Exchange City
Comments
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Coolbreeze, it's been such a long road for you. You look beautiful, I am so happy that things have finally turned out alright for you!!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you for all the support and sharing over the past year! My best wishes to all of you on this holiday.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all -- I too am thankful for all of you!
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! Tomorrow I vow that the only breast I'm going to obsess about is the one on the turkey!
Hope everyone has a wonderful day! 0 -
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Enjoy your turkey and Black Friday. Our Thanksgiving has come and gone. This year I'm still in Canada so I'm missing out on the Black Friday sales
But some years I get to celebrate both the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays. Double the calories! 0 -
Deekay.. right back at you sweetheart!
To all my girls... my SWEET SWEET EC ladies.... you are beautiful, amazing, smart, kind, sensitive, funny,short ( tinyTATA), tall, quirky and SURVIVORS!!!!!!!! I love you all and I wish you all a Blessed Thanksgiving that is full of such JOY that you actually have to think back to this post... my post right now.... and think.........." I am THAT HAPPY and JOYFUL right now.....that I am taken back to Estepps post"
I want to to be taken back to this post..... so that you are all SO SO SO JOYFUL tomorrow... you actually remember this post of JOY!
I love you sweethearts!!!!
Laura
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Hi EC ladies! And Happy Thanksgiving. We do all have so much to be thankful for. Especially the blessing of the friendship we've found on this site after our horrid dx. The kindness, love, support, encouragement and hope that we all give to each other is amazing. WE are amazing. Thank you to all.
Ann, wow, and how thankful are you that the lousy PS ditched you? You look beautiful.
Kate, you definately have the right idea. Obsess over turkey breast only today. LOL
Laura, I am so happy that you are feeling so much Joy today. Keep it up, sister.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all the awesome ladies here! I am so grateful to be here with you all!
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hi, i just had my exchage surgery 2 days ago - with augmetatio & implat right side (left side was the mastectomy). it appears that the mastectomy-tissue expader-implat side is slightly bigger or more swolle???? why? will it go dow? also lookig dow it looks asymmetrical. (they're silico rouds high profile)...???
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I don't think you'll get your final results for 3 months. You are swollen right now, so don't worry. My augmented side looks HUGE right now but it's swelling.
One question - did anybody get any mid-section swelling? Since my surgery, I've been lazing around in sweats but for Thanksigiving, I decided to get dressed and put on two pairs of jeans - neither of which I could get on. :-( I googled and I haven't seen anything about abdominal swelling and augmentation/reconstruction...
Hope you Americans had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did. Any, you Canadians - come on down next year.
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Hi CoolBreeze, I had my exchange last Friday (a week ago today), replaced TE on right side and lift on left side with implant. I have mid-section swelling. Maybe from pain meds. I did have to take pain meds for the left side.
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Happy Thanksgiving a day late. I hope you all enjoyed your day yesterday with family and Friends.
coolbreezeyou look fabulous. I am so happy for you. I don't post as much as I read but I am happy for you.
I have been thinking about where I am this year compared to last year at this time and it gives me a lot to be thankful for. Next Wednesday is my MX 1 year anniversary I cant believe it has been a year. I am also thankful to have found all you wonderful sisters.
Hugs,
Rebecca
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I don't think you'll get your final results for 3 months. You are swollen right now, so don't worry. My augmented side looks HUGE right now but it's swelling.
One question - did anybody get any mid-section swelling? Since my surgery, I've been lazing around in sweats but for Thanksigiving, I decided to get dressed and put on two pairs of jeans - neither of which I could get on. :-( I googled and I haven't seen anything about abdominal swelling and augmentation/reconstruction...
Hope you Americans had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did. Any, you Canadians - come on down next year.
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Hi,
Hope all of you wonderful ladies had a very Happy Thanksgiving complete with way too much good food!! We had a tasty, low key dinner at our house with our son and daughter, grandson, DH's brother and a family friend. Right after dinner, my son's cell phone rang and it was the police, telling him that his stolen truck had been found so we were all very thankful for that. The truck was stolen from in front of our house on Monday night. We had traded vehicles so our son could get back and forth to work and his music gigs because his truck is almost impossible to drive when it is icy or snowy. What an awful feeling to get up the next morning and discover the truck was missing, but now it is back where it belongs with no damage except McDonald's wrappers and the smell of cigarette smoke in the cab. How lucky is that?
The steri-strip finally came off my incision this morning and it looks good except for a little seeping in a couple of spots. Well, it actually looks pretty ugly, but I meant that the incision isn't red or infected and that's the good part. I feel so much better without the implant -- my body must not have liked it because my aches and pains are at least 50% better since it was removed. Weird, huh? There is one small pocket of fluid that I need to watch, but hopefully my body will just absorb it and this will be the end of implants for me. Any further attempts at reconstruction will be done by a different PS and will have to be some type of flap surgery.
Happy Black Friday! Our grandson spent last night with us and today he and I are playing games, watching TV, and being generally lazy. He's 9 and it's always a treat to spend time with him.
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Wow!! I just checked in and there have been so many exchanges!! You have to be so thankful so have that behind you. I hope your early Christmas presents are healing nicely!! coolbreeze... your photos were so great! Congrats. I am not sure where your mid-section swelling is??? maybe it's in your head, cuz' you look terrific.
Rebecca, happy anniversary! You too have given alot to others!
I am finally on the exchange list- January 4th. Happy new year foobs for me. I had my last fill last Monday. My PS added another 50 ccs which means that my TEs are at 550 ccs- fully filled. The fill itself was fine... just like the other 8 fills...but, I have been uncomfortable (not in pain) ever since. The TEs are completely in my way and for some reason they now feel so heavy, awkward, and burdensome. I definitely will not have any more fills and may even choose to have some removed. Did any of you ladies feel this way? Whippetmom had recommended 650ccs or even 700ccs implants for my height and frame, but I just don't think that I can do it. I was smaller than this beforehand... tissue removed per breast was about 450gr/ breast. ARGH! Not happy in KS today.
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Bonnie, how lucky was that to get your son's truck back undamaged!!! So glad that you are feeling comfortable now and healing well, sometimes you just have to listen to your body. You made a good choice. Deb
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One more question to ask of BMX ladies with Alloderm and TEs: with full expansion of your TEs, did your left and right breasts feel the same density? Should they feel the same? One of mine is firmer. Should I care? Does this make a difference? Will they/can they change this in the exchange process? Thanks so much. Deb
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kansasmom - It is perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable as you near the end of your fills. My last 3-4 fills were extremely painful. Remember that you will lose projection with the implants you need to keep going as long as you can. Hang in there! What you're describing sounds normal to me.
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It's funny about the fills. I only had 320 ccs put in my expander, but my doctor put in a 450 cc silicone implant. I haven't experienced any horrible pain from having a larger implant than planned.
I had the (#$*((#$ expander in 6 months after my last fill and yes, it was very uncomfortable. I had many fantasies about taking a knife and slicing along my scare - it was so close to the skin I figured it would just pop out! You could see the valve right through my skin - even the color! So, I understand your discomfort.
I did sleep on my stomach though -that's how dedicated a stomach sleeper I am.
It was like sleeping on a softball. You may not get perfectly used to it but you can stand it. As for the swelling, I don't know, they weren't new jeans so I don't think they shrunk. My last period was last December, after my 2nd chemo, so maybe the long-awaited menopausal weight gain has begun, lol.
I've always been super skinny. It's just weird that I can't get into jeans in just a few days - I think it has to be swelling. 0 -
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful one with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and my two adorable nephews.
kansasmom - Congrats on getting your exchange date. I was in so much pain after my last fill - the TE was pushing on the nerves above my chest on the left side - that I went back the following week and had 30 cc (maybe more?) removed from each breast. It felt so much better after removing some of the saline. I ended up getting implants 25cc smaller than originally planned, which is fine, because my implants are a great size for my body (I ended up with the size recommended by whippetmom). I had large breasts for my small frame prior to my BMX (I was very happy with the size though). Even though I'm significantly smaller now, which is kind of weird to get used to, they're a good size for me.
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Kansasmom, being uncomfortable towards the end of the fills is normal. Once my fills ended, my discomfort improved while I waited for the exchange. Still, they were very hard and weird. I was overfilled to 800ccs, I heard that my PS doesn't overfill that much any more. I got 650ccs.
My advice is to stop fills when you look like the size you want and/or you just don want any more, period. Your exchanged breasts will not be as high and "out there" as the TEs so you have to be prepared for the new ones to look smaller evenn when they are the often the same size. Many of us experience that. Wishing you the best when you have your exchange.
Bonnie, so, so glad you are experiencing relief.
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Hi Ladies-
Just coming across your posts and soo inspired by great revisions. I posted my pix on Timtam's site and as you can see really need a revision. Been nervous to do it but happy to see such wonderful words here..
Jessica
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Congratulations Coolbreeze ..... so happy everything turned out so well. They look great. I'm going in for my revision on Friday and I'm a little apprehensive..... funny b/c I didn't feel this way the other times before surgery. Just want to put this all behind me.
Went shopping today and I bought a holiday top......it frustrated me because I bought it, yet don't know if it will fit me after this next surgery..... just so want to be done with all the little inconveniences it brings to life. Pam
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Hi all. Thoght I'd pop in before my exchange this Tuesday. After 8 months with TE's I guss I am ready to get rid of them! I am a little nervous ad maybe those of you who hae had rads can help me. My rads side feels like a giant bruise, especial on the bottom, my rib. The tightness continues to be an issue. Much tighter than the no-rads side. I was in PT but 'released'. I really wish I didnt have to have another surgery....but if the perm implants are more comfortable....uh.
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MOM3band1G -
Best of luck with your exchange. There are a few of us who had implants after rads and are doing well. I am one of the few who even had the TE after rads and so far so good. I probably won't drop and fluff like the other ladies but look good in a bra. I still need a small lift on the native side (maybe next year). Yes, the implant is SO much better than the TE.
I know you aren't looking forward to another surgery but it is worth it.
Karyn
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Hello Everyone! I just wanted to pop in and let all of you know how very grateful I am for this site, for this thread and for all of the wonderful women who helped me through this long process. For those of you still waiting for exchanges, having revisions, just recovering form your exchange: Know that it gets better! My first dr. told me I couldn't do an expander and implants so I got a second and third opinnion and I am so glad I found my way here. I was much smaller prior to expanders and exchange. My MX side looked huge and I too could see the port underneath my skin. It hurt like hell and it was all I could do to get to 550 ccs (we were aiming for 600). Let me say that it was so worth the pain and the wait. My new breasts are perfect for my height and weight (thanks to Whippetmom) and I now, for the first time in my life, look great in clothes.
A very happy weekend to you all and may the joy sent to us from Laura extend throughout the rest of the holidays and into the new year.
For those of you who are recovering from surgery: Once the incisions have healed, get yourself some Lugols 2% Iodine and use a Q-Tip and apply it to the scars. It will rapidly heal and flatten them. It may eventually even get rid of the redness, though this may take more time.
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For those of you nearing the end of your fills, or approaching exchange soon, it is very normal to curse extreme profanity daily at your wretched TE's, feel like a cumbersome moose as your boobs crash into things daily because they're too numb and feel too large and to be counting down the days until exchange with more anticipation that you did your own wedding day. Hang in there!!! It'll will get better and these days will be but a distant memory (kind of like childbirth for those of you who've been there). (((HUGS)))
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Kate, love your "end of fills" descriptions. Way too accurate!
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Kate33 is right on target with her description of TEs, but I want to take it a step further in case there are any lurkers that might be where I was 3 months ago....I had the DblMX and TEs inserted at the same time (June) and for the next 7 weeks I was a basket case. The expanders were resting on nerves in my chest and ANY movement was like being cut by razor blades (my ps words). I got to the point that I cried all day every day they hurt so much. I had had 2 chemos, 3 fills and I said that was it, the TEs were coming out and now. Onc and ps had no problem with it, and I got my exchange 2 weeks later (august). I've resumed chemo and everything seems to be healing ok. So, what I'm saying, is if you have to take a detour, don't feel guilty. Do what is best for you. 0
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Ruth, that sounds absolutely brutal. I'm glad you were able to get your exchange even tho you were in the middle of chemo.
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Ruth that is so true, we must indeed to what is best for each one of us. We must remember that each of us is very brave in what we have been dealt with in our journeys to healing. Hugs to you all my wonderful friends!
Kate33 you are so right though it will be but a distant memory. I still can't believe that I went in for weekly 60 cc fills just to get it done and the pain that I endured well it is now behind me and I am only looking forward! Yippee!
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