BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
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Deborah- Thanks you for taking time out to answer my unrelated to breast sizing question. I'm going to head off to the health food place in town and ask them about the herbs you mentioned. I'm sure, as you mentioned, there must be some holistic approach I can take. I really don't want to be rubbing anything "off the shelf" onto my breasts. Especially since most have parabens etc in them...
Thanks again and keep well sister....
Terri xo
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nesw: So you have a number of options: High profile Style 20, 600 ccs, Moderate Plus Profile Style 15 - 492 ccs, or the Allergan 410 in the 400 gm range, specific to the dimensions of your TEs.
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lala1: Your TE dimensions most closely mirror those of the Allergan 410MX, in 410 gms or possibly 445 gms...
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ReneeinOH, it depends completely on your particular situation, but I was lucky because I did not have to have radiation so my skin was fine and I was going from larger breasts to small and happy to go smaller (from 34DD to large 34B/small 34C). So I was able to have immediate reconstruction with silicon implants on same day of double mastectomy and didn't have to worry about TE's at all. I had one surgery 16 May 2012, and was fully functioning within 4 weeks and in bathing suits and swimming by mid-July. Then I had an adjustment surgery 4 Dec 2012 and now everything is healed -- no more hospital visits. This is not unusual for my PS. But I think here in Switzerland/Europe the medical community has a different perspective and the patients do as well.
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Vanlex: There is a saline implant which can be overfilled to 960 ccs - which a number of bodacious gals have exchanged to when the 800 HP Style 20s are not quite enough. But you would need to wait at least three months before a revision. Please do not take offense at the second option, which is to lose some weight. Many of us have lost weight after the exchange and our implants look larger on our frame, for every ten or so pounds we lose. It is a connundrum, but losing belly fat and adipose/fat around the ribcage makes the implants more prominent on the chest wall. As we lose the weight, the band size goes down and the cup size increases. The heavier we are, the more the implants are sort of "swallowed up" by the tissue on our torso and abdomen. It has been a major incentive for a lot of women....to lose the weight they always wanted to lose...
Some things to think about....
Deborah0 -
Deborah~YUP, PS said to stick with the 20s', they are the right size for me!! You are the best ever!!!!
Annemarie
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I was so sick after surgery that I have no clue what size or type implant PS used..... Guess I'll have to wait until I go for my follow up on Tuesday- I am hoping that my boobs didn't end up being too much smaller than before....
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Deborah - thank you so much for this info. I've got my notes now and will talk to my PS at my next appt in two weeks. Funny, he's considered a "top doc" and women come from afar to go to him, but I have the feeling it's not necessarily for reconstruction. He doesn't say a lot - he decided which expander to use, now just comes in and looks at everything from all different angles, pokes and prods a little, and gives me a fill, tells me to make another appt for the following week. Because of all this, I thought everything was fairly routine in a reconstruction. Thank goodness I found these discussion boards. And thank you so much again!
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annemarieh: YUP.....
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nesw: You are welcome. Stick around and keep us posted on your journey!
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Oh, vanlex - speaking of weight, whippetmom is right....when I got my TEs I was 5'5" and weighed 204 pounds. My ribcage was 42".
I got Inamed TEs - 133MV-16s, filled to 620ccs, but you really couldn't tell, because I looked about 7 months pregnant. The TEs just disappeared into my body.
(The Original Girls were big...38DDD, but hung nearly to my waist, so big deal.)
It was only when my MO told me about the estrogen/belly fat connection that I was motivated to lose some of my weight. I went on a medically-supervised fast, and OMG, as soon as I started losing inches in my abdomen, those TEs looked HUGE!!!!!
In fact, whippetmom encouraged me to stop my fills at that point, because my chest measurement kept going down, too.
Today I am 5'5", and 144 pounds. My chest measurement is 32". I got Allergan Natrelle High Profile Smooth Saline implants - 68HP-700s, filled to exactly 700 ccs.
They are so much smaller than my Original Girls, but look SO much bigger!
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Oh, kayb - thank you for your sweet words!!!!!
Wishing you continued good health as well....
xoxo
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Blessing, I'd like to echo Kayb's words; you are a blessing to those of us on this board! I read more than I post, and you always have great advice and kind words to offer everyone.
Your weight loss is truly inspirational! Congratulations for taking charge of your health and being successful!
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Whippetmom, I'm still about 7 months out from exchange, due to rads, which ended 5 weeks ago. I have my TE info, but I guess I won't need to get recommendations for implants just yet? I am pretty curious though, so, because it will get the best of me, what would you recommend?
I am 5'4", 118 pounds give or take a couple, I have (I think) slightly broad shoulders, measure 29.5 inches below the TEs. The TEs are Mentor medium contour profile, style 7200, 350cc, filled to 340 on my cancer side (for rads) and 310 on my left side. Reading the info, it says they're 11.7x10.0x6.6cm.
Right now, I have about 2 fingers width between the TEs, which looks good to me, but they seem too full towards the outer edges and my arms keep bumping into them. I was a 34 or 36 B before, depending on the bra, and would like to stay around the same size, or just a bit bigger.
Thanks for your suggestions! You have been such a help to everyone!
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Blessings, congrats, that is fantastic! You truly are an inspiration to us all
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Aw, {{{{{Andrea623....}}}}} thank you!
My TEs actually touched in the middle. They drove me crazy. And they wrapped all the way around to underneath my armpits. They were like insane balloon animals, taking on weird shapes as the saline increased. On one side I had a weird diagonal loaf of french bread; on the other, I had Sponge Bob Square Foob.
I also felt like I had baseballs under my pits, and I thought I looked like John Wayne when I walked because my arms kind of stuck out to the sides....like I was ready for a quick draw!!!
Your PS will make things right at Exchange. In the meantime, I'm sure whippetmom will be along soon.
Wishing you good healing from your rads!
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Yes, baseballs under the pits! Lol, that's exactly what they're like! I cringe if anyone tries to hug me too. I'll be so glad when these things are gone for good!
Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday!0 -
Blessings I'm happy to hear this. I'm just trusting my PS at this point. With the TEs in right now, I have two odd and different shaped lumps. I figured the TE job is just to expand and mine is to "vigorously massage" (as my PS puts it) the scars and puckers. I feel like my skin is on fire all the time and my pec muscles are always cramping. I'm just hoping all that is normal, and counting the days (months) to exchange.
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Andrea: Andrea: If your PS uses Mentor across the board, I would recommend high profile smooth silicone rounds, 375 ccs or 400 ccs. 350 ccs would match the width exactly, but I just think that you would probably like the results with a bit more than 350 ccs. You lose a lot in projection with implants and so the teensy increase in width helps somewhat.
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I am wondering if there are restrictions on swimming when one is in the fill process? I had a UMX last June and am anxiously awaiting my reconstruction which will begin in May.
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Thank you, Whippetmom! He uses both Allergan and Mentor in his practice. Is there a difference between the two?
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Deborah.... Lilah told me to ask you... as this topic has been addressed here. I am having burning in my implants with scar tissue ( rads)... looks normal... but burns. Is there a natural herbal remedy? Thank you Love!
Laura
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Also... FYI.... I have just been informed we have a PS here in KC area that is performing the DIEP flap.
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Stepmic - I swam all last summer with my TE.
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Thank you, Jamie.
How far apart were your two surgeries anyone? I know it depends on a lot of factors...just trying to think ahead about my work.
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BMX was Oct. 16, exchange scheduled for Feb. 14.
You are going to get a huge variety of answers because of different PS practices as well as whether people are going through radiation or chemo or both. Many factors play into how far apart...even how much and how often your PS does fills.0 -
Yes, that does make total sense. Thanks. I guess it will just be a wait and see kind of thing. I live in eastern Canada. In my province the surgeons don't do mastectomies with immediate reconstruction for a large variety of reasons that make a lot of sense to them. So I had a UMX in June, 2012, have met with PS twice and am booked for reconstruction with TE in May. A long wait for this. So I am excited. I didn't need radiation or chemo so hopefully my skin will stretch without problems. I can't wait until this is all done. I miss my breast and cleavage and am tired of wearing camisoles up to my neck, lol!
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Stepmic - I'm so excited for you to finally have the reconstruction process start! Some women breeze through the TE experience with no problem. I had a BMX on 11-5-12 with immediate TE placement and 100cc fill during surgery. I had another 100cc at 2, 3 and 4 weeks post-surgery. I was still experiencing a lot of pain that my hydrocodone (Norco) didn't handle very well. My breast surgeon switched me to Neurontin which targets nerve pain. That did the trick for me. No more pain from fills or serious discomfort from the TE's since. Just something to keep in mind if you do have pain and the normal pain meds aren't helping.
I had my final fill last week and am at 600cc both sides. My PS waits 3-4 months for the exchange so I'm in a holding pattern for now and will be taking my TEs (aka: Thelma and Louise) with me to St Maarten in March.
Good luck with your continuing journey....keep us posted!
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whippetmom- I know I said thank you in my email to you, but I really appreciate you easing my mind. I have felt better about the "girls" all day today.
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Thanks, sweet and special. So glad to hear you have a trip planned and are okay with everything as it stands now. My PS only waits a month after fills are done, so I am hoping for second surgery in the early fall.
Do you have any restrictions for activity from your PS? Someone else said that swimming is not an issue, is anything else?
Thanks.
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