TE TROUBLE
Comments
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Thank you so much, Fluff! I will read everything tomorrow.I have another problem- pain in my shoulder,neck, going to elbow and fingers on the left.It hurts while driving ( I am driving with one arm now) and sitting leaning forward. I have been going to PT about 2 months , it does not help.It gets better, then I am driving again and it starts again..You all know WHAT am I thinking...I had appt with MO in December, he told me it probably pinched nerve or rotated cuff. But! I read on the forum, that sometimes rotated disc is caused by mets in spine. Now I am thinking , what to do. Should I reschedule operation again and go through all these scans?
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momo, so glad you're doing well!
roadwarrior, glad you're on the healing side. yes, gravity will tell
specialK, how are you doing? I have some concerns regarding my "harvesting site" - I feel deformed!
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Binc - (back reading)... you're also post surgery! I think we have more anxiety now than we did walking into the BMX because we know more. I'm finally getting to the point where I'm believing I'm healing. Sooooo happy to hear you are doing well!
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Thanks Green Monkey. I look forward to the healing feeling! . . . Right now I'm looking a little Frankenstein-ish. I also look forward to the "magic" of the exchange that you mentioned, Specialk! It's gonna take some serious magic to even out my lumps and bumps!
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GM - I am doing fine - sites look good and swelling is almost gone, but I have been wearing Spanx 24/7 - have you stopped, or are you still in them. Did I read that your PS doesn't think compression is that important? I have no remaining bruising and so far the injected fat is looking excellent.
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All m lipo areas look good too. No issues.
Olga's...I have a spot around my right scapula/neck with pain. Had it for months. Doesn't affect rotation or working out, but when I move a certain way, it will just quickly stab. Then it goes away. If I lay on my side when sleeping, it hurts in the area for a few minutes if I take a deep breath or move a certain way.
I can't get any doctor to address it. All blow me off. It hasn't gotten worse, but stayed the same, and nothing showed on my pet scan last fall and it was hurting then too. I am pretty close to throwing a fit to get it checked though.0 -
Wow, Fluff! I would like to have peta scan, but right now... a week left...I so ready for Latissimus. I am thinking,could it hurt, because I am loopsided, big TE on the right and nothing on the left. And I am a knitter too, and I am knitting with both hands moving, like we do in Europe.And I work in retail, we have stock sometimes. I guess I will go ahead with surgery, do the scans later.
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SpecialK, I gave up on the compression 24/7 and I think I look deformed where she harvested the fat from my thighs. No bruising but its hard in spots - you can sort of see where the suction devise (?) was inserted. And there is a lump of fat missing in spots - like a hole. It's weird. I'm not happy with it. Where she put it looks as though its staying (so far) but she didn't put enough fat to fix the rippling on my left breast and I need fat taken from the side of my right breast. Still loving the nipples! they're big but I'm owning them (o) (o)
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GM - the way my PS explained the lipo process to me is that the cannula being inserted and run back and forth creates tunnels in the fat/flesh. Compression is needed for 6-8 weeks to help those tunnels to close down and not fill with fluid and create a seroma. If you have lumps and bumps it sounds like the tunnels have partly closed down, but not evenly. Why did you stop with the compression, and how long were you told to wear it? I am just at the half-way point wearing it, I have another month - it is a giant PITA but everything looks very good and I have 9 insertion points - upper and lower abdomen, both hips, lower back and chest. I am not compressing the chest, but am compressing to the bottom band of my bra. Where are your ripples? My PS also explained to me that ripples are hard to fix - mine, I have one on the larger implant right in the cleavage, go away when wearing a bra because the weight of the implant is being supported - no amount of fat will help with that - it is just the state of affairs for me.
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Olga, I had to fight like crazy to get him to agree to the pet scan. Then he told me not to ask again for two years. I said we will talk in one, lol.
Gm, like Special K I had to wear compression for the same reason. He said it helped everything to heal in the spot it was supposed to by keeping it all squished together. I did not have any thigh tho. Mine was always abs, with a little lower back on the last one based on the bruising. I didn't ask him that time, I must assumed.0 -
Fluff, my MO told me in December, it is, probably, a rotated cuff...I do go to Physical Therapy and, according to them, it should stop.It did not.I read all kinds of stuff on forum, some people had just pinched nerve, and some had recurrence.It is difficult to decide. Surgery, vaccine and pain- all together.
iS it really pet scan so bad for us, that they don't want it?
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SpecialK, I was told to wear compression to help with swelling but I was not told specifically how long to wear it. Being told to wear compression for swelling and healing are two different things. UGH.
My rippling is at the cleavage on my left mainly and a little on my right and it makes sense to me that it would be hard to fix because of the weight of the implant but thats the reason why I was doing the fat grafting.
fluff, I need simple terms and "helping it heal in places it needs to" makes sense to me.
I wonder if massage will help. I can't find any info other than what is on PS websites.
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Olgah, it is a pretty hefty dose of radiation according to my onc. He feels strongly that the radiation from too many tests can cause as many problems as it identifies. So...I pick and choose my battles.
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Hey TE Trouble girls....I've been posting on the Exchange forum about my exchange tomorrow..yippee!! I'm hoping my "trouble" with this whole reconstruction process ends tomorrow. I've had enough pain and drama for the last 6 months time to feel good for a change. One more hour of eating and drinking then the fast for my 12:00 p.m. surgery tomorrow. This forum has been a Godsend for me, thank you...Jill
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Good luck tomorrow, Jill!
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So I had my left TE replaced on Friday the 11th and now I'm freaking out because I have a tiny bit of rash around the incision. They look like tiny pimples and are a bit itchy....I honestly think it's a reaction to the synthetic fabric of the bra I wore one day, but given my previous experience with infections, it's scary to see. Ugh!
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Road, did you call the DR? Good luck tomorrow Jill!!
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Annemarieh - no it's actually disappeared since I wrote here! So I'm chalking it up to the weird bra fabric that made me itch or the myriad of drugs I'm on right now. This time around they're making me take Keflex 4 times a day. They also applied anti bacterial bandage around the drain - wish they did that the first time around!
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road - yay!
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hi gals...6 wks to exchange and counting FINALLY so ready to get these things off my chest...but
PS finally showed me the implant today (silicone) and it was only a 350cc (i think im getting over 400) and it seemed so HEAVY, i was looking forward to a nice light pillow in my chest not that thing. OMG i hope i get some relief but i was stunned at how heavy they are
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rozem - they are heavy, and the bigger they are the heavier they are. I have the same size implants as I was filled to in TEs but because they are comfortable I don't always notice the weight of them. It is easy to forget that breast tissue is heavy too - we never held our own removed breast tissue so it is hard to make a comparison!
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road - keflex makes sense as does antibacteria bandage. So glad the rash cleared up!
rosem - yes, as special K confirmed they are heavy. I have 350 implants and I never know they're not there. plus they're cold.
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GM's description of implants is spot on for me - they don't hurt but there is never a time that I am not aware of them. I am OK with the cold part, mine are only cold sometimes - the rest of me is always hot, I am the hot flash queen, so I kind of like their coldness - I find it strangely refreshing!
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Hey all, thought I'd chime in on a coupe if things!
Fluff - I've had bad chronic neck pain also. I had that electro test to see if I had a nerve problem. I don't but X-rays showed I have a slight bulging disc in C 4/5 and C 5/6. I've been in pt for the past year. My pt is the person who helped me get my rotation back after surgeries and massage scar tissue. I have an appt Friday and can't wait! My neck is killllllling me and I've taken a beating with workouts this week. She is a sports therapist and is certified to work on BC patients. She's awesome. She thinks my neck really got out of whack from all the surgeries and those weird positions they have you in.
Rosem - I have the largest implants, 800cc, mine don't feel heavy. To me they are SO much lighter than those damn TEs. Like GM said...they are cold! No more sticking your hands in your boobs to get your hands warm? (Did I just say that? lol) I'm a 36 bra band and so far a solid C in cup size. I think the cup size is where I'll stay. I can lay on mine now and have had the full weight...ahem...of a certain man on them and they are fine. That took a couple months though cause they have to get worked in to be squishy.
Michelle0 -
Thought I'd let y'all know...100 push-ups and 100 pull-ups yesterday alone. It is possible to do them with implants. They don't call me BCAvenger for nothin'!
Michelle0 -
TE Trouble girls, I am happy to report my TE's are now in medical waste hell and I had an excellent exchange surgery yesterday, do avoid redundancy....my surgery report is on the Exchange City tread. Hugs! Jill
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So I'm 9 days post surgery on the 2nd TE attempt and things aren't looking all that good. The new TE is pretty swollen, slightly red and a little warm to the touch. I saw my ps yesterday and he said it isn't infected, just irritated and I need to give it time. I'm definitely paranoid in light of my past experience. Has anyone else had significant swelling that subsided on its own without developing an infection? My ps also suggested I put moisturizer on the skin. Did anyone else do this? I'm trying not to obsess too much but not having much luck. Thanks for any input.
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Hi Binc, I don't have a good comparison for you other than the fact that I understand the paranoid delusion (?) that comes from repeat failure. I am still waiting for my noobs to fall. Time helps but I am no where ready for anyone to squeeze, grab, or put pressure of any kind on my noobs. I still sleep on my back - let my husband stroke (gently). But my last surgery was 12/13 (fat grafting and nipples).
Michelle - you are supermama!!! okay, now... call me crazy (and lazy) but is there a connection between all the pushups and the neck pain? Don't slap me (because you are clearly strong and it would hurt:) and I have no medical degree but is there tension/stress in the neck area as you struggle to complete your workout (?). I say "struggle" because its so far out of my now norm. Honestly, I'm still afraid to lift anything more than 5 lbs. I'm clearly wayyyyy too guarded. You are so committed to healing and I honor and respect and admire that!!! 800cc implants and they don't feel heavy? remarkable! Mine are 350 and I feel the weight along the IMF - this could be partially mental because of all the suturing and alloderm.
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one more general statement...
I think I wait for everythings to fail. I expect it. It's what happens even when I don't fully understand what fail means. Even the fat grafting. I didn't expect it to leave a hard path of pain and deformity in my thighs. OK, thats a bit dramatic but you can see where the suction scope thing (canular?) was and I have pockets of missing fat. It looks bizarre!
I honestly didn't expect to feel this ...(damn, I don't have the word) let down by the reconstruction process. And my skin wasn't radiated. okay, enough woe is me
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I'm now a week out from TE replacement and the rash is back. My PS told me its just a rash - not infection - because the bumps are raised and very itchy. So I stopped taking all meds just in case. He also said that sometimes the soap they use during surgery causes irritation and said to use a hypo allergenic lotion.
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