BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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One other quick question.............
I am a runner (it is killing me that I can't run right now) and I also play Golf. Is one implant better for sports than another? I also had radiation on my right breast 15 years ago for a previous cancer.
Thanks for all you help,
Norma
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Mantra -- I don't think it looks like a BIG difference! And I do think the implants look good on you... good size and the cleavage still looks good too. I do agree there's a difference, though I don't know why. I wonder if it's the bra you're wearing... if it IS pushing them closer somehow. Try wearing Big Bertha for a week and see if there is a change (sorry I know how you hate that one).
Norma -- I am not sure about that... perhaps Deborah can help you. In the meantime: hello and welcome to this thread
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I just looked in the mirror, and yes, they look very similar to what they looked like in the first photo, The first photos were taken by DH. The second photos I took by using the timer on my camera. DH is going to take additional photos. It has to be the angle of the camera, I guess. So he'll take them tomorrow when he's working from home so the lighting will be similar. Now there a tough chore for the honey do list . . . honey, can you please take some more topless photos of me!!
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Manta-I looked at your photos and they do look very slightly different,but it may be like Lilah is saying about the angle of the camera. However, that being said I think they still look fantasic on you and definately do NOT look to wide. They suit your frame perfectly and I think you have great result. In fact I like how they are close together and full, it gives you great cleavage and shape.
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Norma57 - I play tennis competitively and did so with the TEs - so is there a reason you can't run? (Not that comfortable I know) I just had my exchange to implants (silicone) and asked PS the same questions because I didn't want to give up on tennis, gym, biking etc. and he recommended silicone - said they won't get in the way at all. He would like me to wear an underwire bra when doing any type of exercising - just another opinion...
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Norma: you just want implants which are appropriate for your frame. You probably want to stay on the narrower side - implants which are not too large.
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Mantra: I responded on the pictures forum....
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Thanks. I go for a fill tomorrow. I know I have a long way to go but I'll keep in mind everything you suggested. I probably won't have my exchange until March or early April 6 weeks I finish Chemo. I guess I am just trying to get all of the information I can. So, Thanks again.
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Hey Mantra, I know you concluded that maybe your implants are the same, just the different photo conditions, but I agree with your first impression...I think the change in upper pole fullness may have to do with post-op swelling that has resolved. But I definately think that gummies have their own way of dropping and fluffing -- well, maybe just dropping. My (bilat) gummies have DEFINATELY gone through a transformation, and my bra size has changed by 2 cup sizes( bigger) to prove it! Even tho the implant itself doesnt change form, and maybe the pocket -- if it is snug -- doesnt change much, the structures all around it -- muscle, skin, etc, that are holding them in place -- do change. I think, especially, if you tended toward ptosis before MX, that things are likely to go towards floppy, again. That has not seemed like a bad thing to me -- I think I have a more natural look as I've developed a bit more droop. Also, with more of that comes more ability to push them around with a bra -- uplift, cleavage, etc. if you want. (except that it is a weird, and not very pleasant feeling to push 'em around..). So that's my 2 cents on gummie d+f!
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Wow Jerusha I wish my gummy would droop! If it would it would match my remaining breast better (when nude). Sigh. Glad that you are seeing improvement there.
I am able to move the breast more... was NOT able to make cleavage by pushing at first but COULD do that now... but the movement is very tiny.
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I had DH take a photo tonight and he definitely got a different result than I did. I posted the photo on my thread (from TE to gummies (Fore).
Tomorrow is exactly 3 weeks from the date of my exchange and the date I'm supposed to start massaging the scars with cream. I want to go to the health store and pick up some cream that doesn't have parabans. My normal body cream does have paraban (I know . .. not a smart move) but the thought of massaging it into an area that isn't healed causes me to pause. I think perhaps a natural cream perhaps with vitamin E may be best.
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mantra - I found organic cocoa butter at a local health food store and it has helped me. There is a Scar thread that has some very useful info on it. Here is the link: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/756050?page=5#idx_142
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Thanks Dawn, I hadn't thought of cocoa butter. I will check out the thread too.
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I finally got around to changing my name on the other site. Fore is no longer and it has been replaced with Mantra.
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I liked fore. It's like - watch out! Here I come! lol
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Mantra -- it's gratifying to know that you in fact DO look the same! Amazing how a camera angle can distort! You look terrific.
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I agree with Lilah - Mantra, you look terrific. Bra going out to you today!
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vmudrow - In answer to your question about ripples,..the left breast has a nice shape and the only ripples I have is when I lift my left arm over my head. Their are a few ripples by my arm pit. The Alloderm becomes part of my skin, which gives it twice the thickness. The only place were my skin feels thinner is to the side, towards my armpits. The right breast, which is the cancer breast, has some catching up to do. The size, shape and location is just a little different from the left but I believe its because of all the scar tissue. The right breast has a lot more rippling but it changes weekly (for the better).
whippetmom - I took your advice and went to Nordstrom to be fitted and I'll be dipped,..I never thought I was one of the 8 out 10 women (or what ever the figures are) who walk around wearing the wrong size bra!! Nordstrom put me in a 30DDD. I went over to Dillard's and they fitted me in a 32DD. (And I had walked in with a 34D bra on.) So, I used to wear a 34A, maybe it should of been a 32B? (I'll never know now.) Wearing the correct size bra didn't make me feel any better about my size. They still feel too big for me, even though to me I only look like a C cup with clothes on. I actually felt better in the 32 band size, the 30 was just too tight for me. It seems to me that the volumn of the cup didn't change from the different bras, just the size description because of the different band sizes. The lady at Dillard's agreed with this. What do you think?
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I think 32 DD and 30 DDD are the same size... (effectively).
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Yes, I agree with Lilah. The 32 DD cup might be a smidgen wider...and it is important to wear the right band size because if you are wearing an underwire bra, that side support needs to land in just the right place lateral to the implant.
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Thanks Deborah!! I''m really looking forward to it and here's hoping it will lift my spirits as well as my implants!
Gawd, I hate being in a $@%^% mood. It's so unlike me. But between disliking my gummies (see explanation on gummy thread) and trying to decide if it's time to put down my yellow lab (white dog in my avatar) it's just been a real crappy week. And being in this mood makes me feel ungrateful and selfish knowing that many people have much more on their plate than I do, and that is only adding to my stress. Oh, and what's up with this snow.
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Mantra: So sorry to hear about your lab. My animals are my children and they are getting old and I will be just as heartbroken with a decision like this. Hugs.
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Thanks MBJ. Our pets bring so much joy to our lives but having to make decisions like this is extremely difficut. DH and I have done the prep work (ensuring our vet will come to our house rather than us having to bring him into her office. And making sure it's legal to bury a dog on our property). These things were very important to us. Now we wait and enjoy him as long as he's able to enjoy life.
And the snow continues . . . a light fluffy snow that makes me feel like I'm living inside a snow globe.
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Who here has traded in their teardrop shaped implants for rounds? Was it the right decision? Do you like the look better or is it more of trading one implant for another but not really happy with the look? Did your surgeon do this willingly? How did you approach it with them? This is a big decision for me. I'm the type of person who always moves in a forward direction. Even thinking about taking a step backwards and going through this all over again is a huge issue for me. So if I'm going to do it, I really would love some input from those who have been there, done that. Thanks
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Deborah, I've made room for the new foster bra. Big Bertha, Pinky and their other homely looking friends have been shoved to the back of the drawer in anticipation of the beautiful new arrival. Might be a bit of bra-rivalry going on, but I think it's normal . . . although, you can clearly tell that I am not!!!! Any woman who names and communicates with her bras is clearly one cup short of the perfect bra!! 0
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Mantra: LOL! One of my friends suggested that I needed to name the "girls", so who's crazy??? I can't really anwer your question but I can tell you my experience. Before having surger I thought I wanted the teardrop shapes so I would have a more "natural" look, but I am so very happy with my rounds. They look very natural although larger and nicer to me and, even though I am a uni, there seems to be only the slightest bit of difference between the two. I really like that they pretty much "behave" like natural breasts and except for a small bit of ripple (which they all do) it's hard to tell them apart. Oh, and of course that there is a scar and no nipple. Even to the touch there is only a slight difference. I know that Lilah feels the same way about her teardrop shape. Maybe it really depends on how thick the skin is and anatomy which makes one a better choice then another. Are you thinking of changing yours?
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I'm thinking about switching but I don't know if I'll actually go that route. I'm still in the research stage. I don't want to jump into silicone rounds until I have more details. The rippling scares me. But does it scare me as much as looking like I'm walking around without a bra . . . and shouldn't be? I want to have as much knowledge as possible before meeting with the PS. I'm quite sure she will try and talk me out of it but knowing it's the right decision will make her less able to do so.
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Mantra: My dear, having seen two of your bras on the pictures forum, I would put them in the category of upper extremity birth control devices. LOL!!!! [I actually have one of those - was sent home from the exchange surgery in that attractive little number.] You are going to love the Freya - but your DH might love it more!
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Gummies dont fit into bras; bras kind of SIT on the gummy, which SITS on your chest wall. All quite solidly! Bra selection is a challenge with most reconstructed breasts, but more so, I think, with gummies. Because they are form stable they do not conform at all to a bra cup or wire. The bra has to be exactly the shape of the gummy -- and that is not easy to accomplish. All the snazzy Freyas, and all of the other really gorgeous bras have gone right back to Nordstrom, BN, etc. Good thing they take returns. (Even without tags, I've discovered...)0
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I do know, since we are on the subject of "gummy" implants, that the premier west coast plastic surgeon who is the principal Allergan 410 trial investigator does not feel that the 410s are for everyone. He feels it is not a one-size-fits-all implant and he assesses each woman individually, to determine if the gummy would be appropriate. I feel this is the best approach.
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