TEs. A Beginner's Primer
Comments
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So very glad to find this topic and read through the posts. These expanders have been quite an interesting challenge to my "I can handle this crap" mantra. Just had my first fill two days ago and I've been comparing the sensations to having two 20 pound bowling balls covered in thorns on my chest. I know this will pass but good grief. Glad to be here and thank you fellow warriors for sharing your experiences.
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Hi LiMa, If it makes you feel better, I HATE my expanders and think they may be the worst part of all of this... but I'm starting to get used to them for the most part (except sleeping). I'm at the point that they feel tight more than they hurt and I feel like I can manage a few more months. I've had 4 fills now. The fills themselves don't bother me but I think it just took time so hopefully it will get better for you. But I feel you!
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LoveCanada- oh, sleeping. I'm a stomach sleeper. Sorry...correction..."used" to be a stomach sleeper. I now spend hours trying to get comfortable on my back, using lots of pillows. Plenty of restless hours to remind myself that this too shall pass. I'm alive to feel a little discomfort. But dang!
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Me too!!! For a few weeks I was barely sleeping at all because I was so worried about turning over. Lately I've been sleeping harder but the downside is that I roll over and wake up in pain. I've tried putting pillows all around me but I haven't yet mastered it. I can't wait for the day I can at least sleep on my side without pain. But yes, reminding myself that there is a purpose for all of this helps!
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grr, that's all i can say about these darn things. 😠 5 more months.
I can't wait to wear a comfy bra again.
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Amen Shelabela. Those Victoria's Secret commercials really tick me off now. LOL
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welcome LiMa! Yes expanders are not fun. Oh well. We get thru it.
Much love to all
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I went in for my 2week post TE placement visit yesterday. I left with a smaller foob then I went in with! It had been pretty big since they put it in, and I was wondering how much saline they put in it.......turns out it was my own blood and fluid around the TE! They siphoned 200 cc out! That was physically and emotionally deflating! Now my little fold that was poking forward is even more prominent! I go back in a week. They said it was normal and it was because they didn’t put a drain in. Would have been nice to know.....I thought it was going to be, “Incision healed great, time for your first fill!”
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Hi All! I had lat flap1/30/18 with TEs placed. TEs are totally different from one another. One is high and the other lower with a big discrepancy in size. Please tell me the finished product will be better!
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Hi to all those ranting on the awful TEs..... Yes they are so uncomfortable. But can I make you all laugh? Despite all the discomfort, I kept putting off the exchange as I couldn't bear the thought of my second op! First there was the "it's summer excuse", then "now I'll think about it" and I eventually got it done a couple of days before Christmas, probably having kept them around 6 months extra for nothing! Despite the iron bra feeling, feeling of having turtle shells on continuously, at one point, I felt wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the OT! And after a few months of TEs, despite all my rants earlier on this page some months back, yes at some point I think my brain just got used to the discomfort! After a few months I could side sleep again etc. And then I did the exchange and I remember waking up and an hour later thinking "oh wow what happened to the ache I had in my left axilla - it's gone" It had been all the pressure from the TE in the axilla!
I am so much more comfortable now. My right feels normal, and I have regained my normal skin sensation again. My left still feels a bit tight and is a bit more lateral than I would wish, but am hoping that it will gradually sink a little more. And with time I hope to regain the sensation which I lost again after the exchange. It's just been a couple of months since the exchange and I feel fine.
So hang on in there, all of you! It WILL get better! And meanwhile this is a great ranting place!
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For those that have had exchange, is it possible to sleep on your stomach? Just wondering. I miss that.
Rebeka
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For stomach sleepers who are struggling... I asked for one of these for a gift when I was post-surgery, it changed my sleep!
https://www.amazon.com/Pregnancy-Maternity-Contour...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520356101&sr=8-5&keywords=u+shaped+pillow
Yes- its intended for maternity, but allowed for the same thing you need with expanders (and implants) where you can prop up something behind you and in front of you that you can put your weight on and truly relax. My sleep frankly sucked with my expanders in until this then I started being able to get more comfortable. I had my exchange in the fall and I am still using it! My husband jokes that he can barely see me anymore when in bed, but he likes the more well-rested version of me too much to get rid of it.
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Oh, and my PS said she would prefer I still stay off of being flat on my stomach for now and possibly for good if I can do it. I have adapted a lot to other positions. Being on my stomach with the implants just isn't as comfortable as it was before, anyway, they don't squish the way my breasts did. Sometimes when I am really craving laying on my stomach (or a massafe, etc) I use pillows above and below my breasts to make it more comfortable.
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So, I had another fill today. Good grief these puppies are high and tight. I see the radiation oncologist next week to find out if I need radiation, per my oncologist's request. If so I get to live with these crazy-full expanders until after. Fabulous. But we do what we have to do, right? Ok. Whinefest over. Back to being thankful for something.
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LiMa66 hopefully no radiation needed, but I did have radiation and then opted to postpone my exchange even further because of vacation and wanting to spend a procedure-free summer with my family. Its amazing how over time you get used to even the stupid TE's. They never get fun, but they did get much better the longer I had them. But I am now still super thankful to have them out.
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I know and understand that these TE's are and will be comfortable. I'm just wondering how uncomfortable they should be before I get worried. I so far have only had 1 fill of 100 CC's and I go for another fill this week. Mine are under the muscle and I have a small chest. In the last week it feels like they're rolling down and digging into a rib. I sometimes push up under the bottom of the expander to lift it off a rib to make it hurt less. Is this normal?
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Nursepatient35 that was unfortunately my experience as well. Mine actually felt better after more expansion because before the edges poked into my skin, etc around the perimeter of them. Hopefully once you get more volume that sensation will improve.
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Well poop. I get one more fill next Wednesday and then that part is on hold while I go through radiation. So, no exchange until approx 6 months after. In the meantime I get to enjoy these lovely expanders for a while. Whoop.
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LiMa66 sorry, bummer! I highly recommend doing PT if you can during radiation, helped a lot with my tightness from expanders.
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Lima66, my PS waits 9 months after rads! Boo! But on the upside he did do a fat grafting in January to beef up the area to get ready for exchange.
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Oy, 9 months! I see my PS next Wednesday. We'll see what he says. I'd sure like to get the exchange this year, but I may not get that wish. One day at a time.
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just needed to come on here and vent about the fills! The fill itself isn’t so bad but a few hours later and then I’m in so much pain and pressure for a good Couple of days even with muscle relaxers and ibuprofen. Today was my last fill though so a positive but I had to get my right breast deflated by 50% bc I have to do radiation. So for about 2 month I’ll be lopsided but not on fills so woooh
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HopefulAC, I completely feel your pain. I just got my 3rd fill this morning. I think they're about maxed out and holy cow is it hurting. There's always some new pain with these things. One day it hurts my sternum, the next it hurts under the arm or ribs. As much as I want to just lie down and rest after these fills, I do think moving around makes it a little better. Today was probably my most painful one so far and I'm worried because I go back to work tomorrow. My job is pretty physical too so I guess we'll see how I feel in the morning. Good luck with your radiation and I'm glad you're done with fills for now. It will probably feel really good when they deflate it for a while.
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nursepatient - if you have sub-pectoral expanders and a small chest you might ask for smaller fills to ease the discomfort. Some number of plastic surgeons fill rapidly to minimize the number of office visits it takes to reach maximum fill volume. The reason is that they are not charging for these office visits, normally they are included in the mastectomy surgical charge, so every time you come in the PS is potentially "losing" money by using office time that could be given to a fee paying patient. Not saying that is what is happening to you, but I have seen it before. 100cc fills are pretty normal for someone who has an 800cc expander, but not a lower total volume one. I did 25 ccs on my bad side, and 50ccs on the good side, but that was the largest and I had 550cc expanders initially. You are in the driver's seat on this - if you have pain, ask to slow the process down.
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SpecialK, thank you for the reply. I think my expanders hold 350 and so far I've done 2- 100cc fills and 75 this last time. I sometimes wonder if he wasn't rushing it a little too. Interesting on how he doesn't get paid for each visit. I work with doctors and surgeons so have definitely seen how they can rush patients as well. Again, not saying he's done that but thank you for reminding me I'm in charge. I'm an hour away from my PS though so was ok with it at first. I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow but thinking one more small fill will be it for me. I was very small chested before all this and now with 275 cc perky rock hard boobs, I feel self conscious around other people like they're all going to be checking out my chest. My PS keeps telling me this is my chance to go bigger if I want but I guess it will just take some getting used to.
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nursepatient- keep in mind that the majority of people look smaller at exchange. Implants do not have the same projection as expanders, and some look as much as 50% smaller even if they receive implants that are the same number of ccs as they have been expanded to.
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Nursepatient my expanders are 350cc too but for this last fill we went to 360cc simply bc I would get filled by 60ccs each time and for me I just wanted to be consistent. I was going to stop at 300 but also was told implants look much smaller and bc Immgetting radiated . Anyway this whole TE is strange for me. Especially now that I only have 180 on the other side. Ugh don’t look forward to getting that filled up but that’s 2 months away for now:
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Hope everyone had a great Easter and Passover.
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I have subpectoral TE's and they hold 300 or 350. I can't remember. Right now I have 275 in each. They are hard as rocks and my skin looks stretched to the max, shiny, and almost pink on the lower halves. I was planning on having him put in another 50-75 in next week and then be done but now I'm not so sure I can stretch anymore. Is this normal to be pink and shiny. At first I was afraid it was an infection starting but it hasn't changed and not warm to touch.
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nursepatient- did your plastic surgeon use allograft dermal matrix? If so, many people are sensitive to it and it can cause some pinkness on the skin, sometimes referred to as “red breast syndrome” if confirmed. Sometimes the skin is just irritated by stretching, that definitely accounts for the shiny appearance. The skin over my implants is a little shiny but definitely not as tight feeling as it felt during the TE phase I used Palmer’s Cocoa Butter on the skin over my TEs since I had used it during pregnancy and had no stretch marks. It helped to moisturize and keep the skin supple. Your total volume on the TE is really just a number, they can be filled beyond the max capacity given, but it sounds like you feel pretty maxed out now! What about two smaller fills of 25ccs each?
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