TEs. A Beginner's Primer

Moonflwr912

Hi Alex! its way early to worry about how they look. Have you had any fills yet? That will take care of some of your issues. As for lotions, or massage, you will need to ask your PS. They are all different.

Much love

spiritualabundance

Any suggestions? My skin is having a hard time stretching. Not so much painful but they just look so thin.

Is there something I can rub on them, lotion/oil/etc?

Any food suggestions to help the skin?

Any vitamin suggestions that I'm allowed to take that might help my skin rejuvenate better?

Any other tips or suggestions? Bless you all!!

JessieJake

Hi spiritualabundance, there are some lotions members were recommending especially for radiated skin. I'll see if I can find that thread. I didn't have radiation but my skin is very tight and not so stretchy. I simply use palmers shea butter for stretch marks as I used it when pg, I don't know if it helps but it feels good and I like the smell

I think slow and low fills is also helpful, but maybe you are done with that part

Moonflwr912

spiritualabundance, before using any lotion, you must ask your PS. AND be sure you are completely healed along the scar. Putting something on the incision can cause an infection if there is the tiniest entry point. I may seen a bit paranoid, but i have good reasons....LOL

Much love to all.

Paulinek

spiritualabundance my PS recommended taking vitamin C to help with skin healing. I also use coconut oil daily to moisturize, but avoid my incisions. My skin also feels very thin, but these two things seems to have helped

Alex276

I'm am really struggling with my expanders. I had my surgery on April 28th and 150cc of saline put in at that time. I have very intense pressure and lung tightness. I never feel like I can breatheasily with is causing extreme anxiety and panic attacks. My regular dr put me on Prozac 6 days ago and I've been taking .5mg Xanax almost everyday for about a week. A couple people have compared the feeling to wearing an iron bra, I feel like I have a 50 pound octopus suctioned to my ribs. I have also heard that after your first fill that people get a little relief. What has been everyone's experience? I fight feelings of just wanting these damn things out almost every minute of the day

BethL

Alex-my expanders were very painful in the beginning. I had 120cc in at surgery but didn't know it because my skin was so tight that I was still concave. I had a previous mastopexy which left me with little skin. It did get better with fills. I just had a fill Friday and I had the same pain again. Had a miserable weekend. Reconsidering another fill at this time. Now I'm just anxious to be done.

Moonflwr912

Alex. Hugs How long ago wss your BMX? If it was in April at the same time, you have a lot of healing to do yet. You could adk to have some removed though if it doesnt get better. Tbe iron bra feeling could also be from the allograft sling that may be holding up the TEs. Mine felt like i had abroken rib, shortness of breath included. Because feep breaths hurt. Hugs. Sometimes a muscle relaxer helps but call your PS.

Alex276

My surgery was on April 28th and I do not think I have a sling. They have never mentioned that

Molly50

Alex, I had that panicked feeling as well. I wanted to tear my TE out of my chest. I felt relief after the first couple fills.

spiritualabundance

I literally just received a full from 700-775 and am sitting in my car. I have to say that each time I get a fill a pain is relieved somewhere (pinching, pushing, etc) but as the final amount approaches the fills do get initially more painful and take longer to recover. In the beginning I was able to take 100 every week. Now it's been 2 weeks and75 was too much. But only on one side. Left boob is FINE!! Right is murdering me.

WenchLori

Has anyone tried using the coco butter and vitamine E cream before your MX to see if conditioning the skin before hand will help at all? I think I'm going to try it myself, what could it hurt? I have 4 weeks before my DBMX date, I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

Prayers to all that are having issues with their TEs. I was terrified of the thought of having them but now that I know in order to get the results I want I may have to use them. Being here has made me not so terrified of the idea.

grandma3X

WenchLori - I used coconut oil every morning and my nipple stayed a nice pink color for the 6 weeks after my MX until they removed it because of close margins. However, my breasts were small, and my BS said that can make a difference (small is better for nipple sparing). Also they only put 60ccs in the TE during surgery so there was very little pressure on my nipple.

I have had absolutely no issues with the TE. Most of the time I forget it's there. My PS used a version that was just approved last year and is designed to be more comfortable I don't know if that's why I don't have any discomfort or if it is because I had very little volume added during surgery and only 3 fills so far (I'm at 210ccs). I have read of some women who get several hundred ccs put in during surgery and can understand why that would feel like an iron bra. From what I understand, they have to put enough in to be sure there is good contact between the muscle and skin, so for larger breasts, they put more fill in on the table. I hope this helps. If you want the brand of my TE, just PM me. I can't remember offhand what it is, but I have it written down somewhere

Lunderwood

grandma3x are your TE's and eventual implants above or below the pectoral muscle? I have been following discussion about over the muscle implants. They seem to work well for active people. I don't know if this is an option for me but I am trying to explore all possibilities. I am glad you are recovering so well and the TE has been relatively comfortable. Take care!

WenchLori

Thank you grandma3x, you were very helpful! I have so many questions and I'm receiving great responses.

Thank you everyone!

grandma3X

Lunderwood - my TE is below the muscle. I wanted my PS to do above the muscle but her response was that they are too new and that long term outcomes were unknown. I was worried about the pain and tightness of TEs but in the end, I have experienced no discomfort at all with the under-the-muscle version. I am having a PMX of the other side tomorrow with the same type of expander so we will see if my experience with the first one was a fluke!

grandma3X

Mentor CPX4

Lunderwood and WenchLori - here's a link to the TE I have.

Lunderwood

Thank you so very much Grandma3x! You will be in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow. Let us know how things go for you!!!

Laurie

WenchLori

Thank you Grandma3x! You will be in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow also!

Mominator

Thinking of you, Grandma3X, and holding you in my prayers.

grandma3X

Thank you Mominator! My surgery yesterday went very well and was pretty much the same as the one in January in terms of how I am feeling. I woke up from surgery and remember feeling as though that was the best sleep I had ever gotten! And to make it even better, the only room they had available was for VIPs It's huge, and looks a lot like a hotel room rather than a hospital room.

In hope you are doing well and that your implant are behaving themselves!

Lunderwood

Grandma3x I am so very glad the surgery went very well! How long will you remain in the hospital? Best wishes for a good recovery! Take care of yourself!

Laurie

JessieJake

Enjoy the recovery grandma3X! So envious you wake up feeling that good. I shiver recalling how I felt when I woke from BMX! Very different plans for when my exchange surgery comes up (I hope!).

Enjoy the VIP treatment and continue the good recovery!

grandma3X

Lunderwood- I was just released this morning. The surgery is done as an outpatient but they kept me overnight for observation (standard for MX patients). The nurses were awesome this time and explained everything really well. For my first surgery in January they put me in a room on the urology floor and the poor nurse was completely baffled by the drains. Then they gave the standard urology postop instructions when I left

Lunderwood

Grandma3X - I am so glad to hear all went well and you are already headed home. According to my PS the standard hospital stay is 2-3 days (I suspect that that varies by hospital and patient) I have already indicated that I prefer the very least amount of time needed. I believe the stay will be less if I have a paravertebral block and non opioid narcotics. (I haven't visited with the anesthesiologist yet but hope to soon!) I would be a little worried if they gave me urology instructions! Take care!

Molly50

Lunderwood, I had the paravertaral block and non opiod narcs for my umx. It was the best. Way less nausea and I felt good by the next morning. The anesthesiologist gave me a last boost before removing the block.

Lunderwood

Thanks Molly! I am convinced that's the way I want to go! I see my BS and have pre-surgery screening June 7th, the week before my surgery. Do you think that is too late to talk with an anesthesiologist? I am trying to have all the details settled well before the surgery so I have time to research and consider my options. The hospital freaked me out a bit when they scheduled a BMX not a UMX. They tell me it was just a typing error but I have decided to leave a note to the surgeon on the breast I a hoping to keep! Maybe "keep away" or "hands off".

grandma3X

Lunderwood - LOL about the note! I think I would do the same thing. As for talking with the BS about the paravertebral block - I would do this as soon as possible. The block takes a bit of time and if the surgeon's schedule is tight, they may want you to come in a little early. For me, the anesthesiologist was not supposed to be assigned until the day before surgery, but I contacted someone else in the anesthesiology dept. and told them what I wanted. They put me in touch with an anesthesiologist who was familiar with the protocol and agreed to do it for me. I think this was a week or 10 days prior to my surgery.

Molly - I remember talking with you about the PVB before my first surgery - Thank you! As you said above, it was the best! I'm not sure why they don't routinely do it this way, or at least offer it as an alternative to standard treatment. If I had not read about it here, I would not have known it was possible.

Mominator

Glad you're home Grandma3X. How nice you had a VIP room.

For my BMX in November, they put me in a room on the cardiology floor because my blood pressure dropped too low right after surgery. My nurses were completely baffled by what to do with the drains. One of the nurses came up with the brilliant idea of using the telemetry bags to hold the drains.  Then they gave the standard cardiology postop instructions when I left.

I am doing well, and my implants are mostly behaving themselves. No more infection since that one time. I am four months post-exchange. I still feel the implants moving, or my muscles moving around them. Not sure if that's because of the extensive pocket work I had and I am still recovering, or if that feeling will always be the norm for me.

So happy you're doing well.

Sheree66

I also had paravertebral nerve block during my BMX. It was the best! I didn't feel any pain or nauseous. I was up and about a few hours after I came out of the recovery, in time to meet my friends who came to visit me. I was not aware of the PVB until the day before surgery when I got a call from my anesthesiologist. She asked me to come an hour earlier than my scheduled arrival. I'm not sure if this will be given also on the exchange surgery. Does anyone know?