Mar 14, 2023 03:08PM exbrnxgrl wrote:

Sorry that no one has responded. Because my bmx was over 11 years ago, nerve regenerating techniques were not a thing so I can’t help you there. My nipples are not always erect, but some women report theirs are. This is one example of how we can have the same procedure but different experiences . I think, think being the operative word, that a few members may have had some type of nerve regenerating procedure so please try the search function. As to avoiding chronic pain, capsular contracture or any other unwelcome side effects, I would ask my plastic surgeon and ask for a referral for physical therapy. Unfortunately, nothing that you or your surgeon does will result in a guarantee of unwanted side effects or complications, though many are statistically low risk. Human bodies just don’t work like that despite the best of human efforts. Given that, just being conscious of these things and staying on top of any issues as they arise should put you in a good position for avoiding low risk se’s (but no guarantees!) . Take care

Mar 15, 2023 07:45AM pjc5399 wrote:

I had nipple sparing almost 8 weeks ago so have expanders. My nipples/areolas pre-surgery weren’t big (I was also small breasted) and were almost always pretty erect. Currently, the nipple itself is erect, not as much as it was, but still sticks out. The areola is not. It’s is much lighter in color than it was and looks bigger (because not erect). Hope that makes sense. If my expanders were more full (so not so lumpy and bumpy), my breasts would look pretty good. With clothes they definitely do (with or without a bra). I can’t say I have any real skin sensation. It’s not like I can’t tell if my breast was touched (It’s attached to your body) but you can definitely tell where you go from having skin sensation to not. I do know of two people who have gotten a lot of sensation back but they are years out at this point. I can make my areola “pucker” a tiny bit if rubbed which makes me think the nerves aren’t completely dead. 🤷♀️. A few other things….My armpit on the side where they took the sentinel nodes is similarly numb. This part was the worst for a few weeks…like a bad burn or sandpaper rubbing if anything touched it but that, very thankfully, went away. I haven’t had anything I would call pain though, just discomfort, and my range of motion is very good. I do hate the expanders. I’ve finally gotten to where I don’t think about them 24/7 but they just aren’t comfortable, esp at night. They have hard edges/places and are just like rocks attached to my chest. I do believe if you had them and they were overexpanded this might alleviate some of this issues but I have no desire to be bigger than I was so my fills stopped well short of the expander capacity. The incision has never caused any pain or discomfort. Hope all that helps. I know I had so many questions and just wanted to hear about experiences so ask away

Mar 19, 2023 03:53PM jena1126 wrote:

I had nipple sparing double mastectomy 2 weeks ago. My expanders are still in but I’ve already had 1 fill. So my boobs look almost back to normal., but my nipple are quite erect. I don’t have much sensation in them right now, so we’ll see after some time has passed. I’m happy I did both, for me it was somewhat for my mental health.

Mar 25, 2023 03:36PM beach2beach wrote:

Hi,

I'm almost 6 years out of a double nipple sparing mastectomy. I went straight to implants at the time of surgery, so no expanders for me. At this point in time I have quite a bit of sensation back. There are areas of my breasts that I don't really feel, but some areas I do. I do have some nipple sensation(not like the way they were originally, but pretty good) and they react to touch. In the beginning they were pretty much erect all the time but now not. It took time for sensation to come back.

Overall I was surprised that I got back as much sensation as I have now.

Good luck!