Exchange City
Comments
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There are some tricep exercises that don't wreak havoc on the pecs that mainly just bend at the elbow. I'm pretty
sure my days of "dips" are over.
Blessings- getting the cleaning service is the best advice! I wish I had been as clever
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I'm only 3 days out from my exchange I feel clueless as to what it should look like. I happy to have the weight of the TE out of my body. I'm hearing you ladies not thrilled about your results. I still have steri tape on my incision line. I'm suppose to wait for it to fall off. Mine just looks like fat implants on my small frame for now. They obviously don't look like an augmented boobs because I don't have the projection. I guess I'm too early to see the flaws. Is anyone happy with their implants and why?
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I'm only 3 days out from my exchange I feel clueless as to what it should look like. I happy to have the weight of the TE out of my body. I'm hearing you ladies not thrilled about your results. I still have steri tape on my incision line. I'm suppose to wait for it to fall off. Mine just looks like fat implants on my small frame for now. They obviously don't look like an augmented boobs because I don't have the projection. I guess I'm too early to see the flaws. Is anyone happy with their implants and why?
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Sooo I had post-op today. Overall I think a good appointment. I told ps about "drop and fluff". He laughed and said he never heard it called that before! He did say he thinks by 3 months implant is settled. He did tell me to start massage twice a day, and start yoga or whatever in 6 weeks. And the extra wave in biceps needs so much work!!!!
tflw: I am happy with exchange. I think just a little shock from giant expanders! I think the new implants look good and I am getting more used to them. I know at least for me it was more shock than anything. As people say here very often, "the new normal" arggggg and that's the truth!
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tlew - I'm a uni so my girls are fraternal as opposed to identical twins, but all in all I'm happy with my results. They look great in a bra, got some nice cleavage happening, and DH likes what he sees. Doesn't mean I don't secretly hate it went the Victoria's Secret catalog arrives in the mail, but I hope to get over that one day.
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tlew I am happy with mine. I was a little shocked at first after exchange looking down because it is so different from TE's. But mine dropped right away and the projection got better. My PS is actually amazed at how fast I have dropped. Especially since I had rads. But for a year after rads I did lot's a pec stretching and massaging to both breast and I think it has all paid off.
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Thanks ladies for sharing some of your positive results. I guess everybody's breast, skin, cancer, ps skills are different, and therefore the reason behind the different range of results. We the patients need to speak up to our PS and make sure we bring a list of all questions answered before going into the exchange surgery. My experience with my ps is that if I didn't ask the questions, she didn't take the initiative to address it. I guess she assumes i would know what to expect. And guess what? i found all the questions from reading this forum and of course with the help of whippetmom. We really only want to do this done once and get it done right.
My post op visit is next week. I look at my new girls for the last 4 days and I don't know I like them or dislike them. It looks intact. I guess until I get to see my incisions, then I would know...0 -
Hey all . I bought a groupon for blockbuster express and then they took the kiosk by me out. So I have 5 codes to redeem if anyone wants thems. You go online to blockbuster express you can if there is a kiosk close to you. If so PM me and I will send you a code to use. I hate for it to go to waste.
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tlew it has been a year almost sine my exchange. At first I hated my reults but 2 months later it all turned around. Now they are not a nice as real or even augemented breast but, overall they look very good. In clothes they are much higher and perkier than I have been since I was a teenager. I ahve great cleavage and ptosis, very natural. I can even go braless in stapless dresses. It's not perfect, but it does ahve advantages. On oct 30th I will get my nipples and my PS will do some lipo maybe some fat grafting. give it time they get better.0
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Yep,I think it would be great if we could all live next to Blessings. I dunno how she stays so patient. Yep they will hire a new PS and I will really miss my old one.
Sara,it was the "capacitor",something that makes the motor turn on the fan that blows out the cool air. I was talking about it at work today and then we all started making jokes about the capacitor being out on the fax machine and water cooler and our brains! We had the best time until the manager came down there to see why we were having so much fun. Anyhows the ac guy says you gotta have those parts cleaned and oiled every 6 mo or they could go out on you or overheat from dust buildup cause I ask him how come I have a new AC but its always breaking down! Short story: problem solved,hot flashes abated,ac repaired Hurray.
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carrol2 thanks for encouragement!!!!
Layala, I know way too much about AC, living here in AZ where it is truly hot as hell!!!
I am getting more and more used to new implants!
Time will tell............ ♥
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I have a date for my exchange...December 18!!! Woohoo!! My bmx was May 9, and I've been expanding all summer. 2 more overfills and I'll be waiting. I purposely scheduled the exchange the week before Christmas. I'll take off that week, and I'm off the week of Christmas! :-) It will be so nice to be out of these TEs!!
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I have a date for my exchange...December 18!!! Woohoo!! My bmx was May 9, and I've been expanding all summer. 2 more overfills and I'll be waiting. I purposely scheduled the exchange the week before Christmas. I'll take off that week, and I'm off the week of Christmas! :-) It will be so nice to be out of these TEs, and better yet, 2 weeks off from work!!
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Mari congrats but hope you dont have to join us ladies-in-waiting at the royal court cause its tough waiting for drop and fluff and one side goes faster than the other and you gotta be lopsided,sorry not to sugar coat it but the TE gone will be nice and squishy town is more comfortable.
Anyone know if I can wear chkn cutlets thru airport security? I dont wanna take them out and show them to everyone in the line nor do I wanna show my implanted boobs!
Anyone in San Diego? We land there and I am wondering, shorts or sweaters? how is the weather right now? I go first of Oct or maybe a few days after. I got a dog sitter,hope he is better than the one before,last time the idiot kept pouring food around doggie bowl and doggie didnt eat cause doggie was missing me.
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Ok I can wear my zip front sports bra,thats sure to set off the metal detector and cause me to be searched for an hour and then of course my fiance with his metal knee he always set off the detector,yep they are gonna be watching us but we are too old to cause any trouble. Just give us our soda and peanuts and a blanket so we can take a nap!
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My zip front sports bra did not set off the metal detectors at the airport. I think I wore the one from JC Penney's when I was traveling.
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Layla, I'm an hour north of San Diego. It's still summer here and has been hot without a break since the first of August. The next week shows no change in the forecast. Nights are in the low 60's. Days in San Diego are 70-80. Bring a sweater in case there's a change, we're certainly due for it. We were at Sea World a few weeks ago and while sitting at those shows we were roasting in the sun.
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Hey ladies - - thanks for all the TE explanations, experiences and laughs! I'm headed in on Monday for my exchange surgery and am getting nervous - and am certainly confused! Don't really get it. . . the rice krispies, sloshing, hamburger buns, drop and fluff - - yikes! I just know that I have huge, hard Gilligan's Island coconut shells right now! They're bigger than I wanted the final product to be, but. . . . my PS just wants me to trust him - - I don't know if he's heard me re: how I want them to look, or if I really get to dictate that. . .? I went for pre-op visit last Friday with him and he said we needed to do one more fill (60 more ccs. /each side). I had skin/nipple sparing, so I guess it has to do with filling in the skin. This didn't change my surgery date though, so I'll only be 10 days out from last fill date. Does that sound early to you guys?
I feel like I was so prepared/informed before the BMX surgery, and this time I'm just feeling confused. I guess I should put together a good morning of surgery question list - - ? If any of you have any reminder questions, please forward. I did have a new friend I've met thru this experience tell me that she bought a beautiful new bra in her "ideal" boob size, took it to the PS for him to try on her during surgery - - She said he did it, but my PS didn't go for the idea. . . ddn't think it sounded very sanitary!
Anyway, thanks for all the sharing of ideas and support on this sight - - It does help so much to be connecting with others who're going through some of the same things!
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I saw my massage therapist today as my implants seemed to be transitioning from tight to painful and my range of movement was becoming more restricted. He specializes in issues related to mastectomy and reconstruction and helped me immensely when I was dealing with TEs and expansion. Long story short, he spent more than an hour breaking up little adhesions that had formed and asked me if I had been spending a lot of time hunched over my computer. I have been actually, more than usual, looking for work and sending out resumes. He said that I needed to push my shoulders back throughout the day to help prevent these kinds of adhesions from forming. I thought I would pass that on, for any of you who are sitting hunched in front of your computer reading this!
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Thanks Dragonfly. That is great information!
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thanks dragonfly good to know. The only good thing about the fact that I work in retail on my feet all day now instead of on my computer.
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Hello,
So sorry to butt in but you seem like a wonderful bunch and I'm hoping your experiences will help me. I'm due to either have my expanders replaced by a DIEP or implants in December and need to make up my mind which to have. I'm leaning towards implants but am worried that they will still feel very hard and also worried about what they'll look like - as abnormal as the expanders?
The thread is so, so long! But i've read quite a few pages and it sounds like many of you were a bit disappointed. May I ask why?
Thank you so much for your help.
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Hello,
So sorry to butt in but you seem like a wonderful bunch and I'm hoping your experiences will help me. I'm due to either have my expanders replaced by a DIEP or implants in December and need to make up my mind which to have. I'm leaning towards implants but am worried that they will still feel very hard and also worried about what they'll look like - as abnormal as the expanders?
The thread is so, so long! But i've read quite a few pages and it sounds like many of you were a bit disappointed. May I ask why?
Thank you so much for your help.
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Skibunny - please keep in mind that women who have no problems general don't visit the boards very much. They want to move on from BC. That being said, I have not had any trouble with my TEs/implants. There were many reasons I chose not to go with the DIEP, but there are many positive experiences with that procedure. And of course, there are negative ones.
Part of my thinking was that I would go with the implants, since most people are just fine with them. They seemed to be the least invasive to me. I didn't want any extra scarring. If I encountered major problems, a flap surgery was an option for later. Only you will know for sure what feels right for you. It will happen. One day you'll just feel at peace with your choice.
Best wishes.
Jamie
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Skibunny: You are certainly not butting in, we are here to help each other! As JamieB86 has pointed out, there are positive and negative experiences with both implants and DIEP. As I have implants, I can only speak to my experience in that regard.
I think some of the disappointment with implants that you have read about in this thread results from the fact that although some women look fantastic almost immediately after exchange, most go through a transition period lasting at least 3 months during which time the implants settle and take on what will eventually become their final shape and consistency. A lot of us go into exchange surgery with high expectations about how real and soft our implants will look/feel versus the TEs and then can't help but be disappointed when we find ourselves looking at squarish, flattish, sometimes uneven implants, perhaps with little dents or lumps, etc., In many cases, these things sort themselves out as everything heals and someone who is initially disappointed can wind up very happy a few months later. In some cases, minor revisions are necessary to wind up with a satisfactory result. And in a few cases, major revisions or do-overs become desirable. But as far as I can tell, revisions are pretty standard with DIEP as well, although hopefully no do-overs!
As for me, I am 8 weeks post-exchange and not thrilled with my look or the softness of my implants, but really have to reserve judgement for at least another month. They look and feel different daily.
As you make your decision, I think you should carefully consider the pros and cons of implants versus DIEP and how they factor into your lifestyle, as very successful results can be had with either.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
My insurance will only cover me for one option - i'd originally decided to have implants and then a DIEP if I didn't like them.
My main aversion to DIEP is that it is such a massive op and I really don't want any more scars - let alone a massive one across my stomach. However, I have seen a few DIEP recons in the flesh and they look fantastic and very natural. That's my biggest concern with the permanent implants - how different they'll be to the expanders. I haven't met anyone whose had implant recon. My expanders are an EXTREMELY unnatural shape, rock solid, and a bit bumpy and I would be very disappointed if the implants didn't improve on this at all.
I'm young, newly married and feel so unattractive and unsexy. I know I'm never going to get my boobs back but want to do all I can to get a bit of body confidence back.
I'm just as interested in negative experiences as positive experiences as want to make as informed a decision as possible.
Thank you.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
My insurance will only cover me for one option - i'd originally decided to have implants and then a DIEP if I didn't like them.
My main aversion to DIEP is that it is such a massive op and I really don't want any more scars - let alone a massive one across my stomach. However, I have seen a few DIEP recons in the flesh and they look fantastic and very natural. That's my biggest concern with the permanent implants - how different they'll be to the expanders. I haven't met anyone whose had implant recon. My expanders are an EXTREMELY unnatural shape, rock solid, and a bit bumpy and I would be very disappointed if the implants didn't improve on this at all.
I'm young, newly married and feel so unattractive and unsexy. I know I'm never going to get my boobs back but want to do all I can to get a bit of body confidence back.
I'm just as interested in negative experiences as positive experiences as want to make as informed a decision as possible.
Thank you.
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Skibunny: I think it's safe to say that in almost all cases, implants look more natural and are significantly softer than TEs. But, in my opinion, it's unlikely they will be quite as soft as your own transplanted tissue (i.e. with DIEP). Implants can also feel cold to the touch in some cases, which can come and go. Hopefully others will chime in with their opinions!
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CMartin: Implant softness update! I said I would keep you posted so wanted you to know that at 8 weeks post-exchange (today), they are softer than last week. I would not call them soft, but definitely softer. And how are you doing?0
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I am now 6 weeks post-surgery, and still pretty symmetrical and firm. A bit of dropping, I think, which is good. Wore a regular 38 B bra that felt OK (warners, no underwire) though a bit empty on the very front. Sports bra still feels the best, an old Champion one it had, it saved my life.
Question: on one breast I can feel the bumpy foldy edge of the mid-profil Natrell 400cc implant. the other not. Do they rotate or move around? anyone had this?
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