Exchange City

robinblessed54

Artista, where in CA are you? I noticed you are on Femara as well. How are you doing on it? I tried Arimidex and Aromison before I was put on Femara. So much better!

Have a blessed day!

Robin

Imkopy2

It's official I'm having exchange surgery on March 8th ( doing my happy dance) I absolutely adore my PS! Such a wonderful man, I told him March 8th it will be one year since I was officially diagnosed and he said I will make room for you don't you worry, we're going to change that date to a memorable one for positive things. Love him! Hope this post finds you all well

robinblessed54

Imkopy2, So happy for you! My exchange was in March also, 2 years ago. What kind of implants are you getting?

Robin

Imkopy2

Thank you Robin! I am getting Natrelle round silicone but I'm not 100% certain if he will be using Natrelle 45 or the Inspiria. Either way I will be so happy to get rid of these expanders, I'm so over them! I can't remember exactly my fill size it's been so long, I believe I was filled to 375 or 425. I had necrotic tissue in the one side and somehow or another I lost track of my fill size. He completely drained the one side and we started from scratch doing the fills. I was lopsided for quite awhile. He will also be doing some FG I told him he is welcomed to remove as much fat from my abdomen he likes. I'm sure he hears that often

meg2016

Imkopy2- thats terrific! Did you have your TE's in when you did radiation? My BS won't do my exchange until 6 months after the end of radiation. I see her this week so I'm hoping we can discuss scheduling it, it would be great to have a date. I'm so ready to be done with these TE's. But waiting seems to be the biggest part of this journey. Good luck with your surgery! Hoping the result is amazing!

candles1

Regarding insurance coverage for the cost of future reconstruction procedures, two important things to keep in mind:

1. "Coverage" does not mean free. If you have insurance with a high out of pocket deductible or high out of pocket maximum, you could pay thousands for future procedures; and

2. Laws change. We bc patients need to stay vigilant and make sure THIS law doesn't.

Imkopy2

Hi Meg! Yes I had radiation with my expanders in, that's the only way my PS would do it. My surgeon made sure I was expanded to the correct size before doing radiation because your skin can shrink. As for the waiting, yes BC truly tests your patience level, something I didn't have before all this that's for sure. My suregeon wanted to give my skin and body a chance to heal after radiation. He told me to schedule an appointment with him 3 months after I finished treatment so he could check out my skin to see if it was ready for surgery. Luckily he was very happy with the way my skin looked as feels confident I will have a good result. My friend however had to wait an additional 3 months though because he wanted more healing time for her skin. Im sure your surgeon wants to ensure you have the best results possible, let me know what she says. Thank you for your well wishes, crossing my fingers that your surgeon schedules your exchange soon, these expanders are a

Jenny867_5309

I had my left breast removed in Halloween. Just scheduled my exchange for May 2nd. Haven't looked into what kind of implant yet. My PS is going to put a small implant in my right breast as well and do some fat grafting. I am nervous but i will be glad to be closer to finishing

Artista928

Robin- I'm in Fremont. I started on V-day and feel some joint issues cropping up in my hands from time to time. Head gets fuzzy/sometimes a bit of pain or sleepy or all at least once a day, occasional cramps like pms. I haven't been on it long so I'm anticipating things getting worse. I'm upping the D3 to 5000 iu since D3 is not only for bone health. Reading the bone loss forum I'll be checking with my pcp next month about adding vit K2 and how much calcium, magnesium. Seems these are the key things folks on AIs are taking. No osteoporosis that I know of in the fam but I'm clutsy and trip easy so hope to stay ahead with the bone stuff.

Glad it's working well for you. I'm having a hard time imagining 10 years on this thing! :O

Imkopy2

Can anyone out there advise about fat grafting? My PS is doing lipo in abdomen area not sure what to expect. Thanks for any advice you can give. Hugs

MinusTwo

Im - I know there are a couple of threads specifically about fat grafting. Whippetmom started one. You should be able to find them through "search".

Imkopy2

Thank you Minus two

LRGO2016

imkopy2-

Key suggestions I have on fat grafting include:

1) Wear compressing garmets designed for post lyposuction procedures 24/7 until released. Spanks will work if you can't get the post surgical style recommended. The worst part of lyposuction for me has been the discomfort in the donor areas - it felt like a burning sensation for a couple of months after each procedure. Good news is that compression helps relieve the pain.

2) Grafted fat will not all survive at injected sites. Much of what your surgeon places will gradually disappear. Repeat sessions will likely be needed to achieve desired results. The problem is that transplanted fat cells need a blood supply to survive. Until your body can create the network of blood vessles needed, grafted but unsupplied cells will just not make it. This stage has been a journey for me , with many lumpy periods between procedures. I had round two on January 27th. My stomach has a ribbed appearance since my PS only took "strips" of fat out this time. He is saving some fat for the next round in about 2 months....

3) Immediately after grafting, I was also very swollen and bruised at both the donor and graft sites. I needed a sports bra that was several sizes larger than my normal chest measurement to be comfortable for the first 4 weeks after each graft. The swelling goes down, so don't worry about it, but having a larger bra available is a good idea for comfort.

4) be prepared for the skin over the donor sites to be numb for some time as well. The procedure often bruises or irritates the nerves serving the skin. I sort of freaked out after the first round as my entire stomach area had no feeling for weeks - eventually normal sensitivity returned thank goodness.

Finally, after each procedure, I find I can't sleep on my sides for at least 6 weeks. I'm just too tender. So be prepared to adjust your sleep position as needed to be comfortable. Lots of pillows have helped me find relief.

Good luck with your first graft experience. I hope your experience is good and you have minimal discomfort.

PickMoreWildflowers

Hi Everyone,

I go in tomorrow for the exchange. I cannot seem to find a comfortable compression bra, any advice?

Imkopy2

OMG LRGO2016 thank you so much! I have been searching this site for FG info and everything seems to be outdated. I have been following your journey informally for quite some time, I hope you are doing well. As you know there is nothing easy about this journey and I have relied heavily on this site to get me thru every stage. I'm looking forward to getting rid of these TE I'm tired of the turtle shell way of life. As for sleeping on my side I'm hoping ONE day in the next 20 years it'll be a possibility lol!

I will ontinue to follow your journey and hope for continued success hugs!

Michelle

Shoregirl

I am getting my exchange sometime in April, if all goes according to plan. So far, expansion has been going beautifully!! I was over on the Breast Implant Sizing 101 stressing about my expanders being too small (Mentor CPG-4 450cc). But I went for a fill yesterday and got some more clarification from my PA who does my fills for my PS. She informed me that although their plan was to overfill my TEs to 500cc, and then go in with a full or ultra full projection Natrelle Inspira in a slightly smaller size, that my TEs can actually be overfilled to DOUBLE their volume. I had no idea!! I am not trying to be huge, just back to my presurgery 36 DD. My previous fills had been 50, 100 (too much, painful), back to 50, and this last one I split the difference and went 75cc. So I am now at 425cc in a 450 cc TE. It feels tight like a DRUM!!! I could actually feel for the 1st time as she was injecting the saline the expanders filling. It was actually a little hard to breath for several hours after from all the pressure, and I noticed 3 pucker marks at the top of my chest Left side where the skin was being stretched taught. That went away overnight, thankfully. I feel huge now lol. I think the docs plan of 1 last fill next week up to 500cc will be just right.

Imkopy2

Hi Ladies! Im looking for some advice, Im having my exchange on Wednesday and wondering what type of compression garment you wore for FG. My PS is planning on doing some and Ive heard its better to wear one. When I asked my PS if I needed to wear one, he said it wasn't required but he has heard some women find its helpful. He told me this website was a great resource and to see what the ladies recommend. (I had to laugh)

He will be doing abdominal FG...thanks for all of your help!

BBwithBC45

Imkopy2 - My PS also said I didn't need to wear any compression, but his NP told me that some ladies felt better wearing spanx. I already had a spanx slip at home, so I was wearing it after my first FG. It felt like it was helping to keep things in place, less jiggly and maybe less painful. After my second FG I wore it maybe for a couple of days only and I gave up on it.

I know that the Fat Grafting thread isn't very active, but if you look read a couple of last pages, there are some ideas about what to wear. Especially worth reading are posts by SpecialK. She placed a couple of links of the garments she found. The main thing was to get something that you won't have to pull down when you need to go to the bathroom - to avoid pain.

Topic: Fat Grafting, pros and cons

Good luck!

Imkopy2

Thank you so much BB...if I may ask where are you in Illinois? I'm 35 minutes south of chicago

BBwithBC45

Imkopy, I'm in the far northwest suburbs.

BleuJay

I had my exchange a few days ago Thursday. Surgery went well, but I'm concerned. My PS put in Natrelle MF 335 cc anatomical implants. My right side on the lower pole is about 1.5 cm lower than the lower pole of the left. I suspect he had to do some pocket work to get the implant in, but I wasn't expecting to come out looking lopsided, especially since my TE were really symmetrical. I don't want anymore surgery, but I'm feeling sad because with all that I've been through I thought I would get a better result. I know that I am only daytwo out of my surgery. Can this get better? What do I say to my surgeon when I see him Monday for a follow up? Advice?

MinusTwo

BleuJay - swelling from surgery and the healing inside can take longer than 3 (three) months. The best rule is - look away from the mirror. It's hard, but you really won't even begin to know how things will look for at least 6 weeks. For now - if you haven't yet, ask your PS what kind of bra or support you should be wearing. Or if he/she doesn't recommend any, ask why not. There is a possibility of rotation until all the stitches heal. My PS specifically prohibited massage with anatomicals, so you might check.

In the mean time, step away from the mirror for the next several months.

robinblessed54

Bleujay, Minus Two has is perfectly! I also have Natrelle 410 475cc. Today they are 2 years old!! I was bound for a week so couldn't see mine. My PS wabts them held tight so they can adhere to avoid ritation. I also wore a sports bra 24/7 for minimum of 6 weeks. I wore something for a year. And no nessage as MT said. I think it takes at least 6 months ir more for results. I felt they were "mine" at about a year. Hang in there

Robin

MrsB88

Bleujay -Ditto what MT & Robin advised. I have Mentor anatomicals & my TE's were symmetrical like yours although my left side had more tissue. During my exchange almost 6 mos.ago, I think my PS reduced the left a bit at the inframammary fold in order to create a better outcome. So post op the bottom of my right lower pole appeared to be slightly lower & had more fold in its appearance. I still wear a bra or bralette 24/7 for support. In the last 2 mos. the implants have softened a bit & I've noticed the left side has dropped down ever so slightly creating more of a fold & now looks about as symmetrical as one could possibly expect. I hope this info. helps. Let your PS know what your concerns are.

Imkopy2

Pickmore- hopefully you are doing well and are recovering, Did you find a compression bra? Im having similar trouble and my surgery is Wednesday.

Cyber hugs to all of my warrior sisters out there

BleuJay

Thank you MinusTwo, MrsB88 and robinblessed54 for your words of encouragement. I saw my PS yesterday and he confirmed that he had to do significant pocket work on my right side to get the implant in, making the implant sit slightly different than my left side. I am healing well, and he is happy with my recovery. I'll keep my drains until Friday. Because of my asymmetry my PS suggested that I wear an underwire bra on the side that sits lower to effectively lift the implant/pocket, but to remove the wire on the opposite side. I'm going to give this a try in hopes that it will help to balance things out as I heal. I guess I had very high expectations for the end result, and I needed to be more realistic

kingster

BleuJay, I also had significant asymmetry initially. Since my tissue expander coiled up inside, my ps lowered that side when the TE was replaced. As I healed, things have gotten much better, but not perfect. I wear a bra most all the time to keep things as even as possible. I have had my implants for 2 years now. The appearance should improve as things settle. Try not to stress too much for now. It takes many months (6-12) before considering revision. I used an ace wrap and wrapped it under the lower one and on top of the higher one. I also massaged down the higher one. But, I have smooth rounds.

MrsB88

BleuJay - I'm glad your PS reassured you & provided a plan to assist in evening out the bottom poles. Remember, you still have a lot of healing to do & hopefully you will be extremely pleased with the final results!

BleuJay

thank you for the suggestions, it is very helpful

BleuJay

Thank you for your continued encouragement