Exchange City

KatRNagain92 - Yippie Squishi!! What a great feeling it must be!!! Exactly 2 weeks from now I will be there!! I just can't wait for these expanders to be gone!!!!

CS - Thank you for the massage info. I see a PT now for range of motion but he does not specialize in MX/TE so I'll talk to my PS about it. Though my PT is really cute! LOL

Kat, Congratulations!! Glad you're happy with the new foobs!

First an apology.  When I mentioned benedryl, it was because it had been recommended to my for sleep by my breast surgeon.  I wasn't on Tamoxifen then (or now), so I didn't know about any interaction.  My advice to anyone reading these boards is to take what we all say and then ALWAYS check with your medical providers before doing anything (medication, supplements, exercise, etc.).

Kat - glad you are happy and all has turned out well.

Had some bleeding from one incision on Sunday night.  Called the dr's ofc Monday - it had subsided, but PS moved my Thurs appt to today.  I saw him this morning and he said everything is just fine (he did a fabulous job).  The reason that I was ordered "no bra" after the surgery was because he wanted the breast to fall naturally as he had to do some pocket work because the left TE had moved.  He originally thought he might have to do liposuction, but re-working the pocket and letting the implant "fall naturally" was the right thing for me.  But after this appointment, definitely wants me in a bra and said "an underwire if you can tolerate it".  Soooo the lesson here is we will all be treated differently and all take different paths, but hopefully all get great results.

I haven't worn a bra since the first excisional biopsy back in November.  Didn't know what size I was or where to go.  Read that Nordstrom's has fitters but there is no Nordstrom here.  I went to a department store called "Belk's".  I don't know how many states have them.  But when I got there, they had a large sign stating they had certified fitters.  I asked for one.  I have to tell you this turned out to be a very emotional trip.  The woman was absolutely wonderful.  Walking to the fitting room I told her I had a mastectomy and recently completed reconstruction.  She just smiled and said "don't worry honey, we'll find you a bra".  She was professional, efficient, knew exactly what she was doing.  She would bring a couple in and check the fit and then was right back out to get a better fit.  She was patient and she knew this wasn't easy.  She reassured me we would find the right one for me.  We did.  Once I put it on, it was the right size and it was comfortable.  It was even pretty!  She knew it too -- she said, "see I think we got it".  I couldn't believe how that affected me.  I looked at myself in the mirror in a bra again and I looked fine.  I cried.  I hugged her when I left and thanked her.  She told me it had been her pleasure to serve me.  I immediately wrote a letter to their chairman in Kansas City Mo. 

Back to the PS in 4 weeks to talk about a nipple for the right breast.  He does it in his office with a local -- yeah! no more anesthesia!!!!

Thinking of all of you!

Marianne

Love the new picture Kristen!  I remember how busy things were when my son graduated from HS...  good luck to you and to Val with her son's graduation.

Marianne, I am so glad that you are pleased and that you found a great place to bra shop.  I have only wandered around JC Penney myself... thinking about trying at Macy's or Elder Beerman soon (Nordstrom not an option yet).  What brand and style did you end up with, may I ask?

I'm so excited!  I just bought Jonas Brothers and Demi Levato concert tickets for my 7 year old daughter!  She doesn't know... the concert is in September and I think that we'll give them to her for her 8th b-day in August.  I will of course go with her, but this will be her first concert and she is going to be soooo excited!!!!  It is fun to be able to do something like this for her, she has been so good and brave through out my whole BC experience, it'll be fun to go to this and just cut loose and be crazy star struck girls!!!  My best friend from HS (that was at the hospital with me during BMX) and her 2 daughters are going with us.  They live  a few hours away so we don't see them often, so it'll be such a great time for us all.  I, of course, would prefer to see Kenney Chesney or Brad Paisley or someone like that but this is all about her!!!   So excited!  Hope that I can keep it a secret until August!!!

Paula

Laura and Kristen, super-cute pix!

Sally and Val - you are absolutely right.  I found this website invaluable for emotional support (that you can't get from friends and family -- only from those who have been there).  And it has been invaluable for practical support (list of what to bring to the hospital:  silk boxer shorts, hard candy, list of phone #'s, fanny pak, etc etc).  It's also good to see what others may be doing (exercise, healthier diets, etc.) but get the medical advice from the medical community.  This is also a great place to give us courage to ask providers questions and also find out about new treatments, clinical trials, etc.

Paula -- no problem sharing.  I ended up with a Playtex Secrets (side smoothing underwire), style #4138.  Bra shopping was odd because I was actually a D cup in some other bra's.  I was never concerned about size, as I was pretty small to begin with (a small 34B), but being 5'10" and only 135, I don't look large with a 36C (or D), I just look like a woman my height should.  But the best thing is the feel -- they are yippee squishy!  If anyone has a Belk store near them, check them out as they have certified fitters!

Marianne

Sally, I think the web can be good and not-so-good when you're diagnosed. My naturopath and husband both told me to close the laptop (more or less) and I was not so happy to get the unsolicited advice, but some of what I read did freak me out and I stopped researching things on random websites. This site, though, has been so helpful for practical and emotional reasons for me. If I'm feeling like I can't bear any bad news for the day, I'll skip or skim and come back to it ... but sometimes reaching out and knowing your experience is shared has been the perfect antidote. This thread tends to be optimistic, but it's also real, so it's not all happy news/feelings, etc. I've come to rely on the very kind and generous support in a way I wouldn't have thought possible before. The women here "get it" in a way that my friends and family just can't. I'll be thinking of you, Maggie

Sally, I hope that you can get your partner to check in on us and see what it's about... as others have said, noone here thinks they know more then your doctors and don't try to give treatment adivce... but this is where you come to vent, to share, learn and to rejoice!  For me it was so helpful to come here and read all of the success stories and hear about how these wonderfule women have went through what I was going through and survived AND were actually happy with their end result....  Yes there are always posts about being sore and not being happy with results (mine for instance) but then later you read where that person isn't in pain just a couple days later, or the other impatient person (me) realized that she judged her results too soon and is wonderfully happy.  You learn about different techniques that are available to fix little things, different things that can help with pain and just so much.  And you make some wonderful friends.  My wonderful husband walks by me every morning when I'm sitting here at the computer and says "So, how are the ladies doing today?  What's up with Team January?"  He knows that I need this, I need to come to people that understand what I am going through, what we are going through... I think too sometimes it helps him, because I'll read something and call him over and tell him about it, and he'll see that I'm excited or sad or whatever and he gets it....   Just be patient with your partner and try to share as much about this with her that you can, I think it really helps.  Before my BMX I read quite a bit on here (the whole site, not EC) and read about a lady that had had a BMX and chose no recon and I think it had been a couple years and she had NEVER let her husband see her chest.  She wore cami's to bed, and never let him see her after shower or anything... I talked to my DH about that and we made a pact that after my BMX we would look for the first time together and go through it all together.  He has been to every appt with me and taken care of me and took care of my drains and just been through it all with me and I think that it has helped him to be a part of this and to share this with me (not that anyone wants to go through this, but our partners don't want to be left out, they want to be there for us).  ANyway, sorry, I had a glass of wine with dinner ( a big glass) and I seem to be very philisophical now and just rambling.  Anyway, I'll step off my soapbox and back slowly away from the computer now!

Have a great night!

Paula

Paula.....wow. I hope one day to find a man like your dh! so moving. tears in my eyes too....

Paula, the soapbox is a good thing! And you've got us all crying! (Well, me, also --- anyway). Having just joined BCO, I was up late late late last night reading through many pages of amazing entries. When I got up this morning, I checked first thing. Today I added Implant 101 and EC to the homescreen of my iphone, and was checking it constantly throughout the day; even at red lights! It was such a relief to know you all were there! The pull of support and understanding is very powerful. I live in a relatively small community, and for professional reasons have chosen not to tell people here about my diagnosis and treatment. A few people know that I had surgery -- I usually mutter something about bad mammos, biopsies, risk factors, genetics, blah blah, prophylactic mastectomies. My family all knows, immediate and extended, my dearest BFF's (who don't live here) know. My husband has been with me all the way, my lovely children ( though I put on a good face for them) have been wonderful and thoughtful, but as many have said... at the end of the day, (in the middle of the night...) nobody who has not -- is not -- going through this can truly get it. Whew for EC.

Jerusa - I so understand how addicting this site is. I find myself checking it a lot. It is just so nice to have a family of women who understand and be lifted up when you're down. It has been a lifesaver for me.

Paula - thanks for sharing about your journey with your DH - it was beautiful and made me smile/cry. Also, so excited about your concert with your daughter. I remember when we did that for our kids and the N'Sync concert (dating myself So hard keeping it a secret. It will be a great memory for her.

Marianne - thanks for sharing your bra shopping experience. I have been to 4 different dept. stores and have tried on more than 30 bras - most at home. I have 3 bags to return. I have yet to find one I like. You convinced me, I'm driving the 45 minutes to Nordstroms on Sat morning to have a professional help. I cannot do this alone!!!!

Hoping the sun will shine tomorrow.

Melissa

KRISTEN - super cute picture!

I want to thank everyone here for sharing their thoughts, feelings, and advice in such a loving, caring way. I don't post a lot but I do read every day and this site (and EC in particular) have really helped me tremendously along the way. It just means so much to have a community of women who are always there and can truly understand!

TCK 

It is a good feeling to us, old timers, when we see you new ladies posting here and sharing your love with others... Sometimes I go back.. and read the first 5 pages of EC... Breast Friends!

This is NOT a group any of us wanted to join. But is is a blessing we have eachother!

 ((((hugs)))))

Tory...you and I have almost the same stats and we were both diagnosed on April Fool's Day only a year apart.  Did you have an OncotypeDX test done?  That would be just crazy if you got a 0 also.