Exchange City
Comments
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Thanks JAX!0 -
Spoil those babies luck any good grandma would!!! Love 'em up then send 'em home! That is my motto....Love the G.ma La La thing!!! I am Damma because my little angel girl hasn't figured out how to say her "G"s yet. Just cracks me up when she says Oh doodness dracious damma!!
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Oh....you all make grand babies sound soooooo fun........I want one.......son is only 9 and daughter 7.....so I may be waiting a while........but as a mom......I miss the little stage......but am happy to be at the independent stage......I don' t get to send them home!.....but I'm very lucky that they have a couple of great grandma's around the corner!
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Lorraine- You and I have the same implants. I was expanded to 400 and I feel like I got a fill cause my implants are sooooo much bigger. I was measured at Nordstroms and she said I was a 32DD. I think 32 is too small but she said she was certain. I guess your rib cage is measured and then they add 2. Mine feel tight as well. I am only a week out but I am getting some muscle pain- spasms but not like the mastectomy. Are yours feeling softer now? Kirstin- Don't buy any bras till your exchange I did and none of them fit. My surgeon did exactly what I wanted her to do even a little bigger but bigger is better huh?
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Hi ladies,
When I went to see my PS for my preoperative appointment, she decided to fill me ONE MORE TIME, even though my exchange surgery was two weeks away (it's next week). She said she wanted a "little more room" to work with at the time of the exchange.
Even before that fill, my TEs were coconuts! Now they are like petrified wood. Last night, I told my twenty-something daughter to press on one with her index finger, and she said, "WHOA! Now I see why all the little kids on your thread are bumping their heads on them!" Funny!
Janet
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Good Morning Ladies
Deborah...I was saying a prayer for you on the way to the hospital as well...and it is AMAZING that this tehcnology has allowed all of us to connect and become sisters! I'm so glad to hear you are doing well and are happy with your results!
I woke up with the 450 gummies. My PS wasn't sure if he would use the 420 or 450's...and decided on the 450's during surgery. He was able to make all the revisions he wanted and I have cleavage! I was worried as the expanders were further apart...but it's all good!
I'm getting ready for my shower and the big unveiling! LOL I don't miss rubbing my arms on my expanders!
Make it a great day ladies!
Deborah...hope you are feeling great this morning!
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Jax - You certainly live the life! Have fun!
Yvonne - Thanks for asking. I have been a bit down the past day, but I will get back up. My ex-business partner continues to be a jerk. I will be so glad when that is behind me. The BM and exchange seems simple compared to that issue.
Laura - You will kick those rads! Love those grandkids! Have a ball!
Lisa - Wow! Congratulations. It will be nice not to rub my arms on the TE's. That is one of the odd things about these things. I don't remember rubbing my arms on my boobs. Heal well!
Sandy - Thanks for the hugs. I needed them!!
On a much happier note, I leave soon to meet some of my BCO sisters for lunch. We don't know one another, but I bet we will "know one another."
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Thanks for the encouragement Deb. I'm really trying to get some SIZING input on this thread, as well as some idea as to whether all the EXERCISING (push ups, weight training, tennis, hiking) I do may have caused or contributed to the sagging, medial travel and assymetry problems I am experiencing with this first exchange.
I checked my card, and I have Mentor Moderate Plus 500 cc silicone gel implants on both sides. I have tremendous sagging, and they have fallen off my center and into my armpits. I think they call this 'bottoming out' maybe. When I lie down to sleep they are completely in my armpits, causing pain as they stretch the skin away from my breastbone (too heavy). I am wearing a soft sport bra at night to keep the travel less and it's helping the discomfort.
I hate the way my breasts look so WIDE. And I really dislike the breasts running into my arms. That is why I'm wanting the HIGH PROFILE implants. I believe all my PS uses is Mentor, and he seems a little touchy about my asking for the HP implants instead of just trusting his judgement. Oh well--I'm getting what I WANT this time, not what HE wants.
What I'm concerned about is this--I have a 36 inch bra band and considerable skin. (5'5" 130#) Can he really suture down the pocket so I will have the lift I had, and get the implants out of my armpits? And will the HP implants take up the excess skin to minimize the ripples and dents. He's thinking he has to remove excess skin on the larger side, and use a combination of fat and larger implant on the side with the dent.
It's confusing to me; I just don't want to end up WIDE, saggy, ripply, denty and uneven, with excess skin. Know what I mean?? After the exchange I looked FANTASTIC for 2 months. Then it all went SOUTH and EAST AND WEST!!!
Any help you can offer me in suggesting a implant size that will work better for me would be GREAT!!
Marilyn
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Marilyn- I am wondering did your surgeon make you wear a surgical bra for 6 weeks? Mine is very insistent about me wearing one 24/7 for 6 weeks and I know there are many people on here who didn't wear one. She said an arm exercising for 6 weeks or longer if it bothers me at all.
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You bring up a good point, Karen. No, he didn't ask me to wear the surgical bra for 6 weeks. In fact, after a couple of weeks, he told me I could switch to a 'barely there' bra or wear 'no' bra--my choice. I remember noticing that when I lay down to sleep at night, my breasts seemed to stretch out an awful lot and I wondered about that. DUH!! Hindsight is wonderful, isn't it??
I plan to wear the surgical bra for 8 weeks next time 24/7. And I'm dropping the pushups and weighttraining for the muscles over my implants. I plan to wait 8 weeks before playing tennis, and then always with a firm-support sport bra. And other than tennis, no more running. I will cry if I have to give up tennis!
I guess that's why I'm feeling the need to go 50 to 100 cc lighter. The 500 cc implants just look TOO BIG for my chest. TOO WIDE and too heavy. I think the 400 cc look more like my chest when I was younger (55 now--Oh my
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Laura --Hope you are felling better after the rads. I have two grandchildren as well (6 and 9). They call me MeMe. I did not want to be called Grandma, it felt so "old".
Lisa - good luck with your unveiling. How exciting!
Janet -- You're almost done, girl! Hang in there.
Karen-ask your PS for Valium for the muscle spasms. It really helped me.
Yvonne - hope things perk up for you soon.
Marilyn - when is your redo? I didn't see you on the list?
I am feeling better today. Haven't needed as much pain meds and was able to go out for dinner last night with my BF. He was certainly happy I was perking up.
Robin
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Karen,
I'm supposed to be 24/7 for 6 weeks too. I have alloderm under both breasts and on the side. I tease my PS and tell him it's my built in under wire.
Marilyn, My implants are Mentor moderate plus as well 700 cc. Did your PS use alloderm? I had fat grafting too. I'm about the same size as you but my band was 36-38. The fat graft sites are tender but that's the only discomfort I'm feeling. Ice really helps. I have no skin left and my nipples will need to come from above my bikini area. There's no skin to do the twist flap.I'm not allowed to exercise for about 6 weeks either. He wants to be sure the implants fill out in the pocket without shifting and mesh with the alloderm. I don't know if that helps you but I hope you can talk with your PS and find something that works for you. I'm sorry you are feeling badly. It's hard enough that we have to go through all this and not feel relief in the end.
Take care, Kathie
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Hi Ladies -
Just catching up on all your news! I'm rejoicing to hear about the soft new foobs - sounds like most of you had a great exchange. Deborah, you might grow to love your wider foobs - I think wide looks nice. Laura -- OH MY, I have been praying for you. The rads are tough. My friend suffered from some depression during her rads, and she really fought to keep a positive attitude. Today, she is back to her old self, all the burning is gone, and she's doing GREAT!!! That's my prayer for you. Hang in there - we are thinking of you. Jean, I hope you are feeling better.
Lots of love to all of you!!!
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Well I'm thrilled with the new girls! I have cleavage! I'm sure they will look even better when the steristrips come off, but for now, I couldn't be any happier! I will be having the twist flap for the nips...all those years of nursing gave me plenty of skin!
Robin glad you are feeling better and were able to enjoy a night out for dinner. I took some Ibuprofen last night, but haven't needed anything today!
Of course the anesthesia has messed up my system...thank goodness for my fiber boost! LOL
I also have two grandchildren (I have a 28 year old stepson...but we don't use the word step in our home). I didn't want to be called Grandma either...I chose Goddess, but they thought that was just a bit pretentious, so we settled on Marme. LOL I honestly didn't see anything wrong with Goddess!!!!!
Make it a great day!
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Good day to all.
Haven't been posting much, but want to say that my impants are still puckering a lot. The shape is getting better and in a bra I look great, but I still don't have the projection I wanted. I will admit in a bra and blouse I look pretty good, but I do wish I looked better naked. Maybe that will come.
Glad everyones' surgeries went well this week.
Good luck to all those that are coming up.
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Marilyn: Your Mentor Moderate Plus 500 cc implants are 14.1 diameter by 4.3 projection. The Mentor High Profile 500's are 13.2 by 5.3 projection. If you went down to Mentor HP 450's you would have dimensions of 12.8 diameter by 5.1 projection. You will need pocket revisions but I think you will be happier....
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Question about surgical bras vs. sport bras. I still have my surgical bra on, about four days after surgery. I see my PS on Monday and will hopefully have this drain out, but is the sports bra basically equivalent to the surgical bra? I've got a couple of Lululemon front closing, tight sports bras, and once the drain is out, I'd love to wear that instead. Just curious what others' experience with this was.
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My surgeon said I could wear any soft support bra I wanted as long as it was snug and had no under wires. All surgeons use different brands I don't think it matters what kind as long as it provides good compression and support and is soft without under wires.
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Thanks Deb for the dimensions on the Mentor HP sizes. That's what I was thinking . . . more projection with narrower dimension. I'm hoping it will eliminate the upper pole hole and get rid of the WIDE boobs. Robin, I go in for my surgery on Apr 13th.
I looked back on this site for how soon I was instructed to no longer be wearing the surgical bra and was APPALLED to find that I posted it was 7 days after my exchange. OMG No wonder my new boobs sagged to Austrailia and to both corners of the east and west! No wonder!!! Oh was my PS WRONG about that one!!! Now I know better.
Thanks, sisters. Together, we can really help each other.
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Marilyn
I think we all should use our common sense when it comes to taking care of our boobs after surgery. PS do things differently and it makes you think "why"....you would think they all would be on the same page. I say wear a great supportive sport bra 24/7 to keep those babies in place until they are fully healed and then afterwards when exercising wear the best supportive sports bra you can fine. Also if you are still very protective of the girls, then never go braless......always wear some kind of support......if I do have the revision I am going to baby my girls the way I want to and not listen to the PS....."it is just common sense"......After my exchange PS wanted me to wear an underwire bra 24/7 for a couple of weeks to help shape the breast fold (or whatever it is called) and that was all. I do have support sports bras when I run and I am not giving up running. But I have given up push-ups and using weights to work my LD muscles because those are no longer on my back but on my chest. I think that is what was causing my back and chest to tighten up like when I had the expanders in. So I stopped working those muscles and it does feel better. Listen to Whippetmom about the dimensions. She knows her stuff!!!!
Deborah, have you been over to the pic forum to see my new pics? Let me know what you think.....I value your opinion.....
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I think I have stated this before, I often repeat myself, but my surgeon has people form all over the country come to Indiana to have her do her breasts. She was one of the doctors on extreme makeover a couple of years ago. Wearing a support bra sure makes sense to me and I am not a doctor. Also my doctor won't let me wear under wires for 6 months.
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I'll go look right now Linda....
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Linda - I posted in the October thread that I think you look great! But I don't have Deborah's clinical eye.
Digger - I haven't had my exchange yet, but I wear a bra 24/7 post BM. I just feel more comfortable this way. Sometimes I wear a surgical bra and other times I wear a sports bra. They are pretty much the same.
Ladies - I just got back from lunch w/ Stonebrook108 and awb (from BCO)! It was cool to finally meet two of the many wonderful women I communicate with on this site! And no... we didn't lift our shirts in the restaurant! LOL. Anyhow it was fun!!
Take care and keep on being there. You are all wonderful! - Jean
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Sport bra vs. surgical bra -- I never had a surgical bra. My PS said that he doesn't like how they're "one size fits all." He wanted me to find a "comfortable, supportive, NON-underwire bra" that I could wear 24/7 -- I think for the first two weeks, but can't remember exactly. It was for quite awhile, I know. He said that kept everything in place while everything heals on the inside. He also insisted on no underwire because it can cut off blood flow, which can cause necrosis. I'm happy to say that nothing has moved drastically -- just what I expected of "drop and fluff." I have no idea what the dimensions of my implants are, tho. I'll have to see if i can find the card that has the "specs."
Marilyn, I had some suturing done at exchange to pull the left side of my left foob away from my armpit. It worked beautifully, but I still get twinges of pain there. Massaging helps. I did not have any extra skin, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. I do have rippling, but it's not too bad.
Sheila
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Linda....I made some observations on the pictures forum. I think you look great - I always have. I just went back just now [after I had already commented] and found you had posted a side view of your prophy breast. Could you post a side view of the other breast? Gotta tell you though - you have great cleavage.
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Marilyn
could you look up and see which style TE you had and tell us how much he filled you. It makes me wonder if he went a lot bigger in the TE and that's why things are sagging. When you post it also remind us of the size of implant you have.
My guess is you'll be a lot happier with HP implant but maybe not less CC.
I didn't get back to replying to your PM.
To get to the pix forum you need to send a PM to Timtam and ask for access
if you need help doing that just ask any of us here
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Drop and fluff, drop and fluff. If my new implants drop any lower, I'll be strapping them to my knees. I also can see a slight breadloafing or symmastia - which is where the pockets in the cleavage area open up and there could potentially be some merging going on. I knew that there was a thong bra [Dejaboo/Pam - remember Moody linked a picture to you?] and I know the mechanics of it, so I just put one of my sports bras on backwards, so that the middle bar ran down between my breasts. My husband has been hearing me moan and groan all day about my breasts and when he walked into the kitchen and saw me wearing my sports bra backwards to separate my breasts, he had a laughing fit. I started walking upstairs, ignoring him and he called after me, saying, hey Deborah, I think when I go to the gym I'll start wearing my jock strap backwards. Wonder what the guys in the locker room will think..." He is a real card.
So as you can tell, I am not feeling a lot of love for the new girls tonight. I know everyone says it takes time, but I just feel like a whiney dog right now. Wishing I had opted for the 45's instead. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. You know that feeling. I see my PS on Wednesday....
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Deb I have this vision of you going off in my mind
so do you wear another one over the backwards one to help hold the new girls
I sure hope everything works out ok
but it's a good idea to play it safe and use a little protection with the backwards bra
I forget how wide were your expanders and how wide are your implant
or were one of the gals we couldn't get that totally figured out
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Deb I think I answered my own question
I think your expanders were:
12.4 by 11.4 by 6.4
your implants are:
13.5 by 5.6
I sure hope everything works out for you
((((((HUG))))))
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Well, I had the sports bra on backwards and a cami over the sports bra, so I had a navy blue and lime green thing going on. I only wore that "device" for a couple of hours - it is not terribly comfortable to wear your sports bra backwards, let me tell you.
My expanders were 12.0 by 6.4 and my implants are 13.5 x 5.6. Had I gone with the Style 45's, I would have been 12.4 by 6.0. I know that they will change...I have read about it...everyone saying it takes weeks, months, maybe years. But at this early stage I just feel that they are too wide for me. These same dimensions look great on you Sandy, but not the same for me. I think I liked my expanders so much, and now that I have this mushy stuff going on, I just want my expanders back.
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