TE TROUBLE
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Thanks, everyone. Feeling pretty tight right now. I'm at max. I even called back today and asked if we needed to deflate some now or could it be done at the exchange...they said it could be adjusted then. And I've got some "dents" above the TE's that will have to be filled in. Not sure what that entails.
Cindy - Your exchange is coming up really soon, isn't it? I'll be anxiously waiting to hear how it was. Hoping you breeze through!
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Rose...preop today surg a week from fri. Ive left Vinnie an email to schedule an appt 12 weeks out. Ready to go.! I've been thinking about you.
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Oh, crap. I was itching a bit and put my hand net my drain where it goes into my body. It felt wet, got a mirror, the gauze had come off and the wrap slipped up. I just put a gauze on it, taped it and will see the doc tomorrow. I have an apt on Friday to take the drain out, but now, he will have to clean around it. It's too early for it to come out. I'll let you know what he does. Sigh.
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Moon, it is good that the stuff is coming out of your body. Take an extra Vicodin tonight and throw a maxi pad around it. Lol
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Cindy - That's exciting! I've been having thoughts of Vinnie myself.
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I'm counting the days to see Vinnie....I did find out from NOLA last week that I cannot have any numbing cream for the procedure because apparently it changes the texture of the skin which is not recommended for 3D tattoos.
So, I may take a Vicodin instead.
Take care, Moon!0 -
TATINA, you go for it. Send .pics if you are comfortable. If not, send us pics of Vinnie! LOL FLUFF, I put gauze on it, and will.go to whatever office the ps is at, he travels.between 4 offices. Rose, they did fill you up a lot. Nut this is why you pay them the big bucks. My new te feels pretty full,.I think he filled me to the.level I was at when it came out. But the muscles aren't as strong as they were 9 months ago. Hence the.pain pills. Much love
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Thx Moonflower, still taking Femara,going into the 2nd week which is when my Arimi experience started to fall apart so hoping the no side effects keeps going.
Chickadee,good luck with the moving,I cant imagine moving my stuff outta this house. Too much accumulation. I try to throw things out at least twice a wk but its never enuff.
Good luck to all the packers and speedy recovery thoughts to you.
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Cut back to one pain pill today, think ill go back to two tonite. I remember the broken rib feeling, ouch, I think it is the alloderm . My incision line feels ok , its just the Sharp pain underneath the te that hurts all the time. oh well, maybe.I am down cause I just got my official termination notice in the mail. Knew it was coming, just now its official. Oh well. This too shall pass. Just sucks to get terminated while trying to recover . I understand their point, I've been out almost 9 months, but that's not my fault. I guess they don't like to pay longterm disability. Ach, guess i'll just go off and cry a bit before cooking my mac and cheese. Thanks for listening
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Moonflwr - Hoping the pain eases soon! So sorry about the termination. Even when you are expecting it, it's still disappointing when it happens. I hope this creates space in your life for something better. And in answer to your question, yes, I received 120cc each side for the last fill. That maxes me out at 600cc each side. Still looks big to me....not the projection, but the circumference, if that makes sense.
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Just came back from appt with my PS. No TE for me, no fat under skin...DIEP or Latissimus, up to me to decide...Next appt with him and microsurgeon, who does Diep Flaps October 1. I was hoping to get TE again, unfortunally it would not work.It is what he said. I asked; why did it wior with other ladies ( on the Forum, for ex)? He told me, they, probably got more fat under skin, you don't have any...He would not recommend Flap Tram, but Diep. I need to read more about it...Rignt expander still there, expanded till big size, if I do Latissimus, they will reduce the size.
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Still taking pain meds. But getting better. I think my PS worked on a "dog ear" I had, because it looks to be gone. That explains the amount of drainage too! So I am worring less and feeling better to boot. Yeah! Much love to all.
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Still feeling like I have a broken rib. I am pretty sure I felt during my first effort after the BMX. I am also sure it is the Alloderm. I am still taking pain pills mostly because of it. The incision doesn't really hurt much. The drain is finally slowing down and is a bit lighter. Going to watertown for a baby shower. My DD is driving. Should be fun. Much love to all.
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Moon- I know the feeling you're describing with the ribs.....ugh.
Olgah - if my TEs didn't work out I would have gone for DIEP. I hear the microsurgery of it all is amazing and it looks as if you had a major tummy tuck, too. Honestly, Olgah, I sometimes wonder if I should have gone that route from the very start..... I had my mind set on TEs because I thought they'd be easy and just wasn't open to other discussions.
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Tatina, thank you. I don't want to be 12 hours on the table...I also scared thinking about removing blood vessel from my stomach nd putting it somewhere else. I don't think in perspective, I guess. I don't care how is going to look, I want to be over with.I read all the complications they had in the Forum. I don't want any more operations, but I cannot look at myself lopsided and also TE on the right is not comfortable.
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Hi ladies, I've been lurking in this forum for a week or two and decided it was time to post. My TE has really started to bother me over the past two days. There's a spot on my right side (TE side) that feels like a bad bruise that is constantly being pressed on. I've also started to notice a lot of loose skin on the underside of my breast. Could that be the result of the swelling from surgery finally going down? It's freaking me out a bit. Mostly freaked out by the idea that something could be going wrong 4 weeks after surgery when everything up to this point was going fine. Even had my first fill a week and a half ago and that was a breeze. Any ideas or even words of comfort would be greatly appreciated. :-(
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Susie...lI would call to run it by your ps, but unless you have redness or some other symptoms, it doesn't sound like the typical problems. Not sure on the loose skin. Do you mean it is peeling or flaking? That could be something of an issue. If it is loose, like extra skin, it could be swelling reduction that will be taken up as they do the fills. I would mention both things just to ease your mind.
Olgah and Tatina, when I was contemplating what to do, I actually found a video on YouTube that Beth Israel posted of the entire procedure condensed into 90 minutes, I believe. I am really queasy on medical stuff but it was fascinating on the tiny vessels they were moving. I did have to look away a few times.0 -
Moonflwr, hope you are feeling better.
Hi Tatina!
Olgah, I have lat flaps with implants. Is that an option for you to do TEs & implants with a lat flap? I initially considered DIEP, but there is no way I could have taken that much time off from work for the recovery.
Susie, hope everything is okay. Ditto to what fluffqueen said--probably a good idea to at least call your PS in the am.
Had a 10-day post-op follow-up with my PS on Friday. I am so happy that he was able to switch the adjustable saline out for silicone! He was really pleased with the results as well.
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DLL, yes, he did mention implants. He told me he would put expander to tle left breast together with skin, muscle and fat from my side, which I don't have much.I was thinking about DIEP... My PS DOES NOT PERFORM IT, AND PRETTY SOON A NEW MICROSURGEON COMES TO WORK TO THE OFFICE FROM SOMEWHERE NORTH, JUST MOVED TO NC..I thought, may be he wants to help him with clientele and this is why he is pushing DIEP so hard?I need another opinion , I guess. Also, I had really bad chemo brain and cannot read a lot in English, so I cannot read everything in the forum about Diep and Latissimus, I am losing it...So I don't know what to decide...
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Hi girls, just checking in. Still a-ok from exchange surgery. Back to doing everything at the gym - even my weight class with push ups! Seeing PS in a couple of weeks for another follow up. I really think I'm just going to go with the tats and skip out on the actual nips. I don't want yet another surgery, and also don't want the month or so healing time. I'm just over it. I'm going to go over to Oldsmar to check out the tattoo guy, John Hashey. Vegas was just AWESOME. It was so great to get away just the hubby and I. Today was back to school, and it took almost 3 hours to complete the paperwork for the 3 kids. UGHHH. Hope all is well with everyone.
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Momof3infl...doing tats only myself...Nola in Nov! How far post exchange are you?
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Momof3 and Cindy - I'm doing tats only as well. Same reason as Momof3....no more surgery than already necessary, reduced healing time, no permanent headlights! I understand many are having great results from nip recon and very happy. I think that's the key, no matter what you choose....just make the decision based on what you think and be happy with it.
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He Ladies,
I am new to this thread. I had PBMX nipple sparing with TE's on Aug 14. I am scheduled to get my drains out this wednesday. I am having severe swelling and pain under my armpits and it feels like my expanders are sitting right there. Is it normal to be so high? Will that pain subside? I feel like I can't ever put my arms down. UGGHH
thank you,
shabby
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I'm not getting nips either. I have my areolas and I figure that's enough
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Shabby, you are hardly out of surgery a week! Cut yourself some slack from a major surgery! It wasn't until nearly the third out of my BMX that I started to feel less pain. Also it was three weeks before my last drains were removed. Take it easy. You are still healing. Much love.
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Hi ladies, long time no post!
Lots has been going on since the last time I posted that has kept me away. I think I last posted a month ago. I'm recovering very well. I had my last fill on the right side two weeks ago. It just took one month after surgery to fill to capacity. My dr filled me the first two weeks at 60cc. After that she did 120ccs each week. The 60ccs didn't bother me at all, what a difference it makes to have all the scar tissue gone. So she would add the extra vile and fill slowly, slowly counting off each extra 10ccs. When she did the 120ccs, she was surprised it didn't bother me. She said I was a tropper. I would be a bit sore a couple days after but nothing that was really bothersome. Authorization was sent in two weeks ago for exchange of the right side. It's gone through. We wanted to schedule for September but the surgery rooms are completely booked. My doctor is gone the first week of October so that bumps me to the second week of October. That's ok. My right side has now adjusted to the TE and I'm able to sleep on my sides without having to manipulate pillows too much. I have a little break in my craziness before it picks up again. Waiting until October for surgery is ok with me.
So after the last time I posted in here a roller coaster of crap started. Once again my MIL fell ill. Paramedics were called. She collapsed it was her heart. It was beating out of her chest. Paramedics stopped her heart and then restarted it. It was pretty scary. That was 3 weeks post surgery. Her son in typical fashion didn't do anything as really no one else did either. I spent that next week going over there, cleaning out her house. Of course people were telling me not to do it cause it was too much right after surgery. But at the same time no one stepped up.
Then two weeks after, her husband died. He was very old and it was only a matter of time but at the same time it was hard. His services were last week. That was a crazy two weeks. She needed alot of help. Once again others were saying she needed help but no one stepped up. I won't go into all the head shaking details. But it in the end he had a beautiful service and a quaint little party after. His birthday would have been next month and a big celeration is being planned for that date.
Next...last week was coordinating getting my oldest back from school to go to the funeral, she had midterms and getting my youngest set to go off to school! All of that is finally over as of this past weekend.
I started back to work on 8/6 (the day my FIL died)...what a way to start back at work. My department is in the middle of a huge scandal and then as soon as I'm back, I'm out on bereavement! Aye!
On some bright news...my MIL should be moving in with her daughter before the end of the year, I'll be going to Disneyland next month and have two separate trips planned for over the holidays. I can't think of happier place to be than the Happiest Place on Earth! :-) My youngest has started her freshman year away at college and I'm all alone in my house. This is a good thing! I've never lived on my own, ever. Both of my girls have started their new phases in life and so am I! Plus I will be almost whole in the body department before the end of the year. My dr is confident she can do nip reconstruction at my next exchange. Crazy, huh? Not sure if I want them so soon though. This year will be over before we know it. Upwards and onwards!
Michelle
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I just went over the surgery list...lots of exchange to squishies! That's awesome!
Ren - I saw your post regarding scar tissue removal and drains. My scar tissue was extensive to say the least. I was in some pain on the right side, almost similar to the mastectomy. The scar tissue not only encapulated the TE but it had grown throughout my chest wall and sides. Aside from the fact that I had revision, I was basically carved out all over again. I was told my surgeon was one of the best and I have to say she is. Despite all of that, I had ZERO drains! The initial pain lasted less than a week. After that, it was the residual pain that disipated over the weeks.
Michelle
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BCAvenger - glad to see your post - I was starting to worry! You have been very busy - taking care of others, as usual! Glad you are feeling well physically and the time until your exchange will go quickly.
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Ugh...I hate when I've posted a long post and then BAM, it's gone!
I'm to tired to remember everything. I have been going back reading posts...I've missed so much!
Welcome to all the newbies, I'm sorry you fiond yourselves here but also am very happy you have found this thread! It's such a great resource and many many women here who know exactly what you're going through.
rosetx - Very sorry to read of the loss of your mother. I hope you and your family are doing well. (((hugs))) Also, I'm glas to read that your packing issues have resolved themselves and you are on to exchange! Yah! I had the opposite issue of TE vs Implant size. My TE is filled to capacity. It's a two compartment/port TE - upper and lower pole compartments. It totals 800ccs but that is the size of both compartments. So my 800cc implant on the left is much larger than my right. I was a little disappointed afte rmy last surgery. I had thought my implant would appear larger. As the swelling has gone down and it is settling it has taken shape and looks really good. I can't wait to have the other one placed!
bevg49 - I hope you are able to find an appropriate reconstruction path that will work for you. It's hard going through all of this and it not working.
Michelle
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Wish I could say no drains. Saw my PS today, nope, drain still in. Oh well. And, the reason for the awesome output from that drain , over 155 ccs one day. Was cause he did work on my side boob. He got rid of it completely, on my left side. At least that explains the extra pain and drainage. He said he would get rid of the right side boobage at exchange.
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