All About Gummies

Perrier

Thank you so much for your story/blog.  I am planning reconstruction after being blessed with many years clean. My husband whom I was with since I was 15 yrs old bolted and told me I ruined our marriage because of my choice to have a bi lateral mx..after battling agressive breast cancer. I was left raise my two adopted boys alone.  I am so ready to have a shape to my body again. Scared, but ready.  Thank you for sharing your story.

Perrier

Sorry, for some reason this post did not end up where it was supposed to go!  Not too sure what happened!

Lmflynn

Minus two~ Good luck this week! I am now almost 4 weeks post exchange with the gummies and they get more and more comfortable...and they look good. They fit in a bra, can be "pushed up" for cleavage and much more natural looking than those dang TEs...which I had for a year so all in all so far so good!

Lmflynn

Bump....just wondering if anyone else with gummies out there....it's going on 6 weeks for me since my exchange...generally all is good!

MinusTwo

Lmflynn:

Belated thanks for the wishes.  Exchange on 9/13 went well.  Got a scopolamine patch so didn't have such horrible nausea issues after anesthesia.  I'm now the proud owner of two 410 gummies - 455LX (low height-extra full projection).  Drains were pulled today but I don't see the PS for 8 weeks.  I'm hoping these are small enough, but hard to tell with the swelling.  So far they look mostly symetrical.  Still a fair amount of pain on one side where extra pocket cutting & stitching was required.  I'll wear the surgical bra for "awhile" and was told not to go to underwire for 6-8 weeks.  I can raise my arms but no lifting over 1/2 gal milk carton, no pulling/pushing and I'm supposed to do mostly nothing for another 4-5 days to prevent seromas. 

BUT THANK HEAVENS the TEs are gone.  I never knew how much they hurt until I had to stop taking asprin 2 weeks before surgery.

After my BMX there were lots of ladies posting on this thread.  I hope we can keep it going because I found it very helpful in making my decision.  Also because we're all in the research project for 10 years and it would be good to keep getting progress reports from those who have gone ahead. 

Jan

Lilah

Wahoo Jan and LMFlynn!  So glad all is well and that the gummies are good.  I have one and I am happy with it.  Mine doesn't move a lot but it moves enough to make cleavage, which is nice.  Got a pretty good match, too, with my natural breast (I'm a uni).

Mantra

I too have gummies. I have a few ripples in the cleavage area and am having fat grafting done in October. She's also going to inject some fat in the one nipple that kind of flattened out. I've already selected my tattoo artist but won't have that done until sometime next spring.

I still have these two annoying dimple areas where the implants are stitched down. She said it will eventually go away, but it will take time. Anyone else have this?

My gummy journey was a love/hate kinda of thing .  It took a while to get used to. I was really expecting something much more soft and natural feeling. Other than that one issue, they look great. Very symmetrical, great cleavage and I never had any type of pain other than the first night in the hospital.

Lmflynn

I have to say I am mostly happy with mine... I had really dense breasts pre-chemo, and have to say the gummies feel pretty natural to me...they move and can be squeezed to form cleavage ....I have an LD flap on one side due to radiation....and they look pretty equal....I have two different sizes in....



Can't wait for nipples, I bought these excellent temporary tatoos from a place in Canada..they are great until I can get the real thing.....from a distance you cannot tell.

Denise2730

Okay ladies - maybe your surgery is too recent to be able to answer this question but will I ever have feeling in my breasts again? (I still have my TE's). My nipples were removed and frankly were a very large part of my erogeneous (sp) zone. I had my DMX Aug 11th so maybe it's too soon to tell if I will ever have feeling in them again.

My PS does the Natrelle implants. I'm going to check their website to see if I can pick the one that looks best to me. I'm 5'1 so I don't want to look like a porn star or matronly (I need to lose 20 lbs). I was a D cup and I don't want to be quite that big. Also the TE's seem very wide IMO. Will check out the website someone posted a few pages back.

Denise

Lilah

Denise -- I'm sorry to say you probably won't get much feeling back.... although at two years out (since MX) and over a year since exchange I can say that my MX side does have a little more feeling than it did (I am a uni). 

You should, by the way, check out a thread called Breast Implant Sizing 101 and chat with Whippetmom who moderates the thread.  She can help answer some of your questions about the right size for you as well as your question about the TEs.  Read the header of that thread carefully, she needs specific info from you in order to help you; she is someone who spent years in medical research and since undergoing her own reconstruction a few years ago has become the "breast whisperer" of BCO

Denise2730

Thanks Lilah!

MinusTwo

Just checking in at 5 weeks post exchange with 2 gummies.  Since I had such dense breasts, I don't find the gummies any harder than my natural breasts were.  Really nice shape.  Nice cleavage.  Wider than I'd like - but that seems to be true with all implants.  Waiting for the nerves on the left side to continue regenerating & pain to decrease before bra shopping.  Post op not until mid November. 

How is everyone else doing?

Lilah

I am doing great and glad you posted that about the gummies MT.  I find mine is very close in consistency / firmness to the remaining natural breast I have (for the same reasons).  All implants are wider, it's true, than natural breasts... I definitely think the pluses for the gummies are the shape and the lack of rippling. 

I waited several months to do serious bra shopping but did go out and get a few around 8 weeks after surgery.  I started with wireless and then switched to wired at 8 months.  Feeling great now at oh gosh I think it's a year and a half since exchange.

SKD

I am getting my tissue expanders out this coming week with an exhange for

Gummies! I can't wait!



Any advise for the day of/ after surgery??

Lilah

Recovery from exchange varies depending on how much pocket work your doctor needs to do (like moving them closer together or farther apart or other adjustments).  I had one gummy and one reduction of my native breast... the reduction took FAR longer to heal.  The gummy side felt pretty good pretty soon.

The usual day of/post surgery rules apply... like don't lift anything heavier than a jug of milk... take it easy, don't exercise or break a sweat (something to do with the blood supply and healing process).  Don't drive if you take painkillers stronger than tylenol.  In fact most shouldn't drive for at least a week. 

Mostly though get instructions from your doctor.

Also my PS had me wearing post-surgical bra (which I woke up in) 24/7 for 8 weeks (she gave me another one when I saw her to get drains out... and I am pretty sure I did go out and buy one or two wire free bras at 6 - 8 weeks post exchange, just to wear a normal bra instead of the post-surgical type bra). 

And re: drains -- some doctors use them and some don't at exchange.

MinusTwo

Lilah:  Thanks for the update.  I hope to see your bra recommendations for gummies on the Bra thread.  Val says you've found some good ones.  Jan

Lilah

I posted just now for you Jan (on Val's thread).

MinusTwo

.

Posting here to bump for identtwins.  She was looking for info on the Exchange thread & I've referred her here. 

identtwins:  I had bilateral exchange 9/13 with Allergan 410 - 455LX.  My first post op will be 8 weeks on Monday.  I like the size & the shape.  I'm not wild about the width, but that seems to be common with any kind of implant.  Since I had very dense breasts, I don't feel like the 410's are much harder than the original.  I still have some swelling on the left side & am anxious to find out if the PS did extra pocket work, etc. that is resulting in delayed healing.  There is a thread "All About Gummies" that was very helpful to me, as was Lilah & some others.

Lilah

I noticed I was much softer after 3 months, Minus Two, and softer still over a year later... so you may yet see more softening... but I agree with you: my originals were dense so the firmness of the gummies doesn't bother me.

m-star

Hi ladies!

just to let you all know i am still loving my gummys ))))

i will try and post a picture on here if i can find out how. i have super imposed 2 roses over my scars so the pic isn't too graphic.

oh i can't do it cus i don't have a URL for it =(((( just tried.

Lilah

Hey Kay!  Sorry you couldn't post your pic -- but glad to hear from you!

LMichele

Bumping for a friend...

MinusTwo

And I'll give another bump to see if we can move up the list this week.  Still have some darn swelling.  Exchange was 9/13.  I'm moving forward buying a few bras for special occasions even though I'm still in some kind of compression most of the time.  Still like the size & weight & shape.  Glad I've got gummies.  Jan

Lilah

Robo -- the gummies are still in trial in the US, yes, so you would need to go to a doctor who is participating in that trial.  I find it hard to believe, though, that there isn't a doctor in Chicago who participates in the trial!  You might want to contact Whippetmom here on BCO... she keeps track of good surgeons in the US and may know of a good one in Chicago who also does the gummies.  Another option, since you want to stay small, is the "one-step" procedure with alloderm.  It's especially useful for women who want to stay small.  It uses regular silicone (or silicone gel) implants plus alloderm (to form a sling) and does not require a TE.  Again, Whippetmom might have some ideas for you.  Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.  I don't guarantee I will have answers but I'm happy to try

HantaYo

Namaste!

Robo-while you do need to go to a PS participating in the trial you are not "obligated" to complete the trial.  There are some small monetary incentives for your time in completing the follow up and questionaires related to the study but you can drop out of the study any time you want.  I will say that although I have had multiple frustrations with my reconstruction and right now one of my gummies is rotated and dropped (not because they are gummies but because of tissue failure in the inferior lateral aspect of the pocket) that I still like my gummies and when I get revision I want to keep them if at all possible.  One of the things this long term study may reveal is the possibility that replacement won't be needed as often as with the reg silicone or saline implants.  What ever decision you make will be right for you.  Just take your time to fully explore your options.

Karla

Lilah

I also think that staying in the study is not a big deal.  Once a year you see your PS and fill out a form and, I believe, at the end of the 10 years you get a free MRI.  There are other incentives in the trial but, honestly, I don't really remember what they are.  The reason I wanted it was because I'm a uni and I thought I'd get a better match (due to the anatomical shape) and I am very pleased with my results.

HantaYo

Namaste!

Lilah, every year that you Follow up and fill out a form you get a check in the mail. So far I just had the initial one and they sent me $100 for that.  I have an information sheet (somewhere Ha Ha) that gives the amounts at each year.  I think the later years you get more.  I got my first check about 3 months after the form was completed.  It took me a while to figure out why I was getting it till I remembered "oh yea". It is sort of nice to get reimbursed for the time it takes to do the form (there are a lot of pages and it seems they ask the same thing in multiple different ways).  A lot of quality of life issues and self esteem stuff about your image.

Karla

Lilah

Karla -- for some reason I get NO money!  I have no idea why.  It sucks, man.

Lilah

Oh and Robo -- PLEASE send a PM to Whippetmom and tell her I suggested you contact her.  I feel certain she will know if there are doctors in the gummie trial in Chicago.

HantaYo

Namaste!

Lilah, I go to a PS in a group of 4  surgeons and they all participate in the gummy trial program. I was given a # for an ID because Allergan does not record any patient's personal name/ID.  This # will always be the same and goes on the forms and NOT my name. The check from Allergan is actually made out to the PS group   but with my # and then they turn around and reimburse me with a check from their office since they are the only ones who can identify which patient is associated with a particular #.  If you are spending time doing the forms once a year then you should be getting some money.

Karla