Exchange City

heebie_jeebie:  Be careful with what you do.  I have large knuckles.  I ended up moving one of my implants out a little from the muscle just by putting my rings on and off.  I didn't realize that this was the same exertion as lifting weights.

42squared:  I'm this Thursday, February 10th, just a little ahead of you.

MarieK:  Hooray for showers!  13 days with drains after BMX.  Hoping for much shorter drain time this time around. 

42squared: yes my surgery is same as yours!! at 9:00 a.m. What time is yours?

Jeanne mine was outpatient and I was in the hospital for most of the day. 

If I were you I would try and get someone to stay - just in case - for that first night with you.

My hospital will not even discharge you if there is no one to take you home.  You can't even go in a cab!

I'm sure you've thought of this but there are a few things you can do ahead of time to make things easier - you know like stock up the fridge with stuff that is ready to drink/eat, soup and/or easily microwaveable meals, move some of your necessary items from upper cabinets to somewhere where you can access them, and do all your laundry ahead of time (I lived in my pjs for the first few days and the first night I threw up and peed myself but that's another story!)

And I don't know about the rest of you but I get confused taking different medicines so I made myself a little chart and wrote down when I was supposed to take stuff and then I checked it off when I took it.  It made it a lot easier for me to remember if I had taken my pain meds or not!

Anyway just a few suggestions for you - good luck with your surgery and keep us posted on how you're doing!

42squared, Warrior67, Jsmiley, and anyone else having exchange surgeries this week - Best of luck!  You're going to love your yippee squishees.

Kelben:  That's fantastic news!!!!

Sunnycoconut:  My MIL is the same way!

I graduated today:  I went to my regular 3 month Onc appointment today and no blood test, just a check up in 6 months.  I don't know whether to celebrate or to be scared.

I love my dairy products, though since my BC diagnosis I have switched to organic, but I read this article today and, I knew it could make you fat but I had no idea about some of this stuff:

How Safe Is Your Milk?

Some noted experts are rethinking the nutritional recommendations on eating dairy products. Here's, what you need to know before you hit the supermarket.

There are many ways that dairy, especially in its lower-fat formulations, does a body good: It reduces the risk of high blood pressure, shores up bone density and helps prevent diabetes. So Americans-who have upped their dairy consumption over the past three decades to nearly two cups a day-should be congratulated, right? According to some nutritional experts, the answer is maybe not. Turns out that today's milk-based products, particularly those derived from cows, pack a surprising hormonal punch, stronger than the one our ancestors experienced.

Here's what dairy* products-milk, yogurt and cheese-naturally contain: estrogens (sex hormones that can spur tissue growth), a sugar component (which may act like a reproductive hormone on the ovaries) and a protein ingredient (which seems to stimulate the production of growth hormones in our bodies). These are all a boon if you're a calf or a human toddler. But once you've reached adulthood, growth and sex ­hormones have the potential to trigger and speed the development of some cancers, notably of the breast. So far, the link between dairy and cancer is driven more by preliminary research and theory than by conclusive evidence. And none of this research has definitively tested the difference in hormonal load between organic and nonorganic milk. Nonetheless, if you regularly drink nonorganic milk-and perhaps have been trying to drink more-consider some experts' concerns before you pour another glass.

[*Both butter and ice cream contain, in small amounts, the kinds of hormones that milk, cheese and yogurt do. However, the USDA considers butter a fat and sweetened ice cream a treat rather than a dairy product.]

The Hormonal Stew

Most American women have become leery of estrogen because of its well-­reported connection to breast cancer, at least when it enters the body through hormone therapy (HT). While the amount of estrogen in a glass of milk is just thousandths of that found in an HT pill, a 2009 study funded by the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, found that several kinds of nonorganic cow's milk-skim, low fat, whole and buttermilk-contain 11 types of estrogen, some of which have been linked to the development of estrogen-positive breast-cancer tumors. (Note: Cow's milk is the dairy form nutrition experts are most likely to study-as opposed to, say, milk from sheep or goats-but all milk-derived foods contain hormone and ­hormone-like ingredients.)

According to studies, dairy products are the main source of the estrogen we consume in our food, contributing 60 to 70 percent of what's found in our diets, says estrogen researcher Timothy Veenstra, a laboratory director at the National Cancer Institute. To be sure, estrogens from dairy make up a relatively small amount of our total estrogen load when compared with all other contributors. Most of the estrogen in premenopausal women's bodies is produced by their ovaries; in postmenopausal women not on HT, the estrogen comes largely from fat tissue and other organs. Still, dairy products affect the total amount of estrogen circulating in women's bodies.

Adding to the risk is the fact that cow's milk is rich in lactose, a milk sugar that includes a molecule of galactose. Galactose may set in motion processes that stimulate the growth of ovarian cells and follicles, adding to the lifetime stress on the ovaries, "which could, according to one theory, damage the organs and promote cancer," says Jeanine Genkinger, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Also, some experts hypothesize that a milk protein called casein spurs our bodies to make more of the growth hormone IGF-1. "We know that in both pre- and postmenopausal women, those with higher levels of IGF-1 have a higher risk of breast cancer," says Michael Pollak, MD, a professor of oncology at McGill University in Montreal and one of the world's foremost experts on IGF-1. "We also learned in the Harvard Nurses' Health Study that if you drink two glasses of milk a day compared with no glasses a day, your IGF-1 levels go up."

The biochemical brew found in nonorganic milk has only gotten more potent over the past few decades. Dairy cows are now specifically bred for milk production. Since they can continue to produce milk while pregnant, most are artificially inseminated a couple of months after they've given birth to a calf to keep them "in business" for as much of the year as possible. "Dairy cows are pregnant for six to seven months while they're lactating," says Jamie Jonker, PhD, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the National Milk Producers Federation.

The country's nine million dairy cows are milked for nine to 10 months of the year, and among ­nonorganically raised herds, what they produce is often spiked with the unusually high hormones of pregnancy. So 2011's Bessie is delivering more milk, and more biologically active hormones, than her 1911 counterpart.

What Are the Risks?

The few studies looking at the link between the consumption of milk products and the incidence of ovarian cancer are inconsistent and somewhat old. In a 2006 analysis that combined a large number of studies, Genkinger, then at Harvard, found no association between the two. But in a 2004 Swedish study, women who consumed more than four dairy servings a day showed double the ovarian-cancer risk of women who had two daily servings.

A somewhat stronger case has been made for a connection between dairy and breast cancer. The large-scale Harvard Nurses' Health Study linked early onset of the disease with high consumption of full-fat dairy products, although it's not clear whether the culprit is dairy's hormones or its saturated-fat content, says Walter Willett, MD, PhD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. However, some other rigorous studies have failed to confirm the link.

The dairy industry maintains there is no reason for concern. "The research doesn't show a cause and effect between dairy and cancer, only an association," points out Greg Miller, PhD, executive vice president for research, regulatory and scientific affairs at the National Dairy Council, the dairy-­industry group that conducts research and promotes dairy. "Furthermore, the associations that have been shown in some epidemiological research are inconsistent from study to study, so the overall body of evidence is far from convincing." Many cancer experts aren't ready to point the finger either. "The question is, are milk's estrogens biologically active enough, and are there enough of them, to make a difference? We just don't know yet," says Larry Norton, MD, deputy physician-in-chief for breast-cancer programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Still, if you're consuming cereal bowl after cereal bowl of skim milk, year after year, the hormone and ­hormone-like components can add up. Not many risk factors have been identified for breast cancer, but several studies have shown that the more estrogen a woman is exposed to over her lifetime, the higher her risk. "One glass of milk is not dangerous, but every time you drink it, you're adding to the pool of estrogens in your body," says Veenstra of the National Cancer Institute. This is why some nutritionists believe that anyone concerned about ovarian or breast cancer should moderate her dairy consumption. Of course, any dietary change should be made in consultation with your doctor.

Setting Limits

The USDA recommends consuming two to three servings of low-fat or nonfat dairy a day for optimum health (a serving is equal to 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1.5 to 2 ounces of cheese). Neither the government nor the National Dairy Council considers three servings an upper daily limit. But the independent experts consulted by More emphasized that if you're aiming to give your diet an overall disease-fighting effect, you need diversity in your menus, and that mission is difficult to accomplish if you're eating more than three servings of dairy a day.

Three servings of low-fat milk, for instance, provide 75 to 100 percent of your daily calcium needs; you can find additional calcium in other foods you're urged to eat, such as broccoli and other greens, or make up the difference with supplements. In fact, some experts, such as Harvard's Willett, maintain that two servings a day-not three-is the more prudent amount in light of some very preliminary ­research that links the lactose in three dairy servings a day to increased ovarian-cancer risk. "Just as important, having three servings a day instead of two doesn't seem to provide any additional benefit in terms of preventing bone fractures," he says. In other words, by Willett's calculations, eating two servings a day would provide you with the bone-sparing advantages of dairy without subjecting you to any known possible ovarian-cancer risk.

However, since fortified dairy is the main source of vitamin D, there's reason to continue including at least some of it in your diet. "Some of the most promising research on diet and cancer is on the protective effect of vitamin D," says Patricia Moorman, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. To make sure you're getting enough D from a dairy product, check the label (vitamin D does not occur naturally in high amounts in dairy, so it is added).

Switch to sheep's or goat's milk  "About 95 percent of sheep's milk in the United States is produced from nonpregnant ewes," says dairy expert David L. Thomas of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. As a result, sheep's milk contains low amounts of pregnancy hormones. Goat's milk also has a lower load ofhormones compared with cow's milk.

Stick with skim or low fat  In one study, skim milk had the lowest levels of a kind of estrogen that can stimulate breast-cancer tumor growth. In addition, skim and low-fat milk are considered healthier choices because of their low ­saturated-fat content. ­"Animal fat is linked to a higher risk of cancer in general," says Moshe Shike, MD, director of clinical nutrition at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Consider lactose-free milk  If you're at high risk for ovarian cancer-you have a family history of the disease, or you have tested positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene-you could opt for widely available lactose-free milk at least part of the time. Goat's milk is also a good alternative, since it has the least amount of lactose of all the dairy milks.

Go with rBST-free milk Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) is a synthetic growth hormone that is now injected into about 17 percent of U.S. dairy cows to increase their milk production. Milk with rBST contains slightly higher levels of a protein that may be a marker for breast cancer in postmenopausal women; therefore, some experts advocate caution. Many stores (including Walmart) and food companies (such as Yoplait and Dannon) do not sell rBST dairy, and they use the label "rBST-free." Or go organic: Laws prohibit using rBST in cows that produce that kind of milk.

Marie: My drains were killing me too and my PS showed me a trick with a certain way to tape them to the body so they didn't pull. It really helped. Call them and see if they can help.

All: Somebody sent me the picture forum access info. Thanks!

where can i buy organic meat

jsmiley- I'm not sure if its a Florida thing, but with my mx and exchange, I had the procedure and then was put in a regular room for 23 1/2 hours for 'observation'.  The dr. can keep you there under 24 hours and not formally admit you, so its still considered outpatient.  I spent the night and then was let go the next am.  Yes, you will need someone for a couple of days/nights.  Hugs!

jsmiley-I was outpatient with my exchange and for me it was sooo much easier than the MX.  Be sure to put items low because you may have to have your elbows to your sides for awhile.  I kept a chart of when I took my antibiotics because it was four times a day. You will love the feeling of softness again!

Jkz -- if you have a Windows-based PC, put your pictures on your computer and use Microsoft Picture Manager to resize to "web small" ... you don't have to set your camera (not sure you can actually) but need to use computer to resize photos.  Save the resized photo as a new file (I always add the word  "small" to the resized picture file so it's easy to find for uploading) and the upload that one to the site.

MBJ -- great article!  Thanks for sharing it

Hi everyone!  I haven't posted on here in awhile.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Just wondering if someone has a complete list of members you can PM for access to the photo forum?  Seems like that question comes up a lot on other threads and I've forgotten who the gatekeepers are.  Any info that I could pass on would be appreciated!

Hiya Kate!  And of course there is Timtam   But any one of the list MBJ put up can help.

Marie:  It took 4 months for my MX side to relax, drop and fluff!  Mine is close in shape and size, however, when I bend over, I don't have the same projection as the natural side because the muscle holds it in more.  Give it time as the muscle needs to relax and realize it now has a new purpose in life!