TEs. A Beginner's Primer
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Blessings, great idea. but no money, boo hoo. anyway, i just got in 2 hours of sleep sitting up in the loveseat, lol. as soon as the drugstore opens, hubby will be there to fill my antibiotics and pain pills.
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My husband got me a "Bed Lounger" to put on our bed. I have honestly slept pretty good each night using this, though I am sure the pain pills help
I love the arms on it, for support, and protecting me from getting bumped into. I only wish I had gotten it ahead of time, because it is a little stiff at first. Now it is wonderful. How I get on the bed is kind of funny. It is pretty tall, so I step onto it with my knees (hubby is holding me, to make sure I do not fall), then I kind of position my butt where I think it should be, and sit down. Its a little hard on the knee (3 knee surgerys) but I was determined to sleep in my own bed. 0 -
twoam, that sounds pretty cool. right now I have the constant "wee wees" and the bedroom is too far from the bathroom, lol. so the loveseat is good for now.
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scary, hugs . Having to go to the bathroom too often is no fun when you are in pain and suffering from T-REX syndrome. During chemo when I had the big D, I actually gave up and Wote diapers. At least I didn't have to do 3 loads a day any more. So do whatever works for you. I hope you heal quickly. Much love
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No chemo for me, but I had the WORST time getting straightened out with the constipation from the narcotics....and despite my taking all the stool softeners faithfully, did finally have to resort to Milk of Magnesia. OMG - DIGESTIVE PYROTECHNICS!!
I had lots of clean gowns, AND disposable covers over my sheets.
Depends would have been much easier.
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blessings. Yes that's why I switched. It's such a mental thing though. Hugs to all trying to get thru any way you can..
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Scary, good to hear all went well! Great advice about deep breathing. That's something I didn't do and ended up back in the hospital a week later with a lung infection! Everyone should remember to breath deeply. Plus, good for the body AND soul. :-)
Take care,
Susan
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thanks ladies. i can't shower until tomorrow, but I am wearing generic adult diapers, just in case i don't get to the bathroom in time.
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As soon as I got up to my hospital room after my BMX, the Respiratory Therapist showed up with one of those plastic tubes I had to blow in to move a little ball up to the marked level.
They wanted me working on my lung function ASAP!
They said whenever I was awake, to work on it, and to keep working on it after I went home.
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The incentive spirometer (that's what the clear plastic device that you use is called) is an amazing thing. You put your lips on the little mouthpiece and take a nice slow deep breath in. The little plastic ball inside rises. The goal is to keep it at a certain level for a certain number of seconds. It keeps your lungs expanded. The tendency after surgery, especially when you are in pain and on drugs, is to breathe quite shallowly. That's the perfect recipe for pneumonia. Unfortunately I've developed pneumonia a number of times in the past so now in the hospital the nurses drive me crazy, handing me the incentive spirometer every time they walk into the room. It's exhausting at first but you do get used to it.
Did you know that piece of plastic is a fever reducer too? I didn't believe it until I saw it happen. The nurse would take my temp, discover it was too high, and hand me the device. After a minute of using it, she took my temp again and it was down. Already! Amazing, I thought.
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i definitely feel that the deep breathing helps. in addition to helping prevent pneumonia, it also allows more oxygen into the system, which helps with healing. this is the first day that i have been able to walk around a bit, and do some stretching, not too much, but just a bit to feel human.
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scary. That feeling human part is big! I'm glad you got there.
That incentive Spirometer is an amazing thing. Use it as much as posduble. It helps to dissipate the lingering anesthesia as well. All benefits. And it's way easier than try to breath deep and cough. AND I love the little chittering Sound it makes. LOL. Sometimes I just see how long I can keep it chittering for fun. LOL too many sx I guess..... LOL
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i used to have one of those, since i have asthma. i think i need to get a new one. but for the time being, i love the deep belly breathing. it actually feels good.
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"Incentive Spirometer".... you could use that on Jeopardy, Sandra!!! I called it that little plastic tubey thing with a ball inside.
Every time I used it, I would think about those old carnival games... I always wanted to hear the bell ring!
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Question: I just got my second fill (have gotten 60 cc both times with 100 at surgery). My PS is booked next week and I can either go in 6 days or wait til the 18th (which is a day we will be travelling 6 hours afterwards). Is 6 days too soon? My PS assistant said it would be ok. Opinions?
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My fills were 60cc a week apart but one was only 6 days without problem. If you weren't in horrible pain so far, I can't imagine a day would make a difference for you!
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most seem to be once a week or ever other week. Depends on how much and how you feel. If you feel ok then 6 days is ok. As far as the traveling just take something with you to ease the discomfort if needed. It gets a little more uncomfortable the bigger you go. You may only want 50 cc at a time, just depends on you. Mine were 50 cc once a week for about 9 weeks. I only started to feel the stretch at the end. Hope that helps.
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One of my fills (60 cc) was only 6 days from a prior fill because of scheduling and I did not notice any difference between it and other fills. The only fills that I really felt were the last two as that is when the TEs seemed to expand north, not just east and west. Hope that helps!
Ally
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Beth, you know there is absoultly no rush. You could even just skip a fill. But 6 days if you've had no pain so far would be ok. Or the day if traveling would only be a problem if you have had trouble before. If you have been hurting then you know what you will deal with. My fills only hurt for the last two. Soo good luck.
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Beth, I had a fill that was 4 days apart and it wasn't a problem at all. Also, the fill could be smaller if you felt too uncomfortable. My PS fills based on how tight my breast feels as the saline goes in, not a set amount each time. Seems to work fine.
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My doc makes me wait 2 weeks, but I feel pretty certain I could handle one per week. I have had no pain at all after fills.
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Great thanks! I also just did my first hour long PT session two hours after my fill today. Thought it would be horrible but it felt great for the most part. She told me she was working the skin and muscle over the expanders so they wouldn't adhere like they were. I think it worked...go again tomorrow!
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I remember one thing about my fills... my original girls were huge, and I had a lot of lax skin. I also had very lax pectoral muscles. My PS said that would be to my benefit as he started the fills process.
Immediately after a fill, my foob would look hard and shiny, with the skin stretched taught over the TE. But a day later, the skin was loose and lax again. I imagine the same thing was going on internally with the pectoral muscles.
Pain with fills isn't always a given.
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hello, I'm so glad to find this thread! My TE surgery is scheduled on 7/23. I'm very very anxious n scare. By reading all of the posts here, It helps me a lots to prepare before surgery. Thanks so much!!
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Blessings that is one thing I didn't have going for me. My upper body is very thin (boney even) and my originals were a very droopy A or B so not much to work with. You can see me TEs sticking out, especially the right lower corner at my sternum...it is pretty pointy and painful but I think PT will help with this.
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I didnt have pain with any fills. My final one shifted the right te a bit and it sat on a nerve. That was painful and finally resolved itself after about a week. Took lots of Motrins. But the fills were fine. 100 at surgery, 50cc fills one a week for about 6 weeks. Low and slow is the way to go. Id say more women DO NOT have te issues, or minor ones, than those that have bad problems. Think positive!
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This seems to be my whiny thread, sorry. Today in PT she said she thought the alloderm on the left was more "shelfy" than the right, which it has been from the get-go. The left kind of goes straight across at the bottom while the right dips down some and is rounded. Having said that I did everything but measure and they seem EVEN to me. My husband says they have been like that. Should I worry?
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nope. Don't bother worrying. Why would you worry if you can't see a problem. Perhaps your PS is a perfectionist snd ocd! LOL. If you can live with them there is NO problem. Your PS is thinking ahead and perhaps sees a sag in your future but it may never happen. So Let HER DO the worrying unless OR until It truly NEEDS fixing!
Much love
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bethq - the bad news is that someone pointed out something in your TEs that is now bothering you.
The good news is that these suckers are TEMPORARY!!!!
Any structural or positional or symmetrical abnormalities can be addressed in your Exchange to permanent implants. That is the chance for your PS to get in there and correct and finesse everything he has been planning for the past few months.
The things to worry about are things like redness, infection, pain, fever, rash, open sutures....
Just try to take a big deep breath and remember, that this too shall pass.
(And if you can't get past the worry stage, then please do put in a call to your PS. Believe me, they've heard all the anxious questions.....)
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