Exchange City

txmomof2 As you probably read in my post, my experience with TE's has been a very painful routine for the last several weeks. My exchange is Tuesday.  At 960cc in each of these footballs, I wake up in so much pain that I have to make myself move through the pain.  I am trying to think of it as a pregnancy of sorts. Knowing that after the pain comes the reward.  In what I have read here the majority of the women say that the relief is immediate.  I pray that is the case for us as well.

I don't have a date yet.  I'm only at 390 ccs.  I have no idea how much more I have to go.  I'm guessing my exchange will be in July/Aug.  Do the permanents sit up high too for awhile?  I feel like a porn star with some of the things I wear and feel very self-conscious about it but I hate to go buy a bunch of new things.  Glad to hear though that relief is immediate!

Thank you Ginger48.  I woke up at 3am in crying pain. Like they are being ripped by barbed wire, I took two tylenol and I hope I can go back to bed for a few hours soon. Lord, just get me to Tuesday.

Yep Tina, have been on the Implant 101,talk to the PS and she agrees,one more fill should do it and then we can look at an exchange date for surgery. I was wondering if the nipple recon is under general anesthetic? Am I going to be getting 2 more surgeries? The implants look huge,my TE are now a little larger than I was regularly b4 all h--l broke loose. She showed me the implant that she is planning to use. Its so weird to think that I am gonna have 2 of those things in my chest. Sometimes I feel angry and anxious about it all. The gel implants are like 2 small London broils. I asked her about the ink printed on there if its ok,she says some day when they are removed for new ones the surgeon has to know what old ones were there. Hmmm...would it still be readable!??

Does anyone get MRI to check their gel implants? I have heard its a different kind of MRI so dunno what that means. I guess I need to get over it,my fiance has a metal knee. He says it still hurts as much as his real knee did so guess that surgery didnt help him..but of course his dr says it kept him from having a hip replcement later. Dunno about all this stuff.

Layla2525 - It's pretty normal to feel scared, confused, angry, and anxious about all of this.  Breast cancer sucks in general and reconstruction is a surrealistic experience. I had nipple-sparing surgery so can't comment on nipple reconstruction.  But, I had implant reconstruction and although I've had some problems along the way I'm happy with my results.  Be sure to communicate with your PS what your vision is regarding size and projection.  Many PSs will take multiple sets of implants into the exchange surgery.  Each set has "sizers", temporary saline implants that the PS can try out to see which looks best on you.  Since you're under anesthesia while this happens it's important that your PS knows what your goals are before the surgery.

When you get your implants you should be given a medical device card(s) with information about the implants (make, model number, serial number, etc).  Just like when someone gets a pacemaker and they are given a card with all the info.  The information will also be in your surgical medical records.

Regarding MRI:  The machine is the same no matter why you're having a breast MRI.  I've had MRIs during my initial diagnosis, as guidance for biopsy, and to evaluate some lumps that developed after reconstruction.  I will also have one every two years to check for implant leaks.  The magnet in the MRI unit is pulsed differently depending on what type of tissue they want to check and what they're looking for.  For instance, when I had an MRI to evaluate some lumps I was told they really couldn't evaluate the edges of the implants for leaks.

Hang in there! 

Neato- wishing you well on Tuesday; it will be here soon!

I too am in a lot of pain with these expanders. I cannot wait until they are out. It sounds like the implants feel so much better. My left side is the problem side. The right side is fine. I had lymph nodes removed so I think this may be part of the problem. I cannot sleep all night. I either take a pain pill before I go to bed or my husband gets one for me when he comes home at midnight. My surgery is Thursday YAY!!!!

Gracious Gal - Thinking of you today. It will be over 100 in the Phoenix area today but you'll be in where it is cool. Keep us posted on your progress.

I'm so excited for all you gals coming up on your exchange surgeries!!



Beth it's good to see you're moving right along! )



I'm interested in hearing about bras post-op.....I've read soooooooooo many different things!!! Seems like everyone's PS is different. Some says sports bras, no underwire. Others say underwire is fine within 1 week. My PS said no bras post-op. Period! Has anyone ever asked their PS "Why" when it comes down to the great bra debate??



I'm nearly 3 weeks post op. Won't see my PS again until week 6. I can't believe I'm about to say this.......I want to put on a bra!!! (Not that I really need one these days!) lol

Thanks for your reply! I feel like a little support might help with the heaviness of the implants. Especially now that I'm back to work and on my feet all day. It's not painful by any means, just...different. I have a few cami's with built in shelf bras that I can wear until he gives me the go-ahead. I am thinking it might be because I had nipples done at the time of my exchange and he doesn't want to constrict them. His PA also told me that not wearing a bra allows the breast to develop a more natural droop and fluff sooner.......we'll see! I'm just always thirsty for knowledge and interested in what others have been told

Dunesleeper- I got my front hook sports bras at Walmart so if you have one near you, you could try there. They came in a two pack. I think they were Hanes. Not expensive, which was nice!

Just wanted to check in with you all. Surgery went fine yesterday. The hardest part was dealing with dry-mouth. I got a little hungry an hour before surgery (scheduled for 1:00 p.m.) but by then, the "parade" of doctors and nurses had begun. The anesth. dr. gave me a patch behind my ear to combat the post-op nausea. It was the first time I'd gotten one of those (I've been through three other surgeries over the past 2 years) and it is working beautifully! I slept fairly well last night (with the help of Percocet, of course) and can tell I'm still "sailing along" on some meds today. But I'm functioning well and have been snacking on my favorite cereal: Rice Chex.

Just checked on "the girls" a few minutes ago and they look great! So soft! Not as much definition as I expected, but that may change over the next few weeks. Have to call the PS office today to schedule my post-op. DH and I have a mini-vacation planned for Memorial Day weekend, so I want his go-ahead for that.

Thanks again for all prayers and good thoughts yesterday.  

Lauren- it was bad at the end and Valium worked for me.

Lauren, hang in there girl. I had my last fill 3 weeks ago and felt the same way. I've been taking Valium or Flexeril. It helps, but I'm still aware of them all the time and they wake me up at night if I move. I've been very physically active and don't know if that helps or hurts. My solution is good ole bullsh%*ing myself. We're at the end and soon we'll be butterflies. I laugh when wondering if this is what it feels like coming through the birth canal. I amuse myself by making them "jump". I hope that talent goes away! I pretend like they are eggs and the new chick will emerge in 10 more days. An active imagination goes a long way. Or maybe it's the drugs:-)