continued Tissue expander pain!!

Lorraine,

Hey girl glad to see you are doing good! My PS says that he is gonna put a 600cc implant in which will give me a full C/D cup. My old bra size was a 32D. What will 700cc implants give you?

Tracey

Hi Daisy,

I had 200ccs in at the time of surgery and yes I do still get pain. My pain is sharp, but it doesnt last to long. I take pecocet and that helps. The more fills I get the worse my back hurts from carrying around these heavy things!! Anyhow, as for your 400ccs being a C cup. It really just depends because where 400ccs might be a B cup for you, for someone else it's a full C. My PS says it depends on your frame and the size of the implant used. I hope this helps. Best wishes.

Tracey

Daisy I had 360cc at the time of my mast and have felt every darn minute of them for the last 7 weeks. Funny...it seems the more they put in, the better I feel. Can actually sleep on my right side for a few hours. I will be filled to 660cc on 2.24 and then have 700cc implants the end of March. My PS doesnt really talk cups anymore...he says whatever looks and feels right for me. My expanders are only 600cc but he can overfill to 700cc.....like a little tick on the back of a dog.....I feel like they are going to pop. But it's worth it. If I had to guess on me...I'll probably be a D cup...he's using a teardrop shaped implant.

Lorraine, Sounds like you are going to be the exchange pioneer!!! hooray for you. You've been through so much. I'm happy for you. My son and I are heading to Huntington Beach 2/16 to look at Chapman and get some surfing in....not me of course....I'm happy to just sit on the beach at this point. My PS gave me a medical note in case my ports set off the metal detectors at airport security! Ha Ha.....imagine that...and I used to be worried about the underwire in my bra...lol

I agree with Laura....Jean you get my nomination for president of the FebMarApr exchange thread. Exchange city here we come. We'll all be on our post op narcotics writing silly things....good for us!!

Peace and comfort to all 

Hi everyone, happy Friday!  I have my first fill (yes, I'm a fill newbie) next week.  This might be a silly question but, is it inevitable that I will get stretch marks from the fills?  Is cocoa butter a good answer?  My skin seems really tight already and it feels like it will split!  Any ideas?

Done with fills on Dec. 28th. r-480cc, l-500cc's.  Will exchange for HP Mentor Silicone on 2/4.  Was small B prior to BLM - hoping to be 36C when finished.  Hard to tell what I will end up with.  PS says he will bring 500,550 and 600cc implants into surgery.  He's going to move the pockets closer together.  Doc doesn't talk in cup sizes.  He asked what I wanted & I told him I liked the projection of the expanders - he also asked if he couldn't decide between the sets if I wanted to be conservative or bodacious!  I chose bodacious...I'm hoping I chose wisely.

I didn't get stretch marks from the fills - I think I had a couple of small ones from nursing my 4 boys.  I used palmers cocoa butter massage lotion and I think it helped.  

I've used olive oil believe it or not. All the grandmothers, mothers and daughters have used it during our pregnancies and none of us have stretch marks. PS said nothing wrong with it as my scars are well healed. You can put it on the skin around the scars. That's the skin that is stretching. My Ps also keeps micropore tape on the scars as he says it keeps them flat. I have to say my mast scars are flat and light pink. He'll use the same scar to go back in for the exchange. 

Interesting how different all our PS recommendations and processes are. 

Ha Ha we must be late nite television girls!!!! We'll be there the 16th-19th. We are going to Chapman in Tues the 17th. Then a free day on Wed. 

Daisy. My PS didn't believe in medicating any pain that wasn't in the "acute: phase either,but thankfully my PCP did. I've been a hospice nurse for 13 years and am very specialized in pain management.So I wrote everything down...type/description of pain, duration, frequency, what made it better, what made it worse...then I looked  that paper as a nurse and lo and behold.....my burning pain was nerve pain. Brought all that info to my PCP and he started me on Neurontin...after consulting with the pain clinic. I'm a new woman. My dose has been adjusted up once and my burning pain is very intermittent now almost non existent. It's been a week since I started it and truly feel it was my turning point in my frustration level. I too still take valium for the spasms. Don't worry about addiction, You're taking the meds to relieve symptoms....not to get high...thats the difference. you made build up a tolerance but that does not equal addiction.

Oh the nurse in me comes out like a momma bear when the docs don't listen....really hear us. Categorically there are 3 types of pain....all responsive to different classes of medication.

I really hope you start to get some relief. For me it was the neurontin and the fills. I think it's because the more saline in,the less likely a ripple or fold in the expander digs into you.

Good luck swweetheart...we are all here for you. and btw....my PS said I wouldn't have drains either. 

 xxoo

Jackie - When are you scheduled for your implants? Soon? I am so sorry you are in so much pain! - Jean

Jackie300,

Oh honey I wish I could go with you too. Do you have a breast doctor that may be more sympathetic towards your pain. I have my breast doc who did the mastectomy and then the PS did the recon. You had your mast a week before me and I'm not going back till Mar 2nd...part time,no lifting. Talk to your PCP and tell her how much pain you are in and that the PS is not stepping up to the plate. My PS will only write for my valium and motrin. My PCP gives me my neurontin. Neurontin is not the only med for nerve pain so maybe your PCP is comfortable trying something different.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I felt the same way. I felt I was getting depressed and losing my mind. I kept wanting the expanders out too but I kept going and read ALL the threads here. I'm almost done....and I'll be happy with the results because I "stuck it out" so to speak. Try one more time before you give up....take your flexeril!!

Write down the type of pain you are having.....describe it as best you can....like burning, sharp, knifelike, dull etc. Write the frequency of it...constant, intermittent....Use the 0-10 scale to rate your pain. Make sure you note in a 24 hour period the worst # it was and the least # it was. Write down what makes it better and what makes it worse. Most importantly write down what is a tolerable level of pain for you....even if it is 0. Take your little pain diary and show it to the doc....any one of them...that way your thoughts are organized and on paper. Start it today and contact them Monday. That way you'll have a couple days of pain for them to review.

I really don't profess to know exactly what meds are good for people but I do know what is important to know for a good pain assessment. Do you have an acupuncturist near you?

Keep your chin....and your expanders up....lol. When your on the right regime it is all worth the minimal discomfort at the finish line. 

 Good luck and be kind to yourself 

Lorraine and Sam,

I am so jealous, I wanna go have coffee to. How awesome that you will meet each other in person!! Have a blast!

Tracey

I wish we all lived close... so we could do a once a month get together party... You gals have fun...

I Know L.... we all care so much for eachother and most of us have not met... it seems Cancer has a way of bringing a lot of people together... I love all the gals too... we are like this huge sisterhood.

I call us all the "Ta Ta Sisterhood"

Estepp

OMG....i just practically fell out laughing so hard. The Ta Ta Sisterhood!! Oh I can't wait to tell my friends. They will laugh till they cry!!! I wish we could all meet too. It's lovely to feel so close to a wonderful group of women.....and all be in different parts of the world. So for what breast cancer breaks apart....we all find the strength and support to put it back together....even if it looks...and feels a litttle different than when we started.

xxoo 

Hey everyone,

I am a flight attendant and I could see about getting buddy passes. When we are all past the exchange stage we should pick a location and date and plan our first "breast reconstrution reunion!" Wouldnt that just be a hoot!!!!!! What do you all think??

Tracey