Exchange City
Comments
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diane - you can see them at the Genie web site, but if you're not too far out from surgery i wouldn't get one yet. They're not easy to get on. Easier than Spanks, but I think a front hook would be better for awhile. Genie has one of those, although I haven't seen it. My front hook was Fruit of the Loom from WalMart. I'm almost a year past my last surgery and wouldn't even be considering this unless a PT nurse told me I needed compression for truncal lymphadema. This is my cheap way station on the journey to medical compression garments.
For those of you considering bras post surgery, check out the Bras 101 thread. And before spending a lot of money, remember you will still have changes in the 'architecture' of your new body for several months after surgery. What fits you right after surgery, or a month after, may not fit the next month.
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Although the Genie box showed I should get a large, I got an extra large in both styles since I was fresh out of surgery and didn't want firm compression. There's a difference in fit between the regular Genie bra and the Genie cami shaper. The regular bra is difficult to get off. The same size in the cami is easy to get on and off, it's fabric is more substantial, and I like the feel of it so much better. Today I'm wearing the regular Genie bra so it's not like I hated it but even at 3 weeks post op, I'll need my husband to help me get it off later. It twists so easily and gets my arms tangled up. (
Couldn't be "operator error", could it?)0 -
minus two, I had lateral capsullorhaphy and PS wants me in a bra that has lateral support I did check the Bra 101 and bought a few from specialized mastectomy store. I am still less than 2 weeks post op but I will look for the front zip Genie at Walmart and see if it has the support I need now. I guess the shaper will be something to get later. I like my size now so I hope I don't shrink too much! Sandra thanks for the chuckle.
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Not sure about the Genie bras but Walmart has their own brand (stretchy one piece)... Simply basic brand. They run $5.88 each and are easy to pull up over hips. They run a little small I think. I am size 8-10 and am comfortable in size L.
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it's 5:30 am and I'm in the waiting room. I'm a little nervous but I know this won't be as hard as the first time I was here. Wish me luck! Hoping my new knockers are going to be fabulous!
I'm getting the new sized memory shaped gummies so I'll post pics on the picture forum as soon as I can.
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Good luck Smilinkar. And you'll soon be on the squishy side. Yeah!!!!!!!
Babs
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Good luck smilinkar!
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Thank you and oh my gosh!!!! I can not believe how good they feel. I've read on here 100 times they would feel better but didn't think I would be so lucky. Just some sterii strips and my little BiMart bra when I woke up and no drains!!! I haven't taken a good proper look yet but I'm looking pretty awesome in my t-shirt. I could cry with relief that this nightmare is over!
I wish I would've figured out how to post on here back in May when this all started with me. I feel like I missed out on some friendships but I want to thank Sandra (hope she reads this) for the July sisters thread. I felt so much caring and understanding from those posts and so wanted to be on the pink bus! Lol
Listen to me carry on you would of thought I won an oscar or something. I just feel so good!!!
Love to all,
Karmenn
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smilinkar, Congratulations on a successful exchange surgery! My exchange is coming up in about three weeks. I hope I am as jubliant!
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Karmenn, congratulations! Isn't it the best feeling to be rid of the awful TEs? Rest up and don't overdo things!
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Thank you! I just can't get over how soft they are! And my pecs! I thought they were going to be hard forever. I am having a bit of nausea. Didn't have that with my previous surgeries so I'm wondering if it's the antibiotic they put in my IV. I was only able to eat a couple bites of dinner. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning.
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Karmenn
Glad to hear all went well. The squishy side is great!
Babs
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I'm 7 weeks out from exchange/lift and I gotta be honest I still don't feel that great. The new implant feels heavy and on Sunday, I must have slept on it funny because I was in pain all day from it. It was very uncomfortable. The lift side is still healing too, large scar and lipo under armpit still feels raw, so still quite a bit of pain there
Question - do any of you feel "normal"? I mean I hope it gets better but when?? I still have pain in my chest area, which sometimes permeates to my back area. I'm starting to feel the fatigue of the pain/discomfort and starting to not feel well - I think it can take it's toll. Of course it could be the tamoxifen too, but I've really felt like crap the last few days.
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Smilinkar, I'm thrilled that it's going so well for you! The nausea could be from one of the gasses the anesthesiologist uses. They are well known to cause post op nausea and even vomiting. (PONV)
Frostecat, sometimes recovery takes longer for reasons no one can put their finger on. I've had it happen to me too. Hang in there. As for normal...I don't think we will ever feel pre-BC normal again. We just have to find our NEW normal.
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Great news smilinkar/Karmenn!! I'm so happy for you. My exchange won't be until January, and stories like yours are very encouraging. I get so nauseous and throw up after each surgery. Hope you feel better today.
Frostecat, maybe you're coming down with some bug? Surgery is a big deal and can awhile to for our bodies to feel good again, you have healing to do. Take it easy and ask your doc about what you're experiencing.
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kfinnigan, I also have nausea/ vomiting after surgery. With the mastectomy it lasted until 11pm. The anesthesiologist always did their best with Zofran and Decadron. My exchange was 2 weeks ago and I had the discussion with anesthesia again. This time they added a Scopolamine patch. It worked for me and maybe it would work for you
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Grammy0127, I will have to wait a while before pulling up a bra over my hips. I am 2 weeks out from exchange and in the phase of no lifting, pushing, pulling etc.....until I see PS in 4 more weeks. I was thinking of the Genie bra with zipper front. Didn't see them at Walmart. If PS says they re OK I will go to the website. It makes me shudder just thinking about pulling one over my hips right now.Still having trouble sleeping since I am a side sleeper. There is no restriction about doing it but it Hurts! I feel gravity pulling the implant down when I turn in bed. Since I had lateral and medial pocket stitches, the implant then lands right on the part of the muscle that was worked on. I hope this gets better. Does anyone else feel the implant "move" inside? Maybe it is my imagination. I don't mean sliding around all over, Maybe I mean feeling the silicone flow with gravity?
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dianems. All kind of weird feelings come and go with the sx. I once had a zipper of pain follow all along the stitch line on one side. Toe curling pain that made me scream. And that was it. LOL. Kinda like it rebooted the electrical system! LOL. I also had kinda like a bubble in the implant that I would play with. Like popping bubble wrap except it was just there all the tine. LOL. I was lucky I didn't get caught.try explaining that! LOL
Much love. Hang in there.
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dianems, they added that patch to my ear for my lat flap surgery 6/25/14, but it didn't work. I threw up that night and the next day until afternoon, when my PS ordered IV zofran around the clock and sent me home with zofran pills as well. I'm leery of my exchange surgery now, yikes!
I'm a side sleeper too and its very uncomfortable sleeping on my tissue expander side. I hope you find some comfort soon with your implant.
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After extensive research on my part as well as two anesthesiologists who were willing to go the extra mile to research and put together a plan, I have cracked the code on a nausea-free recovery. What a blessing! Post op nausea & vomiting (PONV) has plagued me my whole life and is the thing I most fear about surgeries. I can deal with pain if I'm not ready to throw up for three solid days.
1. Before surgery, get a transdermal scopolamine patch. It goes behind your ear. By itself it might not be enough to prevent nausea after surgery but in conjunction with the other things, it's essential to the total plan.
2. Take an Emend capsule before surgery. It might make you feel a little light headed for a few minutes (did twice for me but not this last time) when it first takes effect, but that quickly straightens out. (For those who will be getting chemo, Emend is being prescribed more and more to eliminate nausea.)
3. Make sure to request TIVA - Total IV Anesthesia. It is the most import part of the plan. No gasses are used. Most general anesthesia includes several different gasses, but they are well known to cause PONV. TIVA drugs have such a short half-life, they wear off quickly, reduce post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), allowing shorter recovery room times, and an overall smoother and better experience (as compared to inhalation anesthetics).
4. Ask your surgeon to inject Exparel into your incisions at the end of surgery. It foams up and bathes the area in blessed pain relief for up to 96 hours and reduces the need for narcotics, which are known to cause nausea in many patients.
5. Get IV Zofran at the end of surgery and during your hospital stay on regular intervals. It does a good job of counteracting nausea. You can get tablets as well. Decadron is another drug that can help nausea.
These 5 steps are the key to success. Some hospitals use gas for general anesthesia because it is cheaper for them. Too bad...get TIVA instead and make sure your anesthesiologist is familiar with it. I will absolutely NEVER have another surgery without it. Not only did I wake up in recovery after the last two surgeries, which I never did before, but I was completely alert and didn't feel groggy at all. The nurse and I were chatting and cracking jokes. Normally I would be desperately sick and feeling drugged up for days. Another massive benefit of TIVA is that it has a short half-life, meaning it leaves your body pretty fast. I used to feel odd for 3 weeks after a surgery. Not anymore.
Some insurance companies say Exparel is too expensive. Balderdash! It costs about $300 for one vial. I would gladly pay out of pocket twice that much to get Exparel. It's just that good.
Here's a link to learn more about TIVA http://www.realself.com/article/tiva-total-iv-anesthesia-general-anesthesia-safer
Here's a brand new one about Exparel and how it reduces the need for opiate pain relief by 45%. http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/10/27/6462524/new-study-correlates-use-of-exparel.html?sp=/100/773/385/
For more on Emend http://www.emend.com/aprepitant/emend/consumer/index.xhtml
Transdermal Scopolomine Patch http://www.transdermscop.com/prescribing-information.htm
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Sandra! Thank you so much for pulling all that info together! . I know I had much better recovery with TVIA as well. No puking, AND NO RR DIARRHEA! That put me over the top. D in the recovery room. Yuck! Not what you want in a clean environment! Like you I had some rough recovery room experience. I also had the scopalamine patch. The one anesthesiologist who did not listen caused the D episode. No one was happy with him.
Much love to all.
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Frostecat, I am having the same problem as you with the lift incision, my surgery was July 17th, and it is still red and very annoying, I have used the Silver cream and right now I have a "tape" that I have to put on it for 12 hrs,it has been 5 nights so far and I don't see any progress! Of course it is hard for it to heal as even the genie bra cuts across that incision, how do they expect it to heal if the bras keep irritating it?
My PS wants to put a small implant in that same incision after it heals,,, R they kidding me??? My implant side is very heavy and I am now sleeping and hanging around in my recliner,,,, I don't think we will ever feel normal again, my nipple on the other hand is healing quite nicely, you almost can't tell it was ever moved. I don't know how to post on the picture forum but I can post on here if you would like to compare and see if mine looks like yours,,,lol,,, I am not thrilled with my outcome as of yet.
Welcome to the squishy side kfinnigan!!!!!!! Glad you are home and take things slow,,, just rest for now. My implant is cold a lot and I feel myself up toooooo,,,,, lmao,,,,, healing Hugz to all,,,,, J
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Frostecat, we had surgery the same time and I'm struggling too. It seems after all my surgeries when I hit the 7-8 week mark, I feel completely exhausted and emotional. Last night in the shower, I was sudsying up, when my rads side hurt like it was very badly bruised. I'm gentle when touching that side, but it was quite painful. Today at work it hurt off and on, and feels really irritated now. I ended up taking off my bra at work, and wearing my jacket the rest of the day. I'm so tired of all this!
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Everyone with cold implants, please raise your hand.
(VERY common due to loss of padding...fat...which hold the heat in.)
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I have saline. I never noticed them cold though.
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Moon, that must be because you have nice fat boobies.
I'm jealous, especially on one side which has very thin skin and almost no fat over the implant. It's at least 10 degrees cooler than the other one.0 -
My day was better today. I'm really starting to think that mentally at this point in the game we thought we would be healed and somewhat back to normal, but we are not and I think it might be wearing on us?
Jeanie - I wonder if since we are uni's that the implant seems heavy to us? My lifted side feels light, especially in comparison as to before. Implant feels very heavy to me.
Sandra - My implant does not feel cold, I have Allergen Anatomical 410.
Andrea - It is good hearing from you. We've kind of followed each other's journeys so I guess since we both are feeling similar, it must be normal. Not that we want it but it's good to compare notes and realize that something isn't totally wrong.
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Well dangit I wish I would've had all that good information before my surgery yesterday Sandra. I spent all night throwing up and still a little queasy today. It's my own fault though. I was bragging to the anesthesiologist how I felt so good after my last surgery. Oh well. Still just happy to have those TEs out!
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I've always felt nauseous after my surgeries till I got the scopolamine patch. I leave it on for three days and for me, it worked a miracle. I remember after my BMX I couldn't even go for a walk cause I was dizzy and dry heaving so much.
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Frostecat, I feel pretty good, but not pre BC normal. I am going through some emotional ups and downs. The projection on my implant side is a bit shy of what it is on my reduced side and I find myself obsessing over it at times. It seems I'll have problems finding underwire bras that will fit both sides, and I start fretting about that. I keep trying to remind myself that I had cancer, I'm alive, and I didn't have to have chemo or radiation, so in the overall scheme of things, I'm pretty fortunate. I was very strong and composed through the diagnosis, testing, UMX, etc., but I feel like you do, that it is taking it's toll. My mom had lung cancer in her 70s and sailed through surgery and chemotherapy really well. Shortly after she was done with all that, she became really depressed and struggled with emotional issues. I believe with her it was that she didn't feel like she thought she would when everything was done, so I think you're right about that part.
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