Exchange City
Comments
-
Exchange tomorrow! I took the day off to get all of the laundry done and cleaned the heck out of the house. All I can think of is how impossible it was for me to do anything after BMX. I'm happy to hear everyone say how much easier exchange is.
I was never told to use that strong soap for this surgery. Was anyone instructed to use it? I don' t have to be at the hospital until 1:15. That will be a long wait with no food or water. Uhg. I just can't wait to be on the squishy side!
Julie, sorry things are not going as planned. Maybe it will be better this way. Once things settle it will be easier to see exactly what needs to be done.
0 -
Best of luck stfne! Exchange is much easier. Sorry you have to wait! Mine was at 9:00 so that rocked. Take care and rest up afterwards
0 -
Good luck tomorrow stfne! My last surgery (revision) was scheduled for 1:30pm but didn't actually get going until more like 3:30. Really sucks not even being allowed to drink water!!!! I've only had to use the special soap once and that was for the revision.
0 -
Stfne,
All the best to you tomorrow! I'm so excited for you! Get some rest. All will be well and comfy on the squishy side!
Xxoo
0 -
Beth, my PS said he likes to wait at least 6 weeks after last fill to allow time for "everything to settle" before the exchange. So many different opinions makes everything more difficult, doesn't it?
0 -
Linda505, yes, my PS went through same incisions, across breast, not under.
0 -
Stfne Good luck on your exchange mine was scheduled for 430pm on a Friday which really thru me for a loop not being able to eat! On top of the nerves cause I am a nervous eater
0 -
Hi PinkWalker, who is your BS and PS doctor in Virginia Beach? I live in Norfolk.
0 -
Stfne, I'm very excited for you! Check back in when you can. 9 more days for me :-)
0 -
good luck tomorrow!
Do most of you wait a long period of time for the exchange as mine will only be three weeks or less from my last fill so want to know if that is common. Thoughts? Thanks!
0 -
stfne, good luck tomorrow. My sx were all in the afternoon. I stayed up very late and slept til 20. It helped. LOL. Of course i do that every day. LOL
Linda my P'S went through the same incision every time. But added the long underarm one to remove the side boobage. My incision went all the way to my back. Heck of a time getting to put a bandage on it. LOL
Much love
0 -
Wen the implants were put in did you find that they rubbed against your arm at all? Since I started off as smaller I never had that issue. My TEs rub against my arm which is annoying so wondering if this goes away with the implant. This happen to you?
0 -
babyo20- I had my last fill 4 days before my exchange, but my PS did everything on way too quick of a timeline. And yes the TES were very much into my armpits especially the more I got expanded. It is better with the implants, but I do wish they were a little bit closer together.
0 -
My TEs don't rub against my arm, but I am going quite a bit smaller than I was. I am filled to 450cc right now. I will only do one more fill of 50cc about a week before my exchange on Oct.3.
Janett2014 and Sweet, thank you for the replies on ROM. I'm feeling almost like myself again, so I was dreading starting all over!
Stfne, good luck tomorrow!
0 -
stfne - Best of luck on your exchange! As you can see, it's going to be quite crowded in your pocket tomorrow, so dress accordingly!
My excisional biopsy was on a Friday at 2 PM, the BMX was on a Tuesday at 4 PM, and exchange was on a Thursday at 5 PM. (They just kept getting later and later!) I took it as a good sign when my revision a month ago was scheduled at 8 AM on a Monday - I was finally the first surgery! Exchange is so much easier than the BMX that the most difficult thing for me was NOT to do too much too fast. I felt fine in a couple of days... and you will too. Please check in when you're able...
0 -
Baby my last fill was two days ago and my exchange is the 20th of Aug. My pS says she can fill right up to the surgery!
0 -
Baby - my PS wanted me to wait at least 4 months after my last TE fill to have the exchange. My last fill was in Jan. and my exchange was on 04/29. I thought the whole reason for the fills was to give my skin time to stretch so I am confused when others have surgery right after their last fills but I'm far from a Dr. so could be totally off!
0 -
hjpx, nope you are not off! All P'S don't do the same things. They all seem to have different ideas about fills, time between, time from last fill to exchange, bras after sx, ect! They are all different.
Much love.
0 -
Good luck Stfne!
0 -
stfne- good luck! We will be thinking about you!
0 -
I'm sitting in the waiting room at Mass General waiting for my name to called. Thanks for all the well wishes. I really do feel like you are in my pocket!
0 -
Lots of best wishes to you!!
0 -
I'm seeing a lot of fairly quick exchanges after final fills above. Barring some medical or scheduling reason to do it quicker my PS requires a 3-4 month wait after final fill before exchanging to let the skin and muscle achieve as much stretch and relaxation as possible. Since that worked great for me of course I see the sense in it, plus the education he gave me on the maturation process of scar tissue taking 6-8 weeks. He told me several times 'you can never do an exchange too late, but you can definitely do it too soon'. Just another example of how wildly different our PSs practices and recommendations are!
0 -
My PS also fills until the end. She wants to do my last fill at my pre-op, which isn't until the end of Sept. My skin doesn't need to stretch, as I'm going about half the size I used to be. My goal is just to fill out the skin I have! She also likes to fill out the bottom much more than the top. She's trying to develop a well-defined inframammary fold, ( I also have an Alloderm sling) and not stretch the muscle at the top too much. I will be getting silicone rounds, and she said I have less chance of rippling at the top if the muscle is thicker. So many different approaches!
0 -
Oh, man, that makes me worry! I'm scheduled to have my exchange 2 weeks after my last fill! It will be five months total with the expanders, maybe that helps? Before my BMX, the PS estimated 2-3 months total time for reconstruction. Hah!
I hope someone else will chime and say she didn't wait at all and it was fine! I wonder if I should freak out and reschedule the exchange? Or I could just obsess about it!
0 -
Elizabeth - Definitely don't freak out. It's hard not to obsess at least a little so don't worry about that .......as with everything on this journey you won't find the exact same path for any two of us. Just take what you learn here and elsewhere and discuss your questions and concerns with your PS. My PS would have filled me to 600cc and exchanged to 575cc implants if I hadn't done any research. As it turns out I expanded to 750cc and exchanged to 750cc on Whippetmom's recommendation based on my physical stats (and a 'before' picture I sent her showing my natural girls pre-BMX). Keep us posted.
0 -
This is a newbie question, my exchange is still a month away, what is a breast strap and will there be drains again after exchange?
0 -
Hi Mischief - welcome! Whether you have drains or not depends on your PS's practices and how much internal work may need to be done. My PS always does one drain per side for an exchange as standard practice simply because getting rid of fluid helps the healing process. I didn't use a breast strap so I'm going to let someone else describe what it is and why it's used.
0 -
Thanks SweetandSpecial, I hated those drains but I figured I would be seeing them again.
0 -
Yeah, at least with the exchange it was only one per side. For the BMX I had 3 on each side. When I was with the right group of people I would lift the bottom of whatever shirt I was wearing and say 'And playing the part of the suicide bomber in the school play today.......!!!'. Those dog-gone things DO look a lot like grenades!
0
