UMX or Unilateral Mastectomy Bras

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Frostecat
Frostecat Member Posts: 447
edited June 2014 in Breast Reconstruction

I wasn't able to find much on this topic, so here goes.  Since most ladies on the boards seem to be having BMX, this isn't too common of a subject.  After having a UMX with size 42D breasts, and going through reconstruction with a lift/reduction to be done to the other side at exchange, it has been very difficult to find a bra that works.  I am currently extremely lopsided.  The Genie bras that everyone raves about are very comfortable, but offer no support. If I wear my old bras that offer a lot of support, after a few hours, I am in a lot of pain from the pushing up and rubbing my thin skin raw. I went to the mastectomy store, and they were of little or no help to me.  I even said "surely I can't be the only one with this problem".  They told me to wear a panty liner under the cup.

Well I have been searching and I have come across a couple of things.  First is a bra I found at Walmart.  The Fruit of the Loom Ultra Microfiber Wire-Free Bra model #FT315.  It offers some support and doesn't bind me at the bottom like my previous bras and it has an virtual sling at the bottom which helps me with the rawness.  It has been a godsend and I will be going to Walmart to purchase another today.  The other thing, I haven't received it yet, is a mastectomy liner that you place under the cups of your bra to soften the area.  It is called Pambra.  I will let you know how that works when I receive it.

If anyone has anything else they can offer on this subject please do.  It seems like we are in the minority here, and this is not a easy thing to deal with.

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  • scubalady
    scubalady Member Posts: 109
    edited May 2014

    I'm joining and will happily post anything I come up with that helps.  I'm hoping this thread picks up some other UMX ladies.

    Right now, I'm still wearing the bras from the Mastectomy boutique that you can put the stuffed pouf into.  You can pull out stuffing as you have fills, to even things out, but once I got to a point of needing only a small amount of stuffing, it just made that side wrinkly.  I did find that even though I can't really wear the Genie bras, the small cup inserts you can remove gave better as a filler for the bra than the pouf.  However, I'm not sure this bra gives enough support to my lifted/reduced side, or maybe I'm just paranoid that it will go south very quickly.

    Wearing my old bras is not possible as everything I own is huge and an underwire.

    Frostcat, I fully understand what you're up against as I would have been in the exact same place if something hadn't been done to my other side.  I will definitely stay on the hunt for ideas to help.  Any idea how far away from exchange and reduction you are?

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2014

    I came up with 2 tricks when I was going through my reconstruction after my UMX.  

    First was that I pulled the wire out of my underwire bras - I found that made the bras much more comfortable on the MX side.  Depending on the structure of the bra, for some I pulled the wire out on both sides (because they became too lopsided when I did one side only) and for others I pulled the wire out on the MX side only (and that still gave me good support on the other side).

    My other trick was shoulder pads.  Having lived though the 80s and being a pack-rat, I had a bag of shoulder pads of all sizes.  I usually use them to soften the sharp edges of hangers when I'm hanging up a sweater or a delicate top but my PS suggested using them to stuff my bra as I was going through reconstruction.   At the start, I needed to put a large one into my bra on the reconstruction side.  After a couple of fills, I moved to a smaller one.  Then as I got larger, I switched sides and used a small one on my natural side (I was going larger with my reconstruction).  Because the expander sat higher on my chest than my natural breast, to even things out, I would position the shoulder pad higher up in the bra.  I actually sewed a bit of velcro onto the shoulder pad and another piece into a couple of my bras, so I could switch bras and just stick the shoulder pad right into place.  It worked perfectly.  Of course, this will only work for those of use who kept all their old shoulder pads, but if you have them, it's a great solution to the unevenness problem as you go through reconstruction after a UMX.

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