March 2014 Surgery

I know my insurance has to pay for recon (of which I am NOT having) but don't know if it will cover revision.

Had a 100cc fill.  They asked me if I wanted to go more while doing it.  It really wasn't bothering me, but I told them to stop.  After listening to this board, it sounds like the pain comes in later.  I forgot to take the antibiotic, they wanted me to take one in the morning and evening, but I just took it when I got home.  I'm sure I'll be popping some Valium before the night is over.  He said I have one or maybe two more fills (at 500cc now), then the next time I go we can schedule final surgery.  He said it will be towards the end of summer, Augustish.  Gonna kinda stink going through summer and bathing suit season lopsided.  I'm not even sure how to make that work.  I told them that I would like to get this all over as soon as possible, so if it mean taking larger fills and being in a bit more pain, so be it, I just want to get this all over with.  Going back to work Monday.

Hey Kitty.  I didn't want to start back on a Monday and the PS nurse advised against it.  I wanted to go back last Thursday but they wouldn't release me until I saw the Dr. again and he was out of town, so my appointment was today and I didn't want to put my work off any longer.  So I'm sure it will be a long tiring week.  I hope to have the majority of my medical completed this year too for insurance purposes.  My PS uses the newer anatomical gummies so that is what I will be getting.  So very thankful no chemo or radiation and they said that helps speed things along too.  I like this and may use it often "Get 'R Done!"

Sailon, you look Fantastic!!!!  What kind of bra is that? It looks very comfy...is it?  I'm having serious foob envy. I hope you feel as great as you look cuz you look terrific.

Bra was found at:  A Lady's Touch:  Owner, Jeanni Lang, who has worked in breast cancer prothestics for 25 years and wigs for 15 years, owns and runs A Lady's Touch, 612 D St., with branches in San Francisco and Oakland.  She has a private, appt only shop and provides breast cancer patients with both wigs and prosthetics.  She also knows and familiar every PS in the region.  She has been a fabulous resource. 415-454-6058 is her number. 

sailon - looking good!

The bra looks like a Coobie, maybe the V-neck lace trim, here is a link:

http://www.shopcoobie.com/shop?c=coobie-bras

Thanks Special K! Will have to get some. Would like to get some of those fake nipples too so i can tease my PS and tell him my nips grew back. Haha!

Looking good, Sailon!

While I did get 4 special mastectomy bras, and like them ok, I'm not 100% happy with them. Funny thing is that they work great for the surgery side, but because there is no built in padding, the non surgery side doesn't fill the bra enough. The lady that fitted me actually ended up getting me 2 prostheses, a small one for the surgery side and an even smaller one for the non surgery side, to fill the bra, but I absolutely hate wearing the one on the non surgery side. I ended up using the smallest one on the surgery side, and nothing on the other, which works ok, mostly, but like I said, it's not the best. 

I used to wear lightly padded bras, and liked the ones I found that are cotton. But the padding is not removable, unless I cut in the fabric, which I did with one of them, but I can see it's not going to last very long that way.

So, here's my question, has anybody here found any cotton bras with removable padding?? Been looking everywhere, at Target, Walmart, and online, and so far, nothing! I have some sports bras from before the surgery also, and those are cotton too, but there is no way to put the prosthesis in, except when I cut in there, which, again, I did with one of them, but it will not last long that way, for sure. Uggh.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm having a crazy weekend. Our usual trip to the university for my son's cello lesson this morning took 3 extra hours because they closed part of the freeway down for road construction this weekend, and the detour was miserable! And tomorrow my husband wants to go to some festival that is a good hour away, again needing to do that detour. Trying to veto it, especially on Mother's Day, but so far I seem to be on the losing end of that. I'm going to check online tonight to see if I can find something else fun to do that's much closer, hoping to sell the kids on it, so my husband is in the minority...  

Edith

Sailon you look great!  All of you gals who post pictures are all so thin - and I am green with envy.  Motivated to lose the extra weight for sure!

Sailon, you look awesome! You have a great figure and your TEs look as good as the real thing.  I really need to lose the 8 pounds I gained since diagnosis.  Boo.  I hope everyone is doing well.  On Thursday I am going in for my last fill.  I'm at 400cc now but need enough expansion to make a 500cc implant an option.  My PS is bringing in 450s, 475s, and 500s of style 20 and also a couple of style 45s of who knows what size.

This weekend I went camping with my boyfriend and about 15 friends.  For the first time in awhile I felt more normal.  I wasn't thinking about breast cancer or boobies every 5 minutes.  It only crossed my mind occasionally.  I'm feeling good on the Tamoxifen, too.  The vertigo and major fatigue are nearly gone.  Here's a picture in front of our cabin.  :-)

Juliecc -- Love the pic of you and your boyfriend!  Very Sweet.  It is sooo good to reach a point where you can forget about BC and find normal for awhile.  I am finding  is happening more and more -- this fatigue does remind me at the end of the day -- but I love forgetting.  So glad you got away and had a great weekend at your cabin with friends. You look great!  Good luck on the last fill.  It will be nice to have that behind you.  

The bra I am wearing does not give any support at all. It is really just to give me a comfort and covering.  At the moment no support is required. This bra has pockets for thin pads -- to use to round the shape a bit under a more snug fitting shirt and they are removable.  Thank you for brand name SpecialK.  Of course you would know the name of the product -- You are the wonder woman of knowledge of the March Sisters Discussion Group! 

I hope all had a lovely weekend celebrating Mother's Day and just a beautiful weekend not thinking about BC.  

Morning March surgery sisters - Juliecc and Sailon - such nice pictures and what a handsome son!   I feel so behind you all - I only have about 150 CC in my foob due to my early healing issue.  I do have a fill scheduled for next Monday if my blood counts are ok.   Those bras look great - I think I was order a couple.  I still have my hair - was going to get my husband to buzz me yesterday but since I had really noticed much gone I decided to give it a couple of days yet. Had a nice mother's day and went for an early morning walk and ended up at the jetties in venice - it is where the intercoastal waterway connects to the gulf - maybe my last pic with hair lol 

You guys all look so great!  Love, love, love the pics!  Neither of my children are local, and they both had to work yesterday, but I got a video from my daughter - she is a marine mammal trainer in the FL Keys - she had their youngest sea lion paint me a picture, and then they blew a kiss - it was hilarious and so sweet.  Someone filmed the whole thing for her.  My son is a college student/part-time firefighter, and a tech in the Emergency Room (busy, right?), and he Skyped me after he got home last night, so that was nice. My husband and I also Skyped my in-laws yesterday, they live in SC. 

linda - my hair did not really start to fall until day 24 on TCH - that is unusual, it is usually between days 14-18.  When it started to come out in handfuls my DH shaved it off for me, but I had made it through the second infusion with all of my hair. We have those barber shop clippers from all of his years in the military, and he asked me a couple of times if I was ready to shave it (I had cut it short beforehand and had a hairpiece made from it) but when I finally was he got more emotional than I think he expected to.

sailon - wonder woman of knowledge, lol!  I like that!  My newly dx'ed TN friend calls me "google K" and my BIL calls me "the ask K show"  - it is pretty funny.  I have a few of those bras too, they are comfy and do help camouflage the TE shape a bit under clothing, I still wear mine all the time.  My PS is anti-underwire for after exchange - you will find they are all over the map on that subject. I had to look around for bras that would work, also like the wire-free Warner's bras, and they are pretty inexpensive.

I did the Chicken Dance at my daughter's First Communion party on Saturday and felt it all day Sunday lol! I'm about to start Tamox and am wondering about all the joint pain being reported. I've always been on the achy/arthritic side attributed to a childhood of gymnastics. I've noticed this flaring up especially my arms and shoulders; could be the rain too; but I'm wondering if the Tamox will make this much worse and also if a lot of what people are experiencing is due to all the procedures, because I haven't started the Tamox yet. 

Linda - you are aware that I can beat you at this game, right? Lol! Do not get too wrapped up in how things look right now, it's still early and you will look different and better at exchange.