Specific BMX question

I had a PBMX a little over a year ago. A surprise IDC was found in the final pathology. It apparently was hiding in the dense breast tissue. I have never regretted the Mx, not for a second. I only wish I had done it sooner. My husband likes the new me just as he liked the old me. I think the fact that he had "a say" in the reconstruction part of things gives him an even more vested interest in them. (No pun intended!)

How does it feel?? hmmm. Now it feels fine, I don't really remember how it felt before. But I do feel my pecs flex across the implant when I move my arms. This is not unpleasant, just different. I have feeling between my breasts and up both sides except for about a 4" x 5" diameter oval surrounding the horizontal scar on each breast. It just feels numb. My husband was in a motocycle accident when he was young and said the leg he had surgery on has a numb area too, so I think he understands what I mean.

The reconstruction was very tough for me, but I am glad I had it. I have no nipples and I may or may not get 3d tattoos at some point.

I too was filled to 200cc at the mx, so I had something when I woke up. Honestly I would have been happy with the 200cc. However I ended up with 421 cc mid profile implants, and they are great.

Chantel, have you been reading the reconstruction forum on this discussion board?  If not, I would suggest that you take a look there at some of the discussion threads.  It's probably the best way to get a realistic idea of what's to come.  There are success stories and posts from women who are happy with their reconstruction, and there are other threads that talk about the issues and problems.  

I had a single MX and not a BMX so I don't know how I would feel with a BMX. But how I, or anyone else, might feel really doesn't matter because they aren't you. If you read this board you'll see that some women are very happy with their results and don't miss the loss of sensation but there are other women who find that they are deeply affected by the loss and take years to adjust (or sometimes, never adjust).  There's no way to know what your reaction will be.

The one thing that you wrote that caught my eye was your comment that "I wonder if I am making a mistake and should just go with checks every 6 months and not go through this."  If you seriously have doubts about the BMX, don't do it.  Or at least, don't do it now. You can take more time and do it later if you become more confident that this is what you want.  Once a BMX is done, it's done - there is no going back. Your body is changed for the rest of your life. If you know a BMX is what you want to do or if you are confident that a BMX is the right decision for you, great.  Women who go into something like this with 100% certainty are better able to deal with the possible problems that might arise, and they are better able to cope if the results aren't what they expected.  But if you go into this without being sure, it will naturally be harder for you to deal the possible problems - and unfortunately, problems with reconstruction are not uncommon.  Most can be resolved, but reconstruction is often not the simple and easy process that we expect it to be. 

With DCIS in one breast, there is no need to have a BMX. I don't know if the size of your DCIS means that a MX is necessary or whether a lumpectomy + rads would be equally viable but in any case, removing both breasts is a choice you are making.  For many women, it is exactly the right choice.  If you are going to do it, you need to be sure that it's the exactly right choice for you.  

I had skin sparing BMX with free TRAM reconstruction. I have quite a bit of feeling still in my skin except for the patch where I now have abdominal skin. Really, these breasts actually feel like part of me and I don't "notice" them at all.



If you are having implants I guess it may be different...



Jenn