Exchange City
Comments
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MBJ, oh boy now im really scared i took them off my native reconstructed ta ta what should i do? should i go buy some and put them on?
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Beacher: I would
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ok i will go to cvs tomorrow and get some do u think they sell them there?
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Im so glad i did not take the steri strips off my areola! Thanks MJB
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Yeah never pull steri strips off -- let them come off naturally (mine took WEEKS on the reduction/lift side where they surrounded the areola).
I also agree with MBJ: don't put anything on your incisions until you get the OK from your PS. (Jennifer being an old pro can do what she wants
Rubbing stuff on open wounds -- even if antibiotic ointment -- can put you at risk for infection. You do NOT want infections!Laura -- will do!
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Thanks Girls!! I did not agree with my ps when he said i could take them off in the shower,just did not seem like a good idea,but of course i did it and now i regret listening to him although he has been very good,but now i feel im losing confidence in him and we still have so much work ahead.... well anyways steri strips tomorrow and see what he says when i go back in with new strips on!!
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Aw Beacher he probably figures whatever skin gets pulled off with the strips will heal. I just would rather not add to the issue. Did removing them tear your skin?
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[shudder] Lilah....the thought of that stuff tearing....
I had steri-strips after my biospy and I have to work them off after 2 weeks but my 'cut' was so teenie. Now I have the dermabond and can see whats going on underneath...they are holding strong and I have NO desire to get them off quickly. I totally cant believe Im almost two weeks out. Almost time for more photos!! (kidding)
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Laura, here's how I missed the video...in 08-09, all my searching on here was related to chemo, rads, and lat d surgery. All issues I was dealing with then so I was hyper-focused on those areas. I remember looking and looking at Linda's pix as I consider the lat d surgery. Implants and recon didn't come up for me until 2010! Still, you would think somewhere along the line I would have tuned in to the video. Better late than never!!!!!!!!! So nice to see you back on here. hugs, deekaay
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Wow this thread moves quickly! I was gone a few days and had page after page to read to catch up. About the nipple issue--I also chose not to get them (at this time) and hubby doesn't care. If I do decide later on, I will have the tatoo. Anyway, my sister went to Las Vegas and brought me home a gift--black nipple covers with pink tassels that pole dancers wear! I wore them to my PS appointment and I think I embarrassed him!
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Hah! That's great stuff!
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Lilah,
Yes, I know you are right. I am going to have to return some that I haven't worn yet.
On the steri-strips, tho I never had any placed by PS (only had stitches when I had my lifts and MX) I had many after MRI guided biopsies. I had many conflicting instructions. Radiology nurse would tell me to take them off in the shower after a couple of days or the skin would break down underneath. oncology nurse would tell me to leave them on til they fell off. So, like everything else, lots of different opinions.
Jkz,
Can you share what the scar strips are called?
On the nipples...I saw the ones with tassels while I was googling "stick-on nipples." talk about an education on things I didn't know existed!0 -
Has anyone had the problem of one breast being way higher then than the other.If anyone has this problem or has had I would like to know. Had the silicone implants put in on May 17.I am messaging twice a day as the PS 's Nurse suggests. PS says it will drop, but I know it has a lot of dropping to do! Please help if you can with some advice.0
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Pink Butterfly.. They are call scar strips.. You can get them at your local CVS. Check with your PS before using them though.. I did. She told me not to cover anything until the incisions were totally healed. She checked them out Monday and said everything looked great. She was shocked at how great the scars looked from only being 2 weeks post-op..
Lilah, I sure know infections are no fun so I will not take any chances. 1 infection was enough for me..I ended up in the hospital for a whole week..(Easter of last year) and was on interveneous and oral drugs for 28 days.. Just crazy!
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Alberta: It took my MX side about 4 months to finally drop into place. It's very early yet. My augmented side dropped in 2 weeks! Give it time for the muscle to relax. If your PS didn't line them up properly then this is a different thing. My MX side doesn't have the same amount of droop that my other side has and probably never will but they are very close.
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Jkz,
Are they only for fresh incisions? I have really long vertical incisions that come up pretty high due to having the lifts first, then Mx 1 mo later. I guess they could not use the same incisions. I am only using vit e oil and cream, as my rad onco told me to massage daily with vit e. My port scar looks pretty bad too. Wonder if this would work on that. I prob cannot have exchange until oct at the earliest.
I've heard people talk about having scar revisions. Anybody have experience with that?0 -
pinkbutterfly-my PS said to use Biodermis strips, he is Chief of PS and seems to think these work best--they can only be purchased online...I used the strips-you cut them in half and they can be washed and re-used for weeks (they are expensive...$50 for 2 long strips)....they are pretty amazing in flattening and reducing the scars (I think product was originally developed for burn patients).
http://www.biodermis.com/scar_products/epi-derm/epi-derm-silicone-gel-strip/
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Thanks takeadeepbreath. Iwill ask my PS if I can use those.
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Thank you MBJ. I needed some encouragement concerning this. it really looks ridiculous,however, I am thankful for getting this far. Whether he lined them up correctly I don't know. I did have a large hematoma on the right side, but that is all gone for quite a while & he said that has nothing to do with it. Thanks again. I appreciate your quick response. I hope you are doing well.
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Alberta: You are welcome! If you think it's a surgical issue and not just a matter of letting things drop then PM Whippetmom as she is the expert on these things. Hugs!
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I made a mistake I am taking femara not tomoxifen. My thumb has what some people call a trigger thumb. It hurts to bend it and when I can bend it, it is jerky. I went to an Occupational therapist for it and some other issues. She told me to use it even if it hurts so it would not freeze up. I have heard and read that some of the side effects of the hormone blockers often go away after a year of use and your body gets use to it. I will have been on Femara for a year in September. We, my OT and I, want to make sure that the problem is caused by the femara and not something else. I do not want to have to have this problem for 5 years and find out it was not caused by the femara. I never had this problem before taking femara.
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shortlady: I have to force bend mine and it pops in and out locking in either way. Incredibly painful and I blame chemo.
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Regarding steri strips: I have a bad reaction to some types of clear tape so I need to use paper tape. So, I might be using a different type of steri strip than other people.
Regarding neosporin: My PS had me use it after my MX and I had problems with it (skin turned pink) so now I use an antibiotic ointment with out it. I have talked to several medical people and they say that the neomycin can bother some people.
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Thanks takeadeepbreath. I love your user name! I'm going to order the silicon strips.
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Jkz -- I know you are careful! I think my post was for others who were talking about using stuff on their scars within a few days of surgery.
For what it's worth Ladies -- I tried those strips that Jennifer is using after I was about 2 months post-exchange but they bugged me so I stopped. My scars are very faded now after a year... so I think, really, that nature should run its course for most of us (and we will heal and fade with time). How you heal does depend on your skin type and how YOU heal... so maybe the strips are helpful for those whose scars are more raised or more red? I would not use the strips till the incisions are fully healed, though, as Jennifer did (and always check with your PS first) -- that's all I'm saying!
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Have to chime in on the scar strips. I asked my PS last week at my first post-op about recommendations for reducing the scars. He said that I was welcome to use whatever I wanted but from what he's seen in his practice is that good old TIME was the best healer. I had already bought some silicone strips and used them for a while on my port scar. I think it helped. Haven't used them yet on my breast scars, but will start giving them a try next week.
Westieluv... I was instructed by Ashley, PS's asst, to stick with sports bras for 3-4 months... no underwires until then.
Congrats to all the recent exchange graduates!
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ok so im past the steri strip fiasco , now what about my mx side ta ta is so hard not soft at all,and my native side that i had a lift and smaller implant put in for symmetary is getting soft and even jiggles a tiny bit. Im thinking cause i had radiation the mx will always be hard anyone got this one?
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Beacher4209,
Your mx side most likely had more tissue taken. There's probably more soft tissue on your native side. Both of mine are pretty hard. I had the saline implants put in to start with. I'll be exchanging them for gel implants this summer. I hear from the ps office that they will be a lot softer than the saline ones.
Terri
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thanks Terri,i have silicone too. Is there anything i can do to make it get soft eventually? does anyone know i do massage it but actually it feels just like the t/e.
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ibcmets If you don't mind me asking why did you get saline first? Did you think you wanted then and changed your mind or was there some benefit t having them for a while?0
