Exchange City
Comments
-
Great news BB. . .hope you recover quickly.
Had to see my regular doctor today for infection (ds shared his sinus infection with dh and I). She went through my whole history to get up to date because I see her rarely now. She was concerned about my continued nerve pain from the muscle spasms so put me on a muscle relaxer that I can just take at night, particularly after PT. Keeping fingers crossed that this will help me sleep better and relieve the pain. Meanwhile I'm off to the gym. If I don't exercise I really tighten up and lose ROM.
Scottie
0 -
Yes, great news BB!
0 -
Ladies, I don't post much, reading your posts has gotten me through this experience. I have a question. . .
I am 3 weeks out from EX today, and I am having some new pain under my left arm and across the left breast. I had to do some traveling last week and tried to minimize lifting, but I think I may have strained things a bit by carrying my laptop on that side. Should I be worried enough to call the PS?
0 -
Yes, call PS! Always be over cautious.
Robin
0 -
LRGinger. . .could be muscle spasms. Did your PS give you a muscle relaxer? If not or if it's not helping then definitely call.
Hope it resolves quickly.
Scottie
0 -
Hello Ladies! Hope everyone is having a lovely week -our weather here is amazing, like summer so that helps with healing and feeling happy.....back to the Dr's tomorrow so we'll see what he says....It's been pretty uneventful so far, fingers crossed it stays that way. I did develop a rather lovely looking rash which was an allergy to the Bentadine scrub but other than that, I like my new additions.I just have a question and I know I have read about it somewhere on here but of course now I can't find it - my new boobs get sort of chilly. Well, they are much cooler than the rest of my body which I understand, is there anyway to keep them warmer? I have a camisole/tank over the bra and then my clothes and I don't really notice it, but at night they are cold. Does this change of is it something I have to get used to? Any advice on keeping them warm?!!
0 -
Hi Scottiemom! I am following in your footsteps. I saw my surgeon today, and he suggested the high profile rounds! He's bringing sizes 275, 300 and 310 to the OR, so, we'll see what I come out with in Nov. He finally confessed he does not like the way the anatomicals look--he prefers a fuller upper pole. Whippetmom also suggested rounds for me. I am feeling much better about the decision. Thanks for being so open about your results. Have a great day!
0 -
Hello my exchange friends. Just had my 1 week post op today. Had an interesting discussion with the PA about why no lifting over 10 lbs for 6 weeks (this is already making me crazy and I thought it was to protect the pect muscles) She said it's mostly because they worry about the incisions splitting open. Has anyone else heard this from your ps?
Also she told me that the bralet that someone from here loved and I got because they are so super comfy is not enough support and compression. That we are trying to "train" the skin around the implant. I think I am going to look for that Stella McCarthy post mastectomy bra someone on here was saying they would send to us for free.
I'd love to hear about the warm question too! Although sometimes (hotflashes) it's nice to have cool foobs!
0 -
Scottiemom, Just read that you are still having nerve pain! That sucks. I was hoping after the exchange and some time healing that it would get better. I hope the muscle relaxants help as well as working out.
0 -
Mine are cold too. I guess that is because the implants do not have enough warm tissue around them to actually get to our body temperature.
katcar, A word of caution.....the implant sizes you mentioned are pretty small. Remember, you have no Breast tissue and the muscle is over the implant. I have heard of women who got that size and were not happy. Just sayin...
Interesting, my plastic surgeon said no need to massage, but I had a check up today with Breast surgeon and he said to massage. He showed me how.....said it would keep them soft. Kneed fingers from nipple up, then down.
0 -
Just checking in. One week after exchange and think things are starting to feel better. Just tonight first time not so tight. Full shower this morning felt so good. Everyone hang in there it gets better.
0 -
My implants are cold too. I'm a little nervous about winter time here in the mountains but I'll just have to layer my clothes. I agree that maybe when I have hot flashes they help!
0 -
katcar. . .Thanks for the healing thoughts. I am pushing through. I see PS again next Monday for a recheck and will discuss the nerve pain with her. I am very slowly getting my ROM back from PT and exercise though. As for the smooth rounds, I have to agree. Mine are placed closed together upfront and center. I have both upper pole and cleavage, so I'm happy with the size. I'm bigger than I was before and now I'm permanently perky. What more can a girl ask for under the circumstances.
Scottie
0 -
Scottiemom - It's a small gift after all the hell we've been through. I hope my results are as good as yours. Shoot, I forgot to verify the "smooth" bit. I'll have to email my surgeon.
I don't know how your nerve pain manifests--if it's deep within or closer to the surface, if that makes any sense. I have used Capsaicin cream on nerve pain in the past. It works specifically for that type of pain because it numbs the nerve signaling. I find it works best if I use it every day when my lower back acts up.
0 -
Got a duplicate post for some reason.
0 -
mysunshine48 - I do appreciate your input, and while those sizes sound small, I am tiny on top. My rib cage circumference is 28.5, and I have narrow, delicate shoulders. When we put on the tester sizes in his office, they looked great on me. We'll just have to see, but I think larger implants would look silly on me. Besides, my skin would not stretch anymore---it was too thin, so 295cc was the max he could put in.
0 -
Katcar. . .I have both Sombra cold and heat creams. The heat works on my lower back, but I have to use the cold on my upper nerve pain. It works except tor the deep pain then I have to gently massage which is admittedly difficult while at work.
I just keep reminding myself that I'm blessed. Will have to check out the cream you mentioned.
Scottie
0 -
While we're talking about how cold these implants are. I noticed something really weird the other day. I was putting lotion on and the scars are still tender and I have some nerve pain so I wasn't thinking about loss of sensation but my breast felt really cold to my fingers and my hands were very warm so I just cupped both of my hands over both of my breasts and they felt frigid to my hands...the weird thing is that I couldn't feel ANY of the warmth of my hands on my chest. I mean none! It felt like my hands were on someone else's body, I had no sensation of the warmth from my hands, whatsoever, it was just weird.
Maybe that means I won't feel tattoos? I certainly felt the poke of the syringe for the fills. It's not that they're numb, there's just no heat sensors or something which is scary...don't bend over a hot stove
0 -
hi katcar0001, just like you, I prefer a smaller breast. I'm 5'4", 130 lb, with cribcage size 32.5". I have 300 cc in my right breast, and 275 cc in the left breast. I want to be a B cup.
My plastic surgeon is not used to someone requesting a small breast, he said all other women normally would try to fill up to 550 cc. I'm one of the exceptions he ever met. But I was a 36D before double mastectomy, and have always wished for a smaller breast. All the chic clothes nowadays are designed for small breast women. I had hard time shopping for clothes. And I agree with you that big boobs look silly on my body. What is frustrating is that my surgeon is trying to ignore my request and still build me a fuller breast. He never tells me what size of implants he will put in. He says it depends what look good on me at surgery time. The breast doesn't look good if the implant is too smaller than the pre-mastectomy breast size. It has something to do with nipple position. ( I had nipple sparing mastectomy) Apparently they will lift patient up from the operating table to try on different size of implants while patients are still sleeping, which sounds so funny. I'm so frustrated that he didn't hear me screaming for a small breast.
0 -
Yes, they do sit you up on the operating table. Weird! But, they do!
Also weird about feeling your breasts and not really feeling the touch. Hummingbird, Imhave the same experience when putting on lotion.
0 -
TNBC,
My PS said at first appt he never hears"I wish I was smaller!" But I insisted I wanted to stay about the same size. I was a 36B before and he lustened to me and gave me what I wanted! I was filled to 420cc and he put in Allergan 410 annatomicals filled to 475cc. They are perfect for me. 5' 5" 145 lbs. i am 7 months out.
Robin
0 -
TNBCat37 - First of all, you are too young for this damn disease :-(. I am sorry. Second, maybe you can get something in writing from your surgeon that he will put in no larger than xxxcc. Also, I think it helps to show photos of similarly built women with the breast size you like so he can get a visual. I hope you end up with the size you want.
0 -
Mykidsmom - My exchange surgery date is 11/09. Thank you!
0 -
TNBC--My advice to you is to get a second opinion from a different plastic surgeon. Your description of conversations sounds alot like my conversations with my first plastic surgeon. Like you, I was larger than I wanted to be pre-BC (38D-40D). My first plastic surgeon did not listen to me and said that I would have to be "relatively the same size to look right." He put in wider expanders than I wanted and then told me I was limited to a certain width of implant due to the expander selected at the time of the BMX. The operative report from my BMX even states that "based on the fold diameter of XX and breast weight of XX, a [certain] expander was selected." Although you are more limited in size due to the fact that you had nipple sparring BMX (my nipples were NOT sparred), I think it will be good for you to get a second opinion.
I was not happy or comfortable with the implants placed at my first exchange, sought several second opinions, and 19 months after the first exchange, I underwent a second exchange to a different manufacturer, size, style, and volume implant which was performed by a different plastic surgeon. It has been 8 months since my second exchange and I am quite pleased with the results.
Remember, this is your body and YOUR decision! It is your right to select a plastic surgeon who will listen to your desires, make suggestions based on his medical expertise, and perform the job YOU HIRED him to do.
0 -
TNBCat - I fought tooth & nail to get a smaller size. Even cried at many appointments I was so upset. I finally stopped the TE fills so he couldn't insert anything much larger. My nipples were not spared either, but I agree with Lori about a 2nd opinion. What is it with the darn plastic surgeons. Luckily there was a thread active here at the time about "go smaller" and i got lots of support there. Yes, there really are a fair number of us who DO NOT want to be bigger, or even be as large as before. But you rarely see those sentiments posted. Good luck.
0 -
My PS said he absolutely does not sit the patient up on the table - I was concerned about this because of my lymphedema arm, I didn't want anyone using the arm to pull me up. He says he doesn't because the implant generally does not move in a reconstruction situation, which is different than an augmentation. They look the same whether you are sitting, standing, or laying down.
0 -
I know mine did because I read the surgery report and I asked him about that at an appointment. I never thought about pulling on my arm. I thought they probably just pushed my back up a bit. He did that with the expanders too. He told me after doing that, he did need to readjust the expander on one side. I guess all went well, as I am pleased with the results, except for a little rippling, which I will live with.
0 -
Hmmm, good to know. I will ask him if they can push me up and not pull.
0 -
Like most things related to all of this - it seems to vary according to each doctor!
0 -
I thought it sounded funny too - being sat up in the OR. But, I've been watching Botched...not trying to scare myself, it is just so interesting what can be done. Anyway, when they sit people up in the OR it's done by raising the top of the bed, it's raised up like a chair - they just make sure the patients don't fall off the bed, LOL
0
