TEs. A Beginner's Primer
Comments
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Ringelle, my skin was awful after my mx with TE. I used calendula cream twice per day and it really softened up. I am doing the same now because radiation left my skin dry and shriveled up.
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Hi all, I had a BMX with TEs on 3/1. I'm recovering well but the TEs are causing me some discomfort. Ok, my left one is preventing me from sleeping well due to pain under my left arm. BethL - your post reminded me of me. I feel good when I'm up (well, considering I'm 2 weeks from surgery, it's not like before), but laying down gives me grief. In the beginning the shift from flat to upright required me to sit for a while to allow everything to shift and the pain/throbbing to subside. I can now situp without that big shift, but as I mentioned, laying down can bring on some major discomfort.
I haven't had a fill yet, but I'm very curious to see what change that gives me in feeling either for worse or better.
I still think I'm sore, but not horrible. I almost wonder if it's more all the cut nerves spasming or complaining.
We decided to wait for 3 weeks form surgery to being my fills to allow for more healing since my TEs are above the muscle. PS wanted healing to be well done before adding any strain.
My TEs are basically empty except for a little air. I am very lump from these uninflated bags stuffed in my chest.
Anyone experience improvement in TE feeling after getting fills?
Thanks!
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Hi, Jessie. I had a skin-sparing BMX with tissue expanders on 2/25 and mine are also above the muscle. I woke up with 200cc in them already and have had 3 fills so far so I guess that means I have 350 in each now. I'm going for another fill today. I have also noticed the pain with going from laying to sitting and have some trouble sleeping. I have noticed it's been getting easier to sleep and the pain from laying to sitting kind of comes and goes. I have a constant soreness not at all unlike the soreness I used to get right before my periods, and after the tissue expander fills it gets worse but not unbearable by any means. I did take one pain pill before bed the night after my last fill. I've been hanging onto the pain pills and only using them when necessary - trying to stretch them out to last as long as possible.
The pain I get when I'm trying to sleep is right between my breasts and I can feel these hard kind of pointy things poking up and I think they rub together when I try to lay on my side. I don't know if it's alloderm or part of the expanders or what.
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thank you StaceySue2U! Your situation does sound very much like mine. I appreciate you sharing as I was just walking around my kitchen thinking that calling my PS's office will not help. The very nice nurse I speak to is just that - nice, but she doesn't typically have information that settles my concerns. I was wishing to have others like me to share what I'm feeling and get some feedback. Yeah, I looked and there was your reply!
My after surgery meeting with my PS was the most helpful and I'd love to have her input at my disposal as I need it! So, it was nice to hear from you.
I had just been thinking the same thing as you. I have leftover pain meds and was thinking they may be hand at fill time. I will hold on to them just in case. your mysterious pain is in a deferent spot but still same idea - bothers more with trying to sleep or simply lay down.
You are a few steps ahead of me. Hope things continue to go well!
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Today is surgery day for new_me/Diane. Looking forward to seeing you on the squishy side, Diane. We had mastectomies together on the November 2015 surgery board.
Ringelle, I still don't like to be cold because I had that shivery feeling with my new breasts.
BethL: I suspect your oophorectomy will be easy compared to the mastectomy. I had my BSO at the same time as my BMX and TE placement. I had 4 small incisions, and no pain. Gyn Onc saw me in the hospital the day after, and again at two weeks when he discharged me.
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Jessie, I had to put a small pillow under the TE in order to sleep on my side. Otherwise everything shifted and it hurt.
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Jessie, I had 100cc put in my expanders today AND got refill on my pain meds! They look awesome - all the wrinkles are gone. I'm up to 450 now and I can go as high as 600. They're filling them more aggressively now because I had a seroma that they don't want to return. Friday I'm going for another 50-100. I don't feel too bad at all. They look like hard round balls on my chest. They don't go under my arms at all like a lot of people complain about - I think that's one benefit of not having them under the muscle?
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Molly50, I'm really going to have to experiment more with the pillows. My left TE woke me up at about 3:30am and I had to add another pillow to put myself more upright. That relieves the pain, but I just couldn't relax, I think, because I basically don't move all night. I would love a massage.
StaceySue2U, wow, they are filing you fast! (Which is a funny comment from me since I know so little anyway, but seems like it!). When did your seroma appear? Did it happen right after drains removed or take awhile? I do see others mentioning them so it must not be terribly uncommon. I hope your fills do indeed take care of that.
My TEs seem to actually go a little under my arm which might explain the pain I'm getting. My PS initially said she was going to use crescent shaped TEs, but during surgery she found she was able to place the more common round one. My DH and I were discussing that maybe she was hoping to stretch some of that healthier skin from the sides towards the front. I guess I'll have to ask when I go next week. Do you have any pain left from surgery/incisions?I think I do or else it's the nerves/phantom pains. I could have started my fills this week but chose to wait until next because my right nipple had blood flow issues. It seems to have survived but I'm hoping this extra healing time will really allow blood vessels to strengthen in that area. But, I was going to say, for how much I'm "feeling", it does make me a little leery on how adding fills might feel on top of that.
Did your PS say when you might be able to do your implant surgery? If you are filling faster I'm assuming you'll be at your final size sooner? My PS said she likes to wait 6 months. Summer time of 2 round balls might be interesting if I try to wear a swimsuit! Plus one of my TEs is lower than the other. Now that I've been braver in looking at myself I can see it pretty easily. Oh joy!
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Jessie, yes it IS fast!! I am beyond excited about it. My seroma appeared the day after they pulled my drains and when they drained it yesterday they got 90 cc out of it! It's back a little this morning. Much smaller than before but I can see it. Obviously if there's room for a seroma the skin's not stretched too tight yet from the expanders which means YAY - Friday I get more woohooooooo! It is so nice to have boobs again. With clothes on, they don't look like much yet.
Every once in a while I get a mild shooting pain that seems to come from the incision area but mostly the skin is numb. Every once in a while it feels like my nipple is itching but I don't have nipples. Congrats on keeping yours! There is a small place on one of my incisions where, when I wash it, it feels like I'm touching my nipple. Maybe I'll get lucky and it can become part of my future fipple
I am MUCH more comfortable today than I was before my last fill. I think it's because things are tighter in there. I think that before the last fill, when I went from laying to sitting, the fluid inside the expanders moved the expanders a little and that's what was causing the pain.
My PS situation is a little complicated. The day I was supposed to have my first and last appointment with him before surgery, something happened to him. IDK what happened. A heart attack maybe? An injury? Anyway - I didn't get to meet him before surgery. He did show up and do my surgery and I didn't meet him again until yesterday, when he happened to be at the office for a short time while I was there for a fill. I think it's going to be another month before he'll be at work full time again so I imagine that's how long I'll have to wait for implants. IDK how soon he could have done it otherwise. I'll be at my final size either Friday or next week already!
Maybe when your expanders start getting full they'll look more even. It's funny how things change shape. I have one incision that is nice and horizontal and the other incision majorly slanted. As I'm getting filled, the slanted one is looking a little more horizontal.
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LOL about your fipple! Do you recall the "let down" sensation from breastfeeding? That rush of prolactin, I think, that made you feel calm? I was getting those rushes constantly for the first week or so. I still have some of that sensation but it's calming down. I was almost hoping it would stay - kind of like being mildly sedated in little bursts throughout the day.
You've given me something to think about - will the little fluid I get slosh around in there? How will it change my pain (oh please for the better!). I haven't really seen my incisions yet. After surgery they covered me with this plastic wrap that I still have on. The PS said it's to help prevent infection and for some compression to prevent swelling/minimize swelling. I can not wait to peel that off at my first fill! I have looked at myself finally. It took all this time with just some accidental glances until now. At this point I don't even think it's that scary. I'm both flat and lumpy from those under inflated bags. Definitely a boy in clothes, but I'm so excited that you think you are getting close to having boobs in clothes!
Do they have you wearing a bra of some kind? I did buy one that closes in the front from the mastectomy store but the band seems to sit on the incision area. I tried walking around free today and that didn't feel so great so I need something, but wondering if once the fills start I need something else. I bought a jockey brand zip front sports bra yesterday. The band is better but now I'm thinking I'll need a bigger cup size with fills coming.
Sounds like maybe your seroma is calming down. That's great. I had the scariest grossest dream the other night. I had the drain in my leg and it was overflowing liquid. I thought I was losing enough blood to possibly die. How crazy! I've had my drains out for a week already. I think I carried a bit of worry that I would collect fluid after the drains came out. Maybe that's why.
Oh wow about your PS! Did you meet him at least before you went in to surgery? How crazy is that? Well, it sounds like things are going really well for you despite whatever is going on with him. I'll be curious to hear how quickly you get to do implants! How lucky! I'll keep you posted after my first fill to see how things start for me.
Have a great day!
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I was a wimp and only breast fed for a week. I'd had a c-section and my son was 9.5 lbs and would kick my incision so hard every time I tried to feed him, and sucked so hard he gave me blisters. I gave up on breast feeding and regretted it later. Aftery surgery I did get the rushes of calmness you're talking about, though. I think it was rushes of relief that the cancer was finally out of me!
I woke up with 200cc in and I think it did slosh a little when I sat up. Nothing major - I couldn't hear it or anything. I was so excited to see my incisions finally. They're incisions, alright
I'm so glad the wrinkles of extra skin are gone. That was my biggest fear about the mastectomy - waking up with all that extra skin hanging there. Where are your incisions since they did nipple sparing? Mine are horizontal, right across the middle.They've had me keep compression on at all times so right now I'm wearing one of those racerback spandex cycling shirts with the built in bra. That's the best thing I've found to wear so far. They sent me home with those stretchy compression garments and I wear those at night. The doctor told me yesterday it would be OK to get one of the stretchy sports bras and that it didn't need to be one of the heavy duty ones. So - shopping time
I want to walk around free. It's so nice not having anything jiggle or sag, it would be like being a kid again to actually go without a bra!Crazy dream. I haven't had any weird dreams about the surgery but a few weeks before I found my lump I dreamed several times that I had cancer. That's why I started really doing detailed self exams. The oncologist said he never would have felt that lump and it was a very good catch. It's nice you got your drains out already - should make the fills a lot smoother and prettier.
I did meet the PS in preop but I was already a little sedated by then and didn't remember him at all so it was like I met him for the first time yesterday.
You have a great day too I can't wait to hear how your fills go! My family must think I'm a pervert because I keep sending my sisters naked boob pics. I just want to show them to everybody. They're so perky!
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Hi StaceySue2U,
Don't feel badly about the whole breastfeeding thing - it was hard! Plus, I always remind myself it's such a short part of their life. They will go on to do so many more things that either be really bad for their health or good and hopefully it just all balances out in the end
I remember my son biting me and I still wonder how I didn't accidentally throw him across the room! That ended breastfeeding for us pretty quickly!Yes, I did nipple sparing. My incisions are under my breasts, straight across. I think they'll be pretty well hidden by the end of this whole process. I have seen images of the incisions across the middle so I know what yours might be like.
Seriously, it is so satisfying to let it all go (braless!). I still can't quite feel comfortable walking without but I think it's getting close. Right now I'm like a guy after thanksgiving dinner - I sit in a chair, reach down my shirt and either unzip or unhook and let out a big sigh!
I have to kind of laugh about this. It sounds like you were fortunate enough to have some real boobs before all this. I pretty much had none. I'm just looking forward to getting some at the end of all this. I've spent my life in padded bras. When I found out about the breast issues I was having I was so irritated. If it not's not bad enough I got dealt the no boobs card, now I'm being told they are cancer targets? Seriously, not fair. I was always sort of humiliated (I know, my own issues!) going in for breast exams. One time they needed 2 people to do my mammogram because they needed to get me pushed in so close (my ALH was basically on my chest wall) to the machine and the one lady just couldn't do it. It was so painful I'd think, "What if I pass out? Will my boob rip off as I fall to the ground?" Anyway, that's part of the reason (aside from my troublesome nipple) that the PS only put in a tiny bit of air in the TEs during surgery. I don't really have extra skin. Even if the TEs weren't in there I don't think they would have had to do much different to make me flat. I actually did consider not doing reconstruction and using prosthetics for a short period. I figured it wouldn't be much different then my life with padded bras! But in either of our case, I wonder if we can go without bras after implants? Wouldn't that be nice. Totally like a teenager those lucky things!
Funny how I do feel much more free with my chest now. I wouldn't be surprised if I share mine with people as they grow! Great selfies! hope your sister likes them
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Oh JessieJake, you made me smile. I never had boobs, not even when I was 9 months pregnant. I was in Sears entertaining the bra ladies looking for a 34A nursing bra!! And I think hoping for an A cup to fit was a bit of a stretch (or not stretched in this case). I nearly starved my poor eldest daughter to death during her first two weeks - my husband tells everyone she was spitting up sawdust. I was crying, she was crying...he went out and bought formula! From then on, happy baby, happy wife! I gained 27lbs total for that pregnancy and lost over 35 lbs by the time she was 1 week old. Oh, and she turned out fine, well rounded and is a Data Scientist in San Fran. My second daughter went straight to formula. So now I'm hoping for the boobs I always yearned for and looking forward to throwing the padded bras out!!
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My stepson was born with teeth! My husband said he was afraid his ex was going to hike the baby like a football
I wish they could have just done the incisions under my breasts and then cut out around my nipples and pulled them together like a purse string. Heck - they could do that and get the fipples formed immediately and we'd be one step closer to looking normal! I hate having incisions right across the fronts, and one of the incisions is crooked! I think it will get straightened up when I do DIEP, though.
I actually like the look of implants better than DIEP and, as crazy as it sounds, I enjoy the firmness of the tissue expanders. I've always been one of those nuts who loved implants and wished I had them. I have this saggy baby belly, though, that will not go away whatever I do. I got down to 124 lbs and it was still hanging there. So I decided to go with DIEP for the tummy tuck and sacrifice the beautiful full firm round implants I'd really like. Today I'm wearing a tight spandex sleeveless shirt under a t-shirt and it's working fine. Doesn't smoosh these babies down at all and it's almost like going braless.
I've had to wear a bra since I was 11. I remember my boobs were growing and they were so sore and I just wanted to take my bra off and be free. They were imprisoned for 35 years!! That's hilarious about worrying you'd pass out and your boob would come off. Maybe you would have just been hanging there by your boob LOL!
I had my first funny BC/reconstruction related dream last night after telling you I'd not had any. I think the reason I had it is because of the soreness and tightness and how my foobs are "growing" and get to be even bigger tomorrow. I dreamed my foobs were all done and boy were they gorgeous. I'd had my fipple tattoos and everything. I was real skinny again and they were like D cups. Plus I was college age and living in a dorm, on the bottom floor. I was sitting on my bed in front of the mirror lifting up my tank top, practicing how I would show them to my boyfriend, when I heard somebody laughing. I looked out my window and the whole college basketball team was running by. One of the players had looked in the window and he was cracking up and telling his friends all about it, running around lifting his shirt up and making fun of me. I woke up laughing from that one!
This whole ordeal has motivated me to get in shape again and I've been walking 4 miles per day. I have to really hold in my belly to keep it from sticking out further than my chest. I guess that's my "core strengthening exercise."
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LOL! I would love to have some expert analyze that dream of yours! You had the whole team checking you out? OMG, that is awesome. Where does our mind get these ideas from? I get dreaming they are done and looking great but then to go back to college (forget the whole family!) and be living the single life again. Who was the boyfriend
Wow, you've been really active! 124 is pretty svelte! But it does seem problem spots just don't like to respond to good old fashioned exercise. If your going to make the effort the least our bodies can do is reward us with something that looks better in clothes! I just woke up from a nap. Out like a light bulb! I'm lazy but I don't know that I care so much (at least right now, our weather is pretty crappy here) I've got to start walking again. I've done little ones and I can't believe that in 2 weeks my muscle has just withered. It's going to take some time and effort to get it back. Plus my posture went to hell, too. With the drains in I just hunched over all the time. I've trying to do some core stuff, too!
Well, I think it's fair to get the bonus tummy tuck for all you've had to go through. Maybe you can request them to make them look like implants! Did you say when do that?
Wow, I can only relate to the boob growth when I was pg. I can't even remember anymore, but I do wonder if they were a little big bigger before I breastfed. Too long ago... I do remember them aching, but like CatsRus said it still wasn't much! Funny CatsRus that you were still looking for that A cup during breastfeeding time! I was telling my PS that I'd just like to fill out a bra I own which are all 32A or 34A. She finally asked if I'd ever been measured. No, I just buy the smallest. She said I'd probably be surprised to find out I was 28C! Again, I got dealt a really odd card for my entire torso apparently.
CatsRus, your story was so familiar! At 2 weeks with my first, I was crying to a lactation expert on the phone about how I couldn't feed my daughter. We'd been feeding her with a dropper because of all the problems I was having and she wasn't gaining weight. It was a Saturday night and this lactation expert was on her way out for the evening. Just what she wanted was to deal with a distraught new mom! In my case, she told me a way to hold her under my arm (a method she said for those who are really big or (surprise!) really small!) and I hung up, sat down to try it and she latched on instantly. It was like a miracle! I recall our pediatrician (whom I was seeing daily at this point as I thought I was also starving my baby) thought the scale was wrong when I brought her in and she was now gaining like 9 oz in a day! But I do blame my kids for sucking out any fat that I might have in there. Yes, your comment about about how your eldest turned out is what I would think in my head whenever I fretted about quitting breastfeeding. She ended up on formula at 6 months cuz I simply couldn't produce enough milk despite my early success (I had serious milk envy when I would see how much other women could pump!) and then we found out she was allergic to cow's milk - another story
That's great, though! Good job in a great city! All we can do is laugh at all this, right?
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My PS tells me that I had 'sufficient' breast tissue (??) but I also have very wide breasts so the tissue is spread out. My DH's comment...'see I told you, fried egg in a big pan' ... good thing I love him 😉 And yes, you have to laugh...loud and often
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LOL (which I like to actually spell out to emphasize that I truly did LOL, but my teen daughter makes fun of me for that)
That image will remain with me, I think.....
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Oh, the whole team wasn't checking me out - only the one guy saw me and he was laughing at me LOL.
Believe me, I'm not 124 lbs anymore. I wish! I wonder if it's even possible for me to get that small again.....and if I got that small and had DIEP would my flaps just hang there like an apron LOL.
I got diagnosed with breast cancer about 6 weeks after fracturing my pelvis and sacrum in 5 places while we were living in rural MI. We had decided to move to KS (where I'm originally from) and put our house up for sale. I'd resigned from my job and was supposed to be finished with work in 10 days when I was thrown from a horse. I'd actually found the lump 3 days before I fractured my pelvis, and then my friend invited me to ride horses with her. I had my first round of biopsies done within days of the fractured pelvis (that was fun), and then got false negative results. The radiologist told me she was pretty sure it was a false negative and I needed more testing. Instead of staying in rural MI I drove all the way to KS (800+ miles) about 2 weeks after the fractures so that I could get better health care at KU Med Center. I'd just finished physical therapy for the fractures and was able to walk about 1 mile per day when I got my BC diagnosis. I had to keep walking, I really didn't have a choice. I'm glad I did, though. The pelvis is 100% healed and I probably would have not had the motivation to walk if I hadn't broken it before the BC diagnosis.
Life definitely deals us some doozies!!
My BFF since 2nd grade is 6 foot tall and barely an A cup. I'm 5'4" and was a DD before the mastectomy. She was jealous of my cup size when we were younger but I was jealous of her perkiness as we got older!
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I just met with my specialist and was relived to hear the BIG lump in the side of my breast is a cyst. The cancer is in area difficult to feel and it appears to be DCIS. Lymph nodes will be tested during surgery in about 4 weeks. I am scheduled for genetic testing next Thursday. I have very large implants which leaves very little breast tissue so the specialist recommended a mastectomy for my left breast. I am ok with the plan oftreatment. I'm electing to have the right implant removed because I would be noticeably lopsided! I'll be off work for about 8 weeks as I recover which takes me to the end of the school year so I'll have time this summer for myself. I meet with the plastic surgeon to discuss options for reconstruction which will most likely be a "ballon" to stretch under the muscle and then implants (small! A or B cup) . I was wondering what the surgery will be like and the recovery?
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Heathet, Congrats that the big lump is not cancer
Sounds like the big lump led you to find the cancer which otherwise you would not have been able to feel, so thank goodness for the cyst. I imagine the "balloon" your PS was talking about is a tissue expander. I'm recovering from bilateral mastetomy with tissue expanders and my surgery was 2/25 so I guess I'm about 3 weeks out. It hasn't been unbearable. I still have one drain in - started off with four. I had zero pain with the drain removals. I haven't had post-op any pain that couldn't be controlled with medications. I stayed on top of the senna so I didn't get constipated on the pain meds. The tissue expanders aren't gorgeous. Mine are over the muscle so I don't get much pain at all with fills but I've heard the under-the-muscle ones can be uncomfortable, especially after fills.Just out of curiousity - are your implants over the muscle?
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what a story StaceySue2U! Horses, they can really be dangerous can't they? OWW! Your sacrum and your pelvis?? Oh my, I would imagine sitting was pretty difficult for a long time. Do you feel so lucky that the first radiologist was skilled enough to recognize the false negative? Sometimes I wonder how we end up in the fortunate places we do when disaster seems to have been so close. Well, that probably sounded very off considering fractures and finding a lump are not fortunate, but if they would have dismissed those first results.....Don't want to think about that.
I read a little article on the main page of this site about if women had better images of themselves after mastectomies and reconstruction. It said yes, by a small margin. So, let's enjoy what's coming!!
Happy weekend!
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StaceySue2U - my implants were put over the muscle. After your surgery did you need radiation or any other medication such as tamoxifen?
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Yes they can be, Jessie - and I still have my horse. She's being boarded in MI and I'll be bringing her here in the Spring. It was my friend's horse that threw me. My horse is younger and hotter than my friend's horse so I asked my oncologist for a dexascan. If I have any signs of osteoporosis, I'm going to have to sell my horse because I won't feel safe riding her. I do feel very fortunate that things happened the way they did. I tend to blow off my own health very badly and might not have even had the lump checked out if I hadn't been thrown from the horse and therefore been unable to work anyway. The first radiologist said, in her Egyptian accent, "I am an old grey-haired woman. You must imagine how many of these images I have seen. This is breast cancer, I am certain."
By an odd coincidence, I met a plastic surgeon who does the DIEP procedure today when I went to have my fill and get my seroma drained. He's very experienced and had gone to school here then moved home to Alabama to practice and then recently decided to come back here and is going into partnership with the PS who did my tissue expanders. It just so happens he hasn't been in KC long enough to have filled his schedule all up yet and may be able to get me in for my DIEP very soon! Like - maybe as soon as 3 weeks! He still has several surgeries he has to do in Alabama so he's going back there for a couple weeks. That's exciting considering I thought I'd be waiting 6 months or more. I talked to the nurse about him and she said she remembers working with him way back when he was chief resident here and that he is very good! I couldn't believe it when he looked at my abdomen and told me I don't have enough fat to go very big. I thought I had a LOT of fat! He said I will end up with a very flat stomach and pretty small breasts but at least they will project further than my abdomen, which is really all I'm asking for. My mastectomy made me look 20-30 lbs thinner. Big breasts on a short woman don't look the greatest..
Have an AWESOME weekend!
Heathet, did they look pretty and smooth over the muscle? I did not need any chemotherapy or radiation and I'll be taking letrozole, which is similar to tamoxifen. I'd already had a hysterectomy/oopherectomy at age 37 so went through surgical menopause so hopefully I've already experienced most of the negative side effects. I'm not looking forward to the sexual side effects. Early menopause was bad enough. But - I'm extremely grateful the cancer turned to be out as small as it was (after surgery they figured out it's actually only 1.9cm and stage I, not stage II like we originally thought) and 100% estrogen positive.
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Hi ladies! all the talk of breastfeeding brings back memories. I breastfed all four of my now grown children for an average of two years. I am a large woman and everyone always thought that my boobs were at least double Ds. Ha. I was a large B or small C. LOL. I actually fill my C cups very well now. My fill was 850 in 750 forms because my chest wasn't wide enough for the 800 or 900 he wanted to place. LOL.
I'm going to try to answer questions here- my disclaimer: I'm not a doctor nor do i play one on TV. LOL! So if you are having real problems that don't go away, please call your doctor.
I'm not sure who asked what because it on the page before this one and I don't want to lose this post. So here we go:
Pain zips and zaps along the incision line or deep under it is weird but normal. Once I had a zipper of pain that went all the way from my incision in front wrapping around to my back. Like a fire line. But it was gone almost as fast as it came on. Every nerve flashed in a chorus line. Just strange. More usual is zapping that is very quick and gone in one small place.
Hethet, welcome. But sorry you have to go through this..
Regarding the weird shapes of the TEs: yes. Yes they are weird shapes. And weird in position. Under armpits, up high, lower down, one up, one down, no space between or 5 fingers between. All are perfectly normal during the reconstruction process. Most will be addressed during the exchange but a few will need tweaks after. Right now the TE is meant for stretching skin and muscle. It doesn't have to be perfectly placed to do the job. TES are meant to push everything forward. The regular implants are much softer and settle into the spaces of your chest and thus do not project as much as natural breasts this is true even of anatomical, not just saline or silicone forms. The "squishies" are more comfortable.
Sleeping on your sides: This is hard for a lot of us! After you recover from the mastectomy, you are stuck with these TEs. Unfilled, they can fold and be uncomfortable. Filled, they seem huge. I actually walked into doorways with mine. LOL pillows seem to help most people. Small log ones and u shape seem to be the most versatile. Everybody has to experiment to find their own way. Some make a ramp of pillows and sleep mostly on their back at first. Later on they lean on one side a bit, then flatten out gradually.
General tips: go slow with fills. Unless needed to compress seromas or severe drainage. My PS filled me with 150 once because i was still draining over 100 a day 4 weeks after TE placement. It didn't help, (and I was on bed rest except for bathroom visits) and he had to go back in. He found a lymph vessel with a hole that was leaking into me. He took 2 stitches and the next day my drains were below 10. Life can be very weird! LOL
But normally, fills of 25, 50, and 75 are the most common. You may have no trouble with any fill or you may be uncomfortable. Or you could be in pain. My fills were 100 except for my last 2. One was 75 and I was in pain and had to cancel the next one. Remember it's your body. If it hurts get a smaller fill next time. Ask your PS fir a muscle relaxer if you think it will help. Take a pain pill f needed. You are in charge!
Ok. That's enough for now. If I haven't answered your question please repeat it. I love the women on these boards. Everybody helps each other and it's a wonderful feeling when we're going through crappy stuff.
Much love to all.
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StaceySue2U - they did look pretty and smooth over the muscle. I'm still waiting to find out if I'm estrogen positive - the tests were done 3 weeks ago and we're still waiting for results. I think the medical records department knows me by voice over the phone now! But my old German college professor always said the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I'm working at being proactive without being annoying!
Thanks everyone for all the good information about TE's. I wasn't sure what to expect and this has helped me generate s list of questions when I meet with my PS.
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Hetet, just so you won't be blindsided, if you are having a mastectomy, know that the pathology of the tumor is sometimes different from the biopsy. So don't panic or worry but know that the surgical pathology report is what will determine your treatment. Feel free to ask more questions if anything is not clear. My dx changed from DCS to IDC after sx so I try to warn people so they won't be blindsided like I was. And if the pathology stays the same, then you can celebrate. If it's different, you know your team will do their best to help.
Much love.
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thank you Moonflwr912 - my BS did tell me we won't know the final pathology until the day of surgery. I'm focusing my mantra on " I am healthy and I am strong." My goal before surgery is getting to a place of peace with mediation and health with exercise and diet. Keep sending lots of good thoughts my way and I'll do the same
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StaceySue2U, that's so cool you talked with that PS and got so much info. You are going to be sculpted out nicely! But smaller boobs, huh? Maybe you should start eating to create a little more?? LOL but the delight of a flat stomach!!! Oh yeah, and with that even small boobs will still stick out more. It might be just the right balance you hot 20 something! (LOL, I just read your sentence where you said exactly the same thing! I skimmed too quickly!)
Oh gosh, 3 weeks! Sometimes when you are waiting so desperately for something and then it pops up suddenly it kind of makes makes you way, "Whoa!" (No horse pun intended!) Like, did I really mean to do this? Going from surgery to surgery but also just to be done. Wouldn't that be nice?
Hopefully no osteoporosis! I agree, it would be a big risk with a young one (especially those young geldings - young and dumb - sometimes! especially with spring coming up). I know there are those old reliable "good as gold" ones but they are the rare find. I did horses for a while until I realized starting as an adult didn't allow me to build up the horse sense that others seem to get when they started young. I trusted until something happened and then I was always nervous and that was just a ticket for me to eventually give it up. I still like watching and hearing my friend share her stories, though. I still remember Razzmataz, an old Arab I owned. I would let my 4 year old niece ride him with me just walking nearby, not holding on and he would simply amble along, stop when I stopped. I used to be the one who would ride along the hot ones as a babysitter or to teach them to walk by the big scary round bale. Those were fun days. Then I bought a young one! Wasn't quite ready for that. I hope it works out for you, though, and you can keep him. What type of horse?
Moonflwr912, I'm in the zapper phase. I had one today that went from under my left arm to my nipple. It did it like 6 times with each time being a little less until it stopped. Not enjoyable, but certainly makes you stop in your tracks for the second it lasts!
"I actually walked into doorways with mine." Good humor!!!
Thank you for your detailed post. I found all your info helpful and certainly matching what I'm experiencing. My DH laughed when I said I'd try laying on my side and all I think I did was shift weight slightly more but didn't really turn my body!
First fill on Tuesday! Anxious = slightly excited, slightly nervous.
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Jessie
! Everybody just remember, one thing; Reconstruction is a Process not a one time thing. Sometimes it takes longer than we want, but we do complete it eventually. Sometimes taking your time or delayed reconstruction is the best answer. Just try to go with it and remember that it's not how fast it happens, but how much you like it afterwards.
Much love!
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hi everyone!! Loved reading all the breastfeeding stories. Stacie- I've seen newborns with teeth, I work in a newborn nursery. After 20 years I've only seen a couple but it made my own breasts hurt just thinking about it!
I've been getting 100cc fills every 4 weeks. I know this seems like a lot, but it's been ok. I'm very tight but feel fine. what freaked me out was when the nurse asked if the stitch was bothering me. I asked what she was talking about. She said there is an internal suture that has poked through my incision. When I looked I could see a little brown thing, didn't see it before. She told me not to pick at it, no worries! Anyone have this
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