All About Gummies

Ruth, so sorry for what you are going through and I am wishing you ALL the best.

My PS had told me that a certain percentage of implants do get infected, and no one knows why.

SO your PS might have thought that was what was happening over the phone and yes, prepped you for the worst case scenario- exchange it again, with pocket cleaning and heavy antibiotics.

I sure hope you dont have to go through that! There are a lot of great antibiotics available these days, to help you keep the implant you have.

The fluid they took out was likely cultured in the lab and may have been tested to make sure it isnt a resistant bacteria. If so they will know by now which antibiotic to give you, by what killed it in the diagnostic lab. This is a new type of "personalized medicine".

Well, I"m holding on to the implant another day !  Fever gone as well as aches and chills!!!  I got another IV (Vancomyacin) this morning and possibly another one tomorrow.  The foob is still swollen, but not as hot or red.  Steps in the right direction!  It is sore though, and I say this so anyone new knows what to expect.  

Thanks Science for the antibiotic resistant reminder~  lol, I have had a zillion doses of antib's over my lifetime...they said the results would not be back till Monday?!!  

Lilah - Oh yeah, I forgot it wasn't the end of the world!!  When you're dealing with this Sh** alone, it seems like it!  

Simply - for my swap, the doctor offered the Sientra, but by the time I was ready for surgery, the hospital decided not to approve them!  I liked them better also.  Oh well, I may end up with them after all.  

Well, everything looked even better today :)  Swelling almost all gone, no redness or heat.  Did get IV again because I was running a little fever last night.  The culture was negative for strep and staph and fungus (and whatever else they check)  No massage for 10 days.  Whew, dodged another grenade launched by the ugly C. haha~  

Thanks for the support!

SG -  How much longer ??????????  I am still so freaking sore!!  Dr. said NO massage right now, but I feel like I want to break up the hardness.  The infection started right after I began my massage.  That side had the most drainage and was still pretty red vs the other side being 1/2 the volume and quite yellow.      That foob is not red or hot anymore, but a little swollen, hard and sore.  And moving my arm around is painful, so I can't do much and I'm bored!!

In your opinion, do you think its ok to leave the tight bra off completely, or at least 1/2 of the day?   It feels so much better with it off~

I was told Friday that the fluid was negative, but they called first thing this morning and said it was a fungus, and put me on diflucan for 2 wks.  Grr, that's my 4th antibiotic in 3 weeks.  If I didn't have it before, OF course I have it now!  Foob is still hard and swollen, but not hot or red.  I wear a Butrans hydrocodone patch, so I don't feel the pain, lol.  Except a couple of spots that I put a cold pak on for 10-15 mins at night.  So, just thought I'd report in since a germ did find its way in.  

Size-wise, I am so happy to be able to take a nice deep breath for the first time in 2 years!  Dr. C - 650s were waaaay too big and I should have had you take them right back out when I woke up.  Ladies, for the most part, what you see is what you are getting when you wake up.  A little settling, but that's about it.  

Hoping I respond to the new meds!!  The night sweats are lessening some!!

tnbcRuth said: "Ladies, for the most part, what you see is what you are getting when you wake up.  A little settling, but that's about it."

That is my experience, also.  I did not have gummies, but instead the regular Mentor cohesive gel. And while they have settled to be teeny tad better, I pretty much look like I did the day of surgery. I actually think they may not even be a teeny, tad better and instead I have just gotten more used to how they look.  Still not good, just my unfortunately normal.

I have Natrelle 410s, but would have to go upstairs to see what model.  

These are really small and would not work for most people, but I had big boobs from the age of 13 and I'm over it!  I can take a nice deep breath & I don't have that heaviness on my chest.  The top of the teardrop is very high on my chest, but it gives the illusion of cleavage.  I would say I'm a small B cup. (I don't have any B cup bras to check)  Also keep in mind, I have narrow shoulders, so I'm not wide.  And still, they're small.  I will have to lose my gut so I"m in proportion...good motivation!

ok, I'm panicking.  Realized my insurance expires Friday and if I have a problem after that, well I would be responsible for hospital charges.  Ya' can't just let a nasty implant stay, right?? !!  So after 36 hours, my foob is a little redder and a little more swollen.  omg.  So I looked online and they said it was ok to take up to 600 mg a day.  Call the PS, and they ok'd 200 mgs.  I want to take the whole 600 TODAY.  

Do I crawl into bed and not move?  Do I walk to improve circulation?  Drink water to flush?  Do sweets I eat really count right now?  I have never had a panic attack but I am getting close.  In the middle of this, I got fired from my job (cancer got on my last nerve), had to put my dog down and am trying to pack to move (walking away from my home- under water) so I can live happily forever after in a small apartment.  My bff is unavailable for another 2 weeks, and I have no family in town.  agh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saw the PS, and he said the color is PURPLE now, and that's a sign of healing!  Who knew? Yay!  Its still swollen so I"m scheduled for a fine needle aspiration under ultrasound tomorrow.  I am thinking the drains came out too early.  I was at 20ccs+ but I was ready to have them OUT.  And they didn't peruse the records I kept, I just indicated it was time~  (warning to others)

I took 350mg of Difulcan yesterday and the foob itself feels better.  Back to 100mg today.  Whew, what a load off!  The thought of having just one foob for a year did not sound like something I wanted to go thru.  Thanks for the support ladies!  

Thank you!  Haven't had much trouble sleeping  Woke at 10am yesterday!!!!!  Had an afternoon nap and was in my PJs by 7pm.  I appreciate your advice!

Rest rest rest!

Good for you Ruth.

HI !  Thanks for checking in on me.  The fungal infection is systemic (crotch as well), so am still having to rest and eat lots of yogurt!  I ended up having to 'apply' the yogurt as well, but that may be TMI.   The NO sugar thing is killing me!  I don't eat tons of sweets, but I had 2 Snickers bites last night and my crotch was on fire this morning  New menu: Brown rice, bananas and a burger...oh yeah, yogurt!

The foob wanted to stay swollen, so I decided to pack it and the swelling went down considerably.  I've got another 5 days on Diflucan, so I PLAN ON BEING WELL by then!

Science girl's advice was to use probiotics, and I had some Pancreatin, so used that but it made it worse.  I think it was not the same thing.  I did eat salads and am drinking a lot of water.  

You doing ok?

Ruth:  Just sending good wishes for continued improvement.

Hanging in there ScienceGal.  Moving through SEs from chemo tx#3 right now.  Yuck.  Thanks for asking. 

I think I saw on another thread that you're from No. Calif?  What city?  I was raised in Palo Alto (long before Silicon Valley when all the hills & valleys still had cows).  My son now lives in Novato.

Well, I have cut the sugar in half, but still a nibble here and there.  Bottom line, the only reason I eat a meal, is to have the little sweet afterwards.  I don't like any food...I just eat healthy because I feel bettter when I do...or I should say, I pay when I don't!  

Anyway, I think I have lymphedema under the problematic foob!  It is still swollen and the top ridge is pushed out some...and so sore.  No redness.  I lost my job 3 wks ago and have no insurance...so will try what I can at home.  I have a full spanx from my gall bladder surgery, so put that on, put on my LE sleeve, and a couple of bras with towels stuffed in them.  

I had LE massage after the original implants, so I did that last night and today...(I read up on technique again)

We are in the midst of Tropical Storm Andrea and it is pouring...NOT the kind of day I want to drive 30 mins downtown to have the doctor validate my suspicions.  I am a gambler!  oh well.  I did have 3 down days with vomiting and dizziness, so that inactivity probably backed up my lymph system.  I'm going to try and walk again between rain bands!  I'm rambling...I've been home alone for tooooo long!! My one and only family member will be here this weekend!  yay!