Exchange City

Chrisrenee77 - Vinnie Myers is a member of BCO - here is the link to his profile, which also has a link to his home page:  http://community.breastcancer.org/member/97339/profile

He is one of the most talented 3D nipple tattoo artists I've researched. Take a look at his gallery...some of the photos are so real you'd swear the women had nipple reconstruction, but in reality, it's just an illusion.

Incogneato - sooo sorry about the post- exchange pain. I'm in kind of the same boat. He did a TON of pocket work when he was in there, and it took almost as long as the original BMX! But I'm 7 weeks out today, and it does get better. I just think that all the discomfort will be worth it down the line, when I'm not experiencing some of the issues I might have had without having the pocket work done. Yay on the clear D&C.

Tlew - I didn't have the steri-strips, but my 90 year old FIL did....on a cut on his arm. His doctor told him to NOT yank it off. So he let it go for weeks and weeks and it started to peel off and flap in the breeze, and was really dirty. He looked like The Mummy. Finally, a nurse at the nursing home where my MIL is took pity on him and changed it for him. He said he was just following his doc's instructions!!!

Welcome, 4mycdbmjb!

Sherry67 - oh, my - 15 months with expanders!!! I had mine in for only 9 months. I think you will be very relieved.

Dulcigirl - you asked on another thread what the TEs looked like.  Under clothes, they look fine. Nekkid, in the mirror, they can be, well, surprising in the shapes they take on. But if you understand what they look like by themselves, sometimes it can help to know what's going on inside you.

Basically, a TE is a deflated saline implant, only instead of being smooshy all over, it has a hard plastic back. This is the part that sits against your chest, in between your pectoral muscles. The PS will create a pocket for them at the time of your MX. This hard back allows the saline that is injected to push out against your muscles and skin, stretching everything so that it can accommodate an implant down the road.

At the top of your TE will be a metal port, under your skin. You should get a small amount of saline injected in the OR, then when things start healing more, you'll have regular "fills" in your PS's office. He will use a small device like a stud finder to pass over your skin and find the port, then he will inject a needle (you're numb; probably won't feel it) and start injecting saline. When you have been expanded enough (that's another thread: Breast Implant Sizing 101) you'll stop, and wait for your exchange surgery.

As for accessing the Picture Forum, PM Lilah. She checks in more often  than nowheregirl. Since it is such a sensitive, private site, they are looking for members who have been here a while, and have demonstrated the ability to not only support other women, but who will be available to share their own stories and pictures.

Lelela - I had Cipro in an IV during surgery, as well as a prescription for ten days' worth to take at home. I also just had my teeth cleaned, and even though my PS said I didn't need antibiotics first, my dentist insisted on it.

Yes, they did put a smaller implant in the native side.  480 cancer side and 320 native side.  They were going to do a lift but once they put the implant in they didn't need to.  My skin is tight from radiation 32 yrs ago for Hodgkins so it didn't stretch like they anticipated. 

Hi Ladies, I've been following your stories but this is my first post. I had my last fill today! I am getting closer to the end! I hope I get relief too!! I am so tight and uncomfortable.

Thank you for all the info!!! I've learned so much on this site!

What is Lilah's full name for a member search?

Question for you ladies that are post-exchange--how long before I get used to the implants?  I was hoping that I wouldn't feel/notice them under there!  Everything still feels tight to me(although my range of motion is very good).  I don't know if it matters, but I am sort of thin (5'7", 125 lbs) and just reconstructed to my original A cup, although they are higher and fuller than my native breasts were.  I see my PS again in another couple weeks, so I'll talk to her about it then, but not sure if I'm overreacting or have unreal expectations in terms of getting to the point where I no longer notice them.  Thanks for any feedback

Thanks rosetx--glad to know I'm not the only one!  What you describe is just like what I feel.  I'm someone who felt suffocated if I wore a padded bra before, so having this constant feeling of "something there" drives me nuts.  Here's to hoping it lessens or we get used to it!

Hi Ladies, Just need some advice, I have had my TE in now for almost 16 mths and will soon be having recons, I am so clueless I have read from your posts that after exchange they are a little more comfortable which will be fantastic as my TE feels like a rock under my chest, I never had fills my PS just filled it at time of my MX as I am small breasted,  I can feel the edges of it when I lay down its so uncomfortable, I will also have to have good side lifted as its droppy has anyone had uplift to good side and will did they match up ?, I cant imagine how they will, I wish I had someone to guide me , havent had final consult with PS yet but they dont show me pics they just talk in medical terms that I cant understand , so any help appreciated thxs 

Thanks Tina T, I will check out that page, and yes I am so sick of this rock in my chest LOL havent had a good nites sleep since MX.

Hi Ladies.  So I don't check this thread anymore but was alerted that someone was trying to find me.  So here is a post from me to make it a little easier to PM me

I'm a gatekeeper for the Picture Forum, which is a private site that is separate from BCO.  If you've been a member here on BCO for awhile and you're someone who shares of yourself via regular posts here on BCO, please feel free to PM me to find out how to join our Picture Forum. 

Hope everyone is on their way to happy dropping and fluffing!

For you ladies with questions about how your implants will feel after the exchange . . .

I have had my implants a year now. They started to  feel pretty normal  at about 9 months out. They were a little softer than the TEs right away but they got much better as time went on. I had a little stiffness for about 2 weeks after surgery and then was fine.

I was a 36DD before and I am a 36D now. My native boobs always felt kind of heavy and they giggled and bounced a lot. Now most of the tightness is gone. At first the massaging was uncomfortable now it feels really good. They don't really feel like the giggle or bounce anymore, maybe it just seems that way since they are smaller and firmer. I can sleep on my side no problem. Sometimes I notice that when I come in from the cold it takes a little while for them to warm up but unless I actually touch them I don't notice.

Just a question for ladies that completed their exchange. How does your partners or DHs handle your new foobs? Are they extra gentle with them during intimacy? Or do you want them to be extra gentle? Are you self conscious of them if are being touched too roughly?

jillj yes this is all a pretty crazy process and each phase requires patience with your self your body and tlcw with your loved one.  This journey has lasted 2 years so far for me, mostly because I have medicaid and there were long waits in between surgeries. My husband just got into the habit of not touching me there. I am ready for him to help with the massaging lol. It does feel good for them to be touched. We jsut got less and less sexual but not less intimate each step in this process. During chemo we just stopped. We kicked it into gear a bit after it was over and then I had two more surgeries. Now the last time we had sex it was difficult, it was like I was a virgin again. SO I it is going to take some work to get things back the way they were.

But I still have my nipple surgery in a few weeks and I think once he hears its all done with and I am all healed he will be more open to accepting my new body. We still hug and kiss and hold hands and snuggle but that is it. I should mention that last year my husband had an injury to him arm and could not use his arm for a few months and lost some use of two of his fingers. So I think he is learning to accept his body too.

In the mean time I am working to get back to my wedding weight. 18 pounds to go. I know he likes me lean and mean.

I am a little worried about this but we both still seem happy together so I am trying not to freak out about it. 

jillj, I agree with everything rosetx said.  I'm a day after her (9/12) and it feels like I still have a bra on even when I don't. 

@CMartin:  Hi, Cindy, I've thought about you and hoped things are still going well for you.  Like you, I had expectations of immediate squishiness.  And they are definitely softer, but this is such a p-r-o-c-e-s-s!  I've had to look for changes week by week instead of day by day, so I'm really working on being patient.  Are you still going to do 3D tats in November?  I'm not going to be able to consider scheduling until January at the earliest....and I have a small place on my original scarline that needs a little more time--nothing significant, but looks like a tiny  area where it might have scabbed over just a bit. 

Thxs for your replys ladies, I feel very reluctant to go for exchange although I want this TE out my PS said I could keep it in if I wanted and not have to have it exchanged , I kinda wish he didnt say that as I dont want to go through any more pain, I can only now after 16mths lay on my side again, is the recovery after exchange as long as after mx, and do they have to open the whole scar again as mine is almost invisible now?