Exchange City
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ok, above are two more pics without my arms raised and wearing black. I have 655cc HP Sientra smooth round. Currently in a 36C bra but the cup is tight. No swelling that I know of and no bruising. I'm going for a professional fitting in one month and would not be surprised if I'm a D cup.
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cheddiecat, I'm not bouncy at all and don't feel any weight in them at all. They are kind of stuck there in the pocket like the TEs were but so soft and comfortable. No edges digging into anything.
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Thank you, Audrey! You do look wonderful! And, I am jealous of your hair. It will be a year before I will hsve hsir, I suppose. 5 more weeks until my exchange. Long, but will give me more time to get stronger from chemo.
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cheddiecat. . .my mentor high profile rounds don't bounce or move. Of course I don't run so not sure how high impact would affect them. I have very tight pockets/pecs and my 300 cc came out to about a 36 C cup. Bigger than before and nicely perky. My PS warned me that they would look fake in low cut clothes. I said, good. They are fake.
Scottie
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Cheddiecat, my smooth rounds move, but not like my natural self. When I do a jumping Jack, my abdomen still moves more than my chest! My tissue expanders did not move at all...solid as a stone. I have a some chest movement, and I can move them around a little.
Audrey, so happy for you! You look beautiful:)
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Audrey, you look amazing!
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You look fantastic, Audrey!
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Back to work tomorrow. Finally after 4 difficult weeks. I do feel much better but still frustrated at my limitations. Lots of PT coming up in the next few weeks. I just want to get back to a normal work/school/college soccer schedule. We have one in 8th grade and we have a sophomore athlete in college.
Scottie
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Scottie -
YAY for going back to work! I'm hoping that the routine of work will help you - or at the minimum, not leave you with much time to feel frustrated ;-) I'm so sorry that it's been a rough few weeks for you. Boo. You will be back to normal soon...your body is saying that it still needs some slow time, and while I know it's annoying, it's much better than any alternative given the circumstances! Not trying to be Pollyanna, but just trying to say although it's poopy now, it won't always be so! And I'm sure your family thinks you're doing great!
Sending virtual hugs your way.
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I got my second fill last week 120cc and at the end of the fill blood started pouring out where the needle was in and the doctor needed to remove the needle. Has anyone else had this happen? Thank you. xx
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Oh lillp07, that sounds terrible, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I've been on these boards since January and have never heard anyone describe that but hopefully someone will offer some guidance. What did your Dr say? I fainted during my first fill. All fills after that were done in an incline position which was way more comfortable.
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Thanks Audrey. The doctor didn't say anything. I should have asked. The nurse just popped a gauze over it and it stopped.
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Thanks Badgergirl. . .I know I'm blessed and have to keep reminding myself of that when I get on my pity parties. I will get there. I'm walking 10 miles with Dh for local breast cancer fundraiser on Oct 4 so I've got some serious homework to do. My PT says he can get me there.
Scottie
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Scottie I'm a little jealous of you because you can go back to work. Tomorrow will be the first year in 15yrs that I am not meeting my new group of students. It is so hard. Cancer has taken so much from me that it is frustrating. I went to the open house and the parents totally understand why I am not starting out the new year but I still want to scream about the unfairness of it all. I feel like part of my identity has been stripped away. I am trying to focus on getting my strength back and building my immune system so that I am ready for surgery on Sept.18th. My plan is to be ready to return to work by the end of October when the 2nd nine weeks begin.
lillop07 I had a little bit of blood during one of my fills and the nurse did the same thing just covered it with gauze. It only happened the one time and I didn't think anything of it because my PS didn't make a big deal about it.
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I bled every time I had a fill. Not much, though. The nurse said it was a good sign, because that meant I had plenty of blood flow throughout the area.
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I had a bit of a downer weekend. While I am grateful that I got through all 4 surgeries this year, and am cancer free, my exchange has been the hardest mentally. While I am very comfortable with my implants, my cleavage issue had me feeling sorry for myself. On my right breast, the PS couldn't release the skin from the underlying muscle and as a result my cleavage is off center. I will now spend the rest of my life hiding this, no more plunging necklines
So, this morning I went to Kohls to try on some wireless bras and found a Vanity Fair Full Coverage bra that makes me look really good. It is lifting and separating at just the right spot. I can't tell you how happy I was to see how good I looked in it and the boost of confidence it gave me that everything is going to be ok. I know I am stil healing and the girls have to settle but I just needed that little bit of confidence. The bra plunges but covers up just what I want covered up. I love retail therapy.
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I forgot to mention my BMX scars are visible in my cleavage area which I am also trying to come to terms with.
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Has anyone ever heard of not needing preauthorization for surgery?? I called my PS office to make sure all was set for my surgery next week and if they get my medical clearance and asked the surgical coordinator if she got all the authorizations and she told me Empire told her with the codes given I didn't need authorization. My contract says authorization are needed, so of course I called Empire and they told me the same thing. Of course I wrote everyone's name down that I spoke to and their ID numbers at Empire. I find this very confusing because in all my other surgeries the doctors got authorization. Maybe they changed their policy with respect to breast reconstruction??? This only adds to my anxiety considering I'm still fighting with Empire over last years bills. Since it is the doctor's responsibility to get authorization I hope if they deny the claim I'm not going to be held liable especially since the doctors office did call and I called. Anyone have any expierence with this?? Advice?
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I had my exchange surgery the same day as Audrey, but unfortunately am not nearly as happy. I had a rough time with it - lots of pain - and stayed in the hospital overnight despite planning for outpatient. My left TE was sliding toward my armpit, and my right one deflated, so PShad lots of work to do. I have the Allergan 410s, 475 cc. I look like I have 2 hamburger buns on my chest. Definitely not happy, so came here to read the posts telling people to wait a while. This was my 7th surgery in 8 months, and I've been pretty positive, but now I just feel exhausted and let down.
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Msmath. . .there is no getting around the fact that cancer sux. I have to go back on my monthly Lupron shots next month. It's a nasty drug so MO gave me the summer off because of EX. Take it easy, and the end of Oct will be here before you know it.
As for work, I fought through the nerve pain today. Hoping tomorrow is better.
Mjh1. . .get letters in writing from your PS, Empire and the hospital saying no auth. Is needed.
Audrey I also love retail therapy. Have to wait till payday on Friday but then I'm there.
Scottie
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Thank you all so much for your responses regarding bleeding. I feel much better. I will ask what happened at my next visit.
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scottie thanks. called Empire again. same story. So now it's not my problem beause I know that conversations are recorded so at least they can't say we didn't try to get authoriziation.
Saw PS today for final pre-op. was bummed to find out that the Allergan 410 are not available in either LX or MX like we had planned and the other 410's are even smaller than what I have now. Looked at Inspira's (really nice and soft) but PS feels I'm better off with the Mentor Memoryshape since they hold their shape better. Will have three different sizes in OR to see what works best. Has a lot of pocket work to do on one to try and camoflouge the muscle detachment. Wasn't happy to hear that she may put 2 drains in because she doesn't wnat any fluid in there at all so there be less chance of implant rotating again.
So in a nutshell, will have to clean drains for a week, no shower for a week, no lifting AT ALL for the first week, surgical bra for a week, will wear an abdominal binder or spanx because I'm having FG also done, and doesn't want me workign for a month becuase my job requires me to carry 20 lbs.
Will see her in 1 week to discuss which of these we can eliminate. Definitely was not expecting all these restrictions. I'm sure she's just being overly cautios bu I feel like I'm having MX all over again. If I still have rippling after all this, I will definitely need to be commited.
Sorry for the venting.
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Hi Ladies...hoping for your thoughts. Not sure if this is the right place to post, as it's my first time. I had a BMX a couple months ago with immediate expander placement. I'm 5'11 and slender, and had been a 38DD before the surgery. I've been aiming for around a D cup and everything had been going great up until a couple weeks ago. I had my final fill...Mentor expanders, filled to 710 ccs, and I think my PS was aiming to put in 650 or 685 Mentor MemoryShape implants later this fall. I was happy with how I looked and had a final fill. A few days later I had a lot more pain than usual on one side after expansion, and next thing you know I had to have serous fluid drained off one side, and then a few days after that ended up in surgery to check things out, remove some old and a few new blood clots, and reinsert a J/P drain. (This side was always an overachiever...I had had the last of 4 drains in on that side for just over 7 weeks.) PS removed 100 ccs of saline from the expander on that side and had said he was concerned about the skin thinning a bit in one area. Sounds like now I may not make it to a D without doing a lat flap, which I don't want to do. I know this is silly when so many people have far far worse problems and so far I'm very fortunate in my prognosis, etc. Maybe it's just the last straw when I've felt so out of control, and thought I at least had a bit of control at this point, because I was supposedly done with fills and surgery was scheduled for the exchange. For now he did leave the other side's expander at the larger volume and I still have to see him for postop eval. At the last fill he had put in 60 ccs, and everything was going ok before that. Do you think there's a chance he might consider adding 50 back in, and splitting the difference since he took out 100? I think he said in one small area the skin was 1/4-inch thick...but I was in recovery room, so memory may not serve me right! My main concern is that I want a certain amount of projection...I want to notice my bust more than my abdomen when I look down and I wanted to get as close to the old me as I could...was NOT counting on 2 cup sizes smaller...and I know with implants I'll lose some of the projection provided by the expanders. Any advice, even if it's just that I need to get over it? Sorry...today was a bad day for me. :-(
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hi Czech,
I think this is something only you and your PS can decide. Me personally, am so glad I don't have to go back to a DD. My expanders are at 520 ccs right now and I am kinda loving them (size wise, the shape is still awful). I am supposed to fill to 750, so only then will I know what I really want. Don't beat yourself up for wanting what you want either. After all, reconstruction is just that! You wouldn't tare down your house to build a crappier one, would you?
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Thanks so much for your note RosieMjdtrt! I'm not upset about not going back to a full DD, but I personally think a D looks better with my height/long torso/frame than a C. I think I just got so close to the finish line I smelled victory and didn't expect this additional little curveball. I know what you mean about the expanders...they are indeed a weird shape but don't look so bad with clothes on. My pesky side is shifted slightly laterally, so perhaps I'm not getting the true effect of what it will look like afterward even if I end up in C territory since adjustments will be made with positioning. Anyway, thanks again, and best to you!
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mjh1 my PS prohibited lifting for at least 6 weeks. She may extend that next week. I was out for 4 weeks due to unexpected severe nerve pain.
Scottie
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Best to you as well Czech. Me and you are running a similar timeline, so please keep me posted on your progress.
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Mj,
I'm so sorry for all the insurance issues...it's already a really stressful process, so that doesn't help anyone! I will say that I didn't need a pre-auth for my EX, since it was already "authorized" or covered under the BMX with reconstruction. I will keep my fingers crossed that is what your insurance is like too ;-)
My PS took both, the Inspira and the Memoryshape, into the OR and I ended up with the Memoryshape. I'm only 5 weeks out, but I'm happy with them. I'm sorry about the no lifting and Spanx...I had that too (I still can't lift more than 5 lbs according to the PS). I really liked the Assets Red Label - it didn't take an act of congress to get them on and they still held everything in pretty well.
Will be thinking of you!
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Angie -
Just wanted to check on you...how are you doing/feeling? I've been thinking about you!
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