Exchange City

summergirl....i had ovaries/tubes removed and exchange less than 2 weeks ago. already sleeping on my side, have full range of motion and only took pain meds for less than a week and mainly because of the stomach part. they opened up about half of my existing scar.

Cindy - I have a friend who was so wonderful through my diagnosis and treatment, but she keeps saying how she wishes her breasts were perky like mine.  It's starting to tick me off!!

Summergirl - most people find the exchange much easier than the MX.  It still took me about 2 months to be feeling myself again, but I was doing much more than I was after my MX.  I don't mean to scare you, but I was very disappointed I didn't bounce back as quickly as I thought I would.

Jamie...my dh says to run into your friend with your "perkies" and knock her teeth out.

Welcome, Debbie!

I think most of us have been where you are.

For me, having the BMX with TEs was horrendously painful for the first month. Then things calmed down some. I didn't have chemo, so went straight through with fills- 620ccs in five visits.

I hated sleeping on my back because it was so painful. So when I had my BMX last December, we rented a hospital bed for two months. I had my exchange to permanent implants this past August, and by then we had a new recliner (surprisingly comfortable!) that I slept in for a month.

I'll still sleep in it on nights when I have a lot of pain from my reconstruction.

One thing that helps with sleeping on your back is to not lay completely flat. Some women use a wedge pillow. Lots of women will use a gazillion pillows, and build kind of a pillow fort to sleep in.

That way if you're on your side, you can always put your top arm over the pillows in front of you. If you're on your back, you can put pillows under your knees to take the pressure off your spine.

I had Norco for post-surgical pain, and Valium for muscle pain. One thing that helped me sleep at night with the TEs was for DH to do some massage on my back muscles, then I would take a nice warm shower before bedtime. That, plus the Norco and Valium, usually did the trick.

Other ladies have had good luck seeing a physical therapist for pain.

When you understand how the TEs are constructed, it would be surprising if we DIDN'T have pain!

They are like deflated implants, only instead of being smooshy all over, they have a hard plastic back, that rests against your chest muscles and can press on nerves. The reason the back is hard is so that the saline the PS injects will push the front out against your pectoral muscle and skin, making room for your implants down the road.

My TEs assumed many different shapes as they were filled. When I got to my max amount, one looked like a weird diagonal loaf of French bread, and the other was Sponge Bob Square Foob.

You should make sure your plastic surgeon knows about your TE pain.

Wishing you the best....

DebbieNinja-

I think the feeling of side boobs with the TE's is almost universal. I know that I sure had them.   I remember asking a friend who had just one side with a TE and she assured me that the implant would be different and she was right 

I had implant exchange on my bc breast in August. I was happy with the size as it fit perfectly into a C cup, however, I have rippling about half way around. My PS told me that because my skin is so thin and I have very little muscle there is nothing he can do. Last Tuesday I had revision on my native breast, replacing an existing implant with a smaller one and doing a lift. This surgery has been painful. I have stitches everywhere and am very tender. Size wise it is good, but I am freaking out because it is noticeably higher than the foob. I am hoping it is due to swelling and will settle down. I have more sutures now than I had with the UMX. Today has been one of those days that I ask myself why I am putting myself through all this at my age. I guess each day will be better, but it wears on you. Thanks for listening.

Mooleen, I feel your pain!

I had my left TE in for 19 months, my right TE in and out and then back in. I had exchange 5 1/2 weeks ago. It hurt more than I was anticipating. Lots of stitches and pocket work. He only cut 2 inches on either side, in same scar as BMX, but the steri strip is *still* hanging on lefty. I have cut it away as much as I can — man, that thing was glued on! Because my left TE was in so long, I had immediate drop and fluff. Righty is still high and round. I am very lopsided. My left IMF is lower than my right and the difference is increasing as time goes on. I looked at myself this morning and thought, holy crap, I'm going to need a revision at some point on the left side to raise this IMF, it is simply too low. I know I have to be patient, that the difference may appear less once the right side relaxes more. But I gotta say, I feel these implants as much as I felt the TEs. (I often reach to readjust my bra and realize I'm not wearing one.) So many women talk of the relief of exchange; I am still waiting! 

CMartin.. Your pictures are great, You must be so happy. Your PS did a great job

CMartin.. It's your body.. you do what's right for you..I have seen some of Vinnies work.. great.... We have a nurse here doing 3d areola tattos. all free from Cancer agency I am doing nipple recon only because I had unimx and do not want to have one "headlight on and one off"

Just had my pre-op visit with my PS for my surgery on Monday! I am so excited to get these rocks off my chest!  My Gyn is taking my ovaries at the same time - a little nervous over that, but since chemo shut them down and I tested positive for BRCA1, it needs to be done.

Can't wait to be squishy again.  I know it won't be the same as before all this crap, but at least it will be closer than these expanders.

I haven't decided on the nips yet. Figured I can wait a while and decide later. Has anyone decided not to do them? How did your DH respond to that?  I'm thinking about maybe just doing the 3D tats instead...

Cindy- Your pics look great.  The shape is wonderful.  My scars are very pink, but not as uniform as yours, so I'm hoping that the difference will be less obvious as they fade.  Thanks so much for posting, and I'm eager to hear about your experience w/Vinnie since I will be considering that trip after the first of the year. 

I have seen Vinnie's website and he does amazing work. Will insurance pay in that kind of setting usually? If not, what's the cost?

Has anyone else found a little round bump that feels almost like a bb under the skin after their exchange surgery? I noticed these a few days ago - one on each side, and pretty much in the same area of the breast mound on each side. What the heck are they?

I'm having 3D tattoos done in next month in Scottsdale, AZ. Insurance pays as long is it is done in my PS office. I will just have a $30 co-pay. My doctor works with Rachell Hall - http://www.breasthetics.com/default.html. Check the link for the foundation info on the left to see a video with pictures of her work. I had nipples done in May, the left one is lovely and the right one is pretty flat. My PS recommends having the tattoos before looking at any "re-do". Rachell had a book that's been published of her work and I couldn't tell which ones were just tattoos and which ones had nipple reconstruction.