How many ccs per fill typically?
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I got 180ccs in the OR, then a month later went in for my first fills. I said "You're going to put in 50ccs, right?" (Because, of course, I had read all the posts on BCO and that seemed to be the average amount.)
"Oh," he said, "I never have a set amount in mind.... I just fill until it looks and feels right."
SHEESH!!! I had visions of my foob blowing up to the size of a cantaloupe and exploding all over the room like a water balloon! Fortunately, he took it very slowly and kept asking how I was feeling. As soon as I started to feel any pressure at all, he stopped. I was fine.
This is what my needle looked like - the other end was attached to a big plastic syringe full of saline.0 -
I got this - no butterfly, but the needle was longer.
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Mine was like Special K's. Pretty scary looking. It held 60 cc but had an attachment that allowed additional 60 cc units to be put in without having to do another needle stick. My PS says how much he puts in is dependent on the capillary refill in the skin around the port. He would press on the skin and see how long it took to go from a blanched white to a healthy pink. He said if you don't pay attention to that, you will cause pain to the patient.0 -
mnmbeck , I hope physical therapy helped. I do yoga several times a week and our instructor is a breast cancer survivor and physical therapist; I feel it has helped me with both MX and now reconstruction.
cjc1961 , those are big fills! But it is true that a lot has to be considered; shape, size, etc.
OMG! Am I glad I got the butterfly looking thing! that needle IS HUGE! And I actually do feel a little pinch when it goes in. I feel for you ladies :-/
How shinny is/was your skin? I asked on another post but didn't get a reply (the post is probably was at the bottom now).
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SpecialK - ok, my mistake. The syringe is HUGE but the needle very small and yes, went right into the skin and into the TE. One day my daughter went with me and she was watching intently and my PS says, "you want to fill her up?" She loved that and the girls at the front desk were like, "you got to do your mom's fill? No way, lucky!" LOL.
Just now saw the pics. Oh my word!!! I would have died with a needle that large. Mine was the small butterfly like the first pic attached to the big syringe. WOW!!!!0 -
MIne was like Special- big syringe with needle directly in to port. Not sure the needle was that thick. I didnt look at all. But the fill itself takes longer than you'd think. I found the whole thing creepy, but got thru it ok. One port side was near my incision the first few fills and that was pretty painful (injection thru skin), but once it was in the port it was fine.0 -
I had to laugh the day when we finally got to the point where you could actually see the TE rise dramatically as the PS pushed the saline into it.
The "WHOA! COOL!" from my 61 year old DH sitting next to me said it all.0 -
Blessings, I know...isn't it cool? How often do you get to watch your boob grow before your eyes?0 -
I was so hoping that my 'tight only' feeling after my last TINY fill would last. But...it was not to be. Dang....it feels like the right one is lodged between ribs. Can't laugh, sneeze or cough or move certain ways without having excruciating pain that takes my breath away.
I have to address the "pain" vs. "discomfort" debate. I really don't think it's a pain tolerance thing. I really do think these hurt some people and not others. My PT explained it perfectly. She compared it to labor. I am a labor and delivery nurse so I can tell you that women perceive labor differently. At 8-9 cm, I arrived at the hospital, saying "yep....something is happening here. I can no longer talk through my contractions. It is getting pretty bad." I delivered 15 minutes later. Some people are saying that at 2 cm and out of control screaming by 4 or 5 cm. I have been with hundreds of these women and I don't believe that my pain tolerance is different. I believe we truly FELT something different.
So, who knows why....but, we experience these things differently. I was so hoping I would have the same easy time with these as I did with my labors! I feel like I have torture devices in my chest ...true pain. I also have tightness and discomfort. But, they are different. I am only half way there for my fills. Not sure I'll make it the whole way.
OK...enough negative talk....Happy Thanksgiving everyone! You are truly something I am thankful for right now!!0 -
There doesn't seem to be any way to predict how we will react to fills. I thought CJC's comment was interesting...being in pain on only one side, even though she had fills on both. Mnmbeck, since you had such easy labors it makes sense that you would have an easy time with TE's...but it didn't happen that way. I wish someone would study the TE experience and figure out what we can do to prevent or at least minimize pain. Even though I had it only with the final 60cc's and for only 2 days, it was certainly no fun and I'm so sorry for those who go through that all the time.
p.s. Mnmbeck, I'm jealous of your short labors! I taught Lamaze for 7 years so I had no problem dealing with pain, but the length of labor was the problem. Took me forever to get those kids out!0 -
I go in Monday for my second fill, another 30cc for a total of 60cc. Going for 700, so this will take a while. I hope since I will be 6-7 weeks out from surgery, that the pain will be less. I also had mesh put in for a thin muscle. Didn't notice anyone else posting on that. The doctor didn't explain it (told my mom in recovery) so that might be why it's more pain then discomfort. Anyone else have mesh?0 -
nostrilb - many of us have dermal matrix to help support the weight of the implant. This is used because they have to use a much larger implant than they would in an augmentation to achieve the same visual size since there is no breast tissue in front of the implant. It is difficult for the pectoral muscle to hold up all that weight so they use this matrix for extra support. I had 575cc's in the left side and 650cc's in the right side, and I only got 25cc weekly fills, so you are correct - it will take a while, but you will experience less discomfort, if any, going the low and slow route. It is also better for the skin, and IMHO the pec muscle.
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Moonflwr had Alloderm, I think twice, and said it was quite painful on her lower ribs especially.0 -
I had Alloderm place on both my breasts. My PS used it to form the bottom of the breast pocket as he said it gives a good natural shape. He did explain that one end is attached to the top part of the muscle and the other is attached to the chest wall. I have not been in too much pain but I do have a high pain threshold.
Kathy0 -
Would you say that the majority of your pain is from skin stretching, or muscle stretching? I had a skin sparing mastectomy, and I don't think my skin is super tight, but the muscle underneath feels like it is going to pop. I honestly cannot believe it doesn't just tear. And, I am only about halfway full!! Is that typical? I have gotten past a lot of the pain (at least for the week), but this tightness is CRAZY.....I get all hunched over just trying to "protect" my chest.....or keep it from exploding. I cannot imagine going in for a fill when I am already this tight! Forget about actually trying to "use" the muscle. I haven't adjusted myself in bed with my arms since surgery. Is this how other people feel?0 -
Has your PS given you any exercises to do? I am a few weeks behind you and my PS has me doing very gentle exercises 3 times a day, so I am using the muscle, I only slept in a upright position for about a week then I went back to sleeping in my bed with a few extra pillows to help support me. Now I am back to sleeping flat and gently rolling onto my side to get up. My skin is not tight but the muscle is tight but I find the exercises help. Last week when I had my fill I just took Advil for a few days.
Kathy0 -
My ps stopped using alloderm- he said the risk of infection isnt worth the trade off of possible good affect. My skin stretching hasnt been bad, tight but no pain. I had about 10 days of pain after my last fill as one side was pressing back on my nerves, so neck and upper back pain. But it has resolved.0 -
For me, it is the muscle that gets uncomfortable after each fill. I had a no skin sparing UMX so my skin is pretty tight after the fills too, but I feel the most discomfort from the muscle stretching.
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You will find a lot of relief if you start stretching those muscles. I've been doing it since right after the TE was placed just about 3 months ago. I started by putting my cupped fingers loosely on the side of my head (over my ears) so my elbow "wings" stuck out. Little by little, day by day, I moved those elbows higher and farther away from each other. Gradually I moved my hands until they were on top of my head, then behind my head with the elbows stretched as high up and back as I could get them. I also pretended to pull my self up on a rope just over my head...one hand would reach up in the air, then the other. When I started going to a physical therapist, I had a broom stick that I held out in front of me with both hands, then raised. I can lie flat and move that broomstick completely over my head to rest on the floor behind me now. There are lots more exercises like walking your fingers up the wall that are easy to do as your own pace. Good luck!0 -
Cant agree more; exercises and stretches will make a world of difference!0 -
I had my last fill today; 35cc's for a total of 325cc's. Just enough to put a small implant on my natural side (PS said 100cc's). Not much pain at all this time. Now I wait... 2 months until exchange :-D
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Good news Camilla. The next two months will drag, but you'll get there. I only had to wait one month but some women report having to wait six months.
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I know, I have read of woman having the expanders in for up to a year! I guess I should not complain; 2 months isn't that long in the big scheme of things ;-)
We discussed what my expectations are. I asked her to take notes. I was being funny, but sometimes I really do feel like she either forgets from one time to the next what I want or she was trying to go with her own personal vision. I am glad we got to talk about what I like about my expander. She said she would order a couple of implants and see what they look like at surgery. She wants to use a teardrop implant but is concerned that it might not give me the projection that I want. She also said that there is a brand that does have the tear drop implant with more projection but that the hospital likes her to stick to the one other brand when ordering. I thought that really sucked. Anyhow.... she said that she will see what she can do about that, that she might still be able to order that tear drop kind with more projection. So I am looking at Feb for my exchange. Possibly she will do fat grafting at the same time if it is needed, plus a lift and small implant on my natural side.
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Sandra, I just saw on another thread that your are going through quite a bit yourself right now. I have not read many posts (Exchange City, it's a long thread ;-) so I am not very much aware of the details but it seems your exchange is causing you some pain. I am sorry about that. I know you cant take pain medication either... yikes. I hope you feel better real soon.0 -
Yes Camillia, things haven't gone the way I'd hoped this time. The first two surgeries weren't bad, just different degrees of uncomfortableness mixed with a short minute of tingly pain when I stood up. Tylenol plus biofeedback worked pretty well most of the time. Even my fills weren't painful except for the last one and it only lasted two days. So I went into this third surgery expecting about the same recovery experience. Wrong. Of course it's only been 4 days, so who knows? Tomorrow I might wake up with no pain and full range of motion.
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So this was your exchange surgery, right? I hope you feel better today... I am keeping my fingers crossed for you. As you said, it has only been 4 days, so I am sure that things will get better soon. Hang in there!
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Yes, this surgery was for removal of the TE, revision pocket work, and placement of the new implant on the left and removal of the good right implant, revision pocket work, and placement of the new implant. Since I now have different shaped and smaller sized implants than the pockets were made for, the pain is from the pocket revision I assume.
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Sandra, Sorry to hear you are having to deal with all this pain. I hope you start to feel better as the days pass. There is nothing like pain to drag you down, I will keep you in my prayers.
Kathy0 -
How have you been the last couple of days, Sandra?
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It is getting better now that I'm one week out, but will go down in the books as the most painful surgery of the three. Almost everyone else on the December 2013 surgeries thread has had an easy time, so I was not expecting this. I saw my doc two days ago and he explained that a lot of pocket work had been done in the area that bothers me the most. Revised pockets had to be created on the other side too so you would think the pain would be the same, but it isn't even close. The doc said you can never tell about pain...my situation isn't all that unusual. I guess I should be glad it's only on one side but DAMN it hurts. I cannot use my right hand to clean myself in the bathroom. Just starting to reach across and down makes me shout out in pain. When I pull back the pain stops right away, so that is good. Can't reach across to turn on the water at the sink with the right hand but I can raise that arm to brush my hair with no problem. So it's just certain movements that makes the pain jump out and bite me. Can't reach down to put on underwear or a pair of pants. Hope this goes away by the magic three week mark, or sooner!
Because these implants (Allergan 410's) are so much taller than the round saline ones I had to start with, my upper chest "complains" especially on the left. Again, that makes no sense because, just like the pocket revision, the same thing happened on both sides. Pain has no rhyme or reason! But the new anatomicals cover up the big divots that were on my chest from the BMX, so it might be sore but it looks 100% better and I won't have to have fat grafts unless the implants drop a lot.
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