Exchange City
Comments
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Hey ladies. I was curious if anyone who had a mastectomy and alnd has had numbness in armpit and upper arm. Now I am getting burning sensation under both breast and arm. It almost feels like nerves are regenerating. I havent been taken my neurontin. Thanks and healing hugs to all
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My next door neighbor has had her implants since 1986!. I asked my PS yesterday about implant lifespan and she said they're only removed if there's a leak or rupture and that's why I'll have MRIs on a regular schedule.
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hey my ps said 10-15 yrs or so for rounds..and he would recommend exvhange with or without imolant issues. he said not much data for anatomicals..so may not need to exchange, but he will continue to review luterature, etc.
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Hi ladies went for second opinion with a new cardiologist yesterday to check out my heart "issues". Come to find out I don't have any heart issues! Doc took new EKG and it was NORMAL. Stress test had slight variance but nothing to be concerned about and no reason to think I have any blockages when all my other test results came back normal.
So he contacted my PS today and cleared me for surgery! I'm scheduled for exchange on 05/22. I'll be counting down the days until these hard TE can go bye-bye forever! Lol
Congrats to all coming up for exchange in the next week or two!
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Thanks girls for the encouragement. Funny you mention it but just as I was reading your replies I realized that my tightness hasn't reared it's ugly head for the last 3 hours!! Isn't it odd how at some point you just get used to the weird feelings and then one day you realize they aren't as bad. My OT actually told me last week that if I'd go back to doing all my usual activities and quit worrying about whether or not the pain would go away that one day I'd realize it was gone. I guess she may be right! I think I'm more excited about having pain free moments than I was for my exchange surgery and new boobs...and I was pretty excited about that!! I'm going to continue OT even though my ROM is back to normal and I've found a massage therapist who will start on me when I'm 8 weeks post surgery. She thinks she can get me through the last bit, mostly where she thinks I have a bit of scar tissue along my ribcage under the arm that needs busting up. She and the OT are very confident that they can get me to normal soon! (Fingers crossed!!!)
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Hey all, I posted this by accident under the breast implant sizing 101 thread but I think this thread is the more appropriate location for it:
I just wanted to let everyone know a few details my PS let me know of in regards to his practice of a longer wait than many I've heard of here between final fill and exchange. He had previously done a very good job of diagraming and explaining how, after TE placement, the body creates the 'capsule' around the TE, which is basically scar tissue. Once scar tissue is formed it requires a length of time to mature, he indicated a minimum 6-8 weeks. This maturation process contintues through the expansion process. If the capsule or scar tissue is not given enough time to properly mature after expansion before being disturbed by exchange surgery it can lead to various problems (including but not limited to capsular contraction) which could eventually result in revision surgery being required.
This came up again last week when we decided I was done expanding and we were talking about a ballpark time frame for exchange surgery. He requires 3-4 months after final fill. Three months would put me in mid-july but it will be at least early august because of his vacation schedule. I mentioned a couple of 5K events that I intended to run this summer, one in July and one in August. I also mentioned that I'd either have to give up the August race if I had surgery earlier that month or I'd have to postpone surgery until September if I didn't want to give up the race. He said something that made a lot of sense to me now that I understand why he waits longer for exchange surgery. 'Let me put it this way. It's never too late to do this surgery, but you can definitely do it too soon.'
Just food for thought. Not everyone who exchanges sooner than 3 months after final fill will have problems, but it might explain why some do. And some who do wait 3-4 months or even more for exchange will have problems. I'm sure some of it is related to genetics and then some folks just don't heal as well as others. I thought it was interesting and hadn't seen it explained like that on any of the threads that I follow so I thought I'd pass it on.
Love to all you lovely ladies
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Also, my PS says that most people think they have to swap implants at 10 years but that really it's only that the warranty is for 10 years. Some women worry that if they bust after warranty they might have to pay to replace them. He said that's not true and he'd rather just give me an MRI every couple of years and leave them in and see how it goes. He also said that he can easily see mine lasting 20+ years and that by then if I need new ones, I'll be so old (I'm 50 now) I probably won't care if I have boobs at all! He said periodic MRIs to keep an eye on them is much safer than surgery to exchange implants.
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Lala & Lisa Jayne... Thanks for the info! Never had it explained to me like that before but it makes a lot of sense. There are so many things I wished would have been explained to me before/during this process (also things like smaller fills on a more regular basis would have worked better for me). That's why BCO has been so important!
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2nd_time: I so agree. I wish I had found BCO prior to BMX instead of finding it to find help with tissue expander pain! So many things I've learned here have made me feel empowered to ask many more questions (intelligent ones!) than I normally would.
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sweet..thnx for info! my ps stated just that 2-3 months was min wait after final fill. i think folks scar/heal differently, and md needs to do whats best for patients..and explain why! min was right at 12 wks, i think..some of that wait was due to his schedulingi would guess..it was a 3 month wait to get appt with him, but he takes bc patients asap
i waited 1 week! 
)) we all.desrve top notch care!! i found bc site in jan once my fam had gonr back to ohio and i was 1 month post bmx and needed support..something..u guys are great! 0 -
Sweetandspecial, I really feel empowered by having the info your PS gave you today. Thanks so much for posting it.
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so anyone get really tight/swollen when u returned to work? i did today anf ugghhh i am feeling it now..just want to be sure its normal..or others had it..
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FYI - I just updated my thread on the picture forum if anyone cares to see Natrelle Style 20 smooth round implants...
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Tina - Just Beautiful - I would never know you had BMX. You and your PC did an excellent job.
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TinaT just looked at your pictures and they look great. I too had a NSM 5'2"125 ribcage 29 inches....are our measurements similar? They are bringing 500 and 550 into the surgery on Monday. Do you have any sensation at all in your breast? I have none...didn't know if it improved after exchange. Thanks again for posting pictures.
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Lala 1 your PS MUST be male! I know quite a few 70 year old ladies who are beautiful and definitely "care if they have boobs!"
Doctors are just so funny sometimes. I don't think a female PS would ever say that.
My PS (male) also had great bedside manner- said that the implants last 10-20 years and with my aggressive cancer "we probably would never have to worry about that".
I am hoping to need to have them changed out several times! Beats the alternative for sure.0 -
Tina, I will go look at pics some time this weekend--thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, all!
bcs22 - Best wishes for a boring, uneventful exchange! BTW, I am 5'8", 137#, 31" ribcage...
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Sciencegal, you're right!! He's all male and doesn't think about half the stuff he says beforehand (like most men!) and he loves to blame any of my problems on my other surgeron (also like most men!). My mom is 75 years old and still goes to the gym every day, sometime twice a day, and is stick thin with great boobs. She looks like she's in her 50s. I'm working on being the same way so I hope to get new boobs periodically to keep myself fresh!!
And your PS sounds just as bad as mine! When you outlive your PS, take your old implants to his funeral and chunk them in his casket!!
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This story really made me mad.....so unfair for one of our breast cancer "sisters"
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Di... That's disgusting, no one should be treated like that and I believe very much against the ADA law. I think she probably has a valid case here. We'll have to see what happens.
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that article is horrid..i was worried my boss would be horrible to me becausr she normally is..i really thought i would be fired or dimething because i worked too much and knew i could nit kerp it up..but lucky for me, she has been pretty darn great. she told me that i have worked so hard for them, now let them help me and immediately tild me to destress my caseload and send her files to be transferred out to someone else! i cried when i got off the pgone with her from sheer relief..i cannot imagine dealing eith cancer and all that goes with it, AND your livelihood due to a nasty employer. i think in my case, it also "helped" that my mgr told me that her sister was diagnosed 5-6 years ago.. when i read/hear stuff like article, it makes me wish i was an attorney..
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Hello WhippetMom
....awaiting my exchange surgery - but have found I am getting a bit obsessed with what implants are going in (surgery scheduled for 6/14/13-pre-surgery appt 5/28/13) and my final outcome.
My PS and everyone in his office has been great and I will address my concerns during my pre-op appt - but...just to double check:
My stats: 5'11' / 145 lbs / rib cage 30' / BWD 13"
Left side only tissue expander (with alloderm sewn in): Allergen 133MV-13 400cc volume-overfilled to 430cc
Surgery only - no rads and no chemo
I am happy with the relative size/shape of the TE and it is pretty much in a good position on my chest-not under my armpt at all-just a tad of side boob. I was wearing a band for about a month so it has dropped/moved over a bit to fill out the lower pole. I had a UMX so an implant will be put into my right side to match. I am concerned about matching projection - my native right side is more conical than 1/2 grapefruit and I dont want too much side boob. For the exchange on the left side-I am thinking that Allergen #20 high-proile 500cc may be best.? NOW - for the matching side - how do they do it to match? And how do they get the best symetry? My path report weight of breast was 226gms - but it included my NAC. I was wearing 36a/34b and my native side's projection is not that much less than the TE side. My skin is somewhat tight-(good for looking younger-not for reconstruction) but in the wating period - my skin has responded rather well-not shiny and I can pinch about 2cms in the TE surface area. Is this enough to go up from the 430cc expander volume to the high profile 500cc?
Now waiting for my exchange surgery on 6/14/13. The TE size I am now fits my body well as I am tall and even though my ribcage is a bit narrow for my height - I have broad shoulders with an athletic to slim build.
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NLR, you should post this in the Breast Implant Sizing 101 thread for a quicker response.
Best wishes for you and your journey to exchange after.0 -
Thanks Cheryl- just re-posted same info on Breast Implant Sizing 101
-Nancy
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Thank you, ladies for all the kind words. I am finally rescheduled for the exchange surgery. It's May 28. I'll let you know how things go.
I am most concerned about the radiated side ending up just as hard as it is now (with TEs). But I think I've learned from reading these forums that it may start out squishy but cc will likely happen again and eventually that side with harden up. Can anyone tell me of their outcome 1+ years postop after radiation and silicone implants?
Thanks, Cristina0 -
Christinabel are you having radiation after your exchange, like me, or already had it?
Lala1 you are hilarious- thanks for the laugh!0 -
Sciencegal---Wish my PS thought I was hilarious. My goal through all this has been to try to make him laugh (or blush which would make me happy too). He has the personality of a stick and I have a VERY warped sense of humor as does all my family. My PS mostly just thinks I am a very weird PITA. But hey, as long as he does such good work I can live with it. The only way I can get through all this is with my sense of humor. When you have one boob waving at the crowd and shouting "Let's Party!" and the other boob hiding in shame somewhere around my waistline, you have to have humor. Thanks to my PS, the girls are finally starting to see "eye to eye"!
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Lala1- Awesome description- I too have just one tissue expander and can totally relate (future surgeries to come) - hilarious! You should be a comedienne.
haha. 'Ya just gotta laugh.
It is hard to find fashion that takes advantage of that single "bodacious tata".0 -
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's!!!
I am a wreck right now! My exchange surgery is coming up this Tuesday and I am getting more and more nervous with each passing second...and my anxiety is off the charts after being informed Thursday night by my manager at work that she is going to pursue filling my position, so I will no longer have my job upon my return. She informed me of this about 3.5 hours after a conversation we had earlier that day, during which I gave her an update and let her know that I will be having another surgery next week.
For some reason that conversation apparently could not be postponed another few days until after my surgery. She ended the call by telling me that I could now focus on my health, as that was most important. Next, she says "Good luck with surgery TOMORROW", to which I respond "Thank you, but it is scheduled for Tuesday".
I was and still am in shock over her heartlessness and total disregard for the timing. There is much more that transpired during our discussion and now, nearly 3 days later I am still devasted, confused and cannot help feeling like I somehow caused this to occur...like the conversation may have ended differently if only I gave her different answers to her questions, rather than be truthful.
I am even second guessing still having my surgery Tuesday...
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