Exchange City
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Happy dance for you Bonnie. It sounds like things are finally under control and you can heal.
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travelgalI had fat grafting under the area that will be the areola area and yes it gave me more projection and I love it.
Hope you are all doing well I will read up.
Rebecca
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Rebetata & Travelgal,
Is this a new procedure? This is the first I have heard of it. Good for you that you love your results!
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Happy Dance Bonnie...
HEATHER.... PM me and I will get you to my photos on the picture forum... and you can see others pictures there too..... the Picture Forum is not affiliated with BCO.... but it was started by a BCO sister.... and then four of us we asked to be Moderators there to help... as it has grown so large . I am a moderator now.... so PM me.. and I will help you to get there. Also... our Lilah... MJB.... Firni... and Deborah are moderators as well. Timtam/Fumi is the amazing lady who started the picture forum about 5 years ago.
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LG- so sorry to hear you are having additional complications with your infection. I am glad you and your PS are really on top of it. Thanks for the info on Darvocet. I will definitely read the article cuz that is the drug that was prescribed for me after we discovered that I had an allergic reaction to Vicodin this summer.
Deb
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Hi Rebecca: Thanks so much for the info. I havean appt to see my PS at the end of Dec to discuss my nip surgery and I want to ask him about this. I'm so glad you're happy with the results. I hope you don't mind me asking...do you have pics on the Pic Forum of your nips after the fat injection (don't know what they officially call it :-)?
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Hi Ladies, I had my exchange yesterday. The mx side is fine, then again there isn't much feeling on that side. The natural side which was lifted and an implant is the one hurting but doing well.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday!
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I would also love to know about this. My appointment is on Tuesday with my PS and she will book my date for the nipples. How far in advance of having your nipples done did you have the fat injections?
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Namaste!
I have a question about infection near a TE and how long before exchange have you been asked to wait. I had BMX with aborted attempt at TE(skin circulation not good enough) on 4/29. On 9/29 I had placement of TEs. On 10/21 I developed a sudden fever, rt side redness (CA side) and was in the hospital for 6 days and had drain placement and started on IV antibiotics. I still have drain in (They want drainage to get to near zero) and am on twice daily IV antibiotics in an IJ port at home. Next drain check to see how the fluid pocket is resolving is 11/29. I will remain on IV antibiotics for several days after drain is out. The Infectious disease doc says we will have a "watchful waiting" of 3 to 6 months before I can have an implant. If infection returns they will remove the TE. Meanwhile he has given permission to continue the fills. I am currently at 350 in 600 TEs. I get 50 cc each every 7-10 days. Of course I am hoping to save the TE but I really don't understand my chances for this. The docs all say they can't predict because they don't know if there is biofilm on the TE from the infection. If there is biofilm apparently the infection will definitely return and there is no way to eliminate the biofilm once it has developed. Since I lost my job of 22 years over this (unable to return to work b/4 my years worth of FML ran out) I don't want to jump into another job too quickly after released only to get let go again.
I am just hoping that someone else's experience might help me be a little more accepting of reality and help me make a decision about a job.
Thanks
Karla
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hi all. catching up. but in my car headed to my sisters for thanksgiving. letting those who've had surgery to hang in there. you've been in my prayers. will read more when i get to my sisters.
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Good morning all... I'm so happy for those of you who are moving through reconstruction successfully and are happy with your results! I also feel for those of you who struggle with continuing problems through the process of reconstruction. I do understand how difficult it can be to deal with surgeries, decisions, doctors, etc.
For anyone in the same boat as I found myself recently -- a second failed implant because of capsular contracture and needing to make a decision about whether to go forward with a flap surgery or remove the implant -- I want to let you know that life is looking so much better without my painful and unattractive implant. Having it removed was definitely the right decision for me, but it was not an easy one to make. My implant-less side is beginning to heal and I honestly feel better than I have in 2 years. Because my most recent implant was too small and had developed contracture, my body actually looks better to me than before. I believe I may be happy without reconstruction, but am planning to leave my options open and give myself 6 months to a year to be sure.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that reconstruction is different for each of us and there are no right or wrong decisions. Trust yourself to make the right choices for your own body, even though at times it seems totally impossible.
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Karla - I am so sorry to hear what you've been going through. Like you, I have had lots of complications from infections (I'm currently on two antibiotics for a post-exchange surgery infection). After my BMX with TE placement, I developed a bad staph infection and was in the hospital for 5 days on IV antibiotics, then another week of at-home antibiotics (first IV and then oral antibiotics b/c I couldn't deal with administering the IV medication at home). In that sense, my experience was very similar to yours. I started my TE fills a couple weeks later and had my exchange surgery last Wednesday. I was admitted to the hospital with my last infection on 7/29, so my exchange surgery was approx. 3 months after the infection cleared. My infection delayed my fills and ultimate exchange by 3-4 weeks. It sounds like your situation may be different because of the biofilm issue (which I've never heard of before). After my last infection cleared, the doctors were confident it was all gone. Everyone's situation is different, so you need to trust your doctor's judgement (or get a second medical opinion).
I can also relate to your job-related stress. I resigned from my job right before I was diagnosed (due to ethical concerns with my boss and the organization, not due to health issues). The only good thing about leaving the job was that I took advantage of having the time off to take care of various doctors appointments and other things I had put off due to lack of time, including getting a mammogram - which was the reason they found the BC as early as they did (my dx was DCIS, grade 3). I originally was supposed to "just" have a lumpectomy followed by radiation, so I thought I'd be able to go back to work fairly soon if I did get a job. I actually went in for a job interview two days before my first (which I thought at the time was going to be my only) lumpectomy. Unfortunately, my DCIS was fairly widespread, and I ultimately ending up having 3 lumpectomies, a BMX (after my BS still couldn't get clean margins), and reconstruction, as well as 3 staph infections (including the one where I was hospitalized for 5 days). Every time I thought I was almost "done" and could start looking for a job again, another complication arose. I finally decided to focus on my healing and not worry about finding a job right away. After this last surgery, I finally feel like I am ready to move on with my life. I actually had job interviews last Monday and Tuesday (2 days and the day before my surgery) and I already got called back for a second round of interviews for one of the positions.
Hang in there, and feel free to PM me. Best, Lisa
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Lisa, that's great news. Hoping you get a great job!!!
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Thanks, Happymom!
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Well ladies, after 13 months, I finally got my exchange, two days ago. I had the exchange on my right mastectomy side and an implant on my left, real side to try and match the upper pole.
Recovery has been rough again, my body really hates having chest muscles cut into. (The exchange side is easy but the implant side is painful.
I'm wrapped up still and won't see until Monday. However, my armpit looks much better - it was all deformed and I had a heck of a time trying to shave it.
I've poked down inside the bandages and it's nice to feel softness! It's hard to say but it looks like my left side is now slightly larger than the right - but hopefully that is just swelling, or the way the bandages are placed.
One thing I noticed - they gave me a card with the implant tracking numbers on it - and whoever wrote it down put it down wrong. My mastectomy side, I got a 425 cc implant. My real side, I got a 175 cc implant.
But, on that card, they are reversed.
Does this matter for any reason? (I imagine if it was a surgical mistake I would noticed the difference, bandaged or no, so I am assuming the nurse just wrote it incorrectly and placed the stickers in the wrong place. Anyway, I just want to make sure it doesn't make any difference.
As a uni, I'm nervous about the unveiling but my goal was only to look good in a scooped neck top. If I can do that, it will all be good and my doctor thinks we got there. I've accepted the breast is gone and it'll never look completely normal again and due to the initial problems with the expander, to get more perfection I'd have to start all over, which I'm not willing to do.
Thanks. I'll post back and maybe post my photos on TimTam's site if I can find it. There aren't a lot of us uni's out there so it's nice for newbies to see how it turns out.
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Coolbreeze~
My congrats to you!!! I will be nearing my 1 year mark (Nov. 24) since having the exchange. As a uni myself...all I could pray for was that I look "good" in a low cut top. My prayers were answered. If I REALLY stare I can see slight imperfections but that's me. To the "other" person..no one can tell which is which. This was my goal so I am very happy still with my outcome. I do lack projection in my MX side of my bra so I stick to formed cups & I also recently found an insert (meant for MX patients) that fills in the void just right. It's perfect!!!
Good luck on your recovery!!! I agree ..it was more painful with my augmented side than my MX side.
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Ann/Coolbreeze -- wahoo on finally getting there! Yes I can tell you (as a uni who had a reduction/lift on my real side) the real side will have more swelling and the swelling takes awhile to go down, so don't worry about that. I found the exchange side healed much faster and I think that's due to the fact that there is no breast tissue left there. As for the card being wrong -- call them and ask them about it. I'm sure you're right but you should have a card that is correct.
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I posted new pics to the picture site of my revision filled to 470. Let me know your thoughts.
Coolbreeze - Can't wait to see your pictures!
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Bonnie, what a lovely post! I am so glad you are feeling better. That really is the ultimate bottom line. Future options can be saved for the future.
Hantayo, so sorry for all your struggles with infections and job loss. That's really tough. To answer one of your questions, my wait was 3 mos. between full expansion of TEs and exchange surgery. Wishing you healing and hugs.
Wahoo to you ladies with recent exchanges!!
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travelgal I dont have my nip yet but have had the first sessions of fat out where they will be. I do have pics up on the forum and will try to post more as soon as possible to show you where I am as of now.
Best of luck,
Rebecca
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CoolBreeze- 13 months is a long time to wait for those Yippee Squishees. Glad your day finally came and that all went well!
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Thanks ladies. Whatever I see when I'm unwrapped tomorrow, I won't worry about. I know that it takes a few months for swelling to go down and things to settle.
I pulled my bandages out as much as possible (they are pretty tight and stapled together) and peeked. It does appear that there isn't much projection on the mastectomy side. I won't worry about it yet but I hope I don't have to supplement. I don't mind using formed bras and the like but I hated wearing the foob I had to wear these 13 months and would prefer to not have to deal with that again. Does any uni get by without supplementation?
I'll bring my card and ask my doctor. It's just one more thing that has gone wrong in this process. It'd be comical if it wasn't my body.
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Ann -- I don't need supplementation to even myself out. Maybe because it's a gummy and therefore it is form stable? It IS smaller than my natural breast (probably less than around a half a bra size) so I fit well into the bras I buy (38D), albeit somewhat snugger on my natural side. In a bra, you really can't see the difference; without a bra the real breast droops naturally and the implant does not.
I don't think you can tell much right now about the shape of your MX side because, with no tissue there, the bandages are flattening everything out.
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Hi Rebetata: Thanks for the info on the fat injection. So, if I understand correctly, they do the fat injection "before" the nip/tattooing? I don't know why but I thought it's done afterward...I guess I thought it would be easier to find to "area" where it's injected once the nip and aerola is there :-) I looked at your pics on the forum. You look really beautiful...the shape and size of your foobs is just lovely! You look so natural and you're healing beautifully.
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Coobreeze~
That insert is really not much...it's probably like the size of a cosmetic powderpuff...very small but enough so that my bra does not "cave" in. It just gives it a nice contour.
NAE
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travelgal thanks for the comments on the photos. I will have more grafting done post as well. I really wanted as much conical shape as possible so I requested it. I hope you get what you want. When I spoke to my PS this last appointment she said just tell me what you want and if I don't have any objections we will do it. I am a lot more out spoken now.
Thanks again,
Rebecca
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Thanks Nedeza,
After a year of wearing a cheap, "as seen on TV" rubberized foob, I have the willies about having to do that again. It worked - my doctor even wanted to know how I got such an even appearance with my strange expander, but it was a lot of work and not pleasant. I had to put that foob in my good side, get fitted for an expensive bra to match my expander side (a DD on my 97 pound frame) and haul one strap all the way up to create the same kind of bulge on the good side as the expander side. And, that damn foob did not smell good every night when I took it out, and I have no idea why. Must have been the materials because no way do I stink that much.
I just don't want to do anytthing like that again and may have an "as seen on TV breast insert" fire party.
The thought of supplements - at the moment - freak me out.But, we'll see. It's true, it's way too early to know.
I'll post after my unveiling tomorrow. If I need support (ha) I'll ask!
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Hi Rebetata: I know exactly what you're talking about. If I can have a "wish list", I would love to ask for a conical shape too. I don't know if my PS does fat grafting but it's definitely on my shopping list when I see him in December. The top of imlants look flat and the fat grafting must look very natural. I assume that the fat grafting doesn't disappear over time or anything, right?
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Hi All, Got the exchange done on Friday. I am totally wiped out. Got sick to my stomach...I pulled some of the stitches, ugh. Today was the first day I could take the bandages off. Not too pretty. Like others say...looks like flat hamburger buns. Ugh. I am not getting upset...will give it a bit like every ones says. I have the follow-up appointment with PS tomorrow.
Hope everyone is doing well!
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OH MY GOODNESS!!! I just got back from the doctor, and I got FANTASTIC results. 1000 times better than I was expecting. If I had this doctor at the very beginning, I would have had completely normal looking breasts.
And I'm a uni!!!!! The only problem is that I don't have much of an inframmary fold, which my PS said was because of bad surgery by the last PS (the one who, thankfullly, abandoned me.) He said he could have fixed it. And, possibly still could but I'm not sure I want to start over.
I will post pictures on timtams site. Ladies who are skinny and who are unis - there is hope!!! You can look great.
I'm so happy, beyond excited. It's better than my wildest dreams.
Edit: I can't find timtams site. She sent me a link to the new location but I am unable to find it. Can somebody PM me with the directions? You can see that I've already posted there.
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