TE TROUBLE
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Going to PS today for 2nd to last fill on left TE! I am so lopsided it's ridiculous. Good thing sweatshirt weather is coming. I've been coming home after the appts and resting until the kiddos get home from school. Seems to help it settle down pretty quickly. I can't wait for these weekly appts to stop - looking forward to a break! Happy Friday everyone.
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Thanks ladies. So far so good this am-no fever. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
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ihavenoname - The same thing happened to me. My right side was red, very warm to the touch and pus was developing underneath the skin at the inciscion. I had a fever the week before, it was low grade but went away. I had noticed after that that my right side had started to get red and warm. Went in to see my PS and he was concerned yet I wasn't displaying any other symptoms. He said lets watch it for a day, well then the puss developed. I was scheduled for surgery that day to have it removed. He said he could flush me with antibiotics but it most likely wouldn't work and I run the risk of the infection spreading and then I'd be in a world of hurt. I don't want to scare you but I would have it removed. It's not worth it.
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ihavenoname - I forgot to add. I had mine removed a month after my BMX. There was really no pain after surgery and during recovery. I didn't want another surgery either, that marked my fourth in two months! I was a little sick from anesthesia the day after and the following couple days after that, I was moving slow but really no pain. In fact I felt SO much better almost immediately.
Michelle
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Hi ihavenoname I am sorry to say my story is almost identical to mrochon. I think you may be prolonging the inevitable.I think in the long run it is going to be best to get TE removed as soon as possible and start the healing and infection clearing without it. It is very disappointing but the pain is not too bad..
DebbieY
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Also, I had to wait three months to heal before having the TE reinserted. It will be three months to the day on the 28th when my surgery is. I don't know if that's the standard but it's definitely not something that can be removed and then waiting a week or two. You do have to heal which takes time. The sooner you do this, the sooner you are to getting it reinserted and start moving again to your exchange surgery date. You will have to take antibiotics after surgery to make sure it the infection is completely gone.
Michelle
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Last appointment with the PS before exchange, I see the light. He took about 30cc out of the right. Actually it practically took itself out. He removed about 15 by pulling and then the rest came from just the TE pushing back. Felt instant relief so I am glad I had him do it. He did put 40cc in the replaced TE. I think I am about 550 in both TE's now. I feel so huge. The fat grafting machine he ordered is on back order and he isn't sure if he will have it in time for my exchange. If he does he will do some grafting on me. If not, looks like another out patient surgery if I want it. Ugh.
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ihavenoname: Michelle and Debbiey are correct, the sooner the troubled TE comes out the sooner you can get it put back in. I waited 5 long months before finally having my TE removed. (My PS wanted to remove it sooner, but I was fixated on trying everything I could first, to no avail.) By the time I get my new TE, another 5 months will have passed. That's 10 months of waiting just to be back at square one. It is very frustrating. Let us know what you decide to do.
Chickadee, when is your exchange date?
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11/14 at 9:30 am....not that I am counting or anything0
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Glad you got some relief Chick from removing some of the saline. Nov 14th is soon approaching, you must be so excited. I have an exchange date for Jan 17th…..I can't wait. Can't come soon enough.
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Survivor-I feel so badly for you. I agree with the poster above who said that your body has been through a lot. My nurse sister-in-law said the same thing to me when I developed that freakish rash after the new implants went in. I hope you start feelingbetter soon.
My ct scan was clear...yay! Except that the kidney stome we have been monitoring for years has grown. i'll probably need to addres that soon. Right now, i felt a small lump at the edge of my incision on the left side. I am hoping it is just scar tissue, but of course stressing that it is something else. I see the plastic surgeon tuesday for my last time before exchange, so that will be the first thing on my list.
So much for thinking I was starting to do better with the looking forward thing.lol. i'll spend the whole weekend feeling myself up I am sure.0 -
Well I am done with PS/fill appts for almost a month! Got 2nd to last fill yesterday and asked if we could just stop until the right TE is back in and filled. I'm sure she'll have to adjust them to make them even anyway. A little sore because the first time she went to fill, the fill port wasn't in the right place where she marked it, so she had to numb it again and go in a 2nd time, which was fine. She asked me if I thought it was getting smaller though - WHAT? I think it's huge. It does settle down after a day or 2 and becomes softer, not as much like a rock as the day of filling. I hope she doesn't think it has a leak, but even if that's the case she can just replace it during surgery on Nov 30th while I'm already out for the right TE replacement. No biggie in the big picture. Off to baseball - have a great day everyone.
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I posted on the October surgery thread, but because it involves my new TEs, I thought you "troubled TE" ladies might have some insight for me:
I am 2+ weeks post-BMX. The TE fill two days ago did not go well! Last week (first fill after having no fill at surgery) was 180 cc in each TE, and that seemed fine. But the next fill was 120 cc in each TE. The pressure in the left TE was immense, but I was guessing it's supposed to be uncomfortable, so I'd adjust. Well, I could hardly walk out of the PS office (with DH help) and we went on to my first (still morning) appointment with the RO (to get ready for rads next month). In talking to the check-in nurse, I asked if this was just a talking consultation or an examination too, and she said there would be an exam. Oh no! I was in so much pain, I said I'd have to reschedule, and then we went home so I could rest this pain with meds. Not a good idea--should have returned to the PS. By 7:30pm I was in such pain that I called the PS's cell phone number and had to meet him at the office to have 50 cc removed from the left TE. That was night before last and it has been OK since, although I have continued to be on pain meds every 4 hours except for sleeping through the night. Has anyone else had such trouble with the amount of fill? Now I am at Left 250 cc and Right 300 cc. I can get fills each week up until rads start, which may be in about 4 weeks. I am aiming for a final B-cup size, but have no idea how much fill that involves in the TEs, or whether I can tolerate it within a month -- especially an overfill of the left TE that will get rads. Any insights?
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Hi AnnAlive,
As long as I have been on these boards it seems my experience with fills and how my PS approaches them is not the norm. My BMX was 6/20. 200ccs was filled in my left side at surgery. There was not enough skin on my right to fill so the TE was just placed. My PS on my initial consultation explained his approach. He does not fill large amounts as often. My first fill in my right was three weeks after my surgery. He filled my right side with about 30ccs of fluid and nine in my left. We decided to fill the right until it matches my left then he would fill both at the same time. He explained, from trial and error when he first started in this profession, that when you fill so much and so often the skin does not have sufficient time to adjust and maintain an adequate thickness. It hurts the integrity of the tissue. He only does fills about once a month and will only fill as much as he thinks the skin will allow. I had zero pain from that first initial fill. Then I developed an infection and I'm back to square one.
This is my experience with fills. I'm not saying other PS's are wrong. It will take longer for me but I'm ok with that. I'd rather my PS err on the side of caution then just pump me as fast as he can. I would talk to your surgeon and tell him to slow it down if thata what you want. I don't know if that's where your pain is originating from. Other ladies will chime in on their experience.
Keep us updated!
Michelle :-)0 -
Also...I forgot to add, I'm not doing rads. I know that makes a difference.
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AnnAlive- 400 cc in two weeks sounds like a lot of fluid at once to me. I had NSBMX on 6/22. The dr put in 100cc at time of surgery. I started getting fills 2 or 3 weeks later and got 60cc a week for about 6 weeks. I was handling it fine until the last fill which was only 4 days after the one before just to even out the right side. I know exactly what kind of pain you are talking about. It started before I even made it to the parking garage at the hospital. It triggered muscle spasms that I have dealt with ever since. I have exchange in 5 days and cannot wait. My advice is to fill less at a time but I did not have rads hanging over my head. I was trying to get mine done before going back to teach at the end of the summer. if I could take back that last fill and spread it out over longer time I definitely would!
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AnnAlive...I get 60 cc's a week. Glad you got the extra taken out. I couldn't imagine! Hope you're feeling better now and that the area is settling down?
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AnnAlive - I had radiation 9 years prior so my PS went really slow, altho I had 300 ccs at initial placement, my PS did 25cc every other week (yes, it took forever, and the radiated breast still ended up failing). You've had a lot of fluid placed really quickly. I hope the pain subsides quickly!
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Hello all
Thank You to everyone that was thinking of me and responded! I didn't see my PS after surgery but he spoke to my DH and he was told that he was happy with the outcome. I have a 1 wk follow up on Tue'. Meanwhile, I have been on pain meds round the clock and antibiotics, too. So finally, I am feeling less pain from the actual surgery but now that original TE pain is kicking in again. Still mainly on the left foob; the right has always been easy.
AnnAlive: I agree with the others in that you're being filled a very large amount in a very short time frame. I hope your pain subsides quickly for you!
I can't remember who was asking about not having an MRI with TE's but, the MRI uses magnetic imaging and can cause that little metal port to become magnetized. And/or it could cause it to become heated. Either would not be pleasant. Having an Xray is ok 'cause the metal port would reflect the radiation. A CT scan would just be blurry from the metal.
Thanks for listening and stay strong!
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AnnAlive, I am also in Tampa. I had my TEs placed after radiation & for fills we did 50 CCs at a time. I had 300 CCs filled @ the initial surgery. ( I also have 2 lat flaps.) Curious who your PS & Radiation Oncologist are...
Final size will depend on several factors, like your height, weight & rib circumference, etc. See the thread titled "Implant Sizing 101" for help with that.
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AnnAlive-Hope your pain is becoming less. Boy you Tampa chicks sure are having some trouble it seems. My PS let me be the judge and for me 60cc was the most I could handle. I think your PS is trying to rush because of the radiation. Mine would not have done TE's if I needed radiation.
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Michelle, Ginger, Jane, Shae, DLL66, Chickadee: Thanks for your feedback. It does look like I need to insist on less fill. The right prophylactic side was able to take total 300 cc in the two fills (so far) but that was too much for the left side -- the PS mentioned there is some bruising to the muscle that would have caused the pain. Next PS visit is Thursday, and right before it is my first visit with the RO, so it will be interesting to get an agreement between them as to what I can handle in fills. I wonder if I could delay starting rads by a couple of weeks, being that I had a complete pathological response to chemo, and am continuing on weekly Herceptin. Does that help keep me protected to get away with a slightly delayed start to rads? I do want these TEs to succeed!
DLL66 - I'm actually at Lakeland's Center for Cancer Care & Research, which is affiliated with Moffitt.
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Sounds like you are in good hands, AnnAlive. I'm not an expert, but I don't think a couple of weeks will make a difference in starting rads. There should a window that is considered optimum. Good luck to you!
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I've got a question....I have 1 fill left on left TE. It feels tight and like a rock right after she fills it. Then after a couple of days it settles down and when I push on it, it gives and is somewhat soft. When I get up and moving around it goes back to feeling full and tight, but after a good night's sleep it's still full, but really soft when I push on it. Is that normal? I'm trying to make sure that there's no slow leak or anything. Because if there is, she can swap it out while I'm under for the Nov 30th surgery to put the right TE back in. My husband says it's still huge (lol), and maybe I'm also getting used to the size as each day goes by. What a paranoid mess I am:))
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momof3-We are all a paranoid mess! When mine leaked it was noticable to me because I had one that wasn't leaking to compare it to. You don't so it is a little harder for you to tell. I wouldn't use how they feel as a gauge. That said, if you feel at all like there might be a leak (and I think your PS said something about it looking smaller) then I would say something to your PS.
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Yea I think you're right Chick. I'm going to mention it at my pre op appt on Nov 14th. I hate to have anything done on that side, but if something's not quite right, the time to go in and check it out would be while I'm already in for surgery. I'm pretty sure it's OK, but will discuss with her in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this week of NO DOC appts! It's been a while!
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a week with no doc appts - what's that like?
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When I got the phone call to schedule my pre-op and I was trying to figure out days I mentioned I already had an appointment on the 7th in the afternoon. So the lady says how about we make it for the 8th then. I said how about we make it for the 7th in the am so that I don't spend all week going to the doctors.....
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A week with no dr appts??? If it's not me going to the doctor, it's my daughters doctor appts or my MIL, like today!
My surgery is this Friday. I cleaned my house all weekend. I think I'm ready for Friday. I don't remember if I posted about my pre-op appt. So I will be off work the month of November. I'm back to the same restrictions of not lifting my arm. That restriction is for three weeks. That week put me at Thanksgiving to return to work so I decided to come back the week after. Which works out because my oldest will be coming home from school Thanksgiving week and that will be one less thing I'll have to worry about.
So I've been reading about post-op pain. What can you ladies fill me in on? He will be cutting out scar tissue that has built up. I forgot to ask him if he has to cut into my chest wall anymore. I would think after three months stuff has kinda healed over a bit in there. I got refills on Norco but I'm wondering if I should call and have him refill Percoset also. I will take a Xanax the day of surgery cause the I'm seriously traumatized about getting IVs now. They had to stick me five times during the BMX, my entire left arm was black from bruising after surgery. Anyway...what kind of pain should I be expecting? How will I be moving about? It's my right side...and I'm right handed! It seems it could be like it was after my BMX. I didn't have an easy go of it that first week after.
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Best wishes for your surgery, mrochon. I had some scar tissue removed @ exchange & I was able to return to work in 2 weeks. Exchange recovery was much easier than recovery after placement of TEs--I had a lat flap w/each surgery; took 2 weeks off for the first lat w/TEs as well.
I can relate to the IV trauma. Took them 8 attempts last time to get mine started!
As far as going a week with no dr appts...you WILL get there! I have been turned back out into the wild & have nothing scheduled until my pre-op w/my PS on 11/28. I finally feel like a normal person again. It's been a long year +
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