Bras 101: The Great Post-Exchange Debate
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Just had a follow up with my PS today (love him!!). I wear bras because I am most comfortable with them on...for now. And I wear underwire. He told me I don't have to wear a bra unless I want to. So...I will go with my mood of the day...bra one day, braless the next.
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also very excited about the "post your bra" picture forum. Haven't started posting pics yet (they are all on my phone so need to do it from there)
I am finding that I am wearing a bra all the time (still in TE phase) as it is quite warm here and don't want to accidentally flash too much tissue at work. Also still have dressings over necrotic nipple so the bras tend to camouflage that a bit.
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know that gravity still works on implants like it did on our native breasts. All we have holding them up, at the most is alloderm or some form of cartilage, and some scar tissue. Implants can bottom out or migrate over to the armpits and become lopsided if not properly supported. Each of us have to ultimately decide what we want to do but know that the implants can bottom out. Note too that it is male plastic surgeons that are saying how harmful an underwire can be ... well made bras that fit correctly are not going to cause a problem IF THEY ARE PROPERLY FITTED.
Again, as it says in the header, there is no consensus on the bra issue, plastic surgeons are all over the place ... But I've been on this forum long enough to know ladies that have had to get revisions because of migrating implants. I don't want to go through it again. We all have to make the choice that works best for us.
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I'm with Dawne-Hope. I'm two years out from getting my implants and I know the right one still has a tendency to wander down and out. My PS says I don't need to wear a bra and it won't matter but it seems to work better for me if I do wear one most of the time. Usually underwires in the day and non-wired at night.
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Still pre-surgery, but I did discuss with my PS his own thoughts on bras. He says they are not necessary except during activity (as is, I already wear crazy supportive sports bras, so was planning to continue that anyway...I just cannot imagine running without a supportive sports bra native breasts or recon breasts!) but he definitely prefers that women do wear them for better long term results (with shaping, maintaining pocket, minimizing effects of gravity combined with an implant on the skin). He did say of course that some of these can be addressed with revisions, or during a future swap, but why not be a bit more proactive and reduce risk of more surgeries or more work during what could be a simple swap?
Underwire is fine by him, as long as it is properly fitted around the breast. I have been wearing bras 24/7 (exception for showering, ha!) for years due to my size and breast pain if I go without, so quite honestly was not expecting to break free from that really anyway. Maybe if I was going a LOT smaller than I already am I would expect more of a bra-free future, but as I am doing NS/One Step there are some limitations there so I am only going a bit smaller. I do expect to go through some hurdles with fitting, but I also think a properly fitted bra can be very comfortable so still having to wear them does not bother me.
Also, after having looked at thousands of reconstruction photos all over the internet over the last year, I am pretty worried about migration or bottoming out! I will have Alloderm which of course does give an internal bra of sorts, but I still think a heavy implant puts a lot of stress on the skin/IMF (especially a reconstructed IMF). If a bra can take some of this burden off my skin/IMF, I am all for it!
I know that revisions are a high possibility no matter what I do, but I am still going to do my best to avoid them.
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Oh no...now I am flipped out and think I should try to wear a bra most of the time. I have to get professionally fitted, have not done that although I think I am a 36 C. I would like some sexy bras, underwire or not. I am tired of these boob problems.
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Not-Me - With reconstructed breasts … they are wider than our native breasts so your cup size will likely be larger than a "C" cup. Don't freak out about your cup size if you end up with a something a few cups larger.
Most of us were wearing the wrong size bra to begin with. You're likely smaller in the band and larger in the cup than you think. 0 -
My two cents on the bra question - I think just like nearly everything else on this journey the whole bra thing is going to be a different story for every single one of us. Even without conflicting PS opinions on bras, our individual circumstances are part of what dictates what we do regarding bras after reconstruction. How large or small are we post-reconstruction? How much do our implants weigh? (Mine are about 3 pounds each) Do we have thin skin or not? Did our PS use strattice or alloderm for support or to help combat thin skin problems? What other internal work was done at exchange? Where are our mastectomy and exchange incisions located? What sort of work do we do all day? (desk job vs operating a jackhammer, etc) Even if we're not professional athletes, are we physically active or not so much? Are our pectoral muscles toned and firm or not so much? How have we felt about bras in general in the past vs how we feel about them today? Someone like Sandra is tickled pink about going braless because she's been burdened with ginormous breasts most of her life. Someone who was always rather small may be tickled pink about finally having larger breasts to showcase in a pretty bra.
My PS had no long term bra rules for me whatsoever except for when I work out, then a sports bra should be worn. I seldom wear a bra at home anymore unless I just forgot to take it off when I change clothes after work. The bras I do currently wear are still the stretchy, comfortable Bali brand. I don't want to invest much in bras until after my next procedure (removal by excision of 'dog-ears' or 'mud-flaps' - April 25) but when I do.......look out! There are three primary reasons I wear a bra right now. First - shape, a bra helps minimize the afore-mentioned dog-ears, 2) camoflage scars under lightweight fabrics, and 3) absorb under-boob sweat
! After the next procedure, for the times that I DO wear a bra I want it to be pretty, colorful, girly and underwire. 0 -
s&s your excellent post is spot on in my experience! Before my recent revision, my PS had no preference if I wore a bra or not. After revision, which did not even change out the implants, he encouraged me to wear a bra for support. (I basically had a lift on one side for symmetry.)
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any suggestions on a good supporting non-underwire bra for symmastia. I have seen the thong bra online but that's seems more of a surgical strap. (And a bit scary looking!)
Thanks
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Previvor101 - Just to clarify the symmastia question: Did your natural breasts have symmastia or do you only have that issue now with implants? It says in your info line that you only recently had your DMX on February 6. So I'm a little confused on your question. How can you have that issue right now if you have tissue expanders? Have they both gone toward the center? Please clarify a bit on the symmastia question.
In general you would want a bra with a high center gore to keep the breasts separate. I would look over on the herroom site and barenecessities websites and look for a soft cup bra (non underwire) with a high center to keep the breasts separated in the middle. Herroom has a great search option.
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Good spotting, Dawne-Hope. It is actually for my sister who had her prophylactic mastectomy and immediate recon in April, 2013. She required a revision operation approx 6 months later as one side was disappearing into her arm-pit. Unfortunately now they are very close and she has what looks like symmastia (to my untrained eye). She is hoping for another operation thus week. The only advise her PS has given is a well fitting sports bra. Easier said than done. We went bra shopping (a very unfun experience) and I made her try on at least 30 bras and only found one which was an average-ok fit. Am going to have a look on-line as I suspect there will be a bigger range. I will have a look on her-room and bare necessities.
My TE are behaving (for which I am very very grateful!)
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Previvor101- Ok. I'm sorry that your sister is having this problem. What has happened to her … is one of the reasons why we say bras are so important … especially the first six months or so. It's important because the implant is healing in the pocket that the P.S. made for it, scar tissue is being formed around the implant … and if you can get a bra to fit around the implant … it helps it stay where the P.S. put it as everything heals. A well-fitted bra could keep everything where the P.S. placed it at the time of exchange. Implants like to slide off our ribcage and into our armpits, they can bottom out, or like in the case with your sister they both drift toward the center with no space in between. Again, so sorry this has happened.
The thing about sports bras … especially the unwired ones … is that they are going to squish together her reconstructed breasts which is not what you want here. I wore a Freya soft cup sports bra after my exchange for a while … it isn't pretty … and it doesn't give the best shape under clothes but it does support and it does keep the breasts separate.
It is here:
(although I see that it is being discontinued but there are still plenty of sizes left)
http://www.herroom.com/freya-aa4001-soft-cup-sport…
Here is another Freya soft cup sports bra. Haven't tried this one but it looks like it would give a smooth shape under clothes.
http://www.herroom.com/freya-aa4891-active-molded-...
The lululemom tata tamer sports bra comes to mind as well. It does give a smooth shape under shirts … but I'm not sure how much it will give the separation that is needed between the breasts:
There are several colors of this bra … this is only one:
http://shop.lululemon.com/products/clothes-accesso…
Here is an Anita sports bra. Haven't tried this one either but it looks like it would separate:
http://www.herroom.com/anita-5300-vivana-active-sp...
Here are some soft-cup bras with a high center that might help?
http://www.herroom.com/chantelle-3375-cachemire-so…
http://www.herroom.com/anita-5493-rosa-faia-classi…
This one really looks like it would keep the girls separated:
http://www.herroom.com/anita-5409-topcomfort-soft-…
Edited to add: I've posted these links and now they are not taking you to the specified bra I wanted you to look at it. So … if you see in the link "Anita 5409" or whatever brand and style number it says in the link … type in that brand and style number in the search part of the herroom sight and it will take you there.
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thanks Dawn-Hope. Think sister was probably in a bit of denial about the whole thing. She just wore boob tube type thing, hence the problem now.
I will forward her the info and also sit with her while she orders some to make sure she actually does it!
Once again, thank you
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Previvor101 - You're welcome. Keep us posted if she finds something that helps her … her situation is one that we don't see often here. More often it is the foobs sliding under the armpits or dropping. I'd be interested in knowing what she finds that helps.
Keep us posted.
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Hi,
I've been lurking on this thread for some time. Very interesting stuff....
Previvor - so your sister had this symmastia issue with her TE's? I, too, was told to wear a sports bra 24/7 because as they said, it helps hold everything in place. Lately I've been wondering if my foobs are moving closer together. Can this situation like with your sister be fixed during the exchange?
I still have TE's and mine were done with Alloderm. I'm currently filled to 480cc's and the more I get, the tighter the bras get, of course. Sometimes I wonder if this is really a good thing to smoosh them together so much! But now I'm so used to wearing bras that it's hard to go without. I've been wearing an XL and it seems like there aren't very many XXL sports bras out there. If there are any on the rack, there's only one or two in the very very back - if I'm lucky enough to find one! Anways, I'm getting closer to being done so don't want to invest in too much before my exchange surgery.
Just an FYI: that last link in the intro post to brasmyth does not work.
I checked on the measuring system on the herroom site. If I measured right, I'm currently a DD! Yikes! That's kind of scary! I don't look that huge in clothes.
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bc101 -It is a totally different situation TE's vs. implants and the use of a bra.
TE's are temporary, they often take odd shapes as they get filled. I found it impossible to fit my TE foobs in anything except a cami. Mine were lopsided and tended towards my armpits.
Any kind of weirdness with shape can be fixed at the time of the exchange. I wouldn't worry about the shape of your TE's right now. You could mention to your PS what you think is happening but it is not anything to be alarmed at right now. After your exchange it is important to watch and try to prevent migration but don't worry about it right now.
Edited to add: The brasmyth link worked on my iPad. Try putting the name manually in the browser.
Also, don't be freaked out if your cup size ends up being even bigger. Cup size is relative to your band size … so a DD on you likely isn't as big as you think. Most of us were wearing the wrong size bra in the first place. Remember too that reconstructed breasts are wider than natural breasts and you need the width of a bigger cup to encompass the implant and not impinge on the side. That's important. Those bra calculators never worked on me. On me … it had me at a 32b. My actual size is a 30D. So remember those calculators are a guide but they are not fool proof. Don't freak out about cup size. http://blog.lindasonline.com/2013/09/24/bra-size-b...
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Ok, will do! Thanks so much!!
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bc101 - Keep us posted!
I have a friend from MN. It's been cold here in Illinois but wow … you all … are a hardy bunch up there.
I can testify that spring is coming!
Made it to 70 last week and I see daffodils peaking through the dead grass. Although it's supposed to snow today….Do keep us posted! xo
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Yes, we are hardy if nothing else. This has been the longest winter EVER! I've been going absolutely STIR CRAZY!! It snowed here this morning - really big flakes, but then quit, thank goodness!
I saw Robins this weekend and was so happy to see the sunshine altho it's still cold. Even the thought of green grass seems like just a dream. For the past few weeks I've been tempted to pack my bags and hop on a plane to go somewhere .... anywhere but here.
Nice to hear that spring is not far away
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Dumb question here. I've not had any problem with either TEs or implants migrating and do not understand how that can happen if the PS creates the appropriate size 'footprint' for them. I mean, he/she has to release your pectoral muscle from being totally anchored to the chest wall to create the pocket for TE/implant placement. If the pectoral is still attached to the chest wall all the way around the base of the TE or implant, how can they end up migrating? I can typically reason things out and come up with a reasonable, logical explanation to satisfy my curiosity on these types of questions but this is one I haven't been able to figure out.
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sweetandspecial - Your question is better geared to whippetmom … I don't understand all the technicalities involved in how the migration happens but I know it does happen. Some women don't have an alloderm strattice to hold things in place. Some of us have a curved ribcage, or a concave ribcage that makes it easier for the implant to migrate. And then there is gravity … gravity is never our friend even with implants and even with alloderm to help hold them in place. Ask whippetmom for the specifics because I don't understand the specifics or the technicalities of how it happens.
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This diagram may help. My PS does not use alloderm. When I asked him during the TE phase he said reconstructions tend to try to move down and out. Augmentations may try to move up.
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Dulcigirl - Thank you!
That site … is from where my P.S. is located. Is your P.S. located there too?
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No, I just figured there must be some sort of diagram to help us out. I used Google Image and felt this one was most clear.
Pretty cool that it's your place!!
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It is. It surprised me.
Thanks again! xo
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RE: Implants migrating laterally:
If you "Google" " implants migrating laterally" you will come up with a bevy of information from various experts. My belief with reconstruction, is that thin tissue and larger pockets than the TEs or implants is most often the culprit. Here are a couple of links: they refer to augmentation, but the same dynamics apply..
Dr Lauren Greenberg in California states that implant migration and lateral displacement can occur, adding, "For this reason and others, I tend to do minimal lateral dissection." Makes sense to me...
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Oops... Accidentally posted something here intended for my thread...
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Thanks everyone! I have to admit that I just felt my right breast
to see if I could feel the pec muscle flex at the bottom of the implant. I know my PS did not use strattice or alloderm and I was concerned because in the image Dulci provided it would appear that the pec stops way short of that position so I'm thinking 'omg what kind of support do I have down there??!!'. When I flex my pecs I do feel with my fingers that the muscle is tightening up all the way to the bottom of the underneath curve of the implant - whew! Sometimes I wish I could quit thinking in detail, clear my mind and just mentally rest for a while. (No offense to anyone but my very next thought was 'hmmmm, I think some people call that YOGA!)
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Interesting.....
Bc101, my sister had a "single stage" bilateral non-nipple sparing mastectomy which can apparently be done in smaller breasted women. She had what you guys mentioned with one implant migrating laterally into her armpit and interfered with her arm movement. She then went back for another operation to move it more medially (towards the midline) and that is what seemed to cause the problems. I don't know if it is tru symmastia but her skin on her chest wall was about an inch from her sternum and one sidee was very very mobile. She had another operation yesterday to replace the mobile prosthesis and stitch down stuff in the midline.
I don't understand all the technical bits and why things happened and what PS did, sorry. Hopefully she is at her last operation for a while and gets a bit of symmetry (and cleavage!) back.
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