Exchange City
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hi Superbody, I haven't seen my PS yet; he postponed the appt til Thursday. I'll find out about the fat grafting then and let you know.
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Ok, Calibea! Good luck and keep in touch
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Oh Andrea, heavens yes, many of us have experienced insensitive comments by people we never would have expected it from. I have to keep remembering that before I got diagnosed, I didn't know anything about breast cancer either and might have made an inappropriate comment out of ignorance. I hear things like, "Another surgery? Aren't you satisfied yet? What are you trying for, Playboy boobs? Do you really need another surgery? I've heard of people getting addicted to plastic surgery. Could that be your problem? You're never going to be perfect, so why do you keep trying?" Unfortunately I could go on and on. These things can be said by close friends and family, not just acquaintances.
Another thing you could experience is friends pulling away. Everybody wants to help at first but they get tired of it and think (I guess) that you are too needy. Some friends are supportive from afar, but can't bring themselves to visit you in the hospital or at home. All this happened to me and I was crushed. A therapist finally helped me understand how different people deal with illness and hospitals and the sight of drains & bandages. She explained that some people have a limited amount of empathy and experience "sympathy fatigue." I began 2013 by having a brain stem stroke, followed by the discovery of a life-threatening aneurysm in the aorta of my heart a month later. Just as I was improving after physical therapy and looking forward to seeing some old friends, I remembered I'd missed my mammogram. (cue the dramatic scary music) So 3 bad things within 6 months. I'm sure some of my friends did experience sympathy fatigue because as soon as word got around that I was experiencing complications due to infection, they scattered. Out of 12 very close friends, only 2 stayed with me. Later they came back, and the same therapist helped me accept them without judgement.
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Sandra, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your wise words. It's exactly what I'm going through. I am so grateful I have this forum, and women like you, to support me and let me know I'm not alone, or crazy for doing multiple surgeries.
This evening I took a shower and my problem side felt like it was going to rip. I can tell the skin is very thin, and now it's pretty sore. I wish I had just gone ahead with the lat flap instead of trying an implant again. I'm sorry if I sound so negative, but I'm feeling rather discouraged and emotional right now.
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Come here and let me give you a gentle hug. We all have regrets and "what if" days. Hang in there, girlfriend.
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Welcome back Sandra! Will be thinking about you on Friday. Question...has anyone's PS told them to remove their steri-strips themselves? Mine said I could take mine off this week but I'm not so sure about that. Thoughts???
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KLJ, mine said to let them fall off by themselves.
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Mine must have fallen off by themselves, and they must have only been on for a day. I cold take a shower after my first post op appt. 3 days later and I think that is when they came off. I have some regular stitches on along with my dissolving ones. I had a weird fish hook looking scar toward my inner breast and I told the PS before going into surgery that it bothered me. I showed him when I leaned over that it was a weird mudflap look and if I wear a lower cut top the scar was very visible. He teased "how low of a top do you want to wear" I said "well it would be obvious in a bathing suit". I asked if he could do some type of fancy stitching to make it not so noticeable so I guess he did.
The area still looks strange to me, indented and not a nice curve. My DH keeps telling me to be patient, maybe it will all fall into place, but I don't see how that is going to happen. I realize with a UMX symmetry is difficult, and they are not, but I am sure glad to have the TE that was under my chin gone for sure!
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guess my Sept surgery will be number 5 also. I was sure Id be one and done with exchange (had lx and bmx then 1st ex in Jan) , but things happen, dont look right, you change your mind- and there you are. Im ok with it, tho would like it to finally be the last!
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I was told to let the strips fall off on their own.The adhesive is very strong and you can do damage, plus they are there as scar support/incision support...they reduce tension on the incision and that can lead to better healing scars
They can take 2-3+ weeks to fall off it seems (I have seen some woman have them for 4-5 weeks). Mine took about 2-3, and that was with running water over them (as instructed) once my drains were out after a week. I would trim the peeling ends off as they peeled off. Some PS's will allow removal sooner or will remove them themselves with adhesive remover. At home, try doing it after a warm shower, but peel very slowly and do NOT force it. You really can rip your fragile skin!
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I come over to Exchange City, and the first thing I see is Frostecats comment "Mine must have fallen off by themselves...". Not knowing what the convo was about, I must admit that I LOL'ed. After BMX, PS said to let the strips fall off by themselves. My scars healed so well that you couldnt even see them after just 2 months. After Exchange, I have had some reaction to the surgical tape and strips, so PS peeled them off at first post-op appointment. Good Lord it hurt, hasnt stopped hurting, and the scars do not look like they are going to heal as great as they did the first time around
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Aviva, sorry to hear you are having another surgery. If you don't mind me asking why I thought everything was good with your recent revision.
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I will be having my exchange surgery next Tuesday. At my prep appointment last Friday my ps said the expanders were riding a little high and now I have to wear a strap over the top of them to hold them down. The problem is this thing is so unpleasant and sometimes downright painful. It pinches and causes a bruised feeling.
Did anyone else have to wear one and if so what did you do to make it more comfortable? I've tried wearing it on the outside of a t-shirt but that makes it bunch up and pinch more.
At least its only a week away.
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I have much less swelling but the bruising is worse. I visited my PS- doesn't look like infection? I am 8 days out. I am eating pineapple. I had less bruising this weekend. Has anyone else experienced this?
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Hi Goldie,
I'm right behind you--6 days out and I'm definitely noticing increased bruising on the sides. I'm also wearing a tight sports bra and there is bruising under the band. The swelling seems to be down a bit but sheesh, the tightness is just as bad as with the TEs, for me. I'm guessing it's bc the pecs are still being stretched so much.
Hang in there!!!
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I'm definitely going to have to ask about steri strips and if I had them or why I don't have them. I am very bruised, but he lipoed under my armpit of my lifted side and I had regular lipo too. But I am bruised in places across my chest that I wasn't with MX. Taking Bromelain and Arnica too to help with that still pretty rough looking.
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I still have my steri strips and ps said just to let them fall off in time. It's so interesting how different ps's are! I had lipo too Frostecat and it wouldn't surprise me if that was the source of some of our bruising!
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It was good- in May he replaced my 410s with rounds a bit smaller. My right side had been smaller since the bmx and he put in same size ones for some reason- thought the lipo on the left would make them even. The right one is smaller still tho. So in Nov he will put in a new right to match left side size. And do a small bit more of lipo off the left. But shape wise and general (left) size wise things are good. Ill have him fix up on of the old scars too.
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Frostecat, my new PS used glue to close my incisions. This time I don't have steri-strips. When I had them previously, they stayed on for close to a month. Those suckers didn't want to budge! Did your PS use glue on your incisions?
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teachermom4, I guess I am just startled because I am 8 days out...the bruising is dark. I guess it is hard to heal from so many surgeries. I do feel a tightness. My doctor said that I should rest more. I am right handed and my right side is much more bruised. I feel relieved that this seems normal. I lost my expander in jan so I am a little nervous about anything going wrong.
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I have both glue and regular stitches. I don't know about you all but I m feeling really tired and weak. Hope to pop out of this soon. Teacher mom do you mind if I ask what type of lipo you had? If you feel more comfortable pm me. I think we are of the few who decided to go for it.
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Frostecat--I am really tired today too....we need to remember to take it easy, right? I'm going to plead ignorance about the type of lipo (didn't know there were different types, my bad!). All I know is I asked my ps if he could get rid of the handful of fat that was sitting there under each armpit (mud flaps, right?). He had said, no problem, he would lipo them during the exchange. Well, to me they look exactly the same as before but very bruised! I don't have my post-op appointment with him until this Friday so I plan on asking him then. Plus, now one of the mud flaps sounds like it's filled with fluid....eeeewwwwww.....
I am wearing a tight sports bra 24/7 and this seems to be keeping the swelling down a bit. Either that or I'm deceiving myself, which is entirely possible!
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Teachermom, I'll bet it's just the swelling you're seeing. I had a bulge of fat lipo'd off the top of one of my breasts during a previous exchange, and I couldn't tell till the swelling had gone down.
Frostecat, I'm very tired too. I had cabin fever today and asked hubby to take me for a drive. We were gone about an hour and I was exhausted when we got home. Weird, cause it's not like I was doing a lot of walking. I helped load the dishwasher too, which may not have been a good idea because now I hurt again. Back to resting!
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Best wishes for tomorrow Scubalady!!!
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Scubalady - We'll all be in your pocket tomorrow! May your surgery be unremarkable and your recovery easy and complication free!
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Turtle, I had the awful strap for both of my surgeries and had to wear it for 3 weeks each time. After one day I was completely chaffed from it and some spots were turning into sores. Here is what I did (I should post a picture LOL) I bought those super soft, brightly colored, fuzzy socks. Cut the toe out of them and slid them over the strap so they covered any place that would touch skin or get sore. You should have see my P.S.'s face the first time he saw that! He laughed and said "now that's a first". At my second surgery he said he couldn't wait to see what color socks I used. He also said I should present the idea to the maker of the strap. I seriously doubt I'm the only one to do that though. Try it, it made life with the strap so much easier!
Steri strips are off! They came off super easy in the shower. The scars underneath look wonderful and I am sure as time goes on they will all but disappear. I am extremely happy with the outcome of my surgery!!!
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Thanks everybody. I'm wearing extra big pockets tomorrow just so I have room!
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Andrea,
Like Frostetcat, I had glue and steri-strips...no external stitches. PS said the strips were beneficial for incision support, a bit of protection and added strength, and to help with healing (flatter scars, apparently).
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Lipo leaves impressive bruises that take forever to fade. My right side mudflap wasn't big so the PS said he would just lipo it during the last surgery. Just like you, I didn't see much difference afterward and wondered why I had such huge, very sore bruises if it was just to remove that small mudflap...which was still there! It took about 6 weeks for all the bruising (which grew over the first week to about the size of a salad plate) to fade. As the swelling went down, I could see the mudflap was getting flatter. After a couple of months, you couldn't tell the mudflap had ever existed.
The one on my other side is very large because I've had so many surgeries in that same area. I call it my third foob.
It's too big for lipo so the PS will remove it in Friday's surgery. Oh goodie. More incisions and more stitches. (I get glue everywhere else. No steri strips. I got a LOT of stitches when he gave me that big Z shaped incision in last March's muscle repairs though.) I don't know why some incisions are closed with glue, and some with steri strips. It must have to do with the likelihood of movement causing healing issues and stitches are stronger. Just guessing.
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Sandra,
Thank you so much for the information and sharing of your experience. Wow, you sure have been through it! It's helpful to know that the bruising can be normal. Best wishes for you on your reconstruction journey. Sheesh, you deserve a break!
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