TE TROUBLE
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Great idea!
I have to message you about my onco appointment today. I'm seeking a new oncologist.
Michelle
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uh oh... I am off to bed, you should be too! Send me a PM and give me the scoop. My DD just left to go watch the meteors with her buddy Chris. His mom is a BC survivor too. It is like 20 degrees outside - they are going to freeze their patooties off!
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Sent! I'm off to bed too. *zzzzz*
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I'm new posting on this thread and I've skimmed through some of the posts. I have a question that may have been answered somewhere in here but....has anyone had their te move? For the last few days I've had an area that has gotten sensitive and a little hard. It's only on one side, where my cleavage will be someday. I called my ps and they seem to think it may have shifted a bit and what I'm feeling is the port they use to do fills. Anyone have this happen and did you have problems because of it? Also, the te feel heavy for lack of a better word. I was only filled with 50cc's at surgery 4weeks ago. It feels like they are hanging, pulling on my upper chest. Does this sound familiar? I'm hoping this feeling goes away once fills start. Hoping that this is the worst of it.
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chrissilini-I did not have mine move. Mine always felt heavy and I wore a sports bra at all times. To me it seemed to help if I kept it feeling "tight" and snug to my chest.
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chrissilini - Mine feel like they move a bit, especially my left. I can move it with my hand and it will shift when I lay on my side. It doesn't shift that much but I can feel it move. Also on my left side I have quite a bit of fluid build up in the pockets. I imagine it floating around in there. My right doesn't shift at all. That was the one that was put back in place two months ago. There is no fluid build-up. I have 200ccs in the left. That was from my June BMX surgery. It hasn't been filled since because my dr has been waiting til we get my right side up caught up and then they'll be filled together. I don't have pain from it per se, but it is uncomfortable when I lay on my left side. I have to have a nice fluffy pillow tucked under me. You say you feel it in your cleavage area? Mine will shift depending on which side I'm on. I don't really lay on my right side because it feels like it's poking me. I will feel a little bit more than uncomfortableness if I lay on the right. As the weeks go on from the last surgery the pain has gotten less and less.
I would ask your PS anyway, to be on the safe side. I would think as long as your skin is not hot or have any other signs of infection you should be ok.
Unlike chickadee, I do not wear a sports bra. I go au natural but then I'm still pretty flat, there's no need for one. Hope this helps.
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chrissilini - Did your PS use Alloderm when your TE's were placed? The reason I ask is that the heavy pulling feeling may be because the weight of your TE's are not properly supported by your pectoral muscle. If you do have Alloderm, the pulling you feel may be because the TE's are not full yet and not pressing against anything. As you receive fills they should tighten up, but you might want to wear a sports bra as chickadee did to give some added support. You should also feel less of the "shifting" feeling as they are getting closer to max capacity and occupying more of the pocket.
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yes he did use Alloderm. What you've said makes complete sense. I do wear a spots bra most of the time as I do feel better with some support. Fills won't start for a couple more weeks. I'm sure it'll get better. Thanks ladies.
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chrissilini -Just an FYI, so you are not surprised. The first fills I had were uncomfortable. Take some Tylenol (not Advil, Aleve or aspirin because they can encourage bleeding) and maybe a muscle relaxer. As fills went on they became less uncomfortable. I only have one more fill remaining and conversely while you would think they would hurt more since the TE is so full, they hurt less. I went low and slow - 25cc in each, once a week. Don't let your PS push you to go faster, unless YOU want to. I have a high pain tolerance, but compromised skin on the left side so both PS and I wanted to go slow. I did have one 50cc fill and it hurt too much. Funny story - I have a really high bed (DH calls it the princess bed, and yes I make him sleep in it!) and it has little steps that I use to get in - I am 5'3". So I am in and need to get out after this 50cc fill - I couldn't push up with my arms because it hurt the pecs. So now I am like an upside down turtle in the squishy bed. I finally wriggled around and slid out the side. Ridiculous!
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Yay, SpecialK! Glad to see you are nearing the end of the process & doing well. Do you have an exchange date yet?
I have an appt @ Wright's office tomorrow for bloodwork & I think a short check-up.
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Chrissilini-Special K is completely on it when she says make sure the fills go at YOUR pace, not the PS's pace. My PS was great and never did more then 60 at a time. One time though his dad, who is his partner, filled me and did not listen when I told him 60 was max on my comfort level. He snuck in 80 and I was in pain for a few days. I was small (A) and wanted to be a C so for me the fills really were stretching things. Some ladies have 100 at a time and don't even flinch. What SpecialK said too reminded me that as they got fuller I started wearing camies instead of the sports bra and still felt good. I think I could have gone without, but felt safer with something there.
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dll66 - How are you? Feeling OK? Yes, I am nearing the end of the fills process. Last one will be next week. I look like a linebacker with this massive chest going on. I am at 550 on the left and 625 on the right. I will end up with 2 different sized implants. I do not have a date yet but it should be late Feb/early Mar I think. I want to be done and over Herceptin (last one is Jan. 19) before I go back into surgery. Depending on what Dr. Wright thinks about my port I may try to have it removed during exchange (PS will make a prettier scar!), but he may want me to keep it for a while. He is such a nice man - it is good to like your MO and also feel he is a good doc.
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My PS fills me at around around 60ccs per appointment and that's about once a month. He's very conservative. He says he will only fill me as much as my skin will allow, so far it's only been 60ccs per fill. I've never had pain after my fills. It was a little tight but within a couple hours things were fine. I'm always freaked out over the needle. I close my eyes. I don't have any feeling but I'm so scared of needles, I know my brain would freak me out. Anyway, I have a wayssssssss to go before I'm done with my fills.
Michelle
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I met Ms SpecialK last month and her chest looks awesome! You could not tell she had expanders underneath her clothes. Very impressive.
Michelle
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mrochon - you should see them now - there is 50cc's more in them. They are getting ridiculous, but I am counting on them losing size when I exchange. Does everyone have "anatomical" TE's? I am asking this because mine actually look like a normal breast shape in clothes, while some of my friends have more round and high looking TE's. Several people have been surprised that I still have TE's and not implants already. Not that I am going around and discussing my chest everywhere, ha!
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I should send you pics of my chest. I have a private album on FB but I know you're not on there. My left side has a natural droop forming but that's mostly because of the fluid that has built up in the pockets. Dr says that's good though, it will keep my skin nice and pliable. But I know without the fluid it wouldn't look like that. You can see the shape of the TE still.
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Mine looked like the top half of a frozen hamburger bun. In some clothes they looked normal. In swimsuits and v-necks I don't feel like they did. The implants are sooooooo much more natural looking. Some mention wearing bras with TE's. I could not get mine into a bra, only a sprts bra.
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SpecialK-my expanders seem almost "square" or maybe rectangular. I have some rounded tissue, but most of my cleavage is right at my collar bone. It's ridiculous. I can't wear even a modest neck line without feeling like I'm a stripper looking for a pole. I've been assured and reassured that my implants will NOT be at my collar bone.
Michelle-I'm scheduled for a hysterectomy/ooph in April when I get my implants. My MO started me on Zoladex in October to shut down my ovaries to make sure I could live with the side effects because, as she put it....once the ovaries are gone there's no putting them back in. Is this an option for you to try?
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Oh yeah...bras. The only one that I can wear is a sports bra, my TE's are so flippin' wide...I wear camisoles every day. LOVE the freedom of not being bound.
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Mine were under my arm pits too, another reason a bra wouldn't work. So glad to have them gone and hoping you ladies join me soon. How much longer till exchange MT?
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I am doing well, SpecialK. Thanks for asking. My rads side looks much better; hoping it heals enough to proceed with surgery next month. We will be going slow with the fills (like most of the ladies on here seem to be). Wright is a sweetheart--he had wanted me to keep the port for a while, but after rads it was painful & I got the okay to have it removed by my BS. PS later used the same spot for the TE port. My PS has been nudging me to go see his friend, who is a psychologist, but I am really fine.
When I had TEs in both sides, they looked uneven. The rads side was always smaller & higher. A cami with a shelf bra concealed it pretty well. I did not need any additional support because I have lat flaps.
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My left side is spreading to the side. Mine kinda looks like what chickadee said except mine looks like my hamburger bun looks like it was at the bottom of the bag, squashed...
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mtnester - I will ask my gyno about those options on Monday, thank you. I had no idea that these were options. I am seeking a second opinion from an oncologist. I got no help from mine, zero, nada. He didn't want to be bothered. A$$! Anyway, thanks, I will defnitely ask about that!
Michelle
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evebarry - if you remember my first posts after my BMX/recon on December 5th, all I did was whine about how HORRIBLE the pain from my TEs was, and how I didn't think I could stand another week of it, much less 8 months to complete the process. I was taking Norco - two every six hours around the clock. DH would even bring me my 4 a.m. dose to make sure I got it. I was SO frustrated...all I read about was what "discomfort" other ladies were having....."Discomfort" my @$$!!!! I was in excruciating pain! My chest felt like it was on fire from the inside out!!! There were many times I just laid in bed and cried.
Nothing helped. I tried every drug in my medicine cabinet (and believe me, I had a lot)...I tried deep breathing, relaxation, meditation, hot showers, and trigger point therapy. I was only sleeping for an hour or so at a time at night, and was exhausted.
But one day....I got to thinking about what to fix for dinner....and I realized that not only had I not throught about the pain all afternoon, but I hadn't taken any narcotics, either!
I finally found that taking two Norco and a Valium at night allowed me to get a few hours of restful sleep, and that really helped with my daytime pain. I also started doing some trigger point therapy on the muscles in my back, and that helped as well.
But the biggest thing that helped me? TIME!!! Everyone said just give it time, it will get better. I didn't believe them...but today I can say they were right!
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Awwww, blessings. You poor thing. I felt the same way after my BMX. I seriously had thoughts of just offing myself because the pain was so bad and being a prisoner in my house didn't help. Everytime I read someone say, just give it time I wanted to SCREAM! Of course screaming would have caused pain! The TE removal and replacement was much easier. However going through another surgery one month out from BMX sent me into a depression. I was so mad. Glad I'm over all those humps now.
Michelle
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Chick, I have two fills to go on the left side and see my PS on January 23 to schedule exchange. I suspect it will be sometime in April, since he wants me to rest for three months after fills.
Blessings - you are right, time heals so many things. I remember at first being uncomfortable all the time, every day....and then eventually you grow accustomed to the bricks on your chest. Sleep is critical though. I'm at my worst when I'm short on sleep - it gets really ugly!
Michelle - good luck with the new oncologist!
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A quick shout out to Survivor, Sundermom and Debbiey -- you are in my thoughts and prayers this week! Sending you healing vibes and prayers for no complications!
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First fills yesterday - almost a month post-op!
I'd gotten 180 ccs in the OR, and finally figured out that the PS must have installed the AMAZON size TEs because I could feel them poking me everywhere. I woke up from anesthesia with the same size boobs I had in 5th grade.
Afterwards, the most painful point for me was just to the right of my teensy cleavage, and if felt like the TE was pushing against a rib or a nerve. I kept trying to make it move out of the way. I had a LOT of pain those first few weeks.
Yesterday I had my first fills. I went in expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 ccs, as that seems like the average around here. I asked the PS, and he told me that he never has any preconceived amount he wants to inject...he said "Let's just see how it goes...."
Of course, I'm thinking "He'll keep filling until I scream, or they pop..."
Had no problem on the left - felt nothing at all. He kept asking how I was doing, and when I said "It feels heavy" he stopped. I did feel the needle on the right, but he told me that might change next time. Again, he asked how I was feeling, and when I said "Full" he stopped.
He put in 100 ccs!!! And strangely enough.....they felt BETTER than before!!!! I had a little bit of achiness under the left IMF, and he said that was because that was where the pocket was beginning to form.
Today I feel fine. They're tender, of course, and hard as rocks in some places, but nothing I can't manage. The bonus in getting 100 ccs yesterday was that it may not take until next Fall for me to have my exchange surgery! (Barring any complications or my inability to get that much each time.)
It's probably important to mention that before surgery, I was quite large, and had a lot of excess skin, and very flabby pecs. The PS did say that this might make it easier for the muscles to stretch on my frame, as opposed to that of a very slender woman.
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Michelle - I'm glad you're over those humps, too!!! Can't remember who it was, but a member here said she wanted to be able to look in her rear-view mirror and see her breast cancer surgery and treatment as just a bump in the road behind her. I always have liked that quote.
MTnester - EXCELLENT point about sleep!!! Lack of good sleep just affects everything, and not in a good way!!!
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Blessings, I have humongous TE's. They can hold up to 1200 cc's. I'm 5'10" and 200 pounds right now (definitely NOT where I was pre-BC) and my right is expanded to 960 and slow lefty is at 840. At one fill I got 120 in my old leaking TE and barely felt it, but usually feel great discomfort with the 60 cc's I get each week. 100 would put me over the edge!
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