Exchange City
Comments
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Chi,
Good luck! We'll ALL be rooting for you!
All: As far as "drop off" goes for exchange foobs, just want to share that after my exchange, Sientra smooth rounds/ nonteardrop, I had a nice slope...probably from the swelling. BUT, because I'm really thin, once swelling went down/5-6 weeks, I now have more noticeable drop-off. I think it's pretty inevitable if one is naturally thin in the chest area. Yet, it doesn't bother me much, as in bras they hike up so well/very moveable. I suppose I could do fat grafting, but don't think it'd be worth the pain at this point.
IF the 410's were available in the highest projection in the U.S., I might've gone w those, not sure. But that's probably the best way to prevent dropoff...IF they have the teardrops in a big enough cc & projection for ya...AND IF you are willing to deal w the extra pocket work & possibility of the suckers turning...;)
However, IF you aren't thin in your overall chest area above your boobs to begin with, I'd imagine any dropoff is way less noticeable...:)
Just wanted to share some personal info. to these oft-asked question.
Violet0 -
I had quite a drop-off with my TEs (I called it being 'shelf-ish'). I felt sometimes like I could eat my meals off my boob shelf. With the exchange my PS solved that by releasing a bit more pec at the outer portion of the upper pole for the implants to even out that area. Three weeks post exchange they look great, not too high, not too low. Perkier slope than pre-BMX but not artificial looking. I don't have an extremely lean chest but neither do I have a lot of padding.
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I don't know what to expect with my exchange. My expanders are only filled to 340cc and I am only going to 450 or 475cc when I am finished expanding. MY PS already said he wants to use teardrops, either 425 or 475cc. Right now I don't have much of a drop off. It could get worse with expansion, I don't know. Right now I already seem to have a bit of a slope. All I know about my expander is that it's a Allergan 400cc. I don't know what shape it is, or anything.
I am glad you are happy with your outcome, Sweet. Makes all the suffering worth it.
I am thin too, and that is one of the reasons I have fluctuated between implants and a diep flap. I am afraid there is not really enough tummy fat for a decent size breasts. Anyway, I will probably end of with some fat transfer during my exchange.
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I'm home and all is well. Still very groggy. Thanks to all for your support and prayers.
Sweet, Voilet, Rose and any other who have already had exchange: How long before pain med wore off and you had to take the prescribed pain med? I don't want to wait til I'm in full fledged pain before taking my meds. Thanks guys.0 -
Chinneymae - I took my first pain meds before going to bed/sleep that first night. I wanted to stay on top of the pain as much as possible. This worked for me.
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Thanks Bayou: I'll do the same.
Voilet thanks for the info. I don't know yet what brand of implant I have. I do know it is the 800cc silicone round. I go back on next Thursday. I'll know more then.
Getting sleepy so I'll check back in tomorrow. Good night all!!0 -
Chi:
EVERYONE is different when it comes to pain meds/pain tolerance & pain med tolerance...;) And we've all had differing levels of work done at Exchange (some need extra pocket work, some, like me, just minimal work, some maybe fat grafting in addition, etc...) So, ya can't really compare to get an idea of what YOU might need, unfortunately. Sorry, I know you are just looking for a general idea of what to expect
but it really is an individual deal.And ya know SOME women ONLY need pain meds for 1 or 2 days and then they are Dandy on ibuprofen or Tylenol. NOT me.
*I* can take 2, 10 mg Norco at-a-time when I'm in really bad pain & it's not a big deal--only takes the edge off the pain--but doesn't make me loo-loo At All. Now, my late father couldn't really handle taking 1/2 tab or 1 tab 10 mg Norco or the tiniest amount of any IV pain med or he'd hallucinate! He really lost it on Morphine after his open heart surgery! Was having serious delusions! and he made up crazy stories we teased him about for years, none of which he remembered!
Still, if you don't need any extra work done at Exchange, perhaps you'll just need 1, 10 mg Norco every 4-6 hours for the first few or several days...just depends. Maybe you'll need less...you'll know. BUT, it's normally not anything like the MX pain...rest assured in that...:)
Hope that helps a bit.
Violet
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Chinneymae, so glad you're home, and welcome to the Squishy side! Hope you have a good restful night.
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Thanks Violet: I'm like you with meds. I know some people that can only take 1mg and get knocked out. I take 5mg and it helps with the pain but doesn't make me groggy.
I took two 5mg Oxycodone before going to bed and slept really good except for having to get up every two hours to pee! I guess it was the fluid they gave me in IV, because I sure hadn't drank that much.
Not feeling too much pain so far this morning so I may just need Ibuprofen instead. We'll see.0 -
Chinney: I have to admit to no grogginess after coming home and only took ibuprofen at bedtime as a 'just in case', because I really didn't have any pain. I got home from surgery at 3:30pm and was still wide awake at midnight! I could tell/feel that he released a little pec under lefty but it didn't really hurt. Felt like a little internal bruise maybe.
WELCOME TO THE SQUISHY SIDE!!!!!! Hope you feel tip-top soon
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Chi,
Yay you!0 -
Anyone gone to Davis NCI Cancer Center in Sacramento, CA? And, can anyone recommend a PS there...and s PAIN SPECIALIST?
Thanks!!!
Violet0 -
Violet, are you okay?....go to the ER if you can't find someone to help you!
Di
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Di,
Yes...am ok..just want find decent pain management doc.having some PMPS....AND another PS reference...;)
UC Davis is NCI ...I probably should've gone there to begin with...SOMEONE ON HERE must have gone there...0 -
violet - Perhaps if you start a new thread you might catch the attention of someone who has been treated there.
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Hi everyone: I'm doing very well. I went to Onc yesterday and she has changed me to Aromasin. We'll see how it goes. She said my exchange looks really good and it was healing well. I have two drains and they are really puttin out fluid. My PS said it took him 2 hours longer than normal because I had a pocket of fluid in each side that had encapsulated and he had to do some extra work to clean it all out. He said I was a heavy fluid producer. I am going to make sure that there is no more fluid remaining before I have these drains removed. I'm not in any pain, which is very good and can sleep flat in the bed and sleep on my sides. This was so much easier than the BMX. I really appreciate all the support from you ladies.
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Chinneymae: I'm glad you're doing well. Sounds like you have a good attitude about the dreaded drain tubes. How many do you have? I had two (1 each side) and they were really low producers and came out after 3 days. I, like you, had no pain after exchange. Isn't that an incredibly wonderful difference from the BMX? Take care, though, because with no pain it's really a struggle to remember you're not supposed to be using your upper body much. I'm 3.5 weeks out and really starting to look forward to the 6-week clearance to go back to the gym!
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I have one on each side as well. It is wonderful how much easier it is this time. I have been tempted to do more around the house, but I'm making myself take it easy. I do NOT want any setbacks!!
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Chinneymae, so glad all went well and you are pain free. Welcome to the squishy side!
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Thanks, TLR, it sure feels good to be here.
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New Avatar.....watermelon face
Di
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I had a fill yesterday, and today iron bra is worse, of course, but my right side has a indentation across the middle of my foob like something is keeping it from stretching across that area, and it feels very tight. It seems to be right where my pec was cut and the expander was put under the muscle. It looks weird. These things change shape with every fill.
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Goldie4040,
I had shar pei foob and "Z" foob....they did not go away with my fills and even after exchange....I had a revision and I THOUGHT it was perfect (it really WAS for a while).....but Z foob has made a reappearance after about 3.5-4 weeks post revision....shar pei lightly sneaks out every once in a while but not very often....I will have fat grafting in Oct....the foob skin want to "stick to" the muscle
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Chinneymae, congrats on your exchange! Glad you're feeling good. Keep resting up so your body can heal.
So I am 7.5 weeks out. Rads side is not softening, has a puffy area on the upper pole and has a divot on the side. I'm not too thrilled with it. The non-cancer side is soft, but sometimes aches, like i have a deep bruise in it. But more than feeling less than happy with my results, is the concern with the awful fatigue I'm experiencing. It seems to have gotten worse since I had radiation and my exchange. It's so frustrating. I just want to enjoy my life again without getting ill from exhaustion. I don't feel depressed, so I'm assuming its from having two surgeries and radiation in the past year. PS wasn't very helpful when I mentioned it; just seemed to write it off as due to my age, which at 57, I didn't think was that old.
Anyone else have this type of fatigue?0 -
Andrea: I am also 57. I had fatigue after my BMX for a couple of months. I felt like I was just drained. I started feeling some better and then I started on Arimidex and started getting worse after 3 weeks on it. I stopped it and my MO has changed me to Aromasin. I haven't gotten it filled yet. I'm feeling pretty good right now and I really hate to start this med and start feeling bad again, but I guess I'll at least have to try it.
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Andrea....I too am exhausted all the time...I am also anemic, and now on a RX for anemia and have had four separate surgeries since Dec 21 (but I haven't had radiation) and I am 8 years older than you....I am giving myself time to feel so so tired, with another surgery in my future, and I will give myself 6 months....THEN, I WILL be okay.
Di
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Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in feeling this way. It's so frustrating feeling so fatigued, plus not being able to be as active as normal has caused me to gain some weight. Sometimes I feel like friends just don't understand. Like after I finished treatments and surgeries, life is supposed to be back to normal. I also wish I didn't have to work full time cause I really could use a noontime nap! Anyway, thanks for letting me vent!
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I know what you mean. I hated to have to go back to work. When I get home I am so tired I can't seem to do anything but sit in my recliner. I believe having such a major surgery takes a lot more out of a person than we realize and it takes a long while to come back from it.
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Chi,
Glad you are doing ok! Yes, keep drains in as long as you need--very important! And DO NOT overdo it around the house!!!!!! I DID and paid for it!
Those are my orders, Missy...;)
Violet0 -
Yes Ma'am!!! I over did it with my BMX and paid for it as well. I'll do better this time, I promise.
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