Exchange City
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Hi Guys!
Out 1 week from exchange. Feeling good and really want to walk tomorrow either outside or on the treadmill. My PS didn't really mention any restrictions. How soon did you start to move? My goodness, I am going to Mexico in a month and I need to squeeze into a swimsuit. Oh, the horror!!
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Blessings, what you've shared about your exchange experience has been very helpful to me, thank you!
Ladies: I have my last fill tomorrow and we are setting my surgery date, mid-Jan is target. I have the following questions to ask my PS, what else should I ask?
1.Describe surgery: what scar tissue will be removed? where will incisions be? stitches? how long drains in? how long will the surgery be?
2. Pain level? Get prescription meds called into pharm.
3. How long off of work?
4. Physical restrictions? How long?
5. Type of implant? Make/model/do I register them with manufacturer? Warranty? Devise card issued to me? Life of implants?
I'm getting nervous.
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Blessings- You are so right! I need to take it easy! I'm pushing too hard. I'm going to hurt myself. Thanks for your advice!!!
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Jill47,
Very good, comprehensive list of questions!
If you have any concerns about sizing, you may want to ask about that. I have read a number of posts of women who were disappointed at their final size (smaller than expected). You can ask what your present fill volume is and what size implants the PS plans to use and make sure you are ok with that.
I found the surgery to be much easier than the BMX with much shorter recovery time. I'm one month out from my exchange (and 1 year out from my BMX as of today), and just completed my first half marathon this morning! So thankful to be alive and well.
LovesDogs
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Thank you LovesDogs (I'm a dog person too) on your response, adding implant size to the question list. PS told me that my TE's can go up to 500 cc, I'm at 465 cc today, so just 35 cc to go tomorrow but given I'm pretty maxed out I anticipate some hurt tomorrow night. Wow, what an emotional day for you...1 yr out BMX and finishing your first half marathon. Congratulations on both fronts! And one month post op you are racing? Cool......I'm a distance runner so I'm encouraged. Wear your finishers shirt with pride and evidence of your good health.
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shaby6485, My PS told me walking was good after exchange. Just no lifting, pushing or pulling with the upper body/arms. Hope your recovery continues on a positive note.
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Blessings, thank you for the information on your experience this far. Maybe I do to much and Im thinking that it is all good but maybe not yet. I feel a pin size bump under my scar??? My rad side is half smoochie and half hard? It makes me very nervous to feel pains?? I do hope its normal to feel pain along underneath of the breast (breast bone line) and the sides to under arms??
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So I'll be a week out from exchange tomorrow and this morning I really noticed asymmetry between the 2. Righty looks really good. The shape is nice and it's settled in the pocket so it looks really natural. Lefty on the other hand is sitting higher and is still a little weird looking. I should mention that righty required virtually no pocket work, but lefty required more work. I can feel a soft, bumpy cushy spot on the inside that is probably fluid accumulation. Same for the outside of lefty. I'm hoping once swelling goes down it will also settle into the pocket better. Patience is not my best trait. My PS is great, and he's a perfectionist so I have no doubt he'll have me as close to even as possible before it's all over. I am really trying to take it easy, but not sure I'll be able to too much longer. I'm going STIR CRAZY!!!!!!
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I had my exchange Sept 13 and my right one is still 1 inch above left. It also looks like a hotdog bun. PS said maybe he could release muscle at nipple reconstruction. Problem is........I really don't want nipples. I'm not planning on nursing any more babies and I am enjoying the "clean" look. Additional problem is that I had a tummy tuck when I had exchange surgery. I have a huge hump on one side that shows through my clothes. He said he may be able to fix that too at nipple surgery. MAYBE???????? I thought I would be through with surgery by now. I go back middle of January. I REALLY don't want nipples! I am wondering about letting him put nipples on in order for insurancee to pay to correct or fix surgery that wasn't fixed before and then getting him to remove nipples in office. Shouldn't be that big a deal. I don't have any feeling. This has really upset me. What do you all think?
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chawkins, it sounds like your ps is assuming you want nipples.. I think that revision is covered as long as certain criteria are met (like distance of asymmetry etc). I can't imagine having nipples put on and then taken off? I think telling ps what you are thinking would be good start.
chrisrenee7, I had same feelings right after exchange, I think partly because I was used to seeing huge te (I had for more than a year). They do soften and feel more natural or at least get used to new squishies. Time helps.
I had revision last Friday due to uneven/asymmetry. I had sling put on lower rt side, mainly because my ps didn't want to mess with radiated side. I am now wrapped in an ace bandage soooo tight! I get it off on thurs, hopefully I can wait that long. I think revision is way worse than exchange and can't honestly remember bmx haha. I actually have taken more pain meds with this than anything else. I have really hard time sleeping and hope they are evened out in the end!
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I told him I didn't want nipples and he said insurance would not pay for revision unless I had nipple surgery. This whole thing has made me so angry. I just don't know who to be angry with!!!!! I guess the plastic surgeon. Looks like he would have done the surgeries right the first time. grrrrrrrr. Guess my next question is "how much is this going to cost me to get the hump off the hip and get the foobs together if I don't get nipples?".
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wow, i would be frustrated too. where do you live? I don't know a whole lot about what insurances have to pay but I am sure someone else on this site does. I hope you can get what you want to be comfortable in your own skin! ♥♥
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Chawkins, that doesnt sound right. I am pretty sure revisions have to be covered. I have been through quite a few now, and all I have to meet is my deductible. I hope it works out for you.
My second and FINAL exchange is Thursday. I am actually getting a little nervous this time. I think I am just SO ready for it to be over. I hate the fatgrafting part. OUCH. he is going to try to do nipples with alloderm if my rads side behaves. His nurse called me today laughing saying he ordered lots of different sizes of implants. Pretty sure he will have to use a larger one in the radiated side to balance things.
Fingers crossed!!0 -
Chawkins insurance has to cover it if it's medically necessary. You have had recon because of breast cancer, you are allowed and entitled to be whole.
Nowhere does It say, you get one surgery and you get what you get and if it's less than perfect...oh well.
Call your insurance yourself if it will give you piece of mind. Also, you might want to see another PS...0 -
Thank you all for your posts! I was thinking the same thing about another surgeon. I will see PS in a month and if he is singing the same old tune........I will start looking around. Thank you all again so much.
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If it were me I would try to see someone before I saw him next. Might give you additional questions to ask. You are seeking another opinion, you don't have to make a commitment to someone new.
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oaktown,good suggestion. I also used Voltran which is a topical analgesic that a friend had for their back pain its a rub on ointment by prescription. My PS told me not to use it since its not my prescription. Ok....I used it anyway and it helped tremendously. Cant imagine why meds not helping Cindy. Hope everyone is getting better.
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12 days post exchange. See my PS tomorrow and she will remove the taped up parts (incision sites). Finally! I have been active again. Feel fine. No more pain really except at incision sites. Uncomfortable - yes, pain - no. No drains, no grafts or pocket work. I'm actually wondering if I went to big or is they will look a little smaller when they drop.
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juneau- i'm thinking I went too small, I'm hoping mine will perk up and expand or something.lol How are you feeling?
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ANYONE had revision surgery??
I am having a revision 12/21 , swapping implant for different size & projection. Does anyone know if this will be just as easy as the 1st exchange surgery for recovery time? I don't remember asking PS about that. My 1st exchange surgery I had 7/5 and was back to work 7/10
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Is anyone 9 months to a year out of exchange?? Can you tell me if you still have achy pains? Thank you
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I have had several revisions. One to smaller implants with fatgrafting, then when that didnt go as planned I had te's put back in. Lots of pcket work etc. So, YES, the revision will be as easy as the first swap! I really think you will be back on your feet in days!
For me it's always the dang lipo that takes me down. I am relatively thin, which I think makes it more painful. Dreading surgery Thursday, but so hopeful that it is my final one!0 -
B123 - My TE exchange was in 1/12 and my nipple reconstruction with pocket work (they took the implants out and put them back in) in 5/12. I once in a while will still get "funny pains". In August, my BS did an ultrasound on the right because I was so concerned. Since then my PS has said nerve regrowth can take up to a year. With that info, I still notice occasional pain but it doesn't last and I can put it out of mind. If the pain was contanst or lasted, I'd head to my doctor.
What I do notice sometimes, is if I'm stressed, the pectoral muscles tighten up and are uncomfortable. I used to feel tension in my shoulder muscles before for my surgeries. I take it as an early warning sign that I need to pay attention to my stress level when my breasts start hurting!
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chawkins I would see another PS before your next visit with your current on if you can. Revisions are covered if they are medically necessary.
My PS is a perfectionist so he only plans on TE's and then exchange. He very rarely does fat grafting at exchange because he says if he does his job right he does not need to use it. I had exchange on 8/21 and then all of a sudden my pockets gave way and I bottomed out. I had a revision on 11/27 with extensive pocket work stitching done. Insurance paid for it all. PS said the revision would be much more painful and boy was he correct about that. I am two weeks out and back at work and not in pain at all. Blessings is right in watching what you do and follow the restrictions. I work out at the gym and even though the PS had given me the go ahead to work out again I think I over did it with the strength training. This time around he has said nothing more than a couple of pounds until I see him again the first of Feb. He does want me walking to get exercise and says I can do lower body strength training, but I know I can't be trusted at the gym, hehe. He also said nothing that will cause me to bounce, so no running, horse back riding etc. Which I don't do either so I think I'm good. The hard part is I feel really good and no pain and I know as I get further away from this revision I will start to forget and that is not a good thing. I have told everyone around me at work etc to help remind me not to lift anything. Hopeing these pocket stay put. I look really good and perky.
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Went to the PS yesterday ... got a lot of my questions answered. Feel really good! We discussed both procedures (recon and lift) at length. He knows exactly what I want and I know what he can tell me now and what might have to be his call during surgery (small lift or something more extensive and whether he will need to do any pocket work).
He did however do an additional fill, which I thought he might. WOW, now I am definitely an overfill! Can't believe how bigger the recon is than the normal breast ... will really have to get used to seeing it that big. It really helped smooth out the armpit edge of the TE which I'm happy about because it had been bothering me (how it was kinked and bent). I am however feeling more pressure on the bottom of the breast at the incision. Hoping that will go away as the skin and muscle settle down in the next few days. They told me if the overfill is still bothering me on Monday I can come back and have some cc's removed. My PS is from Iceland and is heading there over the holidays to visit his daughter and grandson. He will be out of the country from 12/18-1/7. So if there is anything I will need during this time I am kinda out of luck. There will be a doctor taking his calls but because my doctor is in practice by himself, I don't know a thing about this doctor.
I really appreciate everyone's sharing of their stories, questions and concerns. I have learned so much!
Have a nice week everyone!
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B123 I am over a year now and I have not had any pains since a week after the exchange.
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Sherryc my SIL is a nurse and she warns me all the time, just because you feel great, the internal healing is a huge process for your body. Please take it easy.
Maui I'm so glad you went and asked your questions. Funny my PS is from Estonia, near Finland, although she went to Baylor and Yale and did two residencies, one in body contouring and recon and one in pediatric cranial facial. She is also a perfectionist. She won't even talk about the grafting and other stuff. One step at a time she says.
I guess we all have to learn that...0 -
cindyloowho, that is really funny, my son lives in Estonia and is getting married there this summer to a really great girl from Estonia!
I am still really sore, i think even longer than after bmx. I am hoping it is due to the so very tight bandage. getting off on thurs and can't wait to breathe!
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Wow it is a small world. I'm not gonna lie, I had to go look up where it was after I met my PS.
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haha, i didn't even think it was a real country, i remebered name from old Polly Shore movie, Encino Man!
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