Exchange City
Comments
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Katey! - LOL- seriously NOT in good shape! just lost 50lbs...
ROFLOL - I need to find a gym to go to! I have been procrastinating! Now I do not have an excuse...
NVDiane - I am not excited about skin grafting... I keep telling my ps that I don't want hairy nipples! My upper thighs have lots of hair! I am sure he isn't going to use the roots, but I still can't get past the hairy legs on my nipples. I will have to research that procedure. Maltese cross flap? Skate flap, CV flap... there are so many! Thanks and I will check out your picts. You can find me under Yippee Squishy!
Kimberly
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Deborah, congrats on your new nips!!! I will never forget the look on my DH's face when my nips were unveiled. One huge happy smile!!! Thank God they've gone down a lot, although they look flat to me, they still sometimes show through clothes, so I think that part is perfect. I don't remember what it looked like around them, so I don't know if it dipped, but I also had a lift, so that might be why. Happy healing!
Congrats to everyone having their surgeries this week! Sending healing vibes your way!
Deen
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Kristin - So great to hear from you the same day of your surgery! Don't worry - everybody has a different exchange experience.....mine was very much like yours....3 hour surgery.....and I felt crummy for a good while......just enjoy the softness and rest......
Musiclovermom - the gym, my dear? Oh, my......just be careful....
I mentioned awhile back when everyone was discussing the implant massage issue, that my ps had never mentioned it. I finally found out why. He said that because expanded skin is so thin and because there is little support to the pockets, that there is serious risk - in his opinion - of damaging the pockets and displacing the implants. So......I know my ps is way more conservative than most, but if your ps didn't specifically recommend it, you might want to check with your ps before trying implant massage.....just offering a different perspective on the matter.....
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Val61
Thanks, but seriously I have not been to a gym in 6 years! Life got in the way and now I do not have any more excuses to avoid the gym. I would rather go get a massage than excercise! Today it's off to the salon for a mani & pedi that is the most excercise I am planing today - unless you count blowdrying and fixing my hair!
Have a good weekend everyone!
Kimberly
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Kimberly, I would not want hairy nipples either, and I don't have one! Before he created my areola, my PS had all the hair removed from the skin (the technical lterm is depilated), so that it wouldn't grow back. I'm sure that any other PS would do the same. Mine likes to do the skin graft from the inner thigh because the skin is just the right color.
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Hello ladies - Just a quick stopping by. Please pm me if you have new dates for surgery. Hugs to everyone! - Jean
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Kimberly! I'm glad you straightened me out! I was picturing you running off to the gym water bottle in one hand and percoset in the other!! Hope your nails look gorgeous!
Great suggestion NVDiane for hair removal. and I love the Maya A quote.
Val, how are you feeling? I still have soreness under one side where internal stitches from pocket are pulled with swelling. Definitely improving, almost there! Can't wear a regular bra yet, my old ones are still a bit tight. Thanks for sharing your ps's concerns.
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Diane: Do you have 800 ccs in the moderate plus profile? Was it Mentor or Allergan? I am helping someone out who has a uni like you and needs about the same size....
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Judy - an amazing journey -- here's hoping the wait was worth it (it has GOT to be)!
Deborah -- I agree with Judy: stop obsessing! The human body is beautiful IN it's imperfections. We are not dolls nor machines... celebrate yourself! You have arrived at the end of a long, long journey. I think it is natural, at this point, to obsess all the more because of that.
Kimberley -- I love how happy you are! Keep it up girl!
Kirsten -- sorry your surgery took so long.... you are certainly feeling the worse for wear because of the anesthesia. Stay strong! I am sure your girls look fab!
Janet -- how annoying that your husband doesn't remember! Fortunately there will be OR notes to read (if it comes to that). They tell you to bring people with you to remember the details and then THEY don't remember. Here's hoping that you are happy with what you find under those foam hockey pucks
Lilah
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Sending thoughts of a quick recovery ladies!
Kristenka~ Rest up...take care!
Janet~ No exercising...again...right?! Argh! It will be worth the wait though! My PS gave me another month post op..had some saline added back...just waiting for these "girls" to balance out symmetrically. At this point I am feeling comfortable with myself so "waiting" is not so bad any more.
NAE
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Kimberly - thank goodness.....I was a bit worried.....thought the anesthesia was still influencing you.....and considering how much I move my arms to blow dry my hair, it definitely counts as exercise!
Katey - I'm feeling much better - as long as I don't move my left arm (and I've been a good girl the last couple of days.....even pushed the cart at Costco this morning with one arm). My incision finally quite oozing yesterday, though I'm still using the silvadene and gauze it up til I see ps on Tuesday. I'm not taking any chance on infection. Hopefully, he'll put the steri-strips on then. Are you icing the area where you're sore? My ps had me in ice packs - even to sleep - for about the first week. I also needed them once I started working out again - that pocket work does not like to be stressed. Might be worth a try....
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Judy, so you did have radiation after all. How is your radiated breast behaving? I’ve had my TE’s for 6 months now and I am already getting used to them. It’s like, I don’t really have a choice, and they really don’t hurt me.
Kimberly, glad you are doing well! What a relief to have it all over, and how wonderful that you are able to do your nails without any worries...
Janet: I can’t wait to hear what you think. Please post pics when you can!!!
Kristen: Squishing and no hard edges!! That’s wonderful news. You will feel much better, your aches and pains will go away as time goes.
Chris, you have your exchange to look forward to! You should be happy. I don’t even have a date yet. I’d be lucky if I get it in the summer. That would be a whole year since my TE’s were installed.
Deborah: Is there anything you can do with your nipples if you are not happy with their lateral placement? Just curious. I am also obssessed with symmetry. One day I saw a big, beautiful butterfly with a broken wing and took its picture. It made me so sad for a very long time.
Lilah: What are gummies?
Take care, ladies!!!
Brenda
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My radiated breast is behaving well, it is a little higher than the other one and a little harder, but the PS said it is nothing that can't be corrected at the time of the exchange. So I wait and wait.. The next turn of the calendar is March..I can't believe it. JUDY
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Deborah: My implant is a Mentor Moderate Plus profile 800cc Memory Silicone Gel Plus round smooth walled implant. The model number is 350-8001. Hope this helps!
Diane
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Val,my PS actually sent me an email reminding me to massage! massage! massage! That's what's so weird about our experiences -- they are all the same yet different.
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Val, My PS had told me the same exact thing yours did about massage. I had actually confronted him about it after reading about so many other women that were told to massage. He said, NO!! and for all those same reasons. So yes, I do agree how we can all have such different advice given to us, yet all the same thing done.... odd.
Lilah, That was a very beautiful thing you said about loving our bodies ( not in those words, but..) It is so true, because we can get so caught up with obsessing about whats not perfect, and truthfully is there such thing as the perfect body. We all have imperfections, but we don't wear a sign around telling everyone what they are.
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Believe -- thank you!
Adnerb -- Gummies are the slang (because they feel like gummies) for the cohesive gel implants that are also known as Allergan 410s (anatomical, teardrop shaped, silicone that has the consistency of a gummy bear). They are not as soft as traditional silicone, but hold their teardrop shape better (you can cut them in half and there is no liquid, just two halves). They have been in wide use in Canada and Europe for about 10 years (I believe) but here in the US are still part of a "trial" and so have limited availability (your PS or his/her institution have to be a part of the trial -- though with that said it is not a small trial).
Lilah
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Hi all, thanks again for your lovely wishes coming my way. You keep a smile on my face!
I finally realized that I need to stay on top of the drugs to keep the pain at bay - either percoset alone or percoset plus valium seems to do the trick. I had only been expanded to 180cc, and he put in Allergan 15 smooth round silicone implants with 397ccs. Thus I'm figuring my pecs are being stretched and are not very happy!
I could eat a little more today, and I've spent countless hours dozing in my recliner...
The girls look nice and round and already seem to have an inframammary fold, which I wasn't expecting. I've got mole skin covering the incisions, so I won't see the incisions till Tuesday. But I'm too sore to type any more and will sign off now.
good night, Kristen
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Hello Ladies!
I just got home and realized that my chest did not tighten up in the cold tonight like when I had my TE's.
If any of you have that tight sensation when it gets cold you will know what I am talking about. I did not bring a coat with me today (it was like 57degrees and sunny today) and came home a few minutes ago in 34 degrees. NO tightness with these amazing wonderful soft squishy implants!
I just keep finding more reasons to love them!
Kristen - I feel so bad for you. I wonder if the percoset is making you queasy? I highly recommend Lortab as percoset make me vomit. There must be something that can help. I am thinking of you and sending warm wishes your way! Hope that tomorrow will be less painful.
Big Hugs!
Kimberly
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Just hopping in here...
Kimberly-your early enthusiam and use of the word "normal" for your new breasts makes me so hopeful for the exchange from these TEs. Thank you.
Val-hoping that the book, The Help, has kept you so engrossed that you have only used your arm to hold the book. I finished it a few weeks ago and could not put it down! So moving and full of insights from another time...
Best to everyone else w/ surgeries this week!
deekaay
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deekaay - I was so emotional before the exchange and was prepared to be disappointed. It was bordering on not wanting to have the exchange because I loved my TE's even though they were rock hard. I am loving these new girls and can not understand why I was so apprehensive about the exchange.
It is amazing how comfortable they are and I was able to really HUG people last night! I was always very careful to keep a distance between me and the person I was attempting to hug while I had the TE's in. I did not want to hurt them with the TE's and I did not want to cause myself any pain, so my hugs wern't really real. Last night after dinner with friends I said "I can give you a real hug!" and it was amazing what I had been missing the past 4 months - I just didn't realize how much I was compensating for.
OKAY, now I am blubbering like a fool, crying on my keyboard, but it is so different with these wonderful soft squishy implants. I am so happy to be getting my life back.
It is so worth all the pain of the TE's to get your implants! Looking back on it, it was only 4 months! It seemed like forever but now it's been a little more than 48 hours and I feel like me and that these new girls have been here forever.
I spent at least 4 months in stress before the BMX with all the tests and procedures. 4 months to recover from the BMX. I guess it works out pretty even. Let's hope it is not another 4 months before I get my nipples done - but if it is, that's ok too!
Big Pain FREE Hugs to all!
Kimberly
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As my unradiated side fluffs, and my left radiated side remains firm, I'm just not sure if I'm satisfied or not. I have to massage each morning to kind of loosen things up a bit on the radiated side. But even the idea of the LD flap sends me running the other way, so I REALLY want this to work and feel good about it.
I'm hoping that the strategic nipple placement in about a month will help because it will make both sides appear more symmetrical.
Emotionally, I'm just not ready to add any more surgeries to my list. I even put up with tears running down my face all the time (from chemo) rather than go through the eye surgery. It doesn't help that my husband has been in severe pain for a year (back and knee) and is practically incapacitated even though he's had back surgery, two rounds of nerve blocker injections, and a total knee replacement -- all since I completed radiation.
I want to be as happy looking in the mirror as some of you are!
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Musiclovermom: I get excited for you every time that I read one of your posts! It is so nice to hear how happy you are with your implants!! I am scheduled for my exchange on March 8, so I am starting to get more apprehensive but I am very reassured by your experience. Although I don't want to keep my TE's forever, I am very comfortable with them at this point. As you said, I am really ready to get my life back. It has been consumed by bc since last June, when I found the lump. So a BIG THANK YOU for sharing your positive experiences
TCK
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Sorry! Guess I'm just feeling a bit down today.
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Texas, Please don't apologize! This is your safe place to say what ever you need to! You and your husband are going thru such a difficult time. I hope you have someone there to help you both. We're all here for you!
Musiclover, you are just a beacon of happiness for us all! Funny what you said about hugging, I'm a hugger and was always wondering what it must have felt like for the huggee with those te's. No one ever said anything, but I did notice or imagined surprised looks!
Yesterday we went to see Shutter Island! If you can and want to forget about everything for a couple hours, it will do the trick! Luckily I had a large scarf that I could hide under for a few scenes!!
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Thanks Hannabearsmom!
We are pretty close to the same time frame. Mine started with my mammogram on 5/29 and had to have a second one done on 6/2 then my biopsy on 6/5 and multiple procedures until 7/21 - that was the day I decided on my BMX for 10/15. The months of procedures and test were draining...
I am so excited FOR YOU to get your implants next month! They are amazing! You will love them! I will be looking forward to reading your happy posts!
Texas357 - we all have down days. I have had more than I can count... You have been through so much more than me. You have other things going on in your life that would test anyone with out adding cancer crap to it.
Last year my life sucked so much I was happy to focus on cancer because I did not want to focus on all the other stuff going on simultaneously. I guess looking back it was a blessing everything hit all at once instead of dragging it out for years. I was too busy to fall apart.
Don't be too hard on yourself - I don't look in the mirror much yet and I know where my flaws are in the new girls, but that will be fixed in time... I have to point out the flaws to my friends and then they don't see them like I do. Right now I am focusing on how wonderful they feel. In a few weeks I will focus on what they look like...
Grackenmom - whoo hoo! tomorrow is your turn! I am sending warm wishes and big hugs your way!
Kimberly
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Katey - I have only laundry to do today... think I will skip it and try to find someone to go to the movies with me since my Internet is not letting me watch Grey's Anatomy this morning with out stalling every 5 seconds! Too many people must be trying to watch it at the same time!0
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Kimberly - I love reading your posts - I believe that showering and drying my short hair is a workout - putting makeup on is an added "extra" for my workout... Actually, I think housecleaning is my biggest workout. I have two dogs that shed a TON of hair - sweeping and vacuuming the floors is enough for me to break a sweat - maybe I am just old and fat - BUT - I prefer to think I am doing something positive for myself.
Allie
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Music & Texas~
It's all about getting on with our lives now isn't it? I cannot believe I am nearing my 1 yr. mark when this (BC) all began...that awful "come back to repeat mammogram" call...ugh! Now...as I am feeling back to normal these days I cannot believe how consumed I was with this BC. Having a positive attitude & having positive influences has definitely made my journey easier. I certainly could not have done it without you all.
Those with pending exchanges...the light at this end of the tunnel is extremely BRIGHT!!!
NAE
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You know, I think getting our lives back is the entire reason I'm feeling down today. I want to be thrilled with my new girls so that I don't have the possibility of a revision hanging over my head.
In 2008/2009, I had 8 surgeries: 2 separate mastectomies and 1 emergency surgery after a mastectomy due to bleeding, 1 failed eye surgery to fix the tear duct scars created by chemo, 2 exchange surgeries (1 failed when the incision popped open), and the surgeries to implant/remove my chemo port.
I really really really want this nipple surgery to be the end of the surgeries, and to be satisfied with how things turned out.
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