TEs. A Beginner's Primer
Comments
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Ringelle: I am very happy for you that your drains are finally out after, yowzer, 4 weeks!
However, I'm also concerned that you were still draining 80 ml from both sides. I know you had a lot of pocket work at your surgery. Still, I am worried at what's still producing all that fluid at four weeks and where is it all going to go?
I'm happy you're pleased with the size and I hope everything goes well for you. Love, Madelyn
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Mominator - I'm relieved about the drains being out but I too am on the nervous side about all that fluid and where it's going to go. Yesterday evening I soaked through 4 dressings on each side before I went to bed. It even seemed like there were a couple pin holes in my incisions that were weeping. That seems to have stopped over night. I'm watching everything very closely. At some point I realized that my PS never even looked at my drain log before he made the decision. The resident did but they never spoke before hand. That's got me irritated. They have told me that they've had good success lately at pulling drains and filling TEs to stop persistent draining. I guess right now we will just wait and see. If my incisions are sealed, I'm taking a much needed shower. (Oh yeah - found out yesterday I could have been showering all along. This PS allows them with drains. Last one didn't. I was told at discharge not to! UGH) Anyway - going back to weekly fills up to 650 ml and then I have to sit for 90 days again before exchange. Looks like I'll be looking at after the holidays.
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Just had my most recent fill, now at 750, and am living in the land of the overfilled. My TE had a fill range from 600 to 720...now at 750. At my last fill two weeks ago, PS talked of filling to 850...today he said 800. Hope he sticks with that. The TE has become "heavy" and the "hard filled" feeling is making some sleeping positions difficult again...the TE is a little off center, so while I have projection and don't wear any padding in my bra to balance with the R, some of then volume seems half under my arm/in my armpit....he says he will straighten that out at exchange...also today he said I actually had "redundant" skin, that we didn't need to continue the stretching because I already had enough to work with. Haven't heard that term used before in his office or here. I guess they saved a lot of skin from the MX and now that I am going smaller than before, I have surplus??? so the TE has been to push out the muscle, not really stretch the skin?
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TrmTab, if you are like me you have plenty of skin so yes, the stretching of the pectoral muscle is key. My PS cancelled my appointment today. I have to wait another week for the sutures to be removed. Otherwise I don't mind waiting on fills. I am so traumatized by the events of 3 weeks ago.
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I just wanted to say Thank You! to all of you who have posted your stories and experiences! I only found this board just prior to my tissue expander placement surgery, but all the information I found in your posts has been so helpful. (I wish I would have found this site when I was first diagnosed last June). My journey has been different than most in that my BS and PS surgeon wait until after radiation is complete before they put in tissue expanders. I had my bilateral mastectomy November 2, 2015 and did not have tissue expanders put in until June 30, 2016. I have had two fill so far of 100ccs each (at 500 on my way to 800) and because of your experiences, I knew what to expect at fills and that the very uneven, lopsided look that is going on is not unusual. So once again, Thank you!
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Welcome Brenaj, I have also done delayed recontruction, and had my TE's placed a few weeks before you. And I am also in the Twin Cities area!! I agree, this site has been very helpful. I hope you have success as you move forward.
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😨 Help! These tissue expanders are getting so painful! It hurts as if I'm wearing an underwire bra and it's just getting tighter and tighter, underneath the breast area. I have to sit and lay back almost to keep it from digging in more. They are sooooo hard and it feels like my muscle tenses up at times too.
At 460 now. Shooting for 550 maybe. Going for next fill in two days. I'm worried something is wrong the way they are hurting.
Motrin isn't helping with this pain anymore.
PS isn't the best at communication.
Thanks
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Bonniebleu - I'm so sorry you are in so much pain. I also feel your pain with PS not being great at communicating. You may want to see if you can get a hold of the clinic to talk to someone. You may find some relief laying off the underwire. I've not worn a bra with my TEs except for the first couple weeks after placement. I wear pretty snug camis or sports bras that latch in the front. Something comfortable. I love my camis. They give a perfect amount of support. You probably are experiencing muscle spasms. Your PS might be able to give you something like a muscle relaxer. Honestly, I never had much luck with those but many do. Warm wet cloths and warm showers might be helpful. Your PS might even suggest backing some cc's out and gradually building back up. With my first set of TEs I got to 510 and was in so much pain for 4 weeks. We backed out 60 cc and the pain was gone instantly. I'm on my 2nd set of TEs and I'm already up to 480 but not having any pain - just discomfort. I imagine my next fill will be different. I hope you find some relief - it sucks that there isn't much else to do but pray you can find some comfort.
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thank you ringelle,
So good to hear from somebody has been through this : )
I'm not wearing a bra, haven't been for about a month. It feels as though I'm wearing an underwire bra that is 12 sizes too small though 😨. The pain is so bad right underneath where my breasts used to be. So I guess it's underneath the TE's. Is this where TE's cause the most pain?
Thank you so much ladies :
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Bonniebleu, I have felt that also, or at least something similar. Just last week I told my surgeon that on the one side it felt like the edge of the TE was digging into my ribs. I think he said it could be the TE, but also said he did some work inside there to create the under fold of the breast. My pain has increased over time, and I plan to get only 25cc at my next fill and hope that makes a difference. Another thing you can try is ice packs. Not the most comfortable, but it does help.
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bonniebleu - definitely talk to your PS. I don't know how much you are getting each time, but trying doing just half of that, or going every other week until your body gets used to the new size and pressure. I have had good luck with the muscle relaxer Flexeril, but I still can't sleep flat and prefer the recliner. Definitely also do your ROM stretches (assuming your PS has allowed them) as they really helped my body get used to the TE. I do mine hourly (if I remember) starting the day after each fill, and it helps a lot
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Bonnieblue, have you tried deep breathing and opening your chest at the same time? Ask your PS to refer you to PT if you're struggling. It helped me a lot.
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This may seem like an odd analogy, but when I was unhappy in my marriage and contemplating divorce, a friend told me that I would "know" when I was ready. She was right, I reached a point where I just knew what I wanted. For those of you done with fills, do you look in the mirror one day and just know that you've reached your size? I know I'll have 1-2 more fills and my PS is okay with me saying, for example, I think we did one too many. I guess it feels like a big decision..so final.
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For me looking in the mirror at the naked me is odd, but looking down onto my chest projection and then the overall feel of volume, weight, etc....knowing the I will need a large lift/reduce I previously thought I would fill until then PS said stop...after this last fill, I feel I am done.
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thank you gals for posting your replies. 😊
I noticed today that my right side (above the tissue expander), is hard as a rock and tender when pressed. It feels like that muscle is just frozen.The left side feels nothing like that and feels okay.
I have an appointment with the PS tomorrow afternoon for a fill, but I'm getting so worried about this. Anybody have this problem?
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Bonnie - I notice that at various times during the week between my fills. It seems to come and go and now I assume it is some kind of muscle cramp..
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wild tulip - I don't think that I would "k ow" exactly. I knew how much came out during my MX and I knew I didn't want them that big again. I spent a fair amount of time feeling all the implants, plus talking with my PS about my chest wall size and heights of the implants, etc. I like my data, so I also spent time looking at the implant catalogs and measurements. The look in the mirror is not how they will finally look, so I try and remember the projection will be 1/4 to 1/3 (I have even heard 1/2, but my PS says not with the new extra high projection anatomical ones) less, and try to use my imagination.
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Wondering if any of you can help me understand if I should be concerned about some new expander pain.
I had my BMX with expander placement just over a month ago. The PS did not fill the expanders during surgery, I had my first fill (80cc) 3 weeks post op, and my second fill (120cc) a week after that (5 days ago). No discomfort with either fill.
I've have had a very smooth, easy recovery so far. The expanders annoyed me, but I wouldn't call it pain. I felt the edges, etc.
In the past few days, I've had more and more pain in my left side. It feels almost like I pulled a chest muscle. It is worse when I engage that muscle in any way.
I'm not seeing my PS this week because we are leaving for a family beach vacation this evening. I will call his nurse tomorrow for sure, but in the meanwhile, was wondering if this sounds typical.
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Mom2allboys - I'm sorry you are experiencing pain. Expanders seem to be the oddest things to me. I had my first fill (with these expanders) last Monday. I had no issues with the fill until a couple days ago. I have a muscle pain on my left side right by the corner of my arm pit. With my first set of expanders, I usually noticed tightness across the tops of my expanders for the first couple of days after my fills but no real pain until I got to the last fill. The last fill was horrible and I had pain that felt a lot like what you are describing. My PS was not concerned about it but ended up backing out some of the saline because I couldn't handle it. Hopefully it will all subside in a couple of days. I think you are right to call the clinic tomorrow just to be safe.
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Hello everyone. This may be off topic But I haven't been able to find my answer anywhere else. I had a BMX in April this year. Lymph nodes were removed from both sides. My dilemma is this. My medical dr takes my BP reading in the thigh and calf and it reads really higher than my usual arm reading. Has anyone else found this to be true. And where do you all get blood draws done when needed or IV pokes I need to be my own advocate and would like all the info I can get before exchange surgery and for my general care.
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Seedsally, I don't know the answer to your question, but I think there is a topic for Lymphedema and perhaps you can get more info there. Wishing you the best!!
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Thanks wildtulip I will check it out. I don't have much swelling on the cancer side so far and I sure don't want to get it. My arm and underarm aches and the arm feels heavy when I use it a lot though. Anyway thanks again for your answer
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mom2allboys: it sounds like perhaps your TE had shifted and it irritating or pulling your muscle.
Seedsally: although some folks may chime in, agreeing with Wildtulip that you may find more answers on the Lymphedema board.
Best wishes to you both.
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Seedsally - If you have good veins in your arm, they can draw blood without using a tourniquet. This may decrease some of the risk.0
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Thanks Mominator for your reply
Grandma3x I don't have good veins. Bummer!
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Bonniebleu I'm sorry you're experiencing pain....I had the same thing going on, my BS actually referred me to a PT who focuses on lymphodema my therapy sessions actually consisted of massages around the TEs and oh my god it was wonderful! She also gave me a set of stretching exercises to do at home which were also helpful. I also used coconut oil and massaged lightly the muscles at the bottom and top of my TEs which gave me some relief. I been sporting my turtle shells since April we have a love hate relationship lol! I will say this once you are finished with your fills the muscles do relax a bit. Hang in there!
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My sutures were removed today and I got a 60 ml fill. My TE looks good and the fill wasn't painful. We're going slow because I am still sore from the second surgery.
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That's great, Molly. Best wishes!
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Ringellle, congratulations on drain removal! Mine are scheduled to come out this Friday. I had an appointment last week, my post op with Dr's and plastic surgery. The Dr's and nurses were great, but the plastic surgery nurse was awful. She wheeled in a cart with a bunch of supplies, leaned my table/chair baxk, and started unwrapping stuff on her cart. I asked what she was doing, she said she was doing a fill. She proceed to mark my breast which was very uncomfortable.
I wasn't told before this that I would be getting a fill. I was and have been in excruciating pain, and I told her so...and I was told fills are usually done after the drains come out. I told her no. I wouldn't let her do a fill that day. This week I probably will after the drains come out. I hope I don't have to see this woman again. Her bedside manner was awful. I was so upset by the whole interaction.
So honestly the constant pain is unbearable and I feel I'm on too much pain med, but if I don't take anything I can't function at all. I hope so much that it gets better after this visit on Friday!
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Welcome Brenaj! Wishing you success and smooth sailing in your reconstruction. I'm sorry I missed you earlier.
Bonniebleu: I hope your pain is under control by now. Agreeing that smaller fills and/or spaced further apart may be helpful.
Wildtulip: I was filled to 420 ml when TEs were placed. I was happy with that volume right away. Most PS's do one more fill to make sure the pocket was big enough, and have a wait time between final fill and exchange. So although it seems like a big decision, there's some wiggle room there.
Mom2allboys: I hope you're feeling better now.
Molly50: I'm happy to hear that your sutures were removed and that you're filled with not painful. Best wishes for a much smoother recovery from now on.
Blueorange: I was so sorry to hear that you are dealing with Nurse Ratchet. I'm glad you refused the fill. I hope your dreams come out today, and that you have with less pain. I hope you have a fill only if you were ready for it.
Best wishes to all.
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