Bras 101: The Great Post-Exchange Debate
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LOL yes Dawn!
Yes Deborah we met at a place that was between us
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Jennifer: So glad everything went well and I hope you are happy with your results!
Lilah: Congratulations on finally being able to wear underwires! I still love my wireless, but I just get more oomph with underwire bras. I am finally able to wear them now, too! I bought a really pretty push up Angel VS Bra and as soon as I get my pictures loaded I will share.
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Nice!
As soon as I get off my butt I will take pictures of my new bras and share as well -- lol.
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Val: Love your new avatar!!!
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Okay ladies I am up and showered with ALL bandages removed! They look much better but I still think the right side is a bit lower then the left. I know they have a ways to go before they are done dropping and flffing but I am just hoping that the left fall enough to even out. For right now I have no divots which is a plus.. Time will tell all. Pray for me!
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Yippee for you, Jennifer! Remember....even revisions take awhile to even out....relax....
No divots is certainly a great thing!Thanks, MBJ! Notice the glass of champagne in my hand? Hope that doesn't make me seem like a lush......
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Jennifer: Yay for you! I agree with Val, give it time. Mine took 4 months to drop!
Val: If that was me, it would be a glass of red wine. A girl has to have her vices! Wish they had a devil emoticon, lol!
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Thanks Val and MBJ. I just hope they drop evenly this time.. I have to say they do look much better than they did. The right one is way more sore than the lft.. I guess she did more work on that side. I will keep you ladies posted on my results... I will also post pictures as soon as I think my girls are ready..
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Jennifer - I'll just mention what my PS and his nurse reminded me last year: revisions tend to have significant more pain involved than the original exchange. Considering that the PS has to open the capsule, which has formed a good bit of scar tissue, plus whatever pocket work that he does, that's not much of a surprise. That was definitely the case with me, so rest and take it easy for awhile.
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Val. I took the bandages off today and the tape over the stitches cam off in the shower.. The incision is quite puffy but not red...I notice underneath where the fold will be on the left side there is dimpling. I guess this is where she did the inside pocket work. I think it will smooth out and if not if won't be seen anyway...
I took off the surgical bra because once the padding was gone it was REALLY loose and I noticed it was a 2XL. Way to big for me so I just put one of my sport bras on that is very supportive. Do you ladies think this is okay?
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Jennifer -- sounds like a good start! Yay for the improvement and here's hoping they only get better from here (and I bet they will
And yes I think the sports bra should be okay.0 -
Jennifer - I think it's a good move. You definitely want/need a bra that's going to give you some support, and one that's too big won't do that. I had some dimpling, too, on my revision incision (which was the third time that incision had been used), and it has smoothed out well over the past year. I bet it'll turn out just fine.
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Val,
I just received 2 of the Moving Comfort Fiona bras that I got off ebay. I absolutley love them. I love how the straps are so versatile and adjustable. I think I will have to search for some more on ebay. I ordered a 36C and they fit really well around and are a little snug in the cup but I believe this is the way they are supposed to fit. All of the bras that I had bought after my first exchange were a 36C also. They were Wacoals (the ones with the pink ribbon tags) They didn't fit as snug in the cups with the old implants but do with the new. The old implants were 750's Allergan HP and te new are 650 Mentor Ultra HP I believe.
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By the way I just want to let everyone know that my new profile picture is of me and my mom. She was also a breast cancer survivor. She never knew that I had breast cancer since she passed in November of 2009 and I was dianosed 2 months later is January of 2010.. She is missed so much eveyday..She was an amazing woman!
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jkz awww I love the picture! My mom had breast cancer twice. The DX was eleven years apart...then she had her MX. Thank you for sharing about your precious mom!
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Jennifer - That's great news about the Moving Comfort bras! They're favorite of lots of runners, so they're good and supportive. Isn't that interesting about your Wacoal bras not fitting before, but do now, even with smaller implants.....and the same style of implants......very interesting! And I, too, love the pic of you and your mom. Just like you and soccermomofthree, my mom's a survivor, too - now 15 years! We'll be saying the same someday, too.....
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jkz - My mom died in November of 2009 too. Our diagnosis was switched ... I found out in September of 09. Strange, isn't?
Miss her everyday. I'll try to find the memory card with our picture on it and change my avatar ... but I have to find it first!
I'm sorry about your momma.
I'll have to check out the moving comfort bras ... always on the hunt, you know?
[edited for typos]
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Val, I had Allegan 750's before style 20 high profile. This time I have Mentors 650's. I think they are the ultra hp's though.
Dawn yes that is very strange. In a way I am glad that my mom didn't know about my diagosis because she would ave blamed it on herself.. Both my mom and my maternal grandmother and aunt had it..Very strong family history but I was the youngest to be diagnosed. I was 41 and the rest were in their 60's. I have to say mine was caught the earliest. Thank god!
You will love the Fiona bras. I found mine on ebay.. I got 2 for $58.00 and that was with the s&h...
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jkz: Wow, with such a strong family history, you didn't stand a chance of not getting it! Thank you for sharing.
jkz & DawnHope: In spite of the BC, I hope that you both get to live a good, long, healthy life! jkz's mom is proof that it is possible!!!
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Hey, mom got breast cancer at age 60, not sure what stage, but it was in 20 of her 22 lymph nodes, my dad told us years later that the doctor told him she wasn't going to be around much longer, doctors don't know everything because she is a 21 year survivor!! I have an aunt that passed away from bc and a cousin that lost her fight at age 53.
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vmudrow: I hear so many stories from women who have had mothers survice BC--21 years is great!!! I am so happy she was around for you all of those years. I think it is so irresponsible for dr's to tell someone they are going to die because I don't think they really know unless you are so sick that you can't leave the hospital!
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I agree MBJ -- most doctors don't do that anymore (I think) because they know better. 21 years ago I guess they didn't. That is a great record Valerie!
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I was just checking out all these different sites that help you figure out your bra size and each site said something different! On the www.movingcomfort.com site it said that I was a 34D. I may belive this. Since I just bought 2, one was a 36C and the other was a 34D and they both seem to fit quite well. The herroom.com site said I was a B cup which I kow is definitely not right! And the bare necessity site said that I was a 40AA..
I measured myself with a tape measurer and around the band of my bra I was about 33 1/2 and around the middle of my nippless breast (lol).. I was a 38. Tell me what you ladies think...
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jkz - there is a thread, I can't remember where it is, but someone posted something like 'i'm a monster.' And she was talking about these online bra measuring guides and according to that particular guide she was a negative size. LOL! And so was I!
There is one Val61 posted that is pretty accurate but I've found most of those online guides are for natural breasts ... remember implants are wider and generally have less projection that natural breasts so those measuring tools are way off.
BTW ... I can't remember where the one is that val61 posted. Sorry!
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Jkz -- yeah those bra measurement sites are not always the best for predicting bra size of a reconstructed breast. Your absolutely best bet is to go to a Nordstrom's when you are feeling up to it and get a proper fitting. Even with that said you will find that your size can vary with styles and brands. I recently went to Nordstrom's and purchased four bras by Wacoal. Though I was fitted as a 38DD, two of the four bras I bought fit me at 38D (the DD had too much cup for me on both my reconstructed and my native side).
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Hey Val,
Did you or any other ladies ever try the Helena Comfort Bra? Also, if some of you ladies could go the this site www.movingcomfort.com-brafinder.phtml and see if your bra size comes out right I would appreciate.
Thanks ladies...
Liliah, I went to Nordstroms once in Cherryhill, NJ and maybe I just went on the wrong day but the 20 year old who measured me asked me first what a size the bra I wearing was and then said I think your right on.. And I may have been since I was basically been the same size just a bit fuller now..
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Ouch Jennifer! You should call ahead and ask for an appointment with a specialist who is trained to deal with women who have had BC reconstruction. That is what Katey and I did... and the woman who helped us (on the young side but not 20) told us that the mother of the owners (brothers) of Nordstroms have a program to train staff and serve women with BC because of their mom's experience (herself a BC survivor who 30 years ago had trouble finding bras)... but you do need to call ahead and ask for / make an appointment with one of these women who have been trained (the woman we saw told us she is a fitting trainer now herself, so I called her a "super fitter"). That said, it's entirely possible that you ARE wearing the right size. I basically was already wearing 38D and 38DD. But the selection they have there and the service was great.
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JKZ - I absolutely will get you some size ideas, but I just popped in quickly to check the thread, and I'm off to run a few errands. I can tell you that 36C and 34D have the same cup sizes, so you may wear both, depending on how the band actually runs. Manufacturers tend to run differently and a 34 in one brand is much smaller than a 34 in another.
I'll be back later this afternoon or this evening with answers/info....
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JKZ - okay....just had to add one more thing... Lilah mentioned a fit guide I liked. It's linked in the long epistle that opens this thread. It's the herroom.com one specifically for implants, and I think it's the best. I do think they recommend a band size too large, but that comes from my experience and my PS's bias toward tight bands offering better support. I just double checked and according to them, I measure exactly the cup size I wear, if I adjust for the smaller band size. The main difference with this guide is that it measures the width of the implant - from cleavage to lateral edge - with helps accommodate for the extra width. So, get out your trusty measuring tape and give it a go. Let me know what you come up with.
NOW I'm going on my errands.....check back with more answers later y'all!
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Okay I used the link above and it measured me as a 38 D I know the 38 is way too big would be too big around but the D may be right on. Did you try the fiona comfort moving link I posted above. This came out to be a 34D for me and I bought 36C's which fit pretty good.
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