Bras 101: The Great Post-Exchange Debate
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sherry67 - Several of us wore the Marena bras after our exchange. They are very good. I still sleep in one.
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Love, love, love my Cobbie bras. I am wearing them with my expanders. Have had 4 fills and am wearing tank tops and look very normal. Chemo starts tomorrow. Exchange surgery after that. Cobbiebra.com
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Found that a Minimizer bra in the Breezies brand on QVC fits wonderfully! Believe it had the word Tuxedo in the model title. Wearing a 38DDD. The band is much tighter than I usually wear but it will stretch. If I went up to 40, I believe the very slight puckering of the upper pole area on the left breast would increase. That's where some fat grafting is needed. Right side fits beautifully.
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How long after reconstruction or revision did anyone start to wear a bra? Would love some feed back
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I had a surgical bra on and ace bandage for one week. After it was removed I was told to wear a sports bra 24/7 for 6 weeks. Well it is going to be 11 weeks tomorrow, and I still wear a sports bra but this week have started being brave and wearing a cami that is very stretchy and gives very gentle support. No underwires either according to my PS. I feel great and my girls are so even and beautiful! They are anatomicals and sit perfectly on my chest. I slap some temporary nipple tattoos on them and I feel and look somewhat normal! I plan to get the 3D tattoos. No nipple recon for me. Hope this helps, Robin
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Thanks robin.
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Sherry, I wore the surgibra for 3 days. Then was instructed to shower and change to a soft bra. I still wear a bra all the time except for a few hours here and there. The implants feel better supported (and so does my back). I now can wear whatever bra I want. I alternate between underwire and no wire. Every ps is so different, so just go by their directions since they know your situation best.
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kingster,
Thanks for your comment. Talked to surgical coordinator and have to wear surgical bra for eight weeks tha an underwire. Not to bad but this bra feels suffocating at times. Thanks again
Sherry
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I had my exchange just one week ago, so I'm very much still getting used to the new foob and the other side which was reduced/lifted. I'm amazed every time I do a new search here, there's already a thread about the topic! Very thankful all of you share so much.
Yesterday I was fitted at the PS office for a new bra, to wear for the next 6 weeks 24x7. I wore it yesterday and when I took it off, there was a mark on my skin and indentation on the implant where the seam was. I panicked! But then read here that marks aren't harmful. Thoughts? Is it back to the bra-drawing board?
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Jennifer - If you're especially concerned, call your PS's office and have them give it a look. It sounds normal to me, but since they fitted you there, have them look to double-check.
Congratulations on your exchange! It takes a while to get used to for sure.
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RAS.......whether you love them
or hate them
, they are often part of our reconstruction journeys. Whippetmom and I decided to share some information that we discovered throughout our respective journeys through breastsuit.0 -
Hi all,
I went to Nordstroms at stonebriar mall in frisco, tx to get a bra fitting. The fitter was good. I am a 34 ddd! strange because I used to wear a 34 dd and I am smaller now. I got a chantelle 36410...very pretty. The cup is a "3 part cup". There is a seam running north to south on the front of the cup. That makes the cup wide and shallow. It fits my hamburger bun shaped foobs perfectly.
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willowreed84 - Sounds like you had a GREAT fitting!
Reconstructed breasts are usually a bit wider and not as much projection as natural breasts so I'm not surprised that you are wearing the same size … you need it for the width, I'm sure. 3 part-cups are good choices for us … helps keep our new foobs front and center. I wear a lot of the Freya 3 part-cups.
Congratulations on getting something that fits your new foobs. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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I'll check out the Freya brand next time I'm bra shopping.
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Just got 3 new freyas!!!!
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I was anxious and went for a bra fitting today Soma. I am almost three weeks post exchange. I think I jumped the gun. Not one of the 12 wire-free bras I tried on was comfortable at all! It was obvious I still have side swelling which made us go up in cup size but then they didn't fit elsewhere and when I came home I was discouraged and a little sore. So lesson learned....MORE PATIENCE! At about how long after exchange did you ladies find you could wear a real bra?
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Lkscolo
I had to wear a sports bra 24/7 for six weeks. I still pretty much stick with soft lounge bra from body by Victoria, Pink soft lightweight sports bras. I was told no wires ever which you really don't need. I have Allergan 410 anatomical so these girls don't need to be kept in place. I wear a soft bra because it just feels good to me. I am 7 months out.
Robin
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Lkscolo - Yes, everyone is still pretty swollen at three weeks; whether you think so or not. I waited a little more than three months to go to Nordstrom's (which I highly recommend) for a professional fitting - and even after all that time, I was still a little sore when it was over. Try to be patient, it will be worth it in the end. And don't get spooked when it comes to the alphabet....
(Whippetmom and Blessings tried to warn me, but when the fitter said I was a 32DDDD - and explained that was also known as a 32FF, a 32G, or a 34DDD, I was still shocked!)
Listen to what your PS recommends as far as wearing underwires or not. Mine said either was fine, and I've always been an underwire girl, so that worked out great for me. Give it at least another month for all of the swelling to subside and then have fun shopping!
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My PS recommended I wait three months . . . his main reason "so you don't spend a fortune on bras that don't fit". LOL - He was right. I wore zip up the front sports bras until then.
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thanks AZ85048 for the laugh! And for the advice! I'm from AZ, lived in Mesa!
Thanks Robinblessed54 and Golden01.My PS said "whenever you feel ready". Now I know mentally ready doesn't mean physically. Or vice versa!
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I'm almost 3 years out and still wear my Bali 3488. I have a couple of non wire nicer bras for occasional wear and a couple of wired bras that I can wear for 2-3 hours at a stretch that I wear for special occasions. I spent the firs 2 years trying desperately to find an underwire that I was comfortable in cause I was afraid of sagging and such. Then one day I thought to myself that comfort is really more important than appearance and I embraced my Bali bras. My PS said he didn't care what I wore and all this post mastectomy "new normal" is hard enough to adjust to so now I just go for what makes me feel comfortable.
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lkscolo,
It took me a long, long time to find a bra that fit. Not all bra fitters are created equal. The one at Nordstrum finally got it right after many months and money spent on bras I thought were my size. Now I am happy, I found the size 32F and the brand Freya.(Not all models of that brand) So that is also what you will have to do, find the model - size - brand. Also you need to track your favorite bra on Herroom, Bare necc. and Nordstrum or other sites so you can see when it goes on sale.
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What a thorough look at this topic! Well done
Have you by any chance looked at products that will help protect them such as when laying on front i.e. for massages and sleeping? I want to know whether you've used pillows and other products such as Mammagard as I'm trying to get myself organised for post-recovery. Cheers0 -
MareeJ - Sorry but I've never heard anyone talk about Mammagard. Looks like a great invention. I'm usually a side sleeper. I just learned to sleep on my back & to keep myself from turning by propping pillows on the side. Some women sleep in a recliner for awhile. I was back to normal sleep patterns a month or so after the expander was removed & implants settled.
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HerRoom sale has been extended! Has anyone tried this Wacoal? Very pretty!!
http://www.herroom.com/wacoal-e102001-europe-melod...
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I am 3 weeks out from exchange. I have Nutrelle 700cc. My PS put me in a surgical bra for 3 days and then I am to wear a soft leisure type bra 24/7 except to shower, no underwire. I am having a difficult time finding a comfortable one. Everyone I have worn rolls up at the band and rides up in the back. I have a 4" incision under each arm where my PS did some clean up work. I going to Victoria Secret and look at theirs which Robin mentioned. Any other advice.
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China painter, I have also heard from a lot of ladies that the Coobie bra (sp) is very good as well. It looks a lot like my VS soft bralette/lounge bra. I bought two more of the barrettes over the weekend and I do love them. They do roll up a bit in front but I have no problem with riding up in back. Good luck finding the "right one". It is a constant search! LOL I have a drawerful of different bras. My husband thinks I am crazy always getting one more that I might like better. He is a dear though and just goes along with the bra thing.
Robin
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Had my 10 day post op visit with the PS and wore my surgical bra in from July that they told me to wear post exchange. It fit terribly since I had lost 10lbs since the MX. I have been rotating with two others but they were pretty bad. Anyway, she said everything was fine and I could wear whatever bra I wanted. I happened to bring in a zip up sports bra. She really liked that.
Anyway, she didn't care whether it was underwire or not. I said do we have to wait for them to "drop and fluff" and she said she never heard of that and they weren't going anywhere. There might be a small bit of swelling left. But this was pretty much it.
So, I think I will go to Nordstrom and get at least one new bra. I haven't regained my ROM so bra gymnastics are interesting. I think I should try one of my old bras on today.
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Chinapainter--I have 2 of these bras Amazon.com: Mastectomy Bra Leisure Size M-A/B Grey: Health & Personal Care which I sleep in. I also wore them for the first month after my mastectomy and my exchange surgery. They are very soft and don't roll up. The do have some runching in the front which shows through on tshirts so I would wear a scarf or jacket. For day to day wear I now wear the Bali 3488. They do roll up under the breasts but are very comfy around the sides and back. You would just have to try them. I'm almost 3 years out now and find I still can't go without some "compression". Otherwise I get mild muscle cramping under the foob and along my ribcage. These leisure bras have been a godsend. I bought mine at the bra/wig store in the breast center at my hospital but found these on Amazon which are the same.
My PS sells the Coobie bras in his office and said alot of his patients love them. He was pretty impressed with the Bali 3488 when I showed up in one though and now recommends them as well.
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Amazing sale at HerRoom going on now. http://www.herroom.com/
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