new and future flat sister, with questions
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Yes, this is the no recon zone here.Reporting in: success with prune juice and apple juice. Thanks for the advice PRB!
O2: how you feeling???
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Morning all! Boy, did I sleep well last night, I was exhausted! Thanks for all the lovely kind words ladies, on both threads. I keep getting mixed up about which thread I have posted on!
02, are you talking about the Mods post above? They are just asking for people to write about their own experience of recon, or not, for an area that newly Dx can go to and see what others have decided to do and why. There isn't anything malicious in the request. They have posted this request all over the site, in both for and against recon threads, so everyone who wants to write, gets the opportunity to do so.
I wrote about my decision, when I first saw the request, because although we all write about these decisions in posts, once there have been a few more posts added, your post is just gobbled up and it is rare that someone who is new here, goes back through a long thread and reads everything that has been said. It can be annoying, when you've been here for a fair while and have to keep posting the same stuff over and over when the same questions are being asked. I think the Mods are just collating lots of information, to go into specific areas, to make it easier to find the information, on some of these really emotive issues.
Wow, your surgery was an interesting one. I bet you're glad all that trouble is out and gone! I hope you feel really good soon and the bruising doesn't last long.
Glennie, I hope something has worked for you by now, better out than in!!!!! That soup sounds fabulous, she's a good girl our Bobo!
Spookiesmom thank you! I was a tad embarrassed when I was doing the makeup and right up in the ladies faces, they kept saying "Oh your poor eye, is that painful?" lol
PRB, good luck with the Arimadex! I hope there are no se's at all for you!
Hi Dawny! I so understand what you are saying about your daughter. I used to go nuts with Bec the chatterbox, she could talk the leg off stool! Ooooh enjoy your massage, I have one on Tuesday, can't wait!
Beautiful day here today...catch you all later...have a lovely evening! M x
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M: we post at same time. Had success!!
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Good for you Glennie, glad that worked for you! M x
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Way to go Glennie. I know that whole going to the bathroom thing is always no fun after surgery. I think they should put something in our IV's to get it all moving again! The nurse I had after my hysterectomy was so great. She told me about the heated prune/apple juice combo. She also would not let me drink from a straw to keep the chance of gas cramps down.
Going to be a very cold weekend. Someone at work was selling football tickets for tomorrows game. It's a night game and the high tomorrow is 48 degrees. No thank you! Pretty happy that I'll have new neighbors soon. Was talking to the owner, and his brother is moving in with a friend. The friend is very handy and does that sort of stuff for a living. Yes! Maybe I'll have my very own handy man right next door. Oh happy day.
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ok sorry that I misunderstood the moderators. Please accept my apology . I have never been down this road before and am not sure about the rules! It just hit me wrong I guess.
Ok. Here is my thinking. I don't half brush my hair so why would I work so hard to put a vampire boob on where they removed my real one? More surgery wasn't for me. It is lifeless, cold to the touch and doesn't giggle. So no reconstruction for me. That is what is right for me.
Very glad this surgery is over. This is harder than mastectomy and more pain. 5 holes in my stomach and belly bottom hole is starting to bruise cuz puppy stepped on it trying to get next to me in the bed. Bless her heart.
But I did drive today to get papers to human resources. It actually felt good to be in the car. No pulling on my stitches.
PRB. I am on Arimidex and no problems. Let your body get used to it. I actually hate missing doses now cuz it is keeping me cancer free. I am grateful to God for it. I agree the other thread is hard to read. I believe in positive thinking not complaining.
Well y'all had enough of me. Sorry. I will be in better mood tomarrow.
O2
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O2: you are fine. I saw that mod's posts elsewhere and the first time i saw it, i was pissed off too. The way it's worded makes it seem like they only want recon stories,,, you really have to read it closely to see that they want all stories. Whatever. I can barely stand having an implanted tooth,, can't imagine having some foreign body implanted in my chest.Silly puppy stepping on you. I hope you feel better soon.
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Gosh, 02. no apology needed for that. The first time the Mods put this up, it was just for those who have chosen recon. I was offended that we were excluded, even though I suspected there would be another post, asking us for our opinions and reasons too.
The recon or no recon issue is a hotly contested one. I have no problem whatsoever, with anyone deciding to have recon, all power to them, if it is what they want, but for me, I just couldn't do it. I am fine with having stuff removed, don't even really bother about having the surgery, but having something put in, just doesn't do it for me, but that's just me.
I love your statement that a fake one "Doesn't Giggle!" lol I am not sure what a Vampire Boob is, do you mean Frankenboob? LOL Or do fake boobs just "suck"???? LOL That's very funny!
On a serious note, since we're on the subject, I don't have any emotional issues with my Uni status, even though some of my friends seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for me to fall in a heap, when I lost my breast. I even had one of my old work colleagues, who had, had the same Dx and a Umx, a few years before me, ask what kind of recon I was having, when I said I wasn't even considering it, she spat out "How can you bear to look at yourself!" It isn't often I am left speechless!
I am so glad all this surgery is over for you. I just looked at your Dx and it has all happened so close together, you've barely had time to get over the Mx.
Sorry your pup stood on your sore bits, that's just what Dex would do. I had to put him in the kennel when I got home after my Mx, because he loves to plonk down on my chest in the morning. I couldn't trust him not to have tugged on the drain too! Take it easy M x
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Someone sent this to me on FB today!
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M that is a fabulous statement!! And so true!
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Love the lion pic M! I always knew I would not recon either. Don't like the idea of foreign things in my body. I wanted flatness and a seriously cool tattoo over the scar. Well, now I have LE and the tattoo is not such a good idea. **booo**Still want the flatness tho,,, so I guess skin removal will be next!
Puppies want to cuddle. Ava likes to snuggle under my arm.
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Yes! Glennie, I planned on having a cool tattoo too, but there was too much differing of opinion, as to when it could be done, so I backed off the idea. My Mother had LE and although I know the chances are low for me, with only 1 node removed, I don't want to do anything that may cause it to happen to me.
I have to say, there are some positive aspects of having one flat side for me, it makes sleeping on my stomach, so much more comfortable and when I snuggle into Colin at night, I fit under his arm and I can feel his heart beat through my flat side. I really like that.
You know what Glennie, you'll know if and when the time is right for you to do that skin removal. I was putting on sunscreen today before I took Dex for a walk. I was wearing a camisole, yep, it's that warm here at the moment! I reached up to see how the Dog Ear scar is looking now, and to my surprise, it is hardly visible at all.
Hi Andrea! I really liked the lion pic and the statement too. I don't usually keep or share those things, but that one is different.
I am watching an Aerosmith Concert documentary done in Japan after the Earthquake and Tsunami, gosh Liv Tyler looks so much like her Father!
I am off to bed now, just moved all the clocks forward, for daylight saving!!!! Yay and tomorrow is the big garage/ yard sale day, so up early for that. Last time, I got fantastic vintage boat bits, a creel basket and some lovely old wood oars and timber and brass block and tackle which I have used as decor items in the house.
Take it easy and have a great Saturday...M x
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YAY! I love Daylight Savings Time. always sad when we have to move the clocks back, even tho there is that extra hour of sleep.Sounds like you scored at last year's garage sale! Good luck tomorrow!
As far as tattooing over the scar, 2 years is the number that kept popping up when I searched. I have used some cool temporary tattoos that I've liked,, may go back to that. It's nice to see a vine of colorful flowers across my chest.
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hey y'all~~~
It is a beautiful fall day here in alabama and I feel so much better today!!! Went grocery shopping with a friend and got all stocked up on water and drinks. He carried all the heavy stuff for me. Whew. !
Vampires have no blood so I thought of vampire boob for descriptive. Recon is not an option for me and I am happy with myself. M that friend should never have said that to you. I don't have any trouble looking at myself in the mirror because I am so dang happy to be alive !!! Yea these surgeries were close together and now to see me naked with all the scars on my stomach and mastectomy. Wow. I am a true warrior!!!! :-D. And a victorious one at that!!!!!!!
If you are doing daylight savings time we must be falling back soon. I will need to look up when
How you feeling Glennie? I just made pigs in a blanket with honey mustard sauce yum yum!!!! I have been so afraid to eat cuz of GB attacks!!! This is great having it out. !
And more about foobs! I am so attached to the Amoena swim wave one that I want it on for comfort! It giggles like my own boob too!!! Love that thing! At first it was too heavy to wear so tried the puffs and got depressed with those things! Still don't have the courage to thow them out. Are y'all keeping the puff boobs??? Lol. Some of these questions make me laugh but hey never did this crap before!!
Well just gonna stretch out watch the beautiful out doors turn colors and relax
Happy Saturday!!!
O2
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M Love that lion!
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I just saw this in the Tampa Bay Times. I can't get it, need my handicap tag. Would if not for that!
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Hi O2,, glad you are having a good day. Weather is pretty nice down here today too, not as hot as it has been. Pigs in a blanket sound pretty good! I feel kinda tired today, but otherwise feel pretty good. Probably need to get up and move around more.I have to wear chest compression all the time now, so I'm not as into the foobs. When I wear the breast binder, I don't wear a foob at all,, and when I wear the compression bra,, I only need a really small foob to balance me out, so I use a knitted knocker for that. But I still have them. Maybe an occasion will come up when I want to dress up and go w/o compression for a while and wear a foob. But at this point,, I'm foob-less.
I think we change the clocks in November.
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Glennie~~~~
Foobless is fabulous!!!!!
O2
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glennie. What kind of compression shirt? I found a Nike small sleeveless. It's hot and very unattractive. Need to find something with a short sleeve to get my armpit, upper arm and back fat.
I've been in tamox a y ear. Back at my pre bc weight. My face looks like it's dropping and I have a fat pouch under my chin. My granny had droopy jowls but she was 99! Any ideas?
02. If you truly don't want your puffs, please consider donating them. I sent a lot of my stuff to a bc sister who's in a 3rd world country.
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Zills: I haven't had any luck with compression shirts. I keep trying and they don't fit right. Or my remaining breast gets too squashed. Or they come so far down on my torso that they fold up over my stomach and I don't like that.
Have you searched around on the lymphedema forum? There is a lot of chatter over there about shirts. People seem to like UnderArmour, but I couldn't find one small enough to do me any good. **I'm a midget** And I couldn't find any boys sizes in the local stores.
I've been using a breast binder from EAB medical and Swell spots. Most of my problem is truncal, around the scar and in the armpit area. This solution isn't perfect, there is part of my armpit that it doesn't cover, but it's the best I've found so far. I also use Wearease compression bra; it's the only one that had sizes small enough for me. I put it on, tuck in the swell spot, and then use the knitted knocker to fill it out a bit and I look balanced in clothes.
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Zills. That's a great idea....... How do you go about finding such sisters in need??
O2
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O2, sorry about your puppy stepping on you! That has happened to all of us. M, cannot wait to hear about your yard sale extravaganza. I am getting a massage on Tuesday too! We are twins! My pt massage has really been helping. This med device is really doing a number on me. I am lucky I managed to find this very small pt massage dept at the hospital and get in. They have something like three therapists for the whole hospital! It's just a miracle I found it.
Regarding the mods and the recon talk... the Mods can do no wrong, in my opinion. They've been incredibly responsive to even the most 'militant' of flat sisters. Whoops, I almost typed 'fat' sisters! Of which I am one. Z, I'll get to your droopy face in a minute! But don't forget that this isn't exactly a NO recon zone. As I, founder of our venerable thread, am now having what passes for recon.
Granted, my area is a bombed-out wreck, so gutted that I can see my heart actually beating through my chest wall, and so they are attempting to fill it out with a procedure that is not yet approved by the FDA, and I am the first person my PS has tried it with, but still, it's reconstruction. Granted, I don't exactly know what it will look like in the end -- my goal is to not hear my voice booming around in my rib cage, right now my area is so hollowed out that my voice sounds funny in my chest -- but it is reconstruction. It's been easy for me to ally myself with militant flat sisters -- I always knew I never wanted recon, and I had years since my first dx to think about it -- but I got caught in a trap, and now I'm doing what I have to do so I don't crawl around the floor of my bedroom, avoiding any reflective surface, or so I don't take showers while looking at the ceiling, feeling around for the soap, so I don't look down and see that my right side is completely missing.
There are sisters who think that people who talk about foobs are not truly 'hard core' flat sisters. And then there are those who look down of sisters who are obsessed with nip acquisition. I have been lucky enough, myself, to feel accepting of all sisters in any stage of this... hellish situation. I did, however, look down slightly, if also fondly, at sisters obsessed with recon, with cup size, with 24-hour projection nips. I caught myself looking down at them. And now I'm very nearly one of them myself.
I have not worn foobs, but other than that, I have been all of those sisters. Wait -- I did wear a chicken cutlet on one side for a year or so, they had taken so much out on the L side that my bra was riding up and causing a sore, so, now that I think of it, I have worn a foob. I have been all of those sisters. And so, even though this thread is dedicated to those who have some flatness of some kind in their lives, let's be kind to everyone, regardless of that they will choose, or how they speak about flatness. And that includes the Mods.
Z, it's expensive, but I'm thinking Perricone's Cold Plasma. They have a special one for the neck as well, although I have not tried it. The regular Cold Plasma is fabulous. I also have the 'no foundation foundation' for when I have to be on camera. X
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Hello Ladies, well the extravaganza wasn't anywhere as good as the first one 2 years ago, but We did manage to find some good bargains. Colin got another model boat, I found a nice big timber, beveled mirror, for our entry hall and another small timber oar, for my studio wall. I also got a really good leaf blower, would you believe I got rid of both of the ones we had before moving here. The Oak leaves from next door are my nemesis, so hopefully this blower, which also has suction will do the job. I found a new bike lift for Mary, my massage therapist, who mentioned recently that she needs one and I also found a couple of decor things and I still had $5.00 left out of the $50.00 note, I started with.
We drove into town and had Subway lunch. It was 41/2 hours of jumping in and out of the car, walking down incredibly long driveways, so my feet are so sore and I am tired!
Bobo, my lovely one, I am so pleased that the PT massage has been a benefit to you. I don't know what I'd have done without massage and my Essential Oils.
I laugh at how you call it a chicken cutlet and I call it a chicken filet. A chicken cutlet over here, is a chicken filet in bread or cornflake crumbs! lol
Bobo, we all know what a hellish time you've had and we all understand that you are trying to make good what was done to you. My heart breaks when I hear you describe what they did to you and what you have to do, to repair it. I can't even imagine what it is like trying to avoid seeing yourself in a mirror and feeling so repulsed by how you look.
Recon schmecon, we are just dedicated flatties and half flatties who haven't had to make the repairs that you have, but none of us look down or judge you, for your decisions.
I have no issue with others who decide recon is right for them. I just get really pissed, when others don't understand and accept my reasons, for not wanting it. Hugs to you Bobo!
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02.I have an Amoena swim form and one of the women in my BC group wears hers all the time because she finds it more comfortable than her regular silicone form. I have a big array of foobs, some puffy ones, but I have passed a lot on to others too. I mainly wear a lightly weighted foam form these days. I prefer the way it sits to the heavier, silicone ones.
Glennie, I have some great temp tattoos too. I heared 2years, but some say 5.
There is a Tattoo artist in Australia, who developed a paint on film for over the temp transfer that removes the shine that can be left when you stick on a temp tattoo. It seriously makes them look totally real. and it lasts longer too.
I have a real trail of flowers in my a$$, it was a bit higher when it was done 22 years ago, but age has made it droop a little! lol
Waving to Spookiesmom and Zills. M x
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02. I sent mine to MRSROCKYTOP55. She's a missionary in Costa Rica but has pkgs sent to her sister in the states.
BG still running high fever but sleeping in my bed. Between her body heat and snoring! I can't sleep.
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Zills: I can't sleep either. Finally just got out of bed. Hate not sleeping. Really screws up the day ahead. Sorry that BG still have fever. Sucks.M: agree, if others want recon, more power to them. Just don't give me crap for not wanting to. And that includes doctors!! Flowers on your ass,,, I love it!!!!
Bobo: it sucks having to rebuilt your chest. I really hope that the painful medical device does its thing. Hate thinking of you having to wear painful device.
I need massage. Must call my person. Have LE therapy on Monday, but it is not the same as massage.
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Sorry you're up so early Glennie, can you grab a nap later?
I told the other girls about my Tattoo so I'll tell you the quick version.... My Dad was an officer in the Navy and he hated Tattoos, because he had dragged so many drunk sailors out of Tattoo Parlors all over the world. He would have been mortified to think I'd have one.
I waited till he passed away, before I had my Tattoo, when I was 40. On the day, it was bright sunshine and when I sat backwards in the barber's chair and the Tattoo Artist started the outline, the wind started to blow, the sky turned to black, the thunder and lightening started and the rain came in torrents. Everyone in the parlor stopped and commented how it felt like the roof would blow off. I turned around and told them, it was my Dad showing his displeasure. M x
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Zills, can you catch a nap later, or are you up for the day now? M x
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Good story, M! Dad was not happy!!Don't know if I can get a nap later. Going to an afternoon movie. Was just so tired last night that I went to bed at 9,,, should have known it was a mistake, cuz I'm usually awake after 6 hours and sure enough, woke at 3am. UGH. Was just hoping that post-op still in effect and I would sleep more. Guess not,,, seems like post op effect is over. Drat.
Edit: forgot to mention: night sweats are here! Guess I'm officially in menopause now. Wheeee!
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Woohoo for menopause! And garage sales. Boo to BG's fever.
Bobo, for when you have to be "on camera" ?? What did I miss?
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