Exchange City
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Audrey. . .let me know how you like your Vinnie's. My PS knows him and hIghy recommends him. I saw her for a recheck today and she asked again whether I had booked him yet. We would have to fly up to MD for a long weekend. I probably will eventually.
Got a renewed script for PT today. Still fighting to get my ROM back and have some cording in right side where the nodes were taken. PS reminded me again to watch how much I try to lift as that is no doubt causing my continued nerve and pectoral pain.
Scottie
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Audrey--Have a great time in Finksburg/Baltimore! Let us know about your experience with Vinnie. I have an appointment to see Vinnie at the end of May. We will be driving (about 6.5 hours away) and staying in Baltimore a few nights to do some sightseeing so if you have any suggestions in that regard, I would love to hear about them too! When I told my PS that I was going to see Vinnie, he said, "I need to learn to be that good!"
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Marketingmama--with regard to the extra skin on the side of your breast in the armpit area, I had a lot of this too which my PS addressed in a separate surgery. My BMX scars are horizontal across the center of my breasts. The PS extended the excision line from where it ended at the outside of my breast, cut horizontally along my side under my armpit and onto my back a little, removed the excess skin, and tightened things up.
The excess skin was more abundant on my right side where I had lymph nodes removed and very bothersome because it rubbed against my numb upper arm. This excess/loose skin was caused by the TE's (placed by my first PS) migrating into the armpit area and overstretching the skin. The revision by my second PS involved him placing a different style and volume of implants and performing pocket work to get the implants out of my armpits which made the excess skin even more of an issue. However, he told me prior to the revision surgery, that the excess skin issue would probably exist but that it could be addressed in a separate surgery after I healed from the implant revision. About 3 months after my implant revision, I underwent the surgery to remove the excess skin on my right side only; the left side was not bad enough for me to be concerned with and I didn't want to take a chance of messing up a very acceptable outcome.
Definitely discuss your concerns with your PS as I think they can be addressed.
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SpecialK: wishing you all the best for your surgery, #14 is the charm, right? Do you have a date yet?
Welcome Sandie. Happy birthday, and congratulations on 8 years! There's a wealth of information on these boards. You probably want to start by finding a PS on your new health plan. Speak with the staff, they will have someone who is in charge of navigating the insurance benefits. For my PS, it was the surgical coordinator.
new_me/Diane: it's almost your turn for exchange. How far we've come since November!!
marketingmama: perhaps you overdid it? I hope your PS has some answers for you.
Audrey: congratulations on your Vinnies! I've heard so much about them. I hope you look and feel fabulous now.
Scottie: I hope the PT helps with your ROM and cording issues. (((HUGS)))
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Thanks everyone. I knew early on I wanted to go to Vinnie. From a cost and time perspective I did do some research. There is a girl on Long Island that advertises nipple tattooing, but she also does spray tanning. Umm, I don't think so.
The road trip to Vinnie sounded like a much better investment.
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mominator - it is actually #16, and I'm hoping it is a lucky one! Right now I am scheduled for May 17.
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Soooooo nervous for exchange surgery tomorrow...but very excited too! One year one month with TEs is long enough!!
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Shelly: you've had those TE's long enough! My very best wishes for a smooth surgery and a swift recovery. Welcome to the squishy side.
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Lori, thank you for sharing your experience. You have described exactly my problem. I was overstretched and TEs were closer to armpit. I also have it much worse on one side. My incisions are all under the breast as well as vertical from nipple to IMF. Scars galore! It is good to know this can be corrected because it kind of looks like the breast area somehow extends slightly from its proper place to under armpit. I am so reluctant to have more scars but I am sure this is going to make me unhappy in the long run. Was it a relatively easy procedure? Was recovery fairly quick? I just can't take more time from work and would want to only take a long weekend if I do in the next 3-5 months. I feel that though folks understand intellectually, they're getting resentful (covering for me while out) and dare I say that some might think I'm just doing "cosmetic stuff." Finally, are you pleased with the outcome?
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Marketingmama--I had the surgery on a Tuesday and was back at work (desk/computer/office job) on Friday. Everyone is different however, but the excess skin excision surgery was the easiest one for me. The PS also injected a "long acting" pain medication (Exparel a/k/a Bupivacaine) into the surgical area which helped immensely. I think I only took 1 Percoset after the surgery and then switched to extra-strength Tylenol. I had to keep the surgical area dry for about a week so I made a tube top out of Press & Seal for my shower and avoided splashing the area with water, bent over in the shower to wash my hair, etc. I also needed some help with bandaging after my shower and had some lifting restrictions for about a month.
I am very pleased with the outcome--it is not pretty as far as there is a scar but the excess skin is gone and no longer irritates my numb upper arm. If you are on the picture site, I posted pictures (same user name as here) showing before and after my revision where you can see the excess skin. I need to post pictures showing the results after the excess skin excision surgery which was about 10 months ago now.
See what your PS has to say about the issue. I will try to get some current pictures onto the picture site soon (thanks for reminding me about that
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Thanks Lori. This is really helpful. I used to be on the picture site but I have trouble (for some reason) with logging in. I keep getting bounced out. I just gave up!
So glad the procedure was relatively easy and that you're pleased. That's reassuring. I think scars are better than what I have now so the tradeoff is sort of a no brainer for me. My last surgery (2/11) was a bear (tons of pocket work) and I'm still having pain from what I assume are the internal stitches. Crazy to have pain even though I'm just sitting at my desk. For some reason, it's better when I lay down. Today I loaded up on Aleve in the hopes of stopping discomfort before it starts!
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I forgot to mention last week was my 5-week post-exchange appointment, and will be my last appointment with the PS for a while. I had a list for him. First on the list was the plastic internal stitch that was still sticking out of my skin. Yeah to have that finally removed!
And I asked about sleeping on my side. Although it's getting better, it still feels uncomfortable to sleep on my sides, it feels like things are moving in there. PS asked permission, and then actually started pushing around on my breasts. He said that all feels fine. They move around the right amount. However, he does NOT want me to resume running until I am at 8 weeks post-exchange. So, I think there is still healing going on in there, probably all that pocket work and the fat tissue removal.
I also have some diarrhea as a result of those high-powered antibiotics. PS prescribed another antibiotic to knock out what he thinks is C. difficile. Nurse was supposed to e-send the script to the pharmacy, but it never arrived. However, in the meantime, I've been using those Pearls probiotic supplements. The diarrhea is going away, so I think I'll stick with that therapy and skip the antibiotic.
So glad to hear everyone's progress.
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thanks Scottie n nominator.
Audrey - so excited for u. I hope this will b the closing chapter!for u.
Marketing mama - your pain may b because u had suturing to your ribs as part of the pocket work. I had that pain only when I was standing or!sitting n when I mentioned it to my 1st PS he said it was because he had to place sutures in my ribs!to move my IMF up which is why it felt like bruised!ribs to me. The pain lasted for about 2 weeks and only relieved when lying down.
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MJH, that's really interesting because that is exactly what my PS needed to do (move my IMF up). I was bottoming out as well. Somehow it's so comforting when others understand or have been through the same things -- I guess that's a big "Duh" because why else would we all participate on BCO!!
Anyway, I'm definitely going to ask my PS. Suturing to ribs sounds sort of barbaric! Yuck!0 -
marketingmama - considering the pain it causes, I think barbaric is the perfect term for it. This is probably why doctors don't tell u everything unless u ask. The only thing that helped was percocet or lying down and then one day it was gone. But that pain was all for naught cause my current PS moved the IMF back down to give my nips better symmetry....lol.
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mjh, oh my gosh! I hope you're happy with the final outcome. I've now had 5 surgeries and still not quite right. Better but right nip is not facing directly forward, have side fat on one side from overstretching with TE and one side looks higher than the other. Hoping the last issue resolves on its own with the implant dropping more. I am pleased that the pocket work finally gave me my long-lost cleavage and that I have an actual fold under my breast (despite the pain and thinking about rib suturing!). It's all sort of crazy because going into this I thought the implant process would be straightforward. I think my doc did as well to be honest! I don't think it's his fault to be honest. My body just did strange and somewhat unexpected things when my first set of implants were placed. Oh well. As for the pain, Aleve is helping while at work. Trying to avoid the pain pills as they mess with my sleep (unlike most people, they keep me awake!). Plus the constipation is such a nuisance!
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hey ladies! I had my exchange surgery with fat grafting and port scar revision yesterday. My PS said everything went well. I got to go home day of but took awhile since I was feeling sick from drugs. I did not have that the first time around. Today I feel like I was hit by a truck, very sore. I figure that will get better. They took fat from my belly so I have a compression wrap there along with surgical bra. Good luck to everyone!
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hi all. I am scheduled for my exchange surgery on March 10. I have pretty severe capsular contracture from radiation but am praying all will go well with my exchange. I'm only planning to take a few days off from work but have the option to work from home the following week. Do you think this is doable? I have an office - not physical at all.
My PS hadn't doscussed fat grafting with me at all. I guess I should have asked.
I had nipple sparing (on one side) when I had my BMX but am having the nipple removed at exchange due to having ALH in the tissue under my nipple. Has anyone has this done
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Hi Patty, I can't speak to caps contracture or nipple removal but I would think if you were having fat grafting, you'd know about it. Not all PSs do fat grafting at exchange. For example, mine felt it was a decision to be made once healed post-exchange (at that point you are sure where there might be rippling etc). As for time off work, I work from home but always took a minimum of one week off post MX (I've had a few procedures). Although exchange is not nearly as rough as MX, it's still surgery and depending on the need for pocket work, it's not without discomfort and/or pain. Now some women are miraculous (to me) and seem fine in a matter of days, but I would opt to plan for a few more days and then go back early rather than find yourself miserable and trying to work and handle all the stresses (both physical and mental) that go with it. You probably have a sense for your pain threshold and how quickly you heal since you had MX. Perhaps that will help guide your decision making.
Above all, be good to yourself and don't push too fast or too quickly. You only have one chance to heal.
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ok ladies have another question of you. Anyone have weird muscle pain after exchange. And nit where you had surgery. Ihad FG one buy they used my stomach but my hip and leg are sore and so is my forearm. I have read that it can be a SE of some of the drugs but was wondering everyone's experience.
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If you are on Arimidex, Aromison or Femara then it is the meds causing muscle pain. It is just the beast that we live with. I went through all 3 and Femara has the leadt SE for me.
Robin
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Question: Can rippling be caused by too small of an implant and too large pocket? I do not see my plastic surgeon for 2 more months. Also, one is soft and squishy and the other is hard on one side, with ripples. Ohhhhhh.....it goes on and on.....
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I am counting down the days till I get this TE out of me! Tuesday is it! I can't wait. I have had it in since July 1st and it's time. I took a week off from work with the flexibility that I can be out more if needed. Thanks ladies for all your posts...helps to know what to expect.
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Good luck to you Suzanne50! Just 2 more sleeps for you. You will love the squishy side.
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Suzanne50-Good luck tomorrow
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I got my Vinnies !!!!! Yay.
What an experience. A 5 hour drive each way and worth every mile. The shop is awesome, simple and clean. Vinnie was a trip, so easy to talk to and made me very comfortable. He did an amazing job, I now feel whole again. I can't stop looking at them, LOL.
Vinnie has a beautiful private tattoo room with two leather armchairs for company. He just talks to you the whole time, we talked about the Greatful Dead and politics. Meanwhile, he is mastering two perfect 3d nipple tattoos. I did not feel any pain at all, but once it was all over I did have some muscle pain for about 1 1/2 hours. All that rubbing and the needles disturbed my muscles, I'm thinking. But it didn't last long. So if you are lucky enough to get to Finksburg MD to see Vinnie, I would highly recommend it.
Love
Audrey
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Hi, Ladies! Exchange surgery in the books, and I am recovering well. Implants are smaller than expected...but think I made a wise choice to not expand too much more after radiation. Most of my pain is on right side where tissue transfer took place since I don't have much feeling in my breasts. The squishie side is great. Think my shoulder blade pain is gone....but I haven't been able to move and stretch much to test it out. Did anyone have a seroma after exchange surgery? Have a small area near right arm pit that feels like there is some fluid under the surface. No signs of infection. Hope everyone is doing well!
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SUzanne- I am so glad your time is here!! Tomorrow. I had mine February 17. It feels good and I like the way it looks. I still have one drain in though which is very uncomfortable. Good luck tomorrow!! Keep us posted!
Patty
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Audrey, Thanks for the good word about Vinnies. I'm thinking about it. I have a few more months for things to settle in place and then I'll decide. My daughter lives only about 1 1/2 hours from there, so I will make a vacation of it.
Carla
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Congratulations, Audrey!
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