All About Gummies
Comments
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Greetings Ladies from Northern Michigan.
Well it looks like I'll be doing a nother surgery next week, hopefully Friday, if not for sure the Following Friday. The PS told me that he has to remove all the scar tissue that has now attached to the muscle, which is creating my muscle spasims and cramps. He will have to cut out all the scar tissue from the implants and also the tissue attaching to the muscles in my chest cavity. He will replace the implants with a gel implant that will be more high profile and more narrow for my chest. I'm not sure if he will reduce the size or not. He said he would order at least 4 different sizes and see what one would work the best. He is such a kid man, and told me I have been through too much to have pain. I think he was referrring to the total hystermecty that I had to have on my one year annivery from BC that was back in november. I'll update photos as soon as possible. It's kind of hard to type at the moment from the muscle relaxers he gave me for the pain until the surgery.
Talk to you soon
Sharon
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Liz I live in the NY area and I feel the same way you do someone should "Show and Tell" at this point. I am not modest about this and once my BMX with reconstruction is done I will let other woment see and feel in order for them to make the best decision. I think I have plenty of belly fat for a Diep but I will be meeting with PS's soon and will then know what my options are...
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Liz,
I too am single although I have been dating my boyfriend for several years now so I understand how you are feeling. Honestly I have been so preoccupied we haven't been ver sexual. :-( However, I truly think that by the time they are "complete" it will look pretty natural. I have no feeling at all and everything is completely numb. Feel free to PM me!
Take care
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Hanna: Amazing......I am going to have to refer people to talk to YOU - for your wealth of knowledge about Alloderm and understanding of the cellular process. Thank you for sharing it!!!
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Hi Liz,
I understand your concerns about being single and dating and so forth. I was single when I went through chemo and recon and I tried to put that thought in the back of my mind. All I could really focus on was doing whatever I could to stay around as long as I could for my children.
Well, after you recover and feel like you have a shot at a reasonably long life, then of course you start to think about future relationships. My situation is not quite like yours; I have saline implants and they are rather unnatural. My boyfriend, who first asked me out 3 months after my exchange surgery, knew I had been through treatments and surgery because he had been a co-worker. So I didn't have that hurdle of having to explain everything to him. He's a medical provider as well so he took a clinical approach to my foobs, and it was ok because I felt comfortable revealing them to him and it was not that traumatic. Plus, he's not a "breast man."
Still, I can't help but feel that you might be placing too high a premium on the value of your body when contemplating future relationships. I am not putting you down, believe me. I kind of assumed that when I made the decision to have a bilateral that my relationship potential was pretty much gone. Who would want "damaged goods?" But there are so many good men out there who care about more than boobs. You strike me as a youthful, energetic, articulate, intelligent woman and there are many, many men who are looking for someone just like you, breasts or not. Your other strengths and your natural charm will far outweight what kind of breasts you have.
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Sharon - good luck with your surgery. I'm glad that you don't have to wait too long for it. Your PS sounds great!
Hanna - wow - you wrote so thoughtfully about Alloderm in relation to my problems, and after all that, I'm pretty sure I don't have Alloderm! I'll double check, but I think I'm correct. I did learn a lot from reading your description, however : )
In answer to your really good Q's about why some of us with the 410's are struggling with them - in my case, at least, I find the implant comfortable. I am not constantly aware of a foreign body inside me, so that's not my complaint. (Although I've spoken to others here who are uncomfortable.) My issues are that the natural, teardrop shape that's achieved with the gummies/410's is compromised by two things: the extreme firmness of the implant, so firm that to me, at least, it bears little resemblance to a real breast, and the uneveness in texture (which seems to go hand in hand with the firmness). I'll try to get some photos up on the photo site soon, but until then, it's a little hard to describe. The lower pole of my breast has what has been defined to me as "traction rippling", which you'll read more about above on this thread. There are small bumps, ripples that look more like dents, and resulting shadows that really make the breast look artificial, at least to me. That's the best I can do to describe my own experience with the gummy. On the other hand, I've got a great shape with clothes on, and if I disregard the problems I just outlined, a nice general shape even un-clothed. (BTW - I had a nipple sparing bilateral mastectomy.) Feel free to PM me if you want to know more.
Cristi- what stage exactly are you at with your reconstruction?
And Carol - You make such excellent points, and thank you for that optimistic outlook on dating and the great men out there! It's comforting to hear that from someone who has been down the same road. And I know you're right - any man worth knowing would not love us less because of our breasts, however they may look and feel. I just want to make the right decision. I don't want to have another surgery if I can't realistically expect a better result than I now have. But I also don't want to live with a result that really bothers me simply because it would be so much easier not to have surgery again. Does that make any sense? Also, I was wondering and I hope you don't mind my asking, why did you opt for chemo when you had such a small invasive tumor? Did you just want to be as aggressive as possible, in light of your children?
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I have the Mentor CPGs--put in about 3 weeks ago so it is early in the process but I'll relay my experience so far. They are firmer than I expected (although they feel less hard than when I first got them), but definitely feel more like real breasts than the TEs. I had big, floppy breasts prior to BC, so I like the fact that these arent' droopy--but any implant would do that. They are a fairly large size (model 322--moderate plus profile and moderate height, size 585cc--supposed to be 6.1 projection),. For me, this size is about a full "C" to small "D" (between a 36-38 C--I'm just over 5'4" and 155 pounds, and my ribcage is fairly wide). I do think they feel heaver than the TEs, which were expanded to around 550ccs. At first I felt they were way too large, but that is mainly in the width--I had some lipo on the sides so I think some of the swelling has decreased and will decrease some more. They do not have the 'hamburger bun' look --the top has cleavage but isn't round. They do feel "bottom heavy".
The implants themselves do not feel too bumpy and I don't really have ripples, although I do have one skin fold towards the lower pole on the inside on one breast. This was present during my TE expansion and I need to ask my PS whether it will change or whether she plans to do anything about it. I meet with her for the first time since surgery on Thursday, so I'll find out more (I did briefly run into her at work, and she said if I'm not happy with the size she'll change them, but said that smaller might mean very little projection. I think they look pretty good without clothes--but I was a really harsh critic of my natural breasts, so it is all relative.
I was looking forward to smaller breasts after this process, and they definitely are, although not as small as I might have wanted. I'm also wondering how they'll look if I manage to lose the 15-20 pounds I'd like to lose. I know the implants don't get smaller, but if I have less back fat, I guess I'll end up going down a band and up a cup (?).
Happy to share more as I learn & experience more.
Alice
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Sorry to hear you are not happy with the feel of your implants Liz.
I agree a little with your PS saying that the shape might not be as nice with a round implant. But Many have great looks with round too!
Here is what my PS said about the hardness of the different implants:
He rated the expanders at a 10 for hardness. Saline Implants at a 9. True Gummy Bears at a 7 & Silicone Gels at a 4-5 for hardness. I would agree with him. I have Saline Implants & they are very hard!
I need to have a repair on my reconstruction & will be switching to Silicone Gels. I feel the Gummies would be too hard for me also.Pam
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Liz,
I had to re-read your post about not feeling like you had a foreign object in your body with regard to the gummy. I kept thinking that was a typo, and you meant to say you could always feel the gummy, because that's the way I feel. Rarely a moment goes by that I don't feel this big hard rubber thing on my chest. It's painful, I feel like it sticks out, and I bump into the table and door with it because it's so numb. While I admit that part of the chronic ache I feel with it might be from the frozen shoulder, it also could be that the gummy side just feels so different from my other natural breast which I was fortunate not to have to remove as well.
I wrote you a longer private message with more details, but, essentially, I'm going to wait another 3 to 6 months to see if I "bond" with my gummy and then try to figure it out. I wish someone else could make this decision for me!!!
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Liz,
Yes, I opted for chemo because I wanted to throw everything possible at it on the first shot, mainly because of my kids, and because I was 41. There was no oncogene/oncotype (sp?) test at that time so had to go on other factors. When I brought it up my onc didn't shoot me down so I went through with it. Whether or not I needed to, I'll never know. Plus, I did not know my node status, which made me nervous.
I really do understand the body image thing. Please don't think I am belittling it. I struggle with body image issues almost daily, even though I am in a relationship, so I understand. My hope for you is that you will prevail over it and learn to love yourself. Only then will you feel free to enter into a relationship that doesn't judge body parts or lack thereof.
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Carol - your last sentence says it all! And I'm working on it. I had too much invested in my breasts/body image before BC - so this work I need to do (internal work, I mean), is a long time coming! I'm happy for you that you found someone wonderful who loves you as a whole person. It's nice to be reminded that there are men like that out there!
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Liz - Hopefully my story will give you hope as well. Within two weeks of first meeting my now fiance, I was diagnosed with a recurence of bc. Four weeks after that I had a double mastectomy followed by three months of chemo with a 25+ pound weight gain. I also had to have three revision surgeries because of complications with previously radiated tissue, live with unexpanded tissue expanders for seven months and then finally get expanded and have exchange surgery for 410's. Despite having my body pretty much destroyed, I managed to find an incredibley loving and supportive man who remained attracted to me throughout the entire ordeal. He proposed less than six months after we first met while I was in the middle of chemo with LITERALLY no breasts. he took off every third Friday from work to take me to chemo and stay with me afterwords. Nonetheless, almost every day I wish I had my old breasts and body back - but I don't and I'm no worse for it in the man department. We're planning on getting married next spring. Lisa
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Lisa - Your story is nothing short of miraculous! Your fiance sounds like a gem. It's amazing that bc changed your whole life and self only moments after you met him, and yet he held on tight to you through the most difficult possible moments of this journey.
You, along with other women in this community, have truly restored my faith that there are still incredible men out there. You have all also helped me to change my attitude about my new body, and to realize that having optimism or fear about the future is, in the end, a choice, not a condition that's imposed on us. I'm so glad that you found someone wonderful to share the ups and downs of life with!
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I have the same concerns about dating. I googled "what men think about mastecomy" a few months back, and found some discussions on Plenty of Fish. One guy was pretty blunt--he would never be attracted to someone with a mastecomy, but the majority of men said it wouldn't matter to them, it was all about the woman and not her breasts. I was amazed. Still not sure I belive it.... but we'll see. Not sure if that thread is still up, but you can probably find something like it. Also try to find Linda Dackman's old book, "Up Front," about her dating experiences.
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I'm sure there are men out there who would never date a woman who's had a mastectomy. Fortunately, I feel I've learned enough in life to know that I'd NEVER be interested in a man who felt this way. That's not sour grapes - rather, it reflects an understanding that any man who could make that comment about himself doesn't have the depth or the character that I'm looking for. This time around, if it's not real love on on the deepest level, I'd rather pass!
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yes, but my point was that it was 1 guy out of 10 who felt negatively. the other 9 didn't care a bit, and since it was all in their own words, it was more comforting than hearing it from another woman.
I logged on today to find out if other women have had pain with their implants, so glad to find that some have mentioned it in this discussion. I had more than one reconstruction (complications) and developed a frozen shoulder, which was incredibly painful all by itself. But now that that is resolved, the implant (the new silicone, not sure the type) is driving me CRAZY. It drags on my chest, it hurts, my arm still hurts, my shoulders hurt, my back hurts... I'm very athletic, race bikes so not a wimp, but the attitude from the docs is that this is unusual. The reconstruction doc told me to take some claritin because it might have something to do with the radiation (which was more than a year ago). All I can think about every night is when I can pop open a bottle of wine to try to give myself some relief. For various reasons (blood clots leading to blood thinners) I can't take regular pain meds and the only other option I have is vicodin, and they're reluctant to pass that out. Sorry to be so long winded... but I'm seeing the doc on Monday, and a couple comments on this thread give me some proof that it's not all in my head.
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Hope I didn't come across as though I don't understand your thinking, or why you did this research. I certainly do!! I've worried about this a lot, and it IS nice to hear directly from 9 out of 10 men that what matters to them is the whole person, not merely the anatomy.
I'm so sorry to hear that you're in such pain. There are definitely other women here who are experiencing pain, especially with the gummy implants. If your docs are this unresponsive, I'd research the top plastic surgeons in your area who specialize in breast reconstruction, and I'd seek other opinions. Obviously, you have to find an alternative to being in chronic pain! I'm hoping that your symptoms are temporary. Do you make sure to do a lot of stretching? I've found that I need that even more, since my treatment for bc.
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oh no, I understood, just restating the point. I live in NYC, and despite the pain, I don't blame my reconstruction doc for it--I think he's very accomplished. If you want a second opinion on your implants, and want to email me directly, I can give you his name.
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I'm actually being treated at MSK, so I'd be interested to know where you're going. I actually like my PS a lot, but it wouldn't hurt to have the name of another good PS. Thanks!
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kriserts, if you had radiation a year ago (which BTW isn't very long ago in the world of radiation), that probably is your problem. Radiation is the gift that keeps on giving and doens't 'play' well with implants. I hope your PS can find some resolution to your problem. I don't understand what Claritin has to do with it though??? Did he elaborate on that??? Best wishes
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come to think of it, it was almost two years ago... (there were lots of complications and everything seems to run together in my mind by now). The pt said that Claritan could help reduce the redness and irritation. I can't use regular pain killers because I'm now on blood thinners, so I think he was grasping for anything he could think of. Can you elaborate on how radiation can keep on "giving," especially with implants? I'm going to see my oncologist next week, and I'd like to discuss what's going on.
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My two cents
)I have Allergan 410 LX 625g on my left side, mx side. On the right side I have Allergan Natrelle style 15 286 cc's. I have had them for 9 months and I can say that the 410 has softened up some. I honestly don't see any rippling or dents. The LX means low height, extra full projection. The Style 15 is smooth shell round mid range projection, for augmentation.
Tomorrow I go in for a lift to the right side and tissue from there used to make a nipple for the left. My Fiance says he doesn't care if I do any more surgery. As far as he's concerned I didn't need to do any of the recon, he's just glad I'm alive. I guess that's really what it's all about. Getting married next July on the second anniversary of my BC surgery.
Blessings to you all,
Paula
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I am late coming into this discussion, as I am just getting ready for the first surgery, yet already thinking about my implants down the road. I am still choosing between surgeons at sloan, babek mehrara and cordiero, versus, Cornell with Lloyd Gayle< Mia Talmor or Latrenta. I noticed your PS was at sloan and while you are not happy about the implant choices, you were happy with the cosmetics of the surgery. I was wondering who your surgeon was and do you (or anyone) know about the artistry of any of these drs??
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Sorry, this is biscuit and i was asking ellizzim about her ps at sloan - and any other info from anyone would be great - curious about artistry (how shallow of me) of NYC PS's.
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A comment for those of you trying to decide whether or not to attempt the "firm rigidity" of the new 410 gummies - a ps at cornell pointed out to me that if you are having a unilateral mx, it is harder to match the remaining, naturally sloping breast, even with a lift on the non-mx side. Eventually, gravity will take its toll again on the non-mx breast - and thats why the tear drop shape of the gummies is particularly good for a unilateral. However, for myself, (getting unilateral) i am still thinking cohesive gel might be the way to go, based on these many comments about how hard, and not breast-like the gummies feel??!
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Hi, I discussed these implants with my PS. He said that you can only get them if you are in the study group, but he didn't sound too keen on them because he said they would feel just like gummies and wouldn't be as soft as cohesive silicone gel implants, which I am getting in a few weeks.
I think the verdict is still out on them, but if you already have them you should let them settle in and see how it goes. Your PS should have explained to you how they would feel!
There are probably some advantages to them in terms of rupture incidence, etc. I think that manufacturers just feel like they need to keep trying to come out with the next greatest thing.
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Has anyone heard anything about PS Lloyd Gayle at Cornell in NYC for a unilateral implant and alternate side lift?
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I had my exchange on June 25th to Natrelle 410 gummy's.
Mine are 550MX.
I have posted pictures on my journal http://lianne-brca2.livejournal.com/
Although these are softer than the expanders they do not compare to my 'old' breasts.
They are however far more comfortable than the expanders were!!
~Lianne
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I agree Pam, if you already have gummies let them settle in and see what happens. I have a 410 in the left mx side, had my exchange surgery last Nov. The gummy had changed some 3-4 months out, but had changed even more by nine months out ! It has become softer. I have read on other sites of patients waiting to get their exchange done until their PS gets the next allotment of the study implant. I was lucky that my PS was in the study, and had implants available to her.
I have a small Naturelle silicone in the right, but still needed to have a lift on the right side. Monday I had the lift done on the right side and with tissue from that side nipple recon on the left side. I asked my surgical nurse how often the lift needed to be redone a few years down the road. She said she'd never had a redo on a lift since she'd been there.
So far I have been very happy with what I've got. Everyone is different, with different preferences. That's why I believe there are so many different choices.
Have a great day Ladies !
Blessings to all of you!
Paula
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