Exchange City

Hi Ladies,

   I went in for my exchange surgery this morning at 6:30 and was at home feeling great by 11:30. So glad to have the TE's out! I didn't have to have drains and no bandages except steri stips.

Exchange is tomorrow at 11am. I am very emotional today.....yuk I hate feeling this way! Scared and worried. I am just starting to feel good since th bmx and now more pain. I am hoping it won't be to bad.

Hope, this is a good thing, will be thinking of you tomorrow.  It's so crazy that as soon as you feel good you have to go thru this, but you will never, and I mean never miss those TE's! Best wishes!

Giselle and Bookworm hoping all went well in yippeesquissheeville!

Hello ladies,

How long was it after your exchange before you could drive?

Dawne-Hope: As long as you are not on narcotic pain meds and feeling well enough, you should be fine driving three to four days after the exchange, but get some pillows to use to pad the seat belt.

Lee45:  I am going to PM you!

Brenda ~ Have a great trip!!!

Kate ~ My PS had me on my back for a few weeks (perhaps that was a poor choice of words).  I think it was for drainage and settling in purposes.  Not sure, seems like I just do what I am told the last year or so . . . .

Started exercising about 3 weeks ago and am loving the good feeling of getting some tone back in this flabby body.  It is weird how the muscles across the chest work and look.  It seems as if the more toned I get the more normal they look rather than that dimply look when flexed.  Are any of you noticing that??

Colleen

Sweet Brenda... you are so correct. The inside does play a part!!! It does seem though, that if we have inside issues... they can be surgically fixed ( capsulectomy) with a good outcome......easier than bad skin trying to heal and not die after rads....:(

After seeing your photos..I think you are going to MAKE IT SISTER! The others who do not post.. have moved on from BCO.. 'cause they MADE IT AOK through rads and implants! Hang in there rads girls...... if there is someone like me... who has made it past rads and implant..... there HAS to be many more!

However ladies... we will ALWAYS be watching out for our rads foob. Thus is why the massage is mucho important threw out our lives....

xxxooo

Deekay -- maybe you should call your PS about the burning feeling?  That does not sound usual... though I can't say what it is, a doctor should be consulted.  That said, it took me a good 6 weeks to start FEELING normal.  Maybe even two months!  And that isn't about look -- just feeling.  It's an adjustment for sure.  But I do not recall having a burning sensation.

To all who are home from or about to have surgeries this week --- YAY!!!!  And don't worry... you're gonna do fine.

Val -- I can understand being afraid of messing up a good thing... but SO glad you went ahead with the nips and tattoos!  You look SO beautiful

As for me -- I saw my PS today and she was very pleased with the progress of my healing (on both sides)... said ATM I'm about a half cup different size (real breast vs implant).  The swelling on my reduced breast has gone down a lot, but she says it will continue to get smaller as the hematoma continues to reduce (the hardness I felt a month ago is much better - so I can actually feel it going down)!  She also thinks if I lose 10 pounds that will help as well -- and well I plan to do that, so good for me. 

I asked her how she was ever going to find enough skin on my very tight implanted side to pull a nipple out of it and she agreed she probably can't and is now talking about a skin graft from elsewhere.  I suppose my skin COULD get looser there if I really do lose the weight (I'd LIKE to lose 20 pounds)... but neither she nor I are in a rush.  I'm actually intrigued by the idea of a skin graft, though, because I think it will give a better match to the real areola I still have on the other side.  Stay tuned.

I have lurked since my initial dx in April and I appreciate you all  for putting it "out there" for the rest of us. I had dx. April fool's day followed by bilat mtx with  TEs with alloderm on April 14 TH. My TEs were big and bulky...wide chest allowed me 850 cc fill, Before surgery I was a 44 DD which frankly I never liked and wished I had reduction years ago... my PS said I would be more like a C when all was done so I liked the way my expanders looked kind of high, perky and  cleavage( maybe one inch between foobs) although they were in the wrong place..one at my collarbone and the other in armpit and incredibly uncomfortable. My initial drains were in about 5 weeks...yep 5 weeks...so I did have persist adhesion pain so it would hurt if i twisted at all.  I had my exchange today with non-gummy  mentor high profile silicone..he cut out the adhesions and I have had no pain which is great..not even taken advil....but I peeked ..they look great  from the stanndpoint ofshape and not skewed and equal shape/size but much much smaller than myTEs were.. I read about " drop and fluff"  which I understand is going down not "in" BUT my question is this...I have zero cleavage maybe 3 inches between my small flat boobs)...will that be it? Those of you who mentoned moving closer/ moving apart...was the cleavage seen on day one post exchange "it"? Thanks for all your help

mcmd and mtbookworm -- you can't know yet how you really look.... you are under bandages and pressed down and these silicone implants need to drop and fluff.  There will be change... please be patient. 

Laura -- thanks re: NV Diane!  I HAVE seen her photos (her doctor did an incredible job)!  I'll go back and look again now to focus on the nips

Hi everyone:

Yesterday was the exchange that almost wasn't. Surrounded by my husband and daughter in the pre-op holding area with IV and ready to go, my PS comes in to mark me up. He had asked me to remind him that I asked for high profile, smooth Mentors.He turned pink and looked pretty panicked. He then told me to wait while he checked the implant supply. The hospital typically supplies Allergan for reconstruction patients. I wanted Mentor as my TEs were Mentor. He came back to tell us that the hospital did not have the Mentors in my expected size. He said, "how about Saturday?" and walked away. I told my daughter that we were going to head straight out to get margaritas! We wait and wait and wait. Husband was getting irritated and offered to pull the IV out himself. My PS came back and said that he was having the Mentors couriered from his supplier and that they should arrive within an hour.

Trytostaypositive - I have used Biafine twice for ten day periods with pretty good success. I have not found anything that works as well. I also have and do use pure vitamin E religiously. 

I am glad to hear that everyone is doing well enough to stop by the site and share their stories! 

Everything went smoothly afterwards. I had the incisions made at the fold of my breasts due to all the thin skin issues I have and am having. 300cc was the end result in both breasts. I am home and pretty comfortable after the exchange. I am sleeping in my bed with lots of different shaped pillows.

Thanks Val -- it's out of my hands so I'm ok with it.  Something about NOT having to make a choice makes it easier lol.

Giselle -- glad they got what you wanted!  Hope they settle in nicely and to your satisfaction   Re: Vitamin E -- someone has posted here that using Vitamin E can act like a steroid on your skin, making the scars tougher... was that you Val?  Your PS say that?

Whippetmom..mentor high profile silicone 800 ccs. I went for 24 hour followup and PS said I needed to get into underwire because unfortunately he had to loosen the alloderm sling on one side due to the yucky adhesions I mentioned from  the drains that I had for so long the first time

Lilah - I have never heard anything negative about using Vitamin E. At this point maybe a tough scar would be better anyway!

Ladies:

my good friend and I are jumping in the car... and taking a road trip this weekend... not knowing where we are going...

We are calling it.. our..." Thelma and Louise" weekend.... wahoooooooooooooooo...

So.. I will not be around BCO. If anyone PM's me... I will check back Sunday!

Peace and healing to you all!

Wish my and my girlfriend luck......