Exchange City

Kitwe -- I had to read this sentence twice that you wrote "the sportsbar I woke up in after my exchange was flimsy" -- LOL!   I had this image of you waking up in a sports BAR on a gurney surrounded by drunk sports fans -- and oh that is just too funny... I know you meant bra but had to share.

Laura -- you crack me up -- you practically ARE 40!  You ARE young!  So now you look 30 with the eye job 

Jane -- Anniealso is SO right.  After exchange surgery you MUST NOT lift anything heavier than a few pounds (I was told nothing heavier than a gallon of milk) and that edict is for many weeks... you don't want to rip your stitches!  So I hope you will be mindful of that when moving 3 weeks after surgery.  You will probably feel okay by then but by no means will you be in a position to lift anything.  Gosh I am 5 months post-surgery and still can't lift things (don't have the strength) that I used to be able to lift.

Sweetie - yeah it's too early.  These implants will change a lot in the next few months and you can't know what the final result is for awhile.  They may actually end up looking bigger, for example, as gravity works on their shape.  For now, as Kate33 once wrote to someone else: step away from the mirror!

I have ripples too!!  Day 5 after surgery - didn't have them yesterday, but I guess since the swelling has gone down a bit that is why. I had a few on the outside of right TE, asked PS if I would have them with implants and he said I might since I don't have any fat (is that a good thing?), but he said they could do fat grafting if needed.  I liked them yesterday - today not as much, ripples are on right side on inside of breast.  But I'm going to take everyone's advice and not worry about it for a few months.  Should I ask the doctor anything tomorrow?

Dawnhope and lilah-thanks for the encouragement. I will try to be patient,  this whole BC experience is always about being patient and I get tired of it! For once I was hoping for instant gratification. Well if I wasn't happy with them and they needed to be changed I would have to wait three months anyway. Right now with this tight bra it feels like they are on lock down. I will be brave and post my pics on the pic forum even though I'm not totally happy with them yet.

Lilah-I think I will write "step away from the mirror" and tape it to my mirror!

Lilah,

Thanks so much to you and others for your responses to my question about recovery after implant exchange.  I also found it interesting to read the posts by you and others about the recovery being very different for the mx breast vs. the other breast that needed to be reduced/lifted/etc.  Although I had a bilateral mastectomy, I first had three lumpectomies on the left breast.  When they still couldn't get clean margins, I went for the mastectomy and decided to have the right breast removed prophylactically.  Because of the previous surgeries on the left side, it didn't expand the same way as the right side.  Since more tissue had been removed on the bottom of my left breast, my PS is going to have to lower my left breast during the exchange surgery and lift my right breast to make them more even.  It sounds like this will probably make my recovery a little longer and more painful than a "simple" implant exchange (not that any of this process is simple).

I saw Sweetie!  You look beautiful!!!  And I think you will only get happier with the drop and fluff.

Ig300 -- glad to help.  Sounds like a lot of pocket work is planned so, yeah, you will probably be sore longer.  I had the same story as you -- two lumpectomies and still had one close margin -- so I opted for the MX as well.  But in my case I chose to keep the other breast and reduce/lift it. 

You just do not want to WAKE UP in a sports bar....especially in a hospital gown....

Sure wish I did wake up in a sports bar!  but only if I looked the way I hope to look when/if this is over.

 Glad I put some smiles on some faces....my poor spelling finally had a positive result.

JT - Yes! I had one side smaller and higher than the other... among other issues. My PS thought it was fine without revision so I had to go elsewhere. Got several 2nd opinions and the PS I chose for the revision had me wait 6 months from the initial exchange. Ifyou have access to the picture forum I posted before and after pix.

JT124, so sorry to hear that you didn't like the results of your last surgery and that you need to have another one.  This better be my last surgery - I'm so sick of surgeries and hospitals.  In addition to the three lumpectomies and mastectomy, I also got staph infections after both my last lumpectomy and my mastectomy (I've had all my surgeries at NYU Medical Center, one of the top hospitals in the country).  The latter infection led to five days in the hospital on IV antiobiotics, so I'm even worried about my upcoming exchange surgery.

I'm glad to have these discussion boards, both for the information as well as the support of others who have gone through or are experiencing the same thing.  I've been reading posts since I was diagnosed in April, but I just started participating in the discussions yesterday.  I've been pretty positive and resilient through this whole process (most of my friends can't believe how positive I've been, especially since my experience has been so much worse than originally expected since I was diagnosed with DCIS), but I've been kind of down the last few days.  My last tissue expansion was last week, so this is the first week in months I haven't had at least a few days of terrible pain and can actually imagine being pain-free (still not there yet though).  Maybe now that I'm not as 'distracted' by the physical pain, I'm finally experiencing some of the emotional pain. It's nice to have this forum to share our experiences.

Ok ladies, I finally got around to taking some picts and posting them! Let me know what you think.

The video was great - made me both smile and cry (the video's very uplifting; I'm just very emotional today).  I ended up watching some of the sequel Pink Glove videos as well (that featured survivors and other hospitals' staffs) and downloaded the song to my ipod.

Hi Ladies, my exchange was done last week. The 1st thing I noticed - they squish!! I have drains again till Friday. So no shower. I'm counting the hours till I get home Friday night. My PS did some pocket work on the right side and some lipo under my arm so I'm still really sore on the right if I move. I'm becoming very good at holding the couch down. I'm wearing the surgical bra 24/7 for 3 weeks. PS says no underwire - ever. I wonder why there are so many different opinions? I'm off work for the next 3 weeks and look forward to the rest. I'm happy with my look now and can't wait to see how they will fluff.

Hello ladies.  Hope you are all doing well.  Just got my last fill yesterday to 600cc's.  Wont have the exchange until probably February since I start radiation next month.  My PS talked about fat grafting for the pocket by my breast bone.  Has anyone had that done and can give me some insight on it.  When I have my exchange the PS was talking about the fat grafting and perking up the other side to make me symetrical in a bra, what about out of a bra??  Guess it will never look "normal" though right.  Anyway, any insight on the grafting would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Jen

Hello Ladies, I had my exchange the end of July. My PS had to work allot more on my left side, so there was allot more bruising there. Lifo was done under my arm. I am still bruise there. PS said to use Arnicare cream. I have been using it for about a month now and I am still bruise. Does or did anyone  have that with their exchange. Any information or thoughts I would love to have.  

Hugs Wanda

sweetie2040 - I cannot all answer the aspects of your question, again only from my experience and limited knowledge, but a lot of it depends on your skin, how well it stretches, how thin it is.  If you were large breasted before and they were able to save some of that skin;that makes a difference too.  I think of some it depends on the type/height of the TE.  They're still figuring this stuff out too.  Someone will come along later with more information than I ... but that is what I know.