TEs. A Beginner's Primer
Comments
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My appointment with the new ps went great. She gave me a lot of information. After researching the procedures I have decided to do a diep flap for reconstruction. There are a lot of things to it that I prefer over the t.e. and implant route. I should find out monday when my surgery will be. I didn't schedule it at the time because after my appt. I wasn't sure what route I wanted to take.I'm excited and nervous about it. But anxious to get started.
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cway thats great. making decisions is hard!
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Hi Ladies,
Scheduled to have tissue expanders placed on Thursday, I'm getting nervous. I had my BMX in June. I am hoping the doctor does not have to put the aweful drains in again. Have any of you with delayed reconstuction not have to have the drains?
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Lolliipop, I had delayed reconstruction, but had an LD flap on one side. I did have drains on the side where I had my flap, but not on the side with TE only. I believe the drains can vary greatly from surgeon to surgeon. Best wishes!
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Lolliipop, agreeing with Wildtulip that the use of drains can vary greatly from surgeon to surgeon. Also, drains vary from patient to patient.
If your PS feels that you do or do not need drains, that will be the deciding factor. Some of the ladies here have not had drains, but have had seromas. Drains may be bothersome, but a seroma is much worse.
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I had surgey this morning and received two drains. The surgery was at 7:00 am, outpatient. I.m really hurting now, feels like my beastbone is broken, but I know it is not. I'm hoping I can stay on top of the pain with meds.
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Best wishes for speedy healing, Lolliipop!
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Adding some more best wishes for smooth and speedy healing, Lolliipop!
Hoping the exchange is already feeling better than the mastectomy??
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I hope you are feeling better and better, Lollipop!
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Getting ready for my swap on the 21st. I really didn't mind my TE until the last three weeks. Ever since I flew over Thanksgiving, it has bothered me. I feel sore in areas around the edges. It was funny how it inflated and felt tight with the change in cabin pressure on the plane, but when we landed, I had air pockets in it. It just hasn't felt the same since. My PS said no drain this time, so I'm thankful for that. Hoping the next step in the process goes smoothly!
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Best wishes, Kentrunner!
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Best wishes Kentrunner!
Lollipop -hope you are feeling better!
So my husband had a tooth pulled yesterday. He's very squeamish so they put him out for the 15 minute procedure. I had to laugh when the nurse was giving us "postop" instructions: he was told to sleep in a recliner for several nights, no sleeping on his side, and be sure to stay ahead of the pain....It all sounded so familiar
I'll see the PS next week for the first time since my exchange 8 weeks ago. I am anxious to hear what she has to say and what she proposes to do next. I'm happy with how I look in a bra but there may be some fat-grafting in my future to get rid of some rippling. My nipple is also pointed toward my arm. How easy is it to move a nipple? I would just as soon have it removed to match my left and then just get tattoos.
Have a great weekend everyone!0 -
Lollipop and Kentrunner, I hope you are doing well now.
Happy Holidays to all@
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Thank you Moonflwr912. I am doing pretty good. Hated spending the holidays with these darn drains sticking out of me. The tissue expanders are pretty uncomfortable, but tolerable. I hope everyone had a great holiday
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Lollipop, I feel for you. The drains are horrible. Hopefully you'll have removed soon.
Kentrunner, I hope you are healing.
Happy holidays, everyone.
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Thanks Moonflwr912 and Wildtulip! My surgery went very well. It was a 3pm surgery, and I was discharged by 6pm. Took some Tylenol at 9pm, and that was the last pain med that I needed. I have had no other pain, and my range of motion has been great. I think it helped that I was already numb from the mastectomy, so opening up the same incision didn't cause anything new. Plus, my implant is above the muscle. This time, however, I've had some reactions to my antibiotics. We confirmed that I get blurry vision when taking Cipro because that happened after my mastectomy. That's one to leave off in the future. I also started experiencing side effects from the Bactrim yesterday...at least I'm hoping that they are side effects. I got really weak, dizzy, and a bit nauseous, and then my left arm started feeling a bit numb and tingly. All sorts of scary thoughts went through my head, and I was sure the cancer was coming back. Talk about anxiety! After I saw that they were possible side effects from Bactrim and spoke with my doctor, I calmed down a bit. This was the first time since my cancer diagnosis that I didn't feel well, and it was not fun. I'm afraid every ache and pain will automatically cause me to panic. I don't want to be a hypochondriac, but I'm not sure if I can avoid it. Today is much better. Still weak, but definitely feeling better. Ready to put 2016 behind me!
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Hi ladies, it looks like my exchange will be March 20th. I spoke to the PS scheduler and she said it should not be a problem that far out to schedule. I will hear back from her in January. I am getting anxious because suddenly my radiated TE is getting very tight. Anyone have capsular contracture on a TE?
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Wildtulip, Lollipop and Kentrunner, I hope you all are doing well now.
Molly, I hope your radiated TE is feeling better now.
Everyone has been so quiet lately. I guess no news is good news?
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Mominator, You are so kind. Thank you! I had my exchange early Dec, and am now planning FG for April. I like the softness of my implants, but now striving for symmetry. How are you?
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Hi Mominator! Thanks for checking on us. Things are pretty quiet here. All seems well with my implant. I, too, like the softness and "real" feeling of the implant. My PS was extremely pleased with how things looked and said he doesn't think he will need to do nearly as much as originally thought to bring me into symmetry. I will see him again on the 31st and will talk about when to schedule the lift of the right side. I'm hoping for mid-March just before spring break for my kids and me (I work at their school). That would give me a week of vacation to heal up. Once this is all over, my husband and I are planning a Caribbean cruise with the kids to celebrate his 50th and just life in general. Something fun to look forward to!
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This week was 1 year since exchange surgery. I am doing very well.
My breasts are sisters but not twins. I look pretty good in most clothes. Left still looks like a hamburg roll, right has dimples, ripples, and adhesions. PS has offered revision surgery and fat grafting to correct all of the above. I decided that I've had enough surgery for a very long time.
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Hi Mominator, thank you for asking. My radiated TE is feeling better. I hope to hear from the PS office this week to firm up my surgery plans.
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Checking in, everyone ok?
Mominator, boy, do I understand about more surgeries!
Molly, good luck on setting the dates.
If anyone checks in and the thread is too quiet, please bump it. I try to pop in here, but Ive had the flu and it hit hard, so I didnt even check in at all.
Happy Valentines Day!
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Moonflwr, so sorry about the flu. I have a tentative exchange surgery date of March 21st. I am very excited.
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Curious what kind of bras those with Tissue Expanders are wearing? My PS indicated to try to wear sports bras, but I have mine in for over six months and I just can't manage that for work, etc. Also, were you advised to wear a bra for sleep?
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I actually bought some comfortable bras at Target. You may just need to try some on.
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I wore Coobie or Genie bras, and my right expander was in for 16 months. I had skin/nipple sparing BMX so needed to wear a bra for modesty purposes, not so much for actual support.
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I wear Coobie bras to work out and Ameona bras to work.
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I am about 16 hours out of my operation, so I have no experience with this yet. But one of the nurses in recovery has been through this and she was very enthusiastic about the genie bra.
my TE is placed so high, just an inch or so from my collarbone. Please tell me I'm not gonna have a foob in my neck!!
Also, I guess it's just my very good cocktail of postop meds, but I don't feel the weight of the TE and I don't feel my drains. Is that something that will come soon? people write about those two things often, but all I feel is generic soreness in that area.
my nursing team is amazing, I hit a level 4 on pain a few hours after surgery, but it hasn't gone over 1 or 2 sinc. This was not nearly as bad as I was expecting.
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Pamela, your PS will position your implant in the proper place. My left TE is in my armpit. My right TE is lower than the left. My PS said he will fix everything during exchange next month. As for pain, I think it varies from person to person. My first one (left) was so darn painful because of muscle spasms. My second mx and TE was virtually pain free. I left the hospital off pain meds.
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