Exchange City
Comments
-
nene2059,
Ah yes the itching. I had exchange on Fri, 12/11. I'm wrapped in a large ace bandage from armpits to almost navel. And do I ITCH like crazy. I thought from the bandage. My DH was able to put some plain lotion on his hands and get somewhat under the bandage (on my back). That felt so good. I'm also taking Pherergan for nausea which helps with itching. I get unveiled tomorrow afternoon and can't wait to take a shower. I'm also on antibiotic but the itching is not from that as the itching is only on chest and back area.
Janet
0 -
Geena and Sandy- Thanks girls so much!!! I looked it up and nope that is not at all what happened to me. OK! Whew! I am having this strange flap surgically removed but it sure would be nice to know it happened to someone else. It is so bizarre!!!
0 -
nene- yes I had itching. I was told by my doc - it happens sometimes with pain killers. My doc had me take benedryl OTC- it went away after a time.
Good Luck!
0 -
had my exchange 1 week ago. are the implants surpose to look so flat and round? Will they look more natural later? And what kind of bra do I wear after the vest is removed? HELP!
0 -
Hi Jen,
My implants looked flat for a few weeks. Just keep massaging them and they will drop and fluff! My surgery was in August and I would say by October they looked like they still do now, so it takes a little bit! My PS told me I didn't have to wear a bra unless I ran. But everyone's PS is different. Some have them wearing a bra immediately for 24/7. I still don't wear one. I have an appt with him on Wednesday and I am going to ask him again. It is so freeing not to wear one as I used to be a DD!
Congrats on your implants!!! Isn't it nice to sleep on your side???? There is a whole section on this strand about a victoria secret bra but I do not remember what kind it is. Sorry!!!
Take Care!
0 -
Don't take Benedryl if you are on Tamoxifen, according to my onc and pharmacist.
Good luck this week ladies! I hope all goes well.
Hugs--Karen
0 -
I just took off my bandages to sponge bath my new foobs as PS said I could and couldn't believe the difference between the two. I just want to cry and not sure if this is normal. My augmented side looks much bigger than my exchange side and flatter then the other side. Now I am thinking that I shouldn't have messed with the healthy side and just lived with the difference. Tell me girls, is this normal?? Is this just due to swelling? I do not want to think I will have to go back in for adjustments to this...I just want this to be over. I am so sad, mad and just want to give up on this whole road!!!
Sorry to be venting, I usually hold it all in all the time!!
0 -
Thanks so much Cheri. Are you having the nipple reconstruction too?
0 -
Hi everyone,
I've been following this thread for awhile as I have my exchange tomorrow. I had bi-mx in April '09 with immediate TEs (not sure what kind) and will now have silicone implant placement. Each of you who have paved the way and have shared your stories, thank you SO much, it provides so much inspiration and strength to those of us facing this huge milestone. You ladies are so amazing!!
I just have one question, I'm planning on returning to work in a week (the 21st)... am I being TOO optimistic? After reading about some of the potential complications, I'm now at the 11th hour getting a bit nervous....
Hugs to all, Diane
0 -
Blessedby4........I have been told that this is normal. The foobs will adjust when they settle.
0 -
Hi everyone,
I've been following this thread for awhile as I have my exchange tomorrow. I had bi-mx in April '09 with immediate TEs (not sure what kind) and will now have silicone implant placement. Each of you who have paved the way and have shared your stories, thank you SO much, it provides so much inspiration and strength to those of us facing this huge milestone. You ladies are so amazing!!
I just have one question, I'm planning on returning to work in a week (the 21st)... am I being TOO optimistic? After reading about some of the potential complications, I'm now at the 11th hour getting a bit nervous....
Hugs to all, Diane
0 -
eekk....KEW.....why not Benedryl? Yikes, this is my drug of choice! I use it several times a week for my evening allergy symptoms....helps me sleep. I use it because I assume it is safe. How does it interfere with Tamoxifen?
0 -
Blessesby4 - I am so sorry you are feeling so discouraged...I am only 4 weeks out from my exchange and don't have any answers for you since my exchange was bilat however after only two days I know I had considerable swelling that has gone down since the exchange. Perhaps the aug side appears larger because there is more tissue to swell...
My Step-mom came over this weekend and I was wearing a t-shirt with my post surgery bra, she noticed immediately that my right foob has more upper pole fullness then the left...DAMN!!! I thought I was being over critical. I see my PS on the 4th of Jan and guess I'll have to talk to him then. Sure wish I figure out how to post on the picture forum...
Have a great night all!!!
0 -
mae605................I am returning to work in two weeks. But this surgery was so much easier than the mastectomy.
0 -
Oh....I see Benedryl might be a CYP___inhibitor....bummer!!!
0 -
Diane: Barring any complications, which are unlikely, returning to work in one week is absolutely reasonable.
Michelle: PM me if you need help posting your picture. Easiest is to take your photos, save in your pictures folder. Then, go to www.drpic.com and click LOAD. Load one photo at a time - then look to left and click RESIZE - when a box pops up, reduce by 50%. Then scroll down and look to left where it says SAVE TO DISK or something like that - and save it to your pictures folder but give it a name to make it easy to identify. Then go to the pictures forum and load the pictures.
0 -
Hi I saw my new nipples for the first time today! Wow, they look great. They are big but my PS said he makes them big because they shrink. I had gotten used to how my boobs looked without nipples but seeing them there, now they look like real boobs!
I also had fat grafting, to fix some rippling and to increase upper pole fullness. The area of the injections is sore and bruised, but I was told to expect that.
I'm really happy with these results.
0 -
whipetmom - does the site above delete photo's? I had tried uploading to photobucket and they deleted some of my pictures...
0 -
Michelle
if you have the pix saved on your computer...
just go to the private pix forum and at the top of every thread their our stuck threads
there you will see a post by me which explains how to do it resize photos and save them on your computer than later can up load them on the site
if your still having trouble you can PM me and I would be willing to try and help more if needed
0 -
Ok now I need to go back to some post I missed....
1st off whooo hooo that Teresa doesn't have cellulitious
Thanks Laura as always so proud of my kids : )
just wanted to share feeling a little itchy is normal. But if your itchy all over as in legs and arms you could be having a reaction for meds
Janet I'm excited for your unveiling tomorrow whoo hooo
Jen the looks of the implants depend of the type your PS used. The high profile implants have the most projection, than they have mod profile plus and also low profile which have the least projection. A lot of gals say you will get more projection over time if your muscle relaxes and lets things fluff. Please give it time and see if things fluff. Could you post and share what kind of style your PS had used on you...After you take the vest off you could wear a sports bra for a few weeks than after things settle go out and buy some new bras. I like the VS ipex bra with no wire.
Blessedby4 I hope your cancer side will fluff and things will match up. You deserve to be happy don't regret for going after what you wanted. Sorry to say it takes a lot of us 2 trys. The good news is usually exchange surgeries are a much easier surgery that if you need another one it shouldn't be too bad. I also want to add on my healthy side they used an expandable implant which allowed them to take out saline or add up to 4 months after my exchange to get them to match. Than when I had my nipple surgery on my cancer side they removed my port from my healthy breast. Just wanted to share this in case things don't work out that might be something to try next time. But I hope you won't need a next time and everything works out just fine this time (((HUGS))) ps never be sorry for venting that's what we all are here for...
Diane a 1 week break should be fine. After my 1st exchange I was only off 4 days. But just didn't do any major lifting for about 3 weeks ( as in anything over 15lbs)
lifegoeson has great looking nipples whooo hoooo ; )
0 -
just thought I would post resizing info from private site here also...
http://www.picresize.com/
than you should see the below sentence click on the it's free at Drpic.com
Looking for our more advanced online image editor? It's FREE at DrPic.com!
it should say loading please wait...
than click on this, it should have a folder with a green arrow
Start by uploading a picture from your computer or camera.
click on the browse
double click on your pix or if you single click you need to hit open when done
than hit the load picture
than it seems like I alway have to crop it 1st by clicking and making a red box than double click in that box than you can click on the resize red square to the left and reduce it by about 50%. Than X out the resize tool box and right click on the pix and hit save pix as and re-name it and hit save. This is the only way I can get it to work for me.
hope this helps some that been having trouble0 -
Deborah--Yes, sorry it took me so long and you had to seek out the information on your own. Benedryl does use the the P450 CYP2D6 channel for metabolism and can compete with Tamoxifen. My onc is still pretty cautious about the clinical value of the CYP2D6, but did say to avoid Benedryl and Grapefruit. I'm an intermediate metabolizer 1 good allele 1 less efficient allele, so maybe that is why he told me not to use those things.
Sandy--So great to see you posting so much!
Mae605--I was off for 6 weeks, but that was because of an abdominal hyster/ooph. Assuming you don't do much lifting, etc. you should be fine. I could have gone back after a week. Maybe remember to rest and take it a little slow--it is still surgery.
Good night--Karen
0 -
Blessedby4 ~
Being unilat. & also having an aug. on my healthy breast...a week later my healthy side dropped. PS said they looked very even at time of surgery & looking at pics I took 24hrs. after exchange, they did look pretty even. As Sandy said...I also had an adjustable saline implant in my healthy breast to adjust the volume to match symmetry. My aug. breast looks fuller all around & my PS said she may remove alittle of the saline...the luxury of the adj. implant is...she said she can add back the saline if it does not appear even. My MX side looks fuller along the upper pole. I will be having a lift on my healthy side for the "drop" that has occurred & hopefully gain fullness up top. Such a science to all of this isn't it? LOL!
On the topic of itching...I was referred to a dermatalogist for my itching accompanied with rashes all along my incision. It turns out I am allergic to the adhesives & certain bandagings such as TegraDerm (it looks like saran wrap). Anyway, she Rx'd me a stronger Hydrochordazone...for next time. Of course..most of my rashes were gone by the time I saw the derma. dr.
I was wondering if anyone can tell me if having implants tends to make you feel warm...warmer?? I am thinking that when we had our natural breasts...our bodies cooled down when needed...I feel like these implants stay constant...does anyone know what I am trying to say??? Hmm...I'm not even sure if I am explaining it right? LOL!!!
NAE
0 -
whipetmom and sandy sunshine - thank you so much for your help with pic's resize. for some reason I though you had to first upload to a website and then download from the website to the forum. Any way, I have posted my photos...
Thank you all!
0 -
o2bhealthy ~
Just looked at your pics~~~ you look great!!!
NAE
0 -
When I had saline implants for my augmentation and with the TE's, I almost feel colder. So, I'm wondering about implants making you feel warmer. Hmmm... Let's see, 2 sets of saline implants and now silicone! I told my hubby that I used to have fake boobs. Now I have seriously fake boobs! LOL!!!
2 more days!!!!!
0 -
Nene, Karen, Deborah- I am not on tomoxifin so KEW knows best about that! Deborah- I have just switched sleep aids. Benedryl really dries me out. I do voice overs (and PR) for a living and I can really hear the dryness in my throat. I am afraid of taking tylenol PM every night, so I have tried a new sleep aid and I LOVE it. It is OTC and is made by the same folks who make tylenol but has no acetaminophen in it. It is called simply sleep. Maybe you know of this drug but I had never heard of it! It works as well as both benedryl and tylenol pm. Love it!
Jen- yes I am eventually going to have nipple recon but no time soon. I really needed a break and have a triathlon coming up the end of March, so I have this strange under arm flap removal the end of April. My PS says it will take a good 6 weeks to recover from that procedure. Then summer will be upon me, so I think I will wait until next fall to deal with it. I swim a lot in the summer. How about you? When will yours be done?
0 -
Nene, Karen, Deborah- I am not on tomoxifin so KEW knows best about that! Deborah- I have just switched sleep aids. Benedryl really dries me out. I do voice overs (and PR) for a living and I can really hear the dryness in my throat. I am afraid of taking tylenol PM every night, so I have tried a new sleep aid and I LOVE it. It is OTC and is made by the same folks who make tylenol but has no acetaminophen in it. It is called simply sleep. Maybe you know of this drug but I had never heard of it! It works as well as both benedryl and tylenol pm. Love it!
Jen- yes I am eventually going to have nipple recon but no time soon. I really needed a break and have a triathlon coming up the end of March, so I have this strange under arm flap removal the end of April. My PS says it will take a good 6 weeks to recover from that procedure. Then summer will be upon me, so I think I will wait until next fall to deal with it. I swim a lot in the summer. How about you? When will yours be done?
0 -
Thanks all for the words of encouragement! Leaving here in about an hour for surgery, and there's a ton of snow on the ground
. I had dreams last night of "squishing" my foobies, and sticking things down my ace bandage to deal with the itching...lol! Also had a nightmare that I overslept, and missed my surgery! Oh the pleasures of the SE's from the darn tamoxifen (insomnia since Sept).Have a great day all.
Diane
0 -
((((((((((((Diane))))))))))))) It will be great! Look at the snow as a sign of renewal for you!!!
Prayers to you and please let us know how everything went!!!
0
