Exchange City

Thx Carroll, you are so right. I have been massaging a lot more and now am a little sore. I see the PS for an assessment next wk of how the meds have been workg on the cap con. Personally, I do not see much improvement. Sometimes after a day of massage,it seems better but then the next morng its back again. I wonder if I should stop wearing a bra,sleep on my stomach. I am just tired of worrying about these implants.

Does anyone know of anything that will keep the artificial nips stuck on? I tried a lot of body adhesives but the thgs keep falling off. I got some 3d temp tatoos but now really satisfied with how they look. Sort of Target Signy in a small way. What I would like to do is get a surg nip and then get Vinnie to tatoo the areola. Does anyone know if he only does 3d whole nips? The other tatoo artists make the areola one flat shade and it looks very artificial. His website works looks incredible. I dont thk the drs will be doing anythg surgically until we find out what the cap con is doing.

Good morning. Hope everyone had great turkey day. I was looking at vinnies website. His work looks awesome. I haven't really looked at the tattoos here but wonder if they can compare. I can see why people travel to see him. Anyone got tattoos from someone else? Do they look similar to vinnies work?

Thanks

Funny Thanksgiving story...

Because of my BC surgeries and my husband's kidney disease, we haven't seen many family members for over a year. Yesterday most of them were gathered at my nephew's house. We stopped by for dessert, when all the men - SERIOUSLY, ALL THE MEN - were laid out on recliners and couches watching the football game.

I got lots of nice compliments on my recent weight loss. That felt good.

Then someone noticed the New Girls, and said "Whoa! Where did THOSE come from?"

"Kaiser" I replied.

I went to get my camera, and had to cross in front of the line of game-watchers. To be funny, I walked really slowly, in front of the TV. They all yelled at me to come back across again, only this time, to show off the New Girls. I did. I pranced and did the catwalk, and all the guys hooted and hollered and clapped and cheered.

Maybe somewhere else, it would have been offensive, but in my family, it was a show of love. (I'm almost 62 - I have six grandkids!!!!)

My brother said "Honey, after all you've been through, you deserve all the admiration you can get."

I was touched.

Blessings- yes enjoy all the attention! My Aunt and Uncle have not seen me since my June BMX and my uncle was looking at me and said "damn girl I know those aren't the real "fake" ones but they look great". Made me feel real good. We have so much to be Thankful for this year.

I'm so happy to hear that you all had a good Thxgivg and survived the "family" issues. My only living relatives are far and few between. My son came back to the states but we had just seen him in Oct and I knew he would be workg at the hosp.

We ended up as usual at my fiance's ex-wife's house so he could eat with his boys. Looks like one got engaged. The other one is super hot so guess it will be awhile before he settles down. They work a lot too so he was lucky to get them at one table. Still its depressing to eat there every thxgivg now. I really need to retire from my job and move out of state.

Blessings, Congrats on the weight loss. I keep getting depressed and stuck. On good days I do my walks but surg was in Aug. Maybe I should go back to Zumba classes? Is it too soon? I did invest in some very low cut tops and wore one of them to the dinner to show off my new ones. I am with you. I could never show anythg before cause didnt have anythg to show! I caught a few of the dinner guests looking! There was one other guest about my age with a low cut dress but it was lumpy and bumpy on her. Girlfriend,get some spanx...yeah. Personally I like those new tuxedo dressy jackets this season. They cover up all the bad stuff and with a little button in the right spot make you look like you got the tiniest waist in town.

Thanks, JamieB86 and Grier!

Chrisrenee77 - Love it. How cute of your uncle..."not the real "fake" ones" 

Layla - hang in there, Girlfriend. Eat smart, move a little more. Don't beat yourself up and don't try to do it all at once. Sounds like you looked HOT at Thanksgiving!!!! Hubba hubba!!!

Carrol2 - I'll bet that bar hit did feel good, sleaze or not!!!  Man, a trip to Vinnie is on my all-time wish list!!! If you can swing it to see him in NOLA, I'd sure go for it. In my year of researching tatts, his is still the best work I've seen.

cindyloowho- that is hilarious!  Sounds like everyone had fun on turkey day!  We had a quiet day, too much champagne but nice to be at the table this year! 

I am scheduled for consult for revision on right side sitting lower that left next week... so hope it goes well.  I think I look a bit like the Picasso painting

Four more day until my exchange....  tick tock, tick tock... it can't come soon enough for me.  :-)

Carol I saw your photos on the the photo site.  You look great!  Hope mine look that good. I'm try my expectations reasonable. Afterall this is reconstruction on my right breast - not a boob job!

I had my exchange 11/9, and next step is nipples (or not).  Still mulling that over.  If no nipples, I'll definitely do 3D tatoos.

I'm also interested how to access the photo site.  Thanks.

LovesDogs

juneaubugg - how exciting!!!! 

chantal10 - Vinnie is a member here at BCO. You can search for him under vinniemyers.

Here is the link to his home page:  http://vinniemyers.com/home.html

Here is the link to his Portfolio: http://vinniemyers.com/section/105672_Nipple_Areola_Tattooing.html

junebug thanks for the compliment they are looking better every day. I have trouble with my expectations as well. I keep saying it is what it is to myself. Considering what is possible with recon I know I got good results. I am still hopeful for tattoos and some fat grafting to boost my upper pole. They look flat when i move certain ways but fine when I just pose for a picture.

Yesterday I was cleaning and I suddenly realized that I lost one of my protective nipple cones. I got very very upset. My husband was in the garage working on his car and could not just run in and help em search. i got sort of frantic looking and there it was just sitting on the floor. I was so relieved. 

I have not let my husband see my new nipples. He is very squeemish so the stitches were scary and all the scars. I also want him to find them exciting at some point. so I decided not to let him see them until after I get the tattoos. This means a lot of getting dressed in my closet. But I think it will be worth it in the end. Your girls on the forum and the docs and nurses are the only ones who have seen them. If I go to NOLA to get my tattoos maybe I should go for mardi gras so I can flash them all I want lol.

Denise if all you are doing is the nipples you will be fine although fashion may be an issue and you might be a little tired from the anesthesia. You probably wont want to dance.  I had some lipo done on my sides and was pretty sore from that so I am thinking I would not be able handle be out and about at a wedding for a few more days. Ideally a week of rest. Maybe if you just go for a few hours and take it easy and dont overdo it too much.

I just scheduled my exchange surgery...Dec 26th! Feeling a little nervous.  Hope I'm not rushing into the exchange to beat another year of meeting a very high insurance deductable.  I trust my PS wouldn't honor my request if he didn't think I wasn't ready. My BMX was Sept 10th.  Is the recovery similar to MX w/TE's?  I have my pre-op appt on Dec 11th, just wondering how much time I'll need off work so I can adjust my schedule.

Thank you to all who share, I've learned so much from you!!

Sandlake, compared to the MX w/expanders my exchange was a piece of cake. I think I was home from the hospital and feeling great within a couple of hours of surgury. Infact I really had to work hard at following the doctors orders not to lift anything over 5 pounds etc. afterwards. Now if you need any complex pocket work or anything like that thenyour recovery will probably be a little longer. Also I didn't need drains but some pS use them with exchanges too.

When I was dx'd last year, I got the news by phone, and spent the afternoon and evening boohooing in the bedroom. DH just sat with me, holding my hand. "We're a team." he said. "We're in this together."

He went to every appointment with me, and when I began to consider having a BMX with TEs, I asked him how attached he was to my boobs. "They're great..." he said. "But I'd rather have YOU."

So we sat together and looked up pictures of the BMX procedure, post-mastectomy chests, and reconstructed breasts on the Internet (NOT the Picture Forum), including some of the complications that can occur with recon. He was very knowlegeable about breast surgery by then!

I think by being so involved with my surgeries all along, and feeling like a complete partner in the process, he's thrilled with the outcome of my exchange, even though I'm still picky and sensitive about the not-so-perfect parts. To him, the implants are awesome, and he says how beautiful I am. That gives me the courage to be very open with him, and walk around topless more than I ever did in all the years we've been together!