here everyone is different
But for me I wouldn't have been able to do a major vacation at this point (I'll be 4 weeks post-op tomorrow). Now I have done 2 smaller trips, one at 2 weeks and one at 3 weeks. But they were only 2 nights and I was visiting family, so I was fortunate to basically just ride in the car there and then just do nothing once I arrived. I was pretty sore after my second trip, I was on my feet alot more for it. It's strange how doing things like a lot of walking will make the foobs sore! I also still get tired easily. I hadn't gotten back my energy from the end of chemo before I had surgery so I think that's part of it. I hope you can make your trip work out for you!Kendra
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my exchange went great. I'm in a little pain but I'm taking my pain meds. I have to wear my compression type vest for 2 weeks. I haven't looked at my results yet. Janet how are you doing today? Were you in more pain today compared to the first day? How many cc's did they put in? I got 535 cc.i will get my nips done Kate when my implants settle.
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Lorbgoo- Woohoo on a great exchange! Keep ahead of that pain and let us know how you are doing!!
Ally
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Lorbgoo - YAY and welcome to the squishie side! Sleep when your body wants to, take in plenty of fluids to wash out that anesthesia, and aside from staying ahead of the pain as Ally said - be sure you're taking something for the constipation which will be an unpleasant side effect of the pain meds.
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And once you're pain free DON'T OVER DO IT! There's still a lot of internal healing going on and using those pecs too much too soon will interfere with that process and could cause unwanted complications with the internal scar tissue. As we say 'Just because you can doesn't mean you should!'. That being said, sermon over. So.........congratulations and welcome to the squishy side! Keep us posted on your recovery.....
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thanks it's so nice to be on the squishy side. I look at my boobs today and they look ok. How do they look when you first get them done and how will they change? They seem kind of small. Thx
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I'm very pleased with how I feel and how they look (well, except the stitches are ugly) shape-wise. My surgery was two days ago, and I'm off Rx pain meds. I took Advil this morning, and I'm taking it easy, doing very little. I just have mild to moderate soreness. My implants are Allergan 410s (Gummy Bear) with a volume of 655. Size-wise I would call them C cups.
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hi everyone!
Congrats to all who have had exchange this past past week, sounds like all went well and you are all happy with your results, it's such a relief to be rid of TE's. Yay!!
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Lawyer girl - I had my exchange in February and revision in May. The revision included fat grafting/lipo and some internal stitches for the pocket (my breasts had drifted toward my underarms. The exchange was pretty easy but the revision was not. I was worried because my son got married 4 weeks after my revision. I was very swollen on top but my abdomen was fine. 2-3 weeks might be a bit soon. But you know yourself the best and what you can handle. I found about 4 weeks after revision that I was doing much better.
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I have ugly stitches too. I think I will like them once mine fall into place.
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I have this weird, tight, pulling feeling on the back/underside of my upper right arm/pit. It's not so bad during the day but it's uncomfortable when I'm not wearing a bra at night. I'm partly numb in the area from lymph node removal. It felt like this a bit when I had the TEs but got worse after exchange. I wondered about LE but after reading some about it I don't think it is. Any idea what's causing it??
Kendra
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Kendra, to me it almost sounds like "cording" which is something I dealt with when I had some lymph nodes removed after my melanoma surgery a few years ago and am having issues with again. I worked with a physical therapist to massage and stretch the area to break up the cording. It happens when there is trauma in an area with a lot of lymph nodes and feels like a tight, painful rope is pulling and restricting your range of motion. Of course it's just a guess, I don't know if that seems like what you feel like. Have you worked with a physical or occupational therapist during your BC treatment?
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Kendra - it could also be some extra scarring around your drain sites. A good PT can break this up, similar to the cording, I had this a while back - SOOOO much better now! Good luck!
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Kendra,
Sounds like cording, also known as Mondors syndrome you can look that up. I see a breast massage therapist who does manual lymphatic drainage and has addressed the cording and scar tissue problem for me I'm 12 weeks post op exchange and still healing very tight pecs.and am trying to be patient, this is quite a process. Best of luck to you and happy healing!
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Hi Everyone, I am not anywhere near doing my exchange, but I do have one more fill to do. My PS says that since I will have radiation, I need to go over the amount of CC's I want by 100 for that as well as another 100 for the surgery. I had implants put in 10 years ago and I was a total of 700+ CC's or a full D cup. I had been thinking before my DX to replace them with smaller implants. It was really bigger then I wanted. I was a small B before surgery. I would like to be a C cup - not full C or small C...just a C
My questions are:
Those of you that are getting rads, were you told you needed an extra 100 CC's?
What about the surgery? Did you need another 100 for that?
How many CC's were you told were a C cup?
Right now I am at 700 CC's and they said 600 would be a C cup. I don't want to go too big again and would be okay with a small C if I calculate wrong. I don't want to be a D again.
Note : I had an MX so my real boob would be replaced and enhanced to match my foob.
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