Exchange City
Comments
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Good luck on your exchanges. Mine is 9/4. I have my pre-op this week. Time is flying by.
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valerie0118 - we'll be Exchange Sisters! Mine is also on August 22nd. My PS says no drains, but the last time we talked, he said he may have to do a lot of pocket work, so.......
Will just have to wait and see.
Congrats on the new job!
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Hey Blessings! That is great! I will keep you in my prayers as I go under again. I'm excited to get rid of the TE. The last fill put it to the point that I absolutely can't sleep on my tummy and it is even hard to lie on my right side because it is under my armpit too. No pain.....just bulky.
Are you getting fat placement too? The PS said the abdomen may be more tender than my chest after surgery. He is going to take fat from there to plump up the old girl and smooth out the new girl. He promised to complete the tummy tuck too!
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Blessings, Are you as excited as I am? Our exchanges are coming up soon,OMG. I will be about 9 days after you. My PS says she will decide at the surg if I get drains or not. They unwrapped me to the steri strips after the bmx before they would let me go home and had me look in the mirror to make sure I would be able to handle it all. I think cause I was getting a little hysterical. Thats mainly because my fiance drove me to the hosp and we got in a big argument on the way about how he was gonna create a foyer with giant tiles in front of my door while I was in hosp and i did not want that. Then he was driving my vehicle and told me he was gonna leave me at the hosp. I thought he said it cause he was mad but then he didnt come see me that night and then I couldnt reach him on the phone and the way they wrapped me up after surg it looked like I had a port put in,when the surg promised they would not do that until the final path report came in. My son was in Paris studying med at P&M Curie and I did not want to worry him. Long story cut to chase: the student nurse called the real nurse and they put me on Valium! I had no port cause my nodes were negative and DA (dumb a....)came to get me on Wed morn, I could go on about what else happened but need to hear from someone else...I am sure they want to vent about all the craziness..anyone?
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Jill~ I had no warning signs of the TE turning sideways other than it feels completely different than the other side. I was attributing the fullness (yes, in the armpit) to the fact that it is the side that had cancer and therefore additional procedures prior to the mastectomy (SNB & Lumpectomy).
My PS was on vacation for 3 weeks & when I returned to see him for another fill he was dumb-founded by what the magnets were showing him. The TE had obviously shifted sideways as one of the ports (my TEs have double chamber) was near to my armpit! I have to laugh to keep from crying! He said he has NEVER seen this in all of his years of practice (20+ yrs).
We scheduled a surgery to exchange to implant but I have since changed my mind and will be talking with him about changing out the implant and continuuing with fills for now. More procedures for both of us but I'm not sure my skin and pec muscle are ready for implants yet.
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Thank you C-Squared for the explanation! I'm sorry you are going through this and it's a relief to know that what happened to you is uncommon. I was thinking as well, that is too soon for permanent implants so close July 5. I hope your PS concurs and you will continue the TE process so your skin & muscles will be ready for the exchange. Keep up the great attitude and humor, I love reading your posts.
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i had my permanent implants after 4 weeks of 4 fills 125cc each time
after the 4th fill my one side leaked thats wy she put the real implant in and reduced my other side
good luck too everybody
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Sherryc, glad you'll be having surgery the same day as me! Can't believe you're having a colonoscopy the day before. I'm so not prepared for this surgery. For the BMX, I had checklists galore. This time, I haven't done anything yet. I'll be working a full day tomorrow and getting things ready. But, from what everyone says, this one is so much easier - we'll see!
Does anyone have any pre-op tips??0 -
Karenr1028c - I'm like you!
I was so OCD before my BMX...a million lists, had to be prepared for anything, stuff had to be "just so"...now all I care about is clean sheets on the bed, and a way to make my recliner go back without using my arms!
I guess the anticipation of a BMX, TEs, and finally getting through that, makes us much less worried about the exchange, huh?
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Blessings....agreed!
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Karen we are surgical buddies. I am also like you no list at all just winging it. I'm too concentrated on not screwing up my instruction for my colonoscopy, haha. I am really not freaked out about doing both really just glad to get it over with. I am anxious about what my final implants will look like. I think I always knew my TE's were temporary but the implants will be permanent and I want to love them.
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Layla for some reason some men jsut don't seemed to be equipped to help us deal with this very well. My husband could not handle any of it because he is soooooo squeemish. I thought he would pass out when the doctor was explaining how my bmx took a long time because he had trouble seperating the tissue from the skin. I know he loves me and he does the best he can. But sometimes it feels like he gets mad at me because I got sick. As long as things are going well he is a doll but jsut when I needed him he was only there physically emotionally he was not always so supportive of the things he did not understand.
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SherryC - I felt the same way. I was more anxious about the exchange because it is permanent (hopefully no revisions needed). Since I'm a UMX it's a little different. The reconstructed side looks pretty good. My PS is very happy with the results, but of course she's never going to look like her sister. I hope after the "drop and fluff" it will be a bit closer to a matched set.
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Surgery is Friday and I have a toothache!
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Cindy - Oh No! Hope you can get to the dentist quickly and get it resolved. I know you are looking forward to the exchange on Friday. Praying for smooth sailing the rest of the week. Keep us posted.
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Thinking of all you ladies with exchanges this week. I am about five weeks past my own exchange, doing great, and loving the girls! I am optimistic that you will have similar experiences.
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Thanks Rose! It's gotten worse today. I can't get in until tomorrow. I'm thinking root canal with a specialist so this week isn't probable.
Joan...great news. I'm hoping for the same.
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Cindy - Ooooooh NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Tooth pain is awful!!! Can you impress upon your dentist that this is EMERGENCY dental care, and could he get you an appointment with a specialist ASAP?
(I've been in that situation. My dentist arranged for me to see the Endodontist the following day.) Are you sure you need a specialist? Maybe your dentist can perform the procedure, just to give you some relief?
Prayers for good news tomorrow....
Joan - two more sleeps, then permanent squishies! I can't wait....these babies are like concrete. So glad you are doing well with the new girls!!!!!
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I'm with you Blessings! Was just telling my husband that I'm so tired of this grapefruit strapped on my right side! Since the last fill, it just seems to get in the way of everything, lol. Two days and counting! I have a mammogram scheduled for tomorrow afternoon so hope that goes smoothly....actually it is only 1/2 a mammogram on the surviving girl. Nothing to scan on the other side, lol.
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ugh the dnetist. I found out 2 weeks before I started chemo that I had a cracked tooth. Had it filled two days before my first infusion. Like chemo wasn't enough.
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Oh Carrol...I know right!
Blessings...my dentist refers. I want to insist but don't want to mess anything up. Cant wait for your big day. Pretty exciting!
Valerie...yeah for you!...2days!0 -
Gooooooo amazing ladies!! Just had my exchange 3 days ago and SO happy so far. Best of luck to you. It's amazing how many are rooting for each other from these boards...xoxo
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I am two weeks out from my exchange, they are healing well and look good... But are smaller than I expected. No, not smaller, flatter. I had 400cc implants. I didn't know that they would be flatter, what is the drop and fluff? I mean they are fine but different than I expected. They do not fell squishy. My husbabd thinks they look great..i have heard it takes a few months for things to settle... But I am not planning on any more surgery period so no revisions. I'll get used to it.
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Hi all,
I had my TE exchange yesterday (don't know how I missed this thread before that!).
I think I'm doing pretty well. I'm so far taking the Vicodin prescribed but it's already more manageable than the first surgery for sure. I was able to sleep propped up in my bed last night rather than in a recliner which I did for a couple of weeks last time. I have a drain on each side which of course I hate, but that, hopefully won't last long. I haven't taken a look at the new sisters yet but will today. I really hope they are not a lot smaller than the TEs but have a feeling they might be...
The day itself was long - we got to the hospital at 7:30am, went in for the surgery at 9:15 and left the hospital just before 5. I slept off and on and slowly worked myself to sitting up, getting fairly dizzy at a few points. But I was home by 6 (that's when I wish we weren't driving from NYC to NJ!) and starving.
So so far it's all manageable. Im not slated to have the drains removed until Monday which feels like a long way away. Did others wait that long? The good (?) news is that I a basically bald this time 4 weeks PFC, so the agonizing over no shower is gone this time! Gotta look at the bright side!
Good luck to everyone else going this week!
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Well woke up and can't go back to sleep. Anxious for the exchange in 7 1/2 hours. DH got a new computer so we are going to the apple store before the hospital to make sure his icloud thingy is working correctly. The man has no patience for technology plus it will be a great distraction for me. Can't wait for squishes
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ab1234 - I'm so happy for you! Three weeks and counting for me. I can't wait, although the TE's have finally settled down a bit.
And like others here....I was compulsive about making lists and having everything perfectly prepared for the original BMX. It served its purpose to keep me busy and distracted, but this time I'm just going about life as usual (with a few accommodations for the TE's).
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Lisa2012 - I'm almost 3 weeks out and they are starting to "settle in." They are squishy though. My PS said I have to massage them twice a day for 6 weeks. You basically grab one with each hand and move them in circles, in and down and around. I guess that's to help keep them closer together. I also have to sleep in a sports bra to help keep them together. I didn't realize they could move that much. He said I won't get nipples done for 3-4 months because that's how long it takes for them to truly settle.
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Lisa I personally don't know since I haven't had my exchange yet, but I read alot about it on another forum today. One lady said that she was so disappointed in hers even up to 2 weeks. Then she said they seemed to change on a daily basis. She said she didn't know what she would find the next day- some days she had divots or flat spots and a few days later they were filled in and looking great. Any way the long and the short of it is that her PS had told her that the average period of time for the drop and fluff is 3 to 6 months. She said hers was definitely 6 months and that she cant believe how much better and fuller they looked after 6 months.Several others said the same thing so it sounds like you shouldn't get discouraged because you still have a wait for the final drop and fluff. With my exchange coming up soon I was really glad to read that so that I won't be expecting too much in a short period of time.
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Had my exchange this morning and so far, so good! He ended up putting in high profile 600 silicone implants - haven't looked at them yet. They're not bandaged so I can look later. Have a surgi bra to wear non-stop till appt on the 31st.
But the pain's not bad. Took an oxycodone before leaving the hospital and it's helping. It's just incision pain so far. The tricky part is remembering not to lift anything because I feel like I can!
No drains, no shower till Thursday when I can take the plastic bandage off, just a lot of taking it easy. It's n0 -
Had my exchange this morning and so far, so good! He ended up putting in high profile 600 silicone implants - haven't looked at them yet. They're not bandaged so I can look later. Have a surgi bra to wear non-stop till appt on the 31st.
But the pain's not bad. Took an oxycodone before leaving the hospital and it's helping. It's just incision pain so far. The tricky part is remembering not to lift anything because I feel like I can!
No drains, no shower till Thursday when I can take the plastic bandage off, just a lot of taking it easy. I can definitely feel the difference - the hard weigh of the TEs is long. We'll see how the rest Of the day goes.
Sherryc - you got this!!0
