Bras 101: The Great Post-Exchange Debate
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I have been tucking a facial tissue along the front edge where the lace is. That did the trick, but I am looking for a more permanent solution.
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Lilah Soma has 36DD in pretty much all there bras. You can check out the sizing on their website it shows you how to measure yourself. I find that method to be pretty accurate.
Rosy (or anyone) the discount I can offer would be if you order over the phone with me at my store. The shipping would be free and I can give $20 off if you spend $100 from the coupon they are offering now. Or, if you sign up for a passport, (our rewards program not a credit card), I can give you $10 off your order. It's the store in Town Center in Leawood Kansas. I would be happy to offer this to anyone who calls me at the store and mentions BCO.
I really love the vanishing back bra plus the new Embraceable is very comfy and has nice thin straps.
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Rosey - I still wear my seamless sleep bras to bed, and my Genie bras during the day. (Five weeks out from exchange....)
When I first had my BMX, I remember wearing a soft camisole underneath, then wearing my sports bra on top of that. That seemed to elminate any chafing.
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Delilahbear, what is "bottom out" if implant and is it pretty obvious when it happens?
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Shore - bottoming out occurs when the implant tears thru the pec muscle and serratious muscle that have been stitched together to form pocket for implant. My MX scars were the anchor type where there is a vertical incision from nipple to infra mammary fold and then incisions under each breast in the fold carried back to under arms. My second set of implants are 960cc saline (large but I am plus sized and they suit my frame) and broke through due to thin skin and stress on muscle. Basically the reconstruction starts to lose shape and bottom of implant can be felt and sometimes seen. I have pics of my whole recon under "my reconstruction journey" on pic forum. Hope this helps.
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Oh blessings, I have a silk camisole I wear under sheer blouses. I never thought of wearing it under a bra as a lining. I will try that! Thanks for taking the time to offer that suggestion. I may try it out at church in the morning. It's really bad to be twitching and fidgetting in church because your bra is irritating your skin. Of course, a sheer blouse might not be the right choice if my bra is over the camiole. lol
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My PS said never underwires cause they will rub the incision but probably thats because my incisions are low. I was also told to wear the sports bra 24/7 for 3 wks then I didnt have to wear it to bed anymore. However, thats when I feel I need it the most. Laying on my side makes me feel like the implants are tryng to fall out of place and I get so nervous I cant sleep but maybe its all in my head...huh? I wore my swimsuit for awhile today and it just is lined and the foobs felt achy so went back to the sports bra. Do we need a special swimsuit?
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fragrantrose,I didnt have rads but my skin gets red if you look at it so I have to wear the undies inside out and looking to get some more of the seamless ones but for the bras what works perfect for some of us is sanitary pads with the sticky side facing the bra,yep I wore those in my surg bra for wks after the bmx and for a few days after the exchange cause the stitching and seams in the bras rubbed on my skin which is super sensitive after having the TE. Panti liners are great for small areas. I wore some on the seam that goes under the arm on some of the sports bras for a few days.
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Layla it is so different for each person be sure to ask your PS these questions. My PS has me in underwire and wearing a very light sports bra to sleep in. But I never experienced any of what you mention. My incisions are pretty much right across the center of my breasts. I never had any aches or pains really. I was in a surgical bra and a strap for two months, then went to underwire. My PS basically told me to do whatever is comfy but that my new boobs will eventually sag just like natural breasts so wearing a bra will delay that.0
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Layla - my PS also didn't want me in underwires in the beginning. I wore wire-free for 8 months until I was sure all external and internal incisions were healed.
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Oh, panty liners - great idea for someone like me who's allergic to adhesives...
Or so I thought. Immediately after exchange, when the big bandage came off, I still needed some protection over the incisions. In went the panty liners, into the cups of my sports bras.
The next day, I noticed a weird rash in a weird place...until I figured out that that's where the edge of the panty liner was, and there was juuuuust enough sticky around the edge to make me break out....
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I stopped wearing a bra to bed after my one month post op exchange surgery. PS said I did not need to any longer.
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Has anyone tried the Freya Sports bra like this one or something similar?
http://www.herroom.com/freya-aa4392-active-underwire-sports-bra.shtml
Freya makes several sports bras and am not sure which one might be best. Does any one know if Nordstrom carries Freya? Or maybe another store?
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Whenever anyone asks me what insurance I have, I just say VISA.
Kaiser is awesome, but because I had full reconstruction, they don't pay for any "mastectomy" supplies like bras. They wouldn't even cover the post BMX- camisoles.
That's o.k. The surgeries cost me nothing - not even co-pays. My doctor visits are $15. My drugs are either $5 or $10. And my premiums are mostly paid by my former employer, so I really can't complain.
I was SO excited after exchange to find that I could fit - really well - into a front-closing, racer-back, underwire bra of mine (from my pre-BMX days), in a 36DD!!!
Then I went to get professionally fitted at a mastectomy shop, and ended up with two gorgeous Amoena mastectomy bras - "Samira" - one in coral and white, and the other in dark blue lace.
The size? 38C!!!!!
I, too, wondered about the whole pocket thing, but I'm wondering if those bras with pockets designed for prostheses may also have somewhat shallower cups than off-the-rack bras in order to accommodate a missing nipple-areola complex.
I have no problem wearing an underwire bra all day long, but when I take them off at night, if I don't wear one of my sleep bras to bed, it kind of hurts...almost like...GASP! TEs! I'm just seven weeks out....hoping that will change. Plus, I had all sorts of pocket work done, so that's probably what I'm feeling.
Next month we're going down to SoCal...will have a professional fitting at Nordies at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. I'm anticipating a much larger selection of bras than at the tiny shop I went to locally!
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Nordstrom does not carry Freya in my size (30D). I go there to look and feel but order online at herroom, barenecessites, and the UK websites: figleaves, lembrassa, and brasandhoney.com.
Regarding the Freya workout bras. I have two:
http://www.herroom.com/freya-aa4002-underwire-sports-bra.shtml
http://www.herroom.com/freya-aa4492-active-underwire-sports-bra.shtml
They are OK. I don't like the torpedo shape they give me under my work-out clothes. If you can get them on sale, get them. If not, I wouldn't. JMHO.
My favorite workout bra is still the Bendon Max Out:
http://www.herroom.com/bendon-73-408-max-out-technical-support-sports-bra.shtml
Edited to add: The link to the herroom.com Bendon Max Out isn't working. Here is the Bendon at barenceccesties. What do you know ... it's $5 cheaper there!
If the links don't work ... go to the site and in the search box put, "Bendon Max Out" and it will pop up.
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kayb - Barenecessities had a 25% sale this week on selected brands ... and Bendon was one of those brands. Next time I see a sale like that ... I'll let you know.0
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Thanks for all the posts about sports bras. I had ordered a Natori sports bra (http://www.herroom.com/natori-34439-sports-bra.shtml) from Herroom and it didn't fit as well as I'd hoped so needed to return it and was looking for something similiar. I decided to order another Wacoal sports bra which I know fits well and does the job of keeping things where they need to be.
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The Freya sports bras do the job...definitely no bouncing. My only complaint is how they look under clothes. The Bendon gets an "A" all around IMO.
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I bought a b.tempted Wacoal bra a few weeks ago. I'm here to report that it is in my top three t-shirt bras. I've worn it all day a couple of times now and I don't hurt by the end of the day. That's rare for me ... especially from a t-shirt bra. The 'perfect' t-shirt bra has alluded more for a while. I think I may have finally found one.
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I'm going to go to Nordstrom to try on a Freya sports bra. I haven't been able to find the Bendon in my size (34DDD).
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Kayb and Golden01 - I think it would be a 34E. At least in the Bendon. The Bendon that has that size is a different name...Bendon Extreme or something like that...in that brand a 34dd=34E. Here is the link:
http://www.barenecessities.com/bendon-extreme-out-maximum-impact-underwire-sports-bra-76408_product.htm?pf_id=BendonSport76408&search=&manual_cm_sp=SlotLocation-_-R1C1-_ -BendonSport764080 -
D=D
DD=E
DDD=F
DDDD=G
makes sense if you think about it
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Carrol2 - True with some but not all.
Look at this Bendon bra. It has D, DD, then jumps to E, F, etc,.
It's frustrating because it isn't uniform across brands and in European sizing.
http://www.barenecessities.com/bendon-extreme-out-maximum-impact-underwire-sports-bra-76408_product.htm?pf_id=BendonSport76408&search=&manual_cm_sp=SlotLocation-_-R1C1-_ -BendonSport764080 -
Thanks for all the info! I had been looking at a different Bendon and hadn't spotted this one. I'll be shopping. The size thing for the European bras can be confusing.
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yes European and also British sizing is different than US.
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Still in the sports bras, Mr likes the lights out so I figure why buy expensive bras but I might just for myself.
anyone ever had one side get firmer than the other? I am worried and dont like the bright pink on the post cancer incision and the healthy side still not dropped yet. Was not supposed to go back to PS clinic until they hire a new one since my PS is moving out state. I may have to call before my NOv appt tho,I called them on vacay and all they said was stop the brown tape. That didnt change my issues and its been about 5 days.
Blessings,are u going in for surg nips? I cant decide what to do. Do they really go flat after awhile anyhow? I dont wanna get headlights only to have flat ones later. The implant confusion is enough trauma for me!
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Layla - My left side has been firmer than the right from the get-go.
How long out are you from exchange?0 -
Layla - Lefty is still more swollen than Righty on me. PS said it was fluid buildup from the trauma of all the reconstruction he did during exchange, and that it would gradually reabsorb into my body in 2 - 3 months...
So far I don't see much change. If it never goes down, I can live with it; you can only tell that Lefty sits up higher than Righty if I'm nekkid. (Which I'm not very often!
)As for nips, no......no more surgery for me. I have no desire for high beams at all, so going flatter wouldn't even be an issue for me.
However, my dream is to get Vinnie's 3D nipple tatts.....I just have to make sure I'm done with all the nipping and tucking I might need after I've finished losing weight. Don't want to mess up any good artwork!!!
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Dawn=hope,I got my exchange done Aug 31 so I am about 6 wks out,I noticed the incision turns bright pink when I get overheated outside walkg so at the office its just pink but the firmer side bothers me I guess I can call the PS but if someone else had the situation,its probably normal. I just worry about everythg especially healthwise since the bc bite me.
Blessings, I might put the temp tatoo on to see how it would look,I just cant decide what to do and if I get headlights or perm tatoo I will have to live with it even if I dont like it.
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I really don't get what the big deal is about Norddtrom. I made an appointment with a mastectomy bra specialist at the Pentagon City (VA) store hoping to find the kind of bra that my PS recommended: she wants me to wear a wireless support bra (sports or otherwise) with as much fabric below the cups as possible. She said to avoid the kind with a band that might touch the bottom of the implants. Well, between the poor choice of bras and sizes and the dim-witted saleswoman who kept me waiting in a dressing room (when I could have looked at what they had on the racks myself) this Nordstrom experience ended up being a huge waste of time. I might as well order right off the internet. Anyone has a suggestion that might correspond to what my PS recommended?
Thanks in advance!
Caroline0
