Exchange City
Comments
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Kate -- have a wonderful trip and congrats on reaching 50! I just did it myself a few months ago
I survived it too... am now reverting to my inner clock (oh, I'll say 40 
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Ann, So sorry you're having to go through this. I don't know exactly where you are in Sacramento, but unless you're way east of there it's generally only a 2 hour drive to places in the bay area and there are tons of plastic surgeons here. Most insurance is statewide, and so it seems likely that there would be PSs in this area you could see in-network. While its certainly less convenient than being in Sac, it seems like a good alternative to waiting many more months. I'll even give you a referral to the one I used if you like, and the medical center where the dept has 5 PSs, one (or 2?) who work part of the time in the east bay which would be even closer to Sac for you. I like mine a lot, I think he did a good job for me, and he's even known for postponing cosmetics procedures in order to fit in breast reconstruction patients. Please note here or by PM if you'd like some names and I'll gather some info and PM you. Best wishes to you figuring this out.
Kate - Have a wonderful trip and birthday celebration!! Between the pics of you and Lilah you don't look 50 combined...good genes in the facial department you two!!
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Lilah- Wow! You look amazing! That inner clock thing is working for you! I would have never guessed you are 50! Hmm, I'm going to have to try that!
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LOL -- well it IS a fuzzy picture
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Coolbreeze: That is absolutely insane!! I can't believe all you've had to deal with and I haven't even been reading this board that long. You poor thing. I'm sorry you're dealing with this I know it's the last thing you want to deal with. I think I would definitely find a surgeon outside your area and see if a member here or local charity can help you out with lodging. Don't settle for a doctor you're not 100% happy with. I think I am glad that Maryland has good insurance laws, that would never happen here. I have the best team of doctors and haven't seen one bill from my PS except the first consultation $50. Granted I got plenty from the hospital and labs but I can't imagine turning away an insured cancer patient or any patient going through the worst time in their life..where's the compassion! I guess they don't get enough money??!! Crazy! I wish you the best in figuring this out. Hopefully Whippetmom can help. I am literally outraged for you...
Kate33: Have a great trip!! and good luck with the TSA agents! Hope you have a safe uneventful trip.
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Hello ladies
My radiated breast (from 2001) has not been doing so well since the exchange (2 months ago). After the exchange it became red and fragile. A few small sores created from dry skin turned into one big wound within a week so tomorrow I am going in to operating room so she can lift up the skin, clean it out and mend the hole. If it gets infected it means the inplant may have to come out. If the radiated skin still does not behave (heal itself) then I may have to schedule to have back flap put in place of the radiated skin. Strangely I breezed through radiation in 2001 with no redness, and did not even have red skin when the expanders were in. My advice is be very cautious if you have the red radiated skin and keep it moist with creams all the time (and I should have not gone in the pool either since it may have helped dry it out). Careful with bandaids as that can pull up the skin and damage it. It is weird to have skin that does not behave normal. Thanks for listening. Jennifer (Jenjo)
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We just had another stupid earthquake. One Sunday and another one just now. And I am home alone this weekend...
Jennifer: I am so sorry you are having these complications. I am sure Laura will be by with some thoughts and recommendations for you. We are thinking of you and hope you come out of this just fine.
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Kate: Congratulations on your 50th! You look amazing. Have a wonderful vacation and celebration.
Deborah: We had an earthquake and I didn't even feel it??!!
Jennifer: Hang in there and I am sure Laura or others on this thread can help you through this rough time.
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Thanks everyone for the good wishes. I am presently waiting for my toes, well not my toes, my nail polish, to dry so I can go to sleep because , HEAVEN FORBID I go to the O.R. on Thursday without a pedicure!! Ha ha, how ridiculous! But nothing compared to last night at this hour when I took out every piece of winter clothing that I own and piled it in a huge heap on the bed and floor, then spent hours folding and hanging and making many, many trips up to the attic and the cedar closet. Then I rearranged all of the dresser drawers, then hand washed my lovely post MX bras ( they said back into them for a week),and a whole bunch of other stuff to take with me to NY. This seems to be a nesting FIT of some sort!! After 13 hours in my office today, I gladly changed my telephone greeting and headed home. Tomorrow I have lots of errands and packing and then we head out first thing in the morning on Wednesday. My pre-op visit is Wednesday afternoon. I am getting very nervous, (thus the FIT), but I am counting the milliseconds till these TE's are gone, gone, gone. Thank you again. It is truly wonderful to feel your presence in my life
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Update on my new lump - I was put on Zyvox antibiotic for a week - the Onc. was sure it was mrsa. Wow was I sick from the the Zyvox - let's just say the bathroom was my best friend. I was so weak I was crawling to it and had major thoughts of giving up and that is not like me. I am a positive fighter. So I go for the recheck and the lump is larger and firmer and not smaller....so the Zyvox was only for diet purposes I guess
So today the Onc. made the PS surgically remove it. They wanted to admit me into the hospital for same day etc. So I stood up for myself and talked everyone in the office to give me some pills to make me sleepy and a local. (They usually need to run 3 IV sites for any surgery because my veins don't thread/blow etc. and I throw up from anesthesia for days). Are you all ready for the news it was FAT!!! ok they are sending it to the lab but the PS truly feels it is fat and it was definitely not a lymph node as everyone thought. So the nurse says during the surgery this is the only spot of fat on this girls body....the PS says I know.....and I wanted to say....that is because my Onc. made me take Zyvox last week,,,he he he
So am I happy yes - but I know I can say this here and u will all understand without judging me. I am also frustrated that the worry, pain, medical bills, etc. seem to never stop. When estepp I believe said I have had enough I am standing right next to you sister!
I have to give my PS and his team praises. From the start he said during the exchange which will be at the end of July I will take it out. I am not worried about it at all. He said I will do what you want and what your other docs want tho. So the rollar coaster ride began and I ended up at the beginning. But it was nice to be awake and see the look on the PS and nurses face when they realized it was fat and nothing serious. They do feel they do care and they were as excited as I was to find out it was FAT!
I have been thinking of you all and praying for you all......just wanted to give an update. With love Kyleen
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Jennifer: I had radiation and thought I could do with just TE's and an implant.
Unfortunately, the thin skin on the radiated side became necrotic (like yours, and had to be 'fixed.' Now, with a Lat Dorsi Flap, I am sorry I didn't have it in the first place. Radiated skin is just not cooperative. Also, I thought, radiated skin can fail at ANY time. So even if my implants were fine for a while, they may fail later on and why go through that. I fought against the Lat dorsi flap and should not have. I now have a TE again, I'll go thru one fill, and another exchange and be done with it. Just my experience? No. My doctor, who does 20+ reconstructions per month, has had radiated skin fail all the time. It is very common.
Good luck on your decision, just thought I'd give you my experience. JUDY
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Re Rads Skin:
When using lotions and creams, try to remove the product from the container with a sterile qtip or use a pump container. The moisturizers are a great breading ground for bacteria and hand to product contact is a great delivery system. i know it sounds germ-a-phobic but having lost an implant to MRSA I was made aware (only after) that rads skin is also more susceptible to infection since it is more fragile.
Jershua:
I am also a big mani pedi person, and I kept laughing in the hospital because staff including my doctor kept complementing me on how cute my pedicure looked, which made me wonder how gnarly are the toes they usually see : )
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Jennifer.. I am sorry you are dealing with this. Judy and BigApple gave you great information. All I can add.. is that if you end up with a flap surgery on the rads side.. they do look amazing too! I cannot say I was in your shoes. I did not have any skin issues. The " stats" on rads and implants still remain that about 40% of them work. 60% don't.
If I were you, I would see if your PS could uses MORE ALLODERM in the torn skin area, for more support there. This is what I would push for if I were in your shoes today.
((((((jennifer)))))))
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Wow Deborah you felt the earthquake over in your area. I really felt it hard here. I think we have had enough for now. I keep reliving the Northridge one years ago. I lived in Simi Valley at that time.
Coolbreeze I hope you find an out of network doctor. My insurance let me use out of network because I told them there group doctors were to far away so maybe you should give it a try.
Jennifer I will be praying for you.
Hugs to all,
Rebecca
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Hope4Future- Did you ever have fat grafting? Whew- glad it was just fat!
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packergirl - have not had my exchange yet! It will be at the end of July sometime.
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Hope4Future - so happy it was just fat. And, I'm glad they gave you what you needed during the surgery!
Thanks for your kind words, ladies. I am in an HMO so am kind of stuck. I have to say in-network and have to be referred by my PCP. Out of Network would only be allowable if there is nobody in-network to do it.
LA is 700 miles away and can't/wouldn't go that far. SF would be closer (80 miles) and my HMO contracts with UCSF but considering I don't want to drive to South Sac I probably am not going to want to drive to SF. I will have several more surgeries in the upcoming years and probalby want to stay in my own city if at all possible. My stepdaughter lives there though, so if all else fails, I could stay with her.
Do we name doctors here? I forget. I'd love to tell any Sactown girls who to stay away from, although since he won't be doing reconstructions anymore I guess it's not useful.
The new doctor I've been referred to is Amy Wandel. She looks great on google anyway. If it wasn't the time difference I'd be happy to get her. (At least so far as I haven't met her yet and won't for six weeks)
I've googled the rules surrounding when doctors fire patients, and it's usually for abuse or mistreatment, forging prescriptions or not complying with orders. I didn't do any of that. I really think he just wants to do lucritive boob jobs and shut me out. It's definitely not ethical for hiim to have done that.
But, unless I've been harmed there isn't anything I can do about it.
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Coolbreeze I am HMO also Kaiser to be exact. I think your HMO will be willing to help you if you explain that he fired you and at this point in recon they should give you more options.
Rebecca
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Kate~have a great birthday!
Coolbreeze~excuse my language but your PS is a complete TOOL!!!!!! Like you need this on top of what you've already been through! Can you not seek advice from a solicitor?? Surely you can go on grounds of emotional turmoil.....inflicting unnecessary stress during your treatment/surgery?? Its appalling!!
Estepp~you're a hairdresser right? Well so am i and i am due back to work around July 8th.Not been back since my op in Feb. Any tips/advice? I work 10 hour days and am busy right through.I have to pop in one day soon to see how i get on with blow-drying,shampooing etc. My clients are all booked over to other stylists till im back. Did you find it strenous going back to work? My boss said i cant go back til i can do my full hours and til i can do eveything i'm supposed to do (thoughtful PIG!!!). <----- ITS A MAN BY THE WAY! I worry that being ok trying it out for 1 hour will be a bit different from doing a 10 hour day! =( I worry that it will firm my pec muscles up alot again with having my arms elevated for that long and using my muscles. I forget how heavy a hairdryer can be!
any tips ar warnings you can give me would be great-either on here or PM.
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m-star, Did you have lymph nodes removed? If not, I'm unsure if you're at risk of lymphedema or not. If yes, then sudden increases in activity/lifting etc raise your risk of LE. Not trying to scare you, just bringing it up to suggest you look at the pointers/exercises on the Lymphedema Step-up Speak-out website Risk Reduction page before you jump back to 10 hrs/day using your arms. Just a thought...
Hope4future - thank goodness it was just fat, but I'm sorry you had to go through all that! Hugs to you!!
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OK ladies who are in the pic forum -- I posted an update (two weeks) -- the swelling and bruising are considerably less!
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How can anyone be a doctor in America and not speak English? Being able to communicate with patients, I think, is paramount in the doctor-patient relationship and a very important factor in the patient's healing.
English is my second language. I don't think I'd have any business teaching if I could not speak English. Is it different for doctors? I think it is crucial for doctors to be able to articulately communicate their thoughts.
Brenda
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I am with you Brenda. But as a medical professional myself I will say I have met many who are very challenged and it makes life very difficult for the patients.
Rebecca
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Cute new pic Brenda! I do believe I can see your very ample TEs! Looking good
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Coolbreeze: I would wait. Six weeks is nothing if you get a great plastic surgeon in your area of town. It is giving your skin more time to expand and remain "stretched" and you might benefit by this with your final outcome. I think you could use a female PS at this juncture. I looked her up and I think she looks great. PM me with your current PS' name and I will put him as a "do not recommend/approve" on my plastic surgeon list.
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Next time, I am asking for Zyvox...
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What is Zyvox?
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On the previous page, Hope4Future said this [Zyvox] is the antibiotic her PS gave her that made her lose weight...[well, she was so ill, she could not eat]....
So I was just kidding...sort of....
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OMG so funny! I'm with you -- I want some of that stuff
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Hey ladies, just a caution to ask for antibiotics when you get your tattoos. I think it's probably most important if you've had radiation. I woke up this morning with fluid literally dripping out of my surgically-made nipple -- four days after having my tattoos touched up. Turns out the nurse was supposed to have given me a prescription but forgot.
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