Exchange City
Comments
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Aw Marie that is so GREAT! The weeks and even first few months after exchange are the most trying emotionally, I think because we expect to wake up and be done and don't really get ourselves emotionally prepared for MORE waiting. I'm so glad you tried that pink bra on and get jazzed up! As time passes they will get more alike (speaking as a fellow uni) and while they may never be exact (I think exact matching for a uni is rare) you will be SO happy overall that you just won't care (I know I don't). Happy healing!
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mfrog: My girlfriend is moving to Nanaimo which sounds like it is an island near you. It sounds like she is going to be the island's only oncologist....She just retired from Kaiser here and is ready for new adventures! I am going to miss her though.....
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Just wanted to stop back in and say "HI" and that I still pray for all of you. I was 30 pages behind on Dec 9th and am now even farther behind. I see that there are 660 pages now. Natural Girls is easier for me to stay current on in short bursts....but just wanted ya'll to know I think of you all the time
A lot going on here...kids moving back in with babies and animals, etc. I'm now driving a toddler to and from daycare everyday and all kinds of other MOM stuff. Luckily, it's like riding a bike. I still seem to remember how. But, it is keeping me from riding a bike or any other kind of exercise. I NEED to get my exercise component of my treatment plan going and things always seem to sidetrack me.
All my best to all of you!
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Deborah - Nanaimo is very close to me. Only a short ferry ride away. It's also where Sandra's Ink is - the lady that does the awesome 3D nipple tattooing (found her through Judy aka Facecrafter).
I'm sure she will love it on the island!
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Is anyone having skin discoloration issues post surgery because of radiation?
My skin is super sensitive and just from removing the paper tape on Monday I have red marks that don't seem to be going away.
I popped in to the PS's office today for the nurse to take a quick look. I wanted to know if it was "trouble" that I caught it early enough to "fix" and not let it go until I see the PS again on Feb 28.
She says that it's from radiation and most often it will fade away on it's own or it may stay like that.
I was surprised becuase I thought my skin had survived radiation rather well.
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Paper tape is nasty. I used some on some scars (per PS instructions) and it pulled my skin off with it when I removed it - and I did not even have radiation. Did the nurse say it was ok to stop using it, Marie?
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My surgery is scheduled for 2/22. I am having 350 saline implants replaced for 500HP silicone and nipple reconstruction (skate flap) at the same time. I'm concerned about the after care for the nipples. I have read many of you having guards or something to keep from smashing the new nippies. Has anyone else been in a compression bra and had success with nipple reconstruction?
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Whippetmom, I'm sure she'll like Nanaimo, it is very close to me. But she won't be the only oncologist here on the island, there are lots of them. The cancer clinic in Nanaimo is a satelite clinic to the main clinic in Victoria, but she may well be the only one in Nanaimo if the fellow there is leaving. The clinic there treated me very, very well, but I hope to never see those wonderful people ever again.
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Yes, she will be the only one in Nanaimo....so I suppose the current onc is leaving. Maybe I will have you contact her once she gets there [she is going through the visa/paperwork maze right now] , because she is not going to know anyone and I fear she will just work nonstop and forget to have a social life.
Oh....and Marie also....I'll make sure I tell her about the two of you....
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I'm sad that the other fellow is leaving, he was wonderful to me. (I'm sure your friend is great!) I will PM you my info.
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For the rest of our lives we will have to be SUPER careful with radiated THIN skin....
Even though you did good with rads.... you still had rads. Even to take chances of cutting on rads skin again..... example ... redo's.... nipples..... things like this... increase the risk of loosing our rads implant for the rest of our lives. Just take ALL measures to protect that radiated skin !!
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Estepp: I hope you are doing well!!!
Ladies, I have the flu and I had to cancel my nipple reconstruction because of it. My new date is March 15. So dissappointed
Wouldn't you know--I got the flu from the hospital while getting my pre-op!0 -
MBJ-that sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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MBJ -- noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! That totally sucks! But March 15 is not too far away... so heal up, rest up... and hey you don't have to do the pre-op again (they usually are good for a few months, certainly good for a few weeks).
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MBJ - That is incredibly disappointing!
More waiting ... just what we love to hear!
Heal up, rest and it will be here before you know it. Sorry, lady!
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MBJ, oh that sucks!! Having the flu is bad enough, but also having to postpone nipple surgery. Like Lilah says it's not too far away, it will be here before you know it. I'm about 3 weeks out from it, & it was a piece of cake & they make a huge difference. Good luck!!! Dee
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Hello Residents of Exchange City-
I had my exchange surgery a little under two weeks ago. . . I have red quite a bit about everyone's experiences and I keep hearing you mention "dropping and fluffing". What does that actually mean looks wise? Just curious as to what I can expect.
Thanks in advance!
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I feel for you MBJ! My husband brought a bad cold home from a business trip 10 days before my exchange surgery. I was so stressed out about catching it and having to postpone surgery that I snarled at him every time he coughed. Poor guy! It wasn't his fault he got sick.
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Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. I so wanted to be all done, but I certainly don't want to do surgery while sick. Aaaaachooooo!
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MBJ-The good thing about catching a cold is you get immunity from that particular virus. So that's one less virus (out of thousands) to think about.
Hang in there!
Brenda
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MBJ-sorry to hear you are having to postpone surgery! Tis the season for colds and flu though...Emergen C is good and lots of water
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Hi All I haven't been on for a while so busy with work...it's really interferring with my chatting..lol
Happy Exchange to all who had surgery ...hope you have a smoooooth recovery.
MBJ sorry about the flu and having your nip recon rescheduled.
I just got my nip recon scheduled for April 28th and I can not wait. Although I feel sad that my time with my PS is coming to an end.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!
Diane
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I just read on Time that the results of 15 trials involving 1,360 people suggest that "zinc cut the duration of colds by about a day and reduced the severity of symptoms by 40%". So take a zinc lozenge at the first sign of a cold.
Brenda
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MBJ, Waaaaaaaaaaa...choo! How annoying, feel better soon.
Marie, as Laura said, radiated skin and the underlying tissue is altered forever so we have to take extra care. It's can be finicky even when it looks ok on the surface. Hope you are enjoying your new foobs!
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Ladies:
I had my exchange 2/11....I had redness and rash under my left breast so I was putting antibiotic ointment on it. Yesterday I went to the doctor and he took all the steri strips off my incisions. He wrapped me in an ace bandage and wanted me to keep that wrapped up to the top of my chest rather than a bra. So last night I took the Ace bandage off and had red welts all over where the steri strips were. I have had skin allergic reactions to stuff before and it is worse on the left side, which had rads. I have been putting benadryl on it all day and laying here with my shirt pulled up. It it starting to hurt now.... Any suggestions? I hate that I don't have it wrapped up, but it is just too sore. Of course my ps is out of the country this weekend and I don't really want to call a stranger.
I'm just having a meltdown and I don't have anyone to talk to! No one understands! I was a DD before bc and I told the ps I wanted to be a D and he said we will see how big we can get you. I had to stop the expansion process to do radiation so my BMX was JUne 2010 and I just got the implants. When I finally looked in the mirror Wednesday I felt so upset. I know it takes a while for them to drop and fluff, but they aren't big enough. I mean projected enough. I told the ps in Dec that my expanders were not a D, but a little more than a B and he said the implants would project more than the expanders. Well he did cut out some scar tissue on left side so it projects a little more. But I am just so upset that I have gone through all this and then not be happy with the outcome!!!! I don't want to go through this again to have bigger breasts!
I feel like I had the masectomy just last week instead of the exchange. I feel so upset and emotional whenever I look at them or think about it! I just really want my boobs back! I feel like a baby.......I mean I haven't been this upset about any of it in many months. I am glad that I'm alive and I'm glad the cancer was taken from me, but this is just hard and I'm an emotional wreck today!
Thanks for listening! Any help is appreciated.
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Jeanne,
You are still hurting because it's only been 8 days since your surgery! The exchange was major surgery and your PS did remove some scar tissue and probably did some pocket work too.
If you are not happy with the way it looks after a few months I am sure your PS will be willing to work with you. Allow yourself to heal, though, and take care of that rash first. Could you see a regular doctor just for the redness? That would bother me even more, especially because it is happening on the radiated side.
My PS had a descriptive word for radiated skin. It sounding like unforgiving, unrelenting, unpredictable. I'll ask him again when I see him. He says that sometimes your radiated skin will not act up until 4 years later!
Sorry, and hang in there!
Brenda
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Jeanne I know how you feel. I'm allergic to the plastic film stuff they use (Tagaderm) so I'm very careful to ask for paper tape only. But this time the paper tape is leaving red marks on me too.
Our radiated skin must be SUPER-sensitive! The new flesh coloured paper tape they put on Monday is not leaving marks - that I can see - but we'll see what happens when this comes off next week.
I'm using Calendula cream - it's a lotion that is for sensitive skin and especially good on burns. I used it when my collar bone skin split from radiation. They gave me cortisone cream at the time but I had read that cortisone thins the skin and I didn't want any of that happening.
The funny thing is I'm also having an allergic/radiated skin reaction on my back shoulder blade where I had radiation too! I think it must be from the compression bra that I am wearing 24/7 or a skin after effect from surgery trauma/stress.
I was told if it gets worse, starts to itch or swell or if I experience a fever I'm to go back to the drs office right away or the hospital emergency (depending on when it happens).
I think someone on here was using iodine on their incision scars and I remember that the nurses had to use iodine on me whenever they changed my PIC dressings (paper Mepore) because of how sensitive my skin is to adhesives.
I'm going to ask my PS about using iodine if this doesn't go away soon.
Hang in there....
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js...We have all been there...Nearly every woman on this board will tell you that post-exchange is a very hard time. After the MXS we feel relief -- relief to have made it through the surgery, to be on the other side of those agonizing decision-making weeks or months, to have a treatment plan laid out and to have to have turned the corner toward the beginning of life post bc. It is almost exhilarating in some ways! But then the time with the TE's drags on, the rads or chemo, and we are ready for the whole damn thing to just be over. After all of the misery, the exchange seems like it will mark a return to normal -- nice new breasts, a new start. But for most of us our breasts are -- at least initially -- a disappointment. For me there was this flash of realization that THESE were not my breasts, they were hardly breasts at all; my familiar and loved breasts were not replaced, I was not ever getting them back. There is an awful let down -- some of it from the physiologic stress of surgery, on top of all of the emotional distress. The good news is that for most women, it eases up. For many, it passes. Your replacement breasts take better form (really!!!) and , well, you just get used to it all. The advice is usually, "step away from the mirror". Let some healing take place -- in your new breasts, in your mind. Just give it some time. Things will get better.
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I ditto Jerusha's comments. Someone here tonight said she had her breast tissue removed from around her cosmetic implants. It will be interesting to see how she adjusts to that over time.
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Jeanne,
I'm so sorry you're not feeling well, physically or emotionally. Since your PS is away, maybe you could see your primary care physician, dermatologist, or radiologist about the rash. I also had a terrible allergic reaction to the tape and steri strips. My PS told me to use cortisone cream (the regular over-the-counter kind).
Regarding how you feel about your new implants, a lot of women are disappointed with their new foobs right after their exchange surgeries. They change a lot during the first 3-4 months, so hopefully you'll be happier with them after they "drop and fluff." If not, you can get a revision (a lot of women do). I miss my old breasts too. I'm happy with the size of my implants, they're just not my breasts. And the scars are a constant reminder of everything I went through the last 10 months.
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