Exchange City
Comments
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Laura2 and Bigapple09- Just wanted to say that you both had some great posts about dealing with the post exchange emotions. I'm not there yet (mine's next Tuesday) but I know it's coming. I think I'll print out your posts to remind myself that what I'll be feeling is normal and that it does get better. Thank you.
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Kate, good luck on your exchange!
Many of us wake up feeling so much better without the turtle shells,and while they do not look the way they will a few weeks later, you may find yourself thrilled or disappointed; depends on your mind set.
It's all normal. It's all necessary and part of the process.
Good luck to you and I hope it's "yippee squishy!"
xoxo
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This is such an emotional journey to be on. I hate that my body is so deformed now but I am at the same time thrilled that we live during a time where we have so many options. I had the Alloderm sling put in and I actually looked for a dr who would use it because I knew that I wanted to end up larger but also because I was afraid my bony frame wouldn't support an implant. Right after my MX in March I could see the Alloderm but now it is no longer visable. My dr uses it with all his paitents even if he is just using it to tweek his work.
mslrg: Wow, you are going to have this amazing new body! I used to work with a woman who had this done for vanity reasons only on her waist, hips and thighs and I remember that she was bruised all over but she also lost a couple of sizes in clothing and the end result was amazing. good luck on healing quickly and beautifully so that you can enjoy the rest of the summer.
bigapple: Wow, you have really been through alot! That is amazing that your dr couldn't tell you had work done previously. Well said about how and when we deal with all of our emotions. I was very strong until the morning of my MX and then I just lost it. I am sure I will be very emotional after the exchange also.
anniealso: I am incredibly vain, too. Ending up without hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and breasts really put my vainity to a test. I feel so ugly at home with my huge uniboob, unsightly and all of a sudden kinky and grey (!!??) hair that won't be my normal length for a year or more. My eyebrows are almost back but I hate that I have to wear wigs through summer. I am just not a short haircut kind of person. I feel manly with it this short and I don't want looks of pity wearing it out this way. I guess we just have to look at it as a year or so of pain and discomfort so that we can be disease free in the future.
mstar: You are always so upbeat and amazing! Sorry you have had to endure so much.
kittycat: I hope that Calgon saved you and you are having a better day today.
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Hi Jerusha, Sorry to hear that you're not yet happy about how things look. I put the "yet" in there purposely because I suspect, I hope, that as your body and implants settle in with eachother the look will be lovely, even to you. No they will never be your old ones, but I expect time will allow those wounds to heal and for you to accept these new ones. The other gals have been much more eloquent than I am about this whole process so I'll leave it at that - I so much agree with what they've said. Many hugs to you!!!! Oh, and if you can, ignore your mirrors. Truly. Look once a week not once an hour and it'll let your mind rest a little as the swelling goes down and everything adjusts.
Re Drop & Fluff, Deborah/whippetmom gave a great explanation about 3-4 wks ago on that. If you can stand to read back about 20 pages you might find it.
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Hello, I am glad to see I am not alone with these TE being so heavy and in the way! Does anyone have problems raising their arms straght up over head? I seem to have that problem. Also I have problem shaving underarms? Will that get better once you get implants? Also recon on nipple vs tatoos (what is anyone opion on that)? Sorry for all the questions I just want to find out if it is only me!
Any information I would love to have!!! Have a great day! Wanda
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OMG - putting deodorant and shaving is so much easier after you have your exchange!
It was 2 more reasons to love my implants!
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Anniealso -- yeah I woke up and immediately knew my constant TE pain was gone... then found I had feeling in my remaining nipple... then learned she had put in the largest possible implant (of the sizes I knew she was bringing in)... so at first I was elated... then a few days later I saw how I looked and got depressed... now I'm back to upbeat... so it comes and goes.
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Kate33~ just want to wish you bigs hugs and lots of luck for youe exchange. I fly out to Portugal in a few hours and will be away for 1 week so you'll have your op while i'm away. Keep thinking of those new boobies! =D
Well i'll speak to you all in just over a weeks time! Stay happy and have a good week everyone!
(((hugs))))
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Have a fabulous time in Portugal Kay!
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Kay: Thank you very much for responding to my question. I wish you bon voyage!
(hugs)
Brenda
P.S. Here I go again: Did the mantle rads affect your breast skin and tissue? Has is caused any problems that you know about? Or were your breasts "saved" when they covered your lungs? Sorry, I am just fanatically curious about the effect of radiation on breast tissue.
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"Drop and Fluff" was actually started by the breast augmentation crowd, as the majority of them really do experience this - especially those with subpectoral implants. The term somehow migrated into the breast reconstruction arena as well.0
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mslrg: Okay, so that is SO totally not FAIR!!! To think I could have been fat-free!
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Thank you to those of you that have had your exchange surgery to give us that are waiting HOPE!!! Who would have ever thought that putting on deoderant and shaving our armpits would be something to look forward to!!!!!!!!!!!!
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anniealso- Thank you. I know I will feel thrilled just to be free of these torture devices called TE's!
MBJ- My PS also likes to use the Allorderm a lot. She said there is a lot of long term benefit for those of us with thin skin. I had never heard of it before all of this but I'm sure glad it's there.
mslrg- I am SO jealous!!! I actually had my PS give me an estimate on some lipo on my stomach and thighs. It was going to be $4,000 so I couldn't swing it this year. I guess it's back to the gym for me.
flatcracker- I was having the same issues trying to shave under my arms. Luckily, my DH has a shaving mirror in the shower so I could see where I was supposed to shave! I haven't had the problem of not being able to lift my arms over my head. I think I would be concerned with that. Have you thought about seeing a physical therapist? They could probably help you get loosened up again.
m-star- Darn! I missed you before you left! Maybe you'll get drawn into an internet cafe while in Portugal because you miss us so much so.....thanks for your message. I'm sure I will PM you will all the details after my exchange. Hope you are having (or had) an excellent time!
5 DAYS, 12 HOURS AND 27 MINUTES UNTIL MY EXCHANGE! (But who's counting?)
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Kate I can feel your excitement. I am so liking having had my exchange and now looking at all the options that are out there. I will have my possible revision in Sept. but not sure about it yet.
Take care all,
Rebecca
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I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but shaving the armpits doesn't get any better after exchange....I still have to use my magnifying makeup mirror set on the counter and roll my armpit forward to try to shave skin that I can't feel.....laser hair removal is most defnitely in my future!
Kate- I SOOOOO remember counting those days, girl! And it's worth every moment of drains, vicodin, not moving your arms, and sleeping on your back........HONEST!
Jershua - I'm not really keeping up with this thread anymore, but I did happen to catch your post about your exchange.....PLEASE hang in there.....there are SO many changes that happen in the first few weeks.....many here can attest to that.....even with gummies, I think.....just know we're all thinking of you....
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JATE-IM AT THE AIRPORT ON MY FONE! LOL HENCE DODGY SPELLING! SPEAK SOON!
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Hi Kay! I'm assuming Jate is Kate? I will post a.s.a.p. after my exchange and see if you're back yet. Hope you have an amazing time!
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Deborah and Laura - Yes, I totally remember those Calgon commercials!!!!
My headache went away today. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! I stopped taking the anti-nausea meds. I didn't feel like waking up to take them. But when I woke up, I felt so much better. So, I don't know if my body just adjusted to the chemo or if it was the meds. My DH was terrified that I would barf, being off the meds. I was starting to think that barfing might be better than having a headache. But, I didn't get sick - yeah!!!!
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Ok, when did MBJ go brunette???? Was I in a chemo fog when that happened? LOL! MBJ - You look great as a blonde and a brunette!
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LOL Kitty -- I'm pretty sure MBJ has a blond and a brunette wig (very similar styles too) and both are adorable!
So glad you are feeling better! You should ask your onc whether the anti-nausea meds could have given you the headache. It may just be that you need a good nap
So glad to see you keeping your spirits up!0 -
flacracker: It took me awhile before I could raise my arm to shave but I am not 100% yet but I am waiting to get approval for physical therapy. It seems my TE is sewed down to my side somehow and I'm hoping this will be freed up with my exchange.
deborah:I've seen your pictures-- you sooo don't need lipo. I would kill for your gorgeous curves!
kay: I'm going to miss you while you are in Portugal. Have a blast and enjoy your time in the sun.
kittycat: Thank you for the complement! I decided my blonde wig picture looked a bit fakey (I like to think it looks better in person) so I went back to my old picture pre breast cancer with my actual hair. My brown wig does look alot like this though. Glad you are feeling better. I always gradually weened myself off of the anti nausea pills and always felt better once I was off. I only forgot to take them once, and that was it...I won't go into the gorry details.
kate: I am so excited for you. I will be thinking about you all day Tuesday. I have three dr appointments back to back but I am going to check on these boards later to see how you are doing. I still have a few weeks to go but I'm right behind you! Had, hopefully, my last fill yesterday and I see my PS on Tuesday. Crossing my fingers that we set the date then.
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Jerusha, I have been thinking about you since the exchange and wondering where you were. Frankly, I was concerned. I think you have so eloquently captured and written about the flux of emotions many of us go thru on this journey. It is a grieving process for what was and it takes time to get to acceptance of what is and what will be. My hopes and thoughts of healing are with you and welcome back!!!! Come here and vent. And know that many people are thinking and feeling similar thoughts. You have the ability to take your thoughts and put them in writing and I know by doing this you are helping a lot of others verbalize their thoughts and feelings, as well.
Boromom- I am a very part time spin instructor(one class a week) and I plan to go back to teach. I am a healthcare professional by trade (currently unemployed) but my passion is distance running and knee, back and now BC has been in the way, I suspect once healed it will still be knee and back and I may need to switch to speed walking. I had gotten quite fast walking 12.5 min miles last year!
Mslrg- one and a half liters of lipo- woo hoo. The being hot by a truck feeling will fade along with the bruises and your lovely sculpted body will be great.
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MBJ- Thanks! Here's hoping you get your exchange date Tuesday. I know, for me, having that date went a long way towards my positive mental attitude, especially when it was much sooner than I thought it was going to be. Hope yours is, too!
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Just to let you know that my tentative date for nips/fat grafting has been changed.
It was a date to be scheduled in July, now pushed to after Aug. 26th when I see PS again.
I am not on this site much, usually hanging around with sisters from Arimidex site.
However, I am adjusting to new girls, augmented one feel almost normal, reconstructed one is still doing its own thing but settling in nicely.
I enjoy reading everyone's blogs.
One question which I am now going to ask and afraid: Where do the nips come from?
Thank you all and have a great day!
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Kate I am so excited for your exchange surgery.....I have my PS appt. July 14th to hopefully schedule mine. So I will be excited with you for now!
Kittykat - I get major headaches/migranes from some anti-nausea meds. For sugery they put a patch behind my ear and that does not give headaches. I have never asked about the patch for chemo. I wonder if that is a choice....maybe not the same thing. Just a thought. Maybe some others know.
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Hi- I just started following this thread a bit. As I continue to get TE fills I am getting increasingly curious about the exchange surgery. Until I began reading this thread I was very ignorant to how much information I DIDN'T know I was missing. I have so many questions for my PS when I see him next week.
One thing that I read here was that you should wait after your final fill about three months before having the exchange surgery. My PS said I only had to wait 3-4 weeks.... what was the reasoning behind waiting?
Another question I have... When I had the MX on the cancer side high on the breast, toward the inside...the surgeon took more of the fat off than she did on the non cancerous side. It looks like a depression in my skin...there is no cushion against the chest wall....do any of you have that? My PS said there isn;t much he can do about that and hopefully the implant will cover some of that. I hate the way it looks....my stepdaughter, who is 9, asked me if it was my lung...so that is what I call it now
KittyKat- I just finished my last AC Tx last friday.. I took Emend, which worked for me. butI have a friend who finished about a month ago and she used the nausea patches and swore by them. I tended to have a lot of nausea after I took the emend wore off (3 days), and my ONC had me come in for fluids. It made all the difference for me. I would get 1 or 2 bags of fluids by IV. It made the nausea subside and i felt almost refreshed.
Em
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Em: That area of depression you mentioned is typically referred to as a step-off deformity or contour deformity. It might be softened in appearance by implants, but it can, most absolutely, be addressed by fat grafting, should the defect continue to be a concern to you after the exchange. It is not a guarantee that fat grafting will fill it in completely, but it has worked for a number of us. It sounds like your PS is not "into" fat grafting, or he would have mentioned this. But don't worry about this now - there is nothing to be done until three to six months after the exchange.
It just stands to reason that waiting at least two to three months after the last fill for the exchange would enable the skin to sustain the expansion, since you do get skin retraction once the TEs are removed. There is no rush to the finish line, as we have all found.
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The " let down" you all speak of is super normal ladies...
I finally.. about two months back, came to terms with the fact.. I did not have augmentation. I am not going to look like that. I am a BC survivor that had RECONSTRUCTION.
I am ok with how I look. I am not happy about it... but I am not sad anymore. For reconstructed breasts, they look great.
Give youselves time to mourn..
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Hi Ladies, this is my 4th day after surgery and I'm still pretty sore and swollen. I actually look more swollen and bruised than yesterday. Before my exchange, and when I sill had TEs, I had a very nicely-defined cleavage. Now, I have a massive uni-foob with no cleavage and barely any definition between one foob and the other. I know this is too early to panic, but I expected to look somewhat "normal" by now. For those of you who've been down this road already, how long before your foobs started to take on a more natural look? I know this varies frm person to person and the fact that I got a lot of lipo has probably caused me to be more beat up looking, but I am a little disappointed with how I look right now. Any input or advice?
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