Exchange City

Hurray for you  Steph!!

Please keep us posted on your progress, I'm 7 weeks behind you... what a relief to know your first post-op day went so well.

jill47, mamatwinz, jennL, thanks for your support. PT is going well, but unfortunately I do have a frozen shoulder. Still going to PT twice a week for who knows how long. I also am doing 8 different stretching exercises at home 3 times a day. My PT told me she would try not to make this my full time job. Talk about pain, when she was stretching me out I thought I was going to pee my pants.



As for my revision surgery, my PS said he will go in and re-stitch my fold. He said it is a minor revision and if this is all we have to worry about we are doing good. So easy for him to say. But it is what it is and I will deal with it. So dang frustrating. Just not on my list of things I want to do, well none of this was.



As for my implant I have an Allergan 550 high profile.

Thanks again ladies! Take care.

SUMMERM.....I have 400 cc's , high profile Mentor Silicon implants. I love them. I was filled to 440 cc's also. They are not too small and not too big...just right.



You will be fine. It is a nervous decision though. I completely understand ... Whippetmom helped me after I PM'd her photos by email. She's a Whippet Wonder and has helped many of us. Have you sent her your measurements?



Good luck!

For those of you that were wondering, my TE's were Mentor 354-7213 CPX3 M. They were both filled to appx 560ccs. My implants are Mentor "Smooth Round High Profile Gels" 600ccs.

Melmc~The fat grafting: With my TEs, I had some wrinkling in the cleavage area--even when they were overfilled. SO...I'll need some fat grafting there, because instead of being rounded, it's actually kinda flat looking. I'll have to post some pics on the other board (i'll do that tomorrow).

Overall, to me, the squishies look pretty close to the TEs. Just not as obtrusive! They don't look 'big' to me...just totally different than my old boobies, which I expected them to, but it's still odd...The weirdest thing, I think, is how they're not really shaped like a natural breast--I guess it's because there's no nipple?? They look...flat to me, or something. Not sure how to explain it....

Steph

mrenee..hang in there..  if PT doesn't work they can go in surgically and correct, but it will require a lot more PT after...I know the stretches are hard..keep up your efforts, it will pay off in the end!  Hugs to you...    when is your revision scheduled?  Thinking of u..chin up!! 

Steph,

Are you going to fo nipple reconstruction? That is my biggest question mark with this whole thing!!!



Jess

I hope Annemarieh is ok, as well. This was initially a difficult thread to join and she was so welcoming. I think I iwll send her a PM.

Hi Di2012,

Looking forward to that week too (can't come soon enough!): your exchange is beginning of that week, mine on following Friday. You will be in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep me posted.

I am meeting with my PS in 2 days to get a surgery date to exchange my expander for an implant. At the same time, he will be doing a lift on the other breast and said he may put in a small implant because of the slope of my natural breast. I have been reading alot of posts that say the exchange surgery is much easier than MX as far as recovery period but can't find much as to recovery from the lift on the other breast. Will I lose ROM on that arm too? I have recovered about 85% ROM on MX side and thank god every day that I have the other "good" arm to do everything with. I didn't have to have chemo or radiation but am having quite a bit of pain from expander which seems to be hindering my ROM recovery. Please let me know what to expect from 1 exchange and 1 lift/possible small implant. Thank you!!

Once my six weeks of no heavy lifting was over I was released with no restrictions. The doc told me to slowly & carefully work my way back up to my usual routine. I still can't quite manage full push ups, but I am really improving on the girly (on your knees) push ups. Every doc is different in what they say. I say that as long as you are careful and take it slow, you can do whatever you set your mind to! Speaking of which, I need to get off the Internet and do my P90X workout!

I was doing low impact aerobics, squats and lots of leg work  by the end of Week 3 and bicep/tricep weights by week four. NO pec work. Abdominal crunches were hard - had to do them standing up. By week five I was doing modified high impact, holding my arms under my chest to reduce impact on TE's. The day or two after fills I can only do brisk walks.  The zip up sports bras I got at Sears are required for workouts of any kind.

I am having neck and mid-back pain so doing lots of stretches and taking Robaxin at night.

I did some research looking for something effective for toning to add to my cycling. It's definitely challenging to find something with minimal upper body. But I found Callanetics, got a dvd to try from the library, loved it and ordered one to use. I'm giving myself one more week to heal up as I'm still having some IMF pain, but it's improving!



So that's my pick. Cycling, Callanetics, walking, and skating if it stays cold enough.

The beginner video had hardly any arm and none were weight bearing. I ordered a different one....let ya know if I look "10 years younger in 10 hours!" Lol.

Mamatwinz: my BMX was 11-5-12. I was miserable with the TE's for close to 5 weeks then got a pain med switch which totally saved me.  At about 5 weeks I started some walking.  It was really warm in West Michigan before Christmas .  At 6 weeks my PS told me no restrictions but I knew I wasn't ready for my previous workout effort.  I specifically asked him about upper body and pecs more than once and he had no reservations at all, at least for me.  I don't know what goes into any one particular PS's decision on that.

I went back to the gym on 1-2-13 and felt like a newborn baby initially!  I'm glad to say I'm pretty much back to my previous fitness level and am working out 4-6 mornings a week, mostly a fairly intense group class 3 days that incorporates bits of P90X, Insanity and anything else the instructor can find to really push us, then running the other days. 

I haven't been able to do a decent guy pushup for years so I try to be happy with the girl version.  My ROM has been almost normal for a month or so now but the TE's do still cause a little restriction on certain moves, nothing painful, they just kind of get in the way a little.  Keep in mind that I'm still on Neurontin (nerve pain med) 3X a day because while I'm filled to the TE capacity of 600cc we've decided to do a couple more to overfill for a bigger implant than my PS thought I wanted.  It's very possible I wouldn't be feeling this good without it!

I wish you the best of luck in your fitness efforts.  It sounds like you're not quite ready for prime time yet but don't feel badly.  If you know your body you'll know when you're ready to start pushing a tad harder.  Everyone's recovery is different from everyone else's.  What's important is that you're thinking about and planning for fitness, right?

((((hugs))))

Jamie,

I know! I really just watched the beginner video and tried the moves/positions to be sure I could do them. I didn't do all reps, etc that first time. Imagine my surprise when my behind was sore the next morning!!!!



YES!!!!!! Lol!



Can't wait til my DVD arrives.