Exchange City
Comments
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Glad to hear everyone is healing well. My exchange has been moved so many times I'm marking it in pencil on my calendar this time
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Glad to hear everyone is doing well, or well on their way to feeling better. I am so excited and anxious. My exchange surgery is Thursday the 9th. I'm hoping the recovery is much easier than getting the TE placed. The 9th is 1 year and 2 days after my initial surgery so I'm hoping this book ends it and I will not need any further surgeries, other than nipps, and that's still up in the air.
Good luck to everyone with their upcoming surgeries and gentle hugs to all recovering. Nancy
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Thanks mjh1😃
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Hi Nancybel, My exchange is the 9th as well. I had my surgery in Oct 2012- but delayed because I had rads and really wanted skin to heal. Also I didn't want to do it in the summer, or before going on vacation, around the holidays, etc etc. So I'm finally doing it, not psyched to be going under again- hope this is my last surgery. Getting exchange on UMX and lift on other. Was unsure about lift but have decided I'd like to try this once to be even.
I went to yoga today and I'm wondering how long it will be before I return to class. Also, I have two very busy kids and DH travels a bit so I'll be driving some for sure if I'm up for it early next week.
If for some reason exchange fails, then I'll have one last surgery to have implant removed.
Glad recovery is going well for some many. Good luck to Nancybel and other also getting their exchanges.
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momwriter - I'm 8 days out from my exchange and had my follow up today. My PS cleared me for cardio, but forbids any exercise that engages the pectoral muscle for 6 more weeks. This is for fear of damaging my pocket work (he brought them in closer and out from under my armpits). He said engaging the pecs could force the implants out and back toward the armpits. I'm disappointed not to be going back to yoga/pilates/weights sooner, but I'm keeping my eye on the prize. Cardio is better than nothing!
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Sunflowercat I'm right there with you. I desperately want to get back to yoga and weights but there is NO WAY I want to disrupt anything my PS has done so cardio it is! It is very frustrating, but we have to remember that we are healing internally and we must do all we can to protect that work... At least that's what I keep telling myself lol
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Thanks for the advice Moonflwr. I will tell the ps about my reaction to Tylenol3.
Having a hard time doing nothing! My ps cleared me for walking only no yoga for 3 weeks post surgery. Also no cooking or cleaning, but I'm cheating on the cooking a little bit. No big cooking but I can only stand so much take out and bad husband cooking!
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Good luck to Momwriter and Nancybel with your surgeries tomorrow! Sending positive thoughts your way.
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Good luck Momwriter and Nancybel! See you on the squishy side!
I get to have my right eye cataract surgery on Monday the 13th. Then I plan to be done with surgery fir a while! LOL 12 surgeries in 4 years is too many! LOL
Much love to all
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nancybel and momwriter - good luck in your exchange tommorrow. Sending all positive thoughts that you have a beautiful set of of sisters (boobies) and heal quickly.
sunflower and alexP - Just remember how far you've come and how long it took you to get there. You will all be able to do that again but you'll be able to do it with an awesome rack if you'll just be patient.
moonflwr912 - 12 surgeries in four years??? God Bless!!! What's your secret?? I'm still trying to find the right answer to go in for a 4th and I think sometimes I'm losing my mind.
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nancybel and momwriter, good luck ladies on your surgeries tomorrow! Positive thoughts for you both!
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mjh, the secret? YOU DO WHAT NEEDS
TO BE DONE! That's it! LOL.In short, a pacemaker, BMX, sinus surgery, 7 related reconstruction surgeries (TES in and out, 2x, back in surgery due to extreme drainage, mudflap surgery, permanent implant) and 2 cataract ones. I was also a member of the surgery of the month club - 2x! LOL. That's a sx in two different months. Then add 2 hospitalization from infection and renal failure in there and it's been a bad 4 years. Oh and I mention cancer? LOL. Of course that's the reason for most of that stuff. Well I wish I could blame the sinus surgery on that but, um, no. LOL
But I'm on the right of the grass so I deal.
Much love to all
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Nancybel and momwriter, good luck and God bless you tomorrow!!!!
Moonflwr, 12 surgeries is enough for a lifetime:) However, I am quickly discovering that reconstruction is a very fine art, with many procedures and waiting to see how the body reacts and heals. Lots and lots of patience too.
Follow your docs advice everyone, k? 😃
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Moon....wow you got me beat by 1 surgery...HOWEVER.......All My 11 surgeries took place in a timeline of 2 years and 10 months!!!!!!! How is that new Knee of yours? Good wishes on your cataract surgery. Between my left eye cataract surgery and my right eye surgery....I had the B-A-D Mammo, showing a cancer cootie 366 days from the previous Mammo.....so the diagnostic doctor delay a second biopsy (stereotatic) for 2 weeks so I could recoverr from my eye surgeries.
Nacybel & Momwriter hope your surgeries went well and you are on the "squishy side"......when youare able, checkin and let us know how you are doing.It has been 2 weeks from my second exchange (had the other implants for almost 2 years) and I have mostly been hanging out in bed as when I get up and I forget about letting my body recover and heal and then I hurt....NOT GOOD.....my fat grafting is bothering me a bit.......My first exchange was so so easy.....I took 1 pain pill......knew this would be a tougher one to recover from since the surgery was 4 and 1/2 hour long.Hugs
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Di, hope you are feeling better soon. Just wondering, did your nipple recon from 2013 involve areola recon too? Also did they ever flatten out? My ps says that nipple reconstruction flattens out often, and recommended tattoos instead. What do you think? Also, any advice on how to prevent implants from migrating to the armpits? I am 1 month post exchange to 700ml mentor memory gels. I am wearing a bra day and night. My ps says bra for 3 months.
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Kingster,
Just nipples., no areolas....I plan to get 3D tittoo or an artist tattoo. One nipple is pretty flat, and the other is not, but did get smaller since this recent revision, which may be swelling of ajacent area since I had fat removal/then fatgrafting all done on my FOOBS....not hips, or belly. I do have feeling on both foobs and nipples...I guess that is not real common, and I have had to remind my PS more than once and then he remembers!
I think I wore a bralet with padding for a close to a year day and night after my first exchange....why my Mentors migrated, I do not know, one moved more under my arm and also south...I and PS called that FOOB Floppy.Di0 -
Did those of you who had radiation get fat grafting along with your implant exchange? My PS said she does it "down the road" which makes me worried that the implant on the radiated side may not hold up.
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Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the good wishes. My surgery went well yesterday-- have only been on tylenol for pain and it's more achiness. The ALND arm was really achy after but has calmed down (so hopefully no LE).
I had one implant exchange and one lift. I had him put an implant in that was smaller than the TE. It doesn't feel like I have a huge boulder any more. The implant is still higher than the natural droopy one but the droopy is higher than before. Look a little more normal in a camisole than I did before- I'm just an A or small B cup as I was before. Still I am hoping the implant will drop a bit, but we shall see.
The girls look good- two small bandages over incision and tight saran wrap squares over those. Am cleared to take a shower if I want.
I'm wondering when I can start range of motion exercises. The PS wants me to take it easy but I don't want to lose ROM that I worked so hard to get back. Would love to know any stretch exercise schedule others had.
Moonflower and Di, You two are amazing- that despite all the surgeries you are still smiling- at least in your writing you are- Di- your last surgery sounds rough- glad you are getting to rest. Good luck Moon with your cataract.
Sunflower- Cardio is great. I was thinking I'm still going to be able to do some lower body yoga such as hip stretches that don't strain my upper body at all. I am incredibly inflexible so some extra time sitting cross-legged is not a bad thing for me. Also, some balancing poses that don't involve raising my arms. Did you PS say when you could raise your arms over your head?
Leslie- I had radiated skin. PS thought it looked healthy but a little thin. It's been 1.7 years since I finished radiation. He did not do fat grafting. However, I wanted a smaller profile than my TE so he put in an implant that was smaller than my TE. He said that would help with its success.
I also am on an antibiotic- the chief resident didn't want to do this, but the PS did and I decided I did too because I desperately don't want an infection.
Nancybel- hope you are doing well today!
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Leslie, - I am scheduled for fat grafting for the end of May. I did lose my implant on radiated side after a couple of months, and I have TE back now.
There was alloderm used at time of implant placement, but not FG.I did fine with the TE the first time, - but then the implant put in was more CCs than the TE, and high profile, and I tend to think that it was too much stretching for the radiated side. I am small to begin with, and he wanted to have a 'matching set'. I would have been ok if not matching, and that is what I am hoping will still work. PS wants me to have lat flap. but I realllllly dont want to start with something like that now. So, we'll see how the FG goes.
Good luck with your exchange!!
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Another girl- that must have been hard to lose the implant. But that's good the TE is successfully back in. If you don't mind my asking, how did you know you had to have the implant taken out?
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Momwriter, - I was at PS for a recheck (the radiated side was healing much slower and had stitches in longer, and was being watched closely.) He looked thru his jeweler's type eye glass and saw a spot on the scar that he said he needed to fix. Went to surgery same day but he was unable to fix it and had to take implant out. My current TE is not being expanded. Will do FG and see if that helps. I hope so!!
Have a good weekend everyone!
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I am having a rippling issue as well. Was told by my ps that insurance won't pay for new implants unless there is a problem is yours covering a second time?
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Thank you everyone for your good wishes. Everything went well. I'm pretty sore still but not as bad as when I got the TE inserted. Momwriter glad to hear you're doimg good. Lucky you that you get to shower. My PS said no shower for one week till after you check up. Hope everyone is healing and feelings good.
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Hoping to have my exchange in Mid May. Had my tissue expander put in during my mastectomy, Oct 23, 2014. Did anyone else experience shoulder blade pain / upper back pain during the time you had tissue expanders in? Not sure if its from sitting and the way I am holding myself. The pain comes and goes. More often after I have been sitting for a period of time. I seem to feel as though I am holding myself hunched over because of the tissue expander. Not sure if this is normal. And also how painful is the exchange? My PS is looking to do a small implant in my good breast and a small reduction to make them look about the same. Not sure I want to do that.. I have a ductal cyst in that breast and am really nervous about having anything done to that one.
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Thinkingpositive: I remember EVERYTHING hurting ALL the time I had TEs. My grown son remembers me complaining a lot & I'm not a whiner, so it's probably a valid memory. Such a relief to get rid of those & move on. Exchange is much easier for most of us, even if we have drains again.
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sandgar - I had a revision done to correct rippling medially and had implants changed and alloderm placed on one breast and was all covered. It just depends how the PS codes it when they submit it to insurance. Good luck!!
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thinking - I remember all too well the pain and discomfort of the expanders. I couldn't go to work for two months because I couldn't sit for an extended period of time because every time I was sitting it felt like the TE were digging into my ribcage or pressing into my back. I couldn't even go out to dinner. I can't tell you how many days I cried thinking I wasn't going to be able to go back to work as long as I had the TE becasue there was just no way I'd make it through the day. Stretching did help alot and I probably should have started doing it sooner. That's why we're all relieved when we finally go in for our TE exchange. That's really a breeze compared to what we had to endure with the TE. Good luck!!
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Nancybel, glad you are well! I'm a bit more sore day 2 and 3 but not bad- tylenol is fine.
Thinking positive, I just had my exchange on one side and a lift (without an implant) on the other. I was so nervous and kept putting it off because I did not want to be in a hospital again and was worried about recovery! I was not going to do a lift but great ladies on UMX site told me it was not that bad a recovery. It is so much easier than UMX. Came home that night and felt good, just a little tired. The next two days a little achier. If you didn't know I had been through this, you wouldn't know from looking at me that I just had surgery. Also my UMX side is the achier side- the lift side is barely noticeable. The girls are not as symmetrical as I'd have liked, but I don't know that I'd do much more to get them there either. The implant is smaller and less of a rock than the TE- I think you will like it better. I will try to find a good bra once I'm healed.
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momwriter, thanks for the info. I am really nervous, I have a ductal cyst in the good side, so I am reluctant to have anyone mess around with it. But I know I can't have one smaller than the other. I was not able to be expanded any more, so therefore one will be bigger with a lift or implant to lift. So will need a small reduction. I am scheduled for a diagnostic mamo and ultrasound to see what is going on with the cyst. I still don't trust anything anymore, so I am probably going to request an mri of the good side as well to see if anything changed. Did you have to have any scans or tests before the exchange? I am also looking to take out my ovaries as well. One has a 3,8cm cyst that is there and hasn't changed in 7 years. Just had the Ca125 blood test and it came back normal, but I still want them out. Not sure if I should have it done during the reconstruction, dr said she could do it. Not too sure about reconstruction and ovary removal at same time... recovery ? Pain? Ughh more decisions. I am not good with decisions.
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Hi everyone,
I am having my exchange surgery this Thursday. I am not really nervous as it seems pretty straightforward. A lot of people on here are talking about fat grafting, my PS doesn't think it's an option for me. What are the benefits of fat grafting?
Also, I don't need to wear with my TE's and I love it, my PS told me I will never need to wear one even with my new implants, what do you guys think? People who have done the exchange, do you wear a bra?
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