Exchange City
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Okay it has been 5 weeks since my prepectoral exchange and about two weeks ago my right implant has started to hurt along the outer edge near my armpit. I'm also feeling a pulling in my armpit and under the implant too on my rib. I started work two weeks ago and have been going to the gym and wonder if I'm just over doing it. My range of motion has been really great since about 5 weeks after my mastectomies and now pulls when I put my arms are over head. I'm wondering if its just nerves coming alive. I've been wearing a bra 24/7 per surgeon's advice. I'm up to 4 Tylenol a day now. If it hurts still by this next Friday I'm going to head to SF for a check up. I was supposed to go there this last Friday for areola tattoos but it has to be postponed because of waiting for insurance approval. I was hoping to talk to the doctor about this discomfort. What does cording feel like?
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Rachel, I know every one is different but I would say you’re doing too much. 5 weeks is a bit early for working out especially if you just had implant exchange. There is a great deal of pocket work done during this process. I had revision exchange surgery in April... new implants etc. My surgeon made me wait w working out with weights for 8 weeks. Not sure how intense your workouts are but that could be the pain you feel.
I would call your surgeon ASAP & get his/ her advice, until you get in there I would chill. Keep us posted
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hello,
I’m new to this Grouo, but I go in for my exchange this Tuesday. I am excited and nervous. What were your doctors restrictions for you? We’re you ever really sore? Or just uncomfortable. Did you take the heavy medication or just tykenol
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Strengthandjoy: I am not sure if I am a good example. I had my exchange surgery on the right side only 3 weeks ago. I did not have much pain. I think I took one Tylenol the night after and that was it. I read a lot of posts before my exchange. It seems if you have a lot of pocket work or fat grafting you may have more discomfort. My PS is a minimalist. I am very happy with the outcome, but I am also not very picky, as long as I look balanced in clothes I am happy
I was told not to lift anything over the weight of a cup of coffee for two to three weeks.
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Trmtab: best wishes on your revision.
ReadyAbout: best wishes on your implant and new TE.
NCGirl1: go over to Breast Implant Sizing 101 and follow the directions in the original post. WhippetMom is a genius and will guide you to asking your PS the right questions. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics/746448
Rachel, it does sounds like you may be doing too much. Five weeks is still a bit early, as there's lots of healing going on. You may need to lessen the intensity and do your exercises gently to preserve your range of motion without exerting yourself or straining the tissues that are still healing. It's a tough balance, but try to err on the side of caution.
Strengthandjoy: most of us found the exchange recovery easier than the mastectomy. Although it is usually an easier surgery, it still is surgery. You may have pocket work and/or drains. I had both pocket work and drains. I think I used the Percocet for just a day or two and stepped down to Tylenol or Ibuprofen after that.
Best wishes to you all.
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Thank you Mominator. Yes I'm just walking on the treadmill and stair stepper and leaving my arms alone. I've realized I need to just be more gentle with myself. I was so pain free with my expanders and came back too fast. I'm also gently messaging and doing mobility movements slowly and carefully.
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Hello ladies! I've been trying to read to find some words of encouragement and I'm so glad I did! I am 6 days post exchange with fat grafting and I am feeling terribly disappointed. In fact, I can barely stand to look at my chest. The pain has been tolerable, with almost all pain coming from the donor sites. I filled my pain meds, but ended up only taking ibuprofen for the pain. I think the Keflex my PS prescribed is making me sick, but I plan to call today and see if we can figure out what is going on there. I hate to whine and complain, and I've been reminded more than once that "I'm alive", and while I'm so thankful to be in the place that I am with this journey, I knew this was my one chance to look as "normal" as possible and put this all behind me. I'm not sure what I expected, and I'm sure my expectations were horribly unreasonable, but somehow I though it would look better than these two wide, flat mounds on my chest. When I came out of surgery, my mom told me that the nurses said they looked great and that they thought I would be pleased. He ended up using a 600cc gel implant, which I'm pretty certain was larger than the total ccs in my expander. I am wearing a compression garment on my stomach and the surgical bra that they put on during surgery. I took out the massive amounts of gauze under my bra with the first shower, and besides one place on my left foob having a high spot (fat grafting), they look symmetrical. I go back for my post op visit on the 8th and I have lots of questions, but I sure would like some answers from experience. Will these things ever look more like breasts?
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Dear blessedinthismess,
I'm not as far along in this process as you are and am so sorry for the disappointment you are feeling.
The one thing that has really helped to get my head around the appearance of my TE boobs is to try temporary rub on tattoos. Have you tried them?
They look much more like breasts. I even smile when I catch a glimpse of them in the mirror.
I think they are definitely worth trying if you haven't yet. You can find several companies that offer them just googling "temporary rub on nipple tattoos"
Here's one company... https://www.tatatattoos.com/
Hugs to you and all the others that I share this journey with.
Becky
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blessedinthismess: I HATED my implants at the first reveal. I'm six week out now and they look great. I cried in the PS office. I think he's used to that initial response because he really didn't talk about any necessary revisions til my second visit. By then I was happy. I think the compression wrap also distorts them and they really don't take shape till they are out in the open for awhile. I'm still wearing a bra 24/7. I wear a normal bra during the day and a jog bra with no wires at night.
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Blessed - keep reading and you'll find that it takes 3-6 months for everything to settle - or maybe even longer. I know it's hard, but step away from the mirror and just don't look. You have every right to whine & complain although most of our family & friends don't really understand what we're going through. So this site is a blessing. At least - YES call your doc if you have ANY questions. Meds can be changed. And people who say you should be grateful to be alive just haven't been there. That emotion is for a year or two down the road. Right now - just take care of yourself and try not to over do. There is lots of healing going on inside.
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blessedinthismess: I'm also not there yet--my swap surgery will be January 2. But, everyone who shares their swap surgery stories on this forum says just what MinusTwo is saying. Expect final look and feel of your foobs after 3-6 months, not sooner. Swelling and settling and healing just really takes that long. I empathize with you so much. We're all having to endure a lot of waiting all the way through every part of treatment, and this is one more example. I wish you good healing, and I bet that the final look will be much better than you're seeing now. Warm wishes.
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I had my first exchange in April and hated the way it looked. I’m still nippless on that side and have since had radiation, but it looks much better.
I had my second exchange last week. The ps had to go slightly smaller. I don’t like the way it looks and can only see the flaws. I don’t feel like my nipple looks right either but the other side doesn’t have one. Maybe that’s why. Anyway, I’m willing to give it a few months before I figure out next steps. I really don’t want more surgery
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Blessed, as usual, MinusTwo and I are on the same page and we both have the Allergan 410 gummies. "Step away from the mirror". I know it is hard but it will get better. I really didn't feel like they were a part of me for about a year. They change so much, be it slowly, but they do get better. I wore a bra 24/7 for about a year and then backed off a bit after that. I am over 3 1/2 years out and they feel totally normal, the "new Normal" now.
Get the temporary tattoos, they are a wonder and will make you feel so much better. I opted out of nipple reconstruction and got actual tattoos. They look amazing!! And also remember the mantra: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!" Don't overdo.
Take Care,
Robin
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Ladies, thank you so much for your replies! I must admit that it made me choke up just reading them. It is so nice to be able to come here to release all your fears and frustrations and be met with compassion and experience. While I hate that any of you are going through this, I am so thankful for you. Yesterday I took my second shower since surgery (gross but true), and I was able to find two positives already, and that helped SO much with how I've been feeling. First, I noticed that I got my armpit back! The left breast (cancer side) had the worst armpit and I had these horrible misshapen dimples, so it was hard to shave my armpits and deodorant would hide out and cake up in those areas. I would scrub the daylights out of it and could because the feeling is mostly gone. Now when I wash it, it feels like a normal armpit, (still numb though) and although I haven't dared shave it since the exchange, it will be so much easier and look MUCH better in a tank top or bathing suit. Also, I had a massive ball of fat on the right side, just behind and under my armpit, and he did lipo and it's gone! I know that the expanders compromised that whole area, but for some reason, one side was noticeably bigger. Not anymore! My mom and daughter keep going on about how I don't have a stomach anymore and were trying to help me feel better about how great the rest of my body is looking since the lipo, and while I am excited to see if any of my clothes will fit me differently, I won't be disappointed about it if I don't notice any change. Any improvement besides my breast reconstruction will just be a bonus and I will forever be grateful to my PS for going the extra mile to help me feel better about myself. I kept joking before surgery that he could take as much fat as he needed and wouldn't be upset if he had to "waste" it if it wasn't needed for the fat grafting. I do believe he really did take more than he needed! Also the two to three hour surgery took a little over four and when my mom told him that she was beginning to worry that it was taking so long, he told her "I'm sorry. I'm just a perfectionist." I'm not going for perfection, and I hope that I can be all done with surgeries now. I've been considering the nipple tattooing and am on the fence about it. I liked wearing white tops with no bra this past summer and not worrying about my nipples showing through. I may try the temporary ones once I'm healed up, just to see if the permanent tattoo is something I would like. Thanks for letting me know about those.I had no idea they made temporary ones! Thank you again ladies for listening and for letting me babble about my tiny victories. God bless you all, as we are prayerfully on the road to being done with all of this reconstruction and making progress on the road to complete recovery. ❤️
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Blessed-
we all feel your pain, believe me. I think the biggest misconception about exchange surgery is that we think we're coming out with beautiful breasts that are soft, supple and ready to go. Unfortunately this isn't the case reconstruction differs greatly from augmentation. An augmented breast has an implant that is surrounded by breast tissue. The breast tissue combined with the implant makes a full supple breast. However in a reconstructed breast we have skin, muscle and the implant & maybe a little fat if your surgeon did some fat grafting. Which translates very differently. We often come out of surgery with our breast appearing round but flat with little projection, very firm and almost stiff this is a natural process of the exchange process. In the coming weeks, months and even year or more your breasts will change greatly. The swelling from surgery will take a good 4 months to completely go down, the implants will fall into the pockets and the muscles will relax and allow the implants to take shape and soften. The exchange process is the biggest challenge of our journey because there is no set amount of time of when this all happens. It's a testament of patience for sure.
I had my first set of implants for 13 months and up until my revision surgery I noticed they were still changing. I am now 6 months from my revision & my implants have dropped significantly and are beginning to feel & look like breasts. They still have a ways to go but I am much happier with my results. Like others have said take a step back (easier said than done I know) and if after 6 months you still feel they don't look right then revision surgery may need to be considered. Good luck and remember you are not alone in this journey.
Michelle
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Today I realized that although it's hard to admit, I would go flat if it weren't for my DH. I've got it pretty easy with prepectoral implants. Little discomfort and full range of motion 6 weeks out from exchange but still they feel like big weighty impediments that I could do with out. I know its kind of taboo to admit these days that we do such things for our hubbies but he's worth it. I'll probably get used to em. I know life won't entirely be the same but I'm trying to get back to as much normalcy as possible.
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rachelcarter35: I’m so sorry that you aren’t happy with your implants. Since I had my BMX, I’ve secretly been envious and often wondered why I had to go through the expansion and not just have prepectoral implants. I have 600cc gel implants, and I don’t notice the heaviness at all. I worried about it before the exchange, but I don’t feel any different than when I had the expanders as far as weight. I can imagine they would feel quite heavy sitting on top of the muscle. I pray it will get easier for you to get used to them.
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blessedinthismess:
I'm hoping it's just getting used to implants in general and not because they are prepectoral. Interesting thought. Time will tell. I suspect they would be bugging me regardless of their placement.
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Hi ladies! My exchange is next Tuesday 11/13. I am SO much more anxious this time. Partly because the surgeon will be taking more tissue, because I had a small positive margin of DCIS at the posterior lateral spot. I think the worry that he won't get it all is really getting to me! But I am thankful he is willing to try to get more to save me from having to do radiation therapy. Fingers crossed! I am, however, really looking forward to getting these hard expanders out and I really hope I am happy with the Natrelle Inspira's that my surgeon uses. I will keep everyone posted. This journey is so long and exhausting, but having this outlet has helped me immensely. I know I am not alone and I am grateful for that. xo!
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Mastectomy Sister, thank God for the women that have shared their experiences here! I know, I too was much more anxious for the exchange than the msx. My theory is our body remembers the pain and trauma from that bigger surgery and we just get really anxious about going back to the OR. But, like you I came to this thread and read stories of those that had gone before me. I was greatly encouraged as post after post stated the exchange was so much easier than msx. I am here to say yes, it's true!! I had a lot of extra tissue taken "dog ears" from IMF all the way around to my shoulder blades. These incisions were so big that ps had to use staples!! And I had drains. But I was able to walk out of that hospital the same day, go rest for a couple days at home and within 3 days I was out hitting the malls for Christmas shopping. But I do want to warn you not to overdo it while you are recovering. Even though there is significantly less pain than with msx and TE's, there are still a LOT of internal stitches and you must be very gentle with yourself. I managed to rip a couple internal sutures just moving in bed. I know you are getting excited and it is a bit unnerving but you will do great!! Try to focus on other things to keep yourself distracted this last week. You want to go into this as stress free as you can. And eat pineapple every day or take Bromelain supplements on an empty stomach. It helps promote healing and eases bruising and inflammation.
Wishing you all the best!!
Heather
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THANK YOU Heather!! ❤️ Your words are very comforting! I will also have a drain since they will be taking more tissue. 😏 oh well, one is better than two lol! Your exchange surgery sounded rather big and to know you got through it ok is very positive! I can’t thank you enough and I surely will try not to overdo it, because that is definitely in my nature
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Hi — I just had a revision on Nov 6. PS swapped out Inspira smooth cohesive moderate 485cc for Inspira responsive full 605cc. They already feel lighter and much softer. PS did more fat grafting to fill in areas where fat grafting didn't take last time. I had a concave space above the left breast and also under left armpit. Even though it looked like left was bottoming out (I have pre-pecs), I liked the shape of it compared to the right. Oh well, it's completely different now. The right side made the nipple hang low because the aeroform expander expanded the skin on top of the breast and then the firm implants did not help with the shape. I'm hoping the fuller shape of the newimplant will help correct the problem on the right. PS said he thinks I will be happy and my friend who accompanied me to hospital said they look improved post op.
I thought that with the increase in size of implants, that not much fat grafting would be needed, but according to my records 100ccs of fat went into the left and 30ccs in the right. Doesn't that sound weird? He said he was overstuffing the left since it did not keep the fat before. He sutured some tissue to my ribs and pec on the left to prevent bottoming out, and it was so painful post-op I thought I was having a heart attack.
No heart attack, but now I think I have a huge seroma. I showered 48 hours after surgery and did some massaging when I heard gurgling and swishing of fluid in the left. That freaked me out as I do not have saline implants. I called my PS and was seen by the nurse immediately (I live over an hour away). Nurse said it's not surprising that left is so swollen given the massive fat injection. She said to massage it and come back in 2 weeks. Boob is so big, I feel like Quasimodo in reverse. 2 weeks feels like a really long time.
If it gets more swollen or painful I will email my PS and ask for better options.
Anyone have abig seroma that reabsorbs on its own?
Welcoming all thoughts and comments.
Ceci
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ceci, hope you’re happy with the results! I had a seroma reabsorb on its own after my left mx. It took about 3-4 weeks. Hope yours is a simple fix.
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thank you, Star! That’s a relief to hear that reabsorption happens. I look awfully misshapen right now, so it’s hard to tell. But since this is a revision, I have the experience of knowing that reconstruction changes a whole lot in a few months
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Yesterday I finally got my areola tattoos. They need to heal but already feel much more complete. It makes such a difference.
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Thats awesome Rachelcarter!! So happy for you, congrats!!
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I tried before but didn't get I reply on this topic. I developed LARGE hematoma after exchange surgery 9/28/18-Yeouch!
Bruising and pain has subsided. But breast remains hard and slightly swollen(the swelling has improved dramatically)
Has anyone waited hematoma out and not gone back for surgery? And how long did it take to heal/or not completely?
I'm currently in PT doing very well and back to yoga and doing light PT approved weight exercises. Completely under the direction of my PS. PT is familiar with breast reconstruction/mx patients so he's a huge help!
Thanks ladies!!
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congrats on your tattoos rachel!
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CBK: Does your instinct feel like your level of activity is acceptable? I didn't have hemotomas but had pain and hardness. I dropped back on upper body activity to let things heal. I also started to moisturize and massage with coconut/lavender oil because everything was feeling hard and tight. I still do slow mobility movements. Everything is feeling better. hope that helps a little.
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Rachelcarter-
My PS has always been of the mindset of “keep moving”, obviously within reason. Once the drains were out on any surgery I started getting back to my exercise routine. Even with hematoma, I had weight bearing restrictions for a bit, but I’m back planking it, downdoggin’, modified chattarungas/mixed with some full ones and now light weight/resistant band training, ROM exercises and lots of pec stretches that are being recommended by my PT guy.
It’s a fine line, because being stagnant is really not good for our healing either. That’s not just my feeling, it’s my PT’s that has extensive training and over 25 years working with patients. My Accupunturist/ chiro says the same thing; Stagnant energy can create a host of its own problems.
I’m lucky because I have a long history of yoga therapeutics in my background. So I am somewhat versed in modifying poses . But I've been really patient building back up and I have this amazing PT now that my PS referred me to.
I know I’m going to get there, I just have no idea how long getting there is going to take!!
I don’t have ok to massage yet, my PS said maybe around 3 month mark that may happen. But Mr. Hematoma may delay that further.
So wait when was your exchange surgery? I think tightness is common after exchange surgery!! The more PT stretches my pecs and loosens up traps/ scapula I feel like a different person.
Insisting that my PS send me for PT has really put my mind at ease, and I do feel like I’m doing everything I can to heal properly. I don’t feel conflicted on doing too much now, that PT is managing the ship!!
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