I'm new - and have my exchange surgery in 2 days

Options
Amelia123
Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
edited June 2014 in Breast Reconstruction
I'm new - and have my exchange surgery in 2 days
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    Hi everyone,

    I really wish I had found this site and these awesome boards earlier.  It would have been very helpful during chemo.  I've been reading and learning a lot from these wonderful posters.  My exchange surgery is in 2 days!  Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice?  Anything is welcome. I'm also curious as to how my recovery will be, and how long it took you to get back to every day activities.  Even now, after 6 months, I still feel a strain in my left chest area when I vacuum or use a pizza cutter on a stubborn pizza.  I'm hoping this kind of stuff will go away after the exchange.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sarahjane7374
    sarahjane7374 Member Posts: 669
    edited June 2014

    Hi Amelia,

    I lost a lot of the tightness after my exchange.  I had gotten so used to the TEs that I guess I didn't realize how tight everything was.  I remember waking up from my surgery and thinking - Wow, this feels A LOT better! I kept poking and squeezing my "breasts" because they were so nice and squishy.  Actually - I still do that sometimes!

    As far as recovery goes, my exchange was a breeze.  Compared to the PBMX, it was really nothing.  My incisions were partially reopened for the switch - felt nothing there because it was all still numb.  I was in the hospital for one night and discharged the following day before lunch.  My surgery was on a Thursday and I returned to work on the following Tuesday - right after having my 2 drains removed.  I felt fine almost right away.  I was cleared for "normal" activity, including running and gym, after 2 weeks.

    8 months out from my exchange, I'm still very aware of my implants.  I know they are there all the time.  Not in a bad way, just different.  I don't know if that will ever change. 

    Good luck with your exchange!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    Thanks sarahjane.  My surgeon said I wouldn't need drains this time - can't tell you how happy that made me.  I do have a questions about running and the gym.  When you run, does it feel weird? Do they move like natural breasts?  I am worried I would damage them with so much movement.  Another thing that scares me are moves like push ups.  Can you do those?  Any tugging feeling?  I'm terrified of doing anything like that in the future, especially certain yoga moves.  I feel like I would damage things.  Hopefully it's all related to the tightness of the TEs and I will feel differently after the surgery.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • AZ85048
    AZ85048 Member Posts: 2,613
    edited June 2014

    Amelia123 - Hi and WELCOME!  You have to keep in mind that the purpose of the TEs is to be hard and unforgiving so that they can stretch the skin and make room for the implants.  Like the lovely sarahjane, my exchange was a breeze and the hardest part was forcing myself to take it easy (I felt that good).  Everyone forgets that there's a lot on the inside that needs a chance to heal, too, so you need to take it very easy for the first couple of weeks.  Unless, of course, you want to do this again?    Cheat, and you'll pay for it soon enough - trust us.    We have a saying here on BCO - 'Just because you can, doesn't mean you should'...  Best of luck with your exchange, and please let us know how it goes!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sarahjane7374
    sarahjane7374 Member Posts: 669
    edited June 2014

    Nope, not much bouncing happening anymore.  For running, my PS told me to wear a good sports bra with the band tight and high - kind of tucked under my breasts.  He tells me all the time that I won't damage anything related to the reconstruction, but that if I was to get sore from impact activities, with implants it would be at the bottom - at the IMF - where I would feel it.  So the tight bra helps prevent that.  But for everyday situations, he's of the opinion that I don't need to wear a bra unless I want to.  Told me "those things aren't going south anytime soon".  Okay, then.  But generally I do wear a bra - it's just more comfortable for me.   I had to get all new ones though, because the implants are shaped differently.  PS instructions are all over the map on the bra issue.

    I don't do pushups, but I do chest presses and lat pulldowns, and I have no issue with tightness or pulling. I have good range of motion and upper body strength.  I think this is my new normal and I'm just going to have to adjust to feeling like I'm wearing something stuck to the front of me.  It beats the alternative, I think.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited June 2014

    Welcome! We're glad you found us and this incredible group of individuals. Sorry for what you're going through but we're all here for you.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    My exchange is done!!!  I feel pretty good, and it's only been one day.  This was definitely the easiest of my surgeries.  When I'm sitting I feel nothing, but when I get up I'm reminded of my stitches and that I do need to take it easy.  Thanks for that advice, AZ85048

    The biggest difference is that although I'm aware the new breasts are there, I don't feel them.  Guess I never realized how tight the TEs were, after having them for 7 months.  The TEs were hard and really seemed to press against me and I always knew they were there.

    I wish there was more consensus on the bra thing.  My PS said I don't need to wear a bra to sleep, and it doesn't really matter what kind I wear during the day.  Does anyone know why they all have different opinions?  I would think studies were done, and there should be an answer so we can all get (and keep) the best results with our new boobs!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sarahjane7374
    sarahjane7374 Member Posts: 669
    edited June 2014

    I have no idea why there is such a difference of opinion on the bra issue.  Maybe it has to do with the logistics of each individual reconstruction.  I know there is a lot of discussion about it here.  Like I said, my PS is one of the "no bra is needed" guys.  But I work in a professional environment, so that look is really not an option for me.  I got some suggestions for brands from whippetmom - and they worked out great.  I'm wearing one now and it's super comfortable.  Sometimes I sleep in a genie bra because the implants just feel weird to me still.  If I lay on my back they kind of spread out to the sides & it's not the most comfortable thing.  I got so used to sleeping in a bra due to my pre-surgery painful breast issues that it's kind of normal for me anyway.

    Glad you are feeling good after your exchange!  You're in the homestretch now.  Take care :)

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    They spread out to the sides? For some reason I thought they would always stay in pretty much the same place. Guess I'll be experiencing that for myself a bit later on...

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sarahjane7374
    sarahjane7374 Member Posts: 669
    edited June 2014

    Yup.  Gravity. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    Apparently I thought these things would defy gravity.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • vbishop
    vbishop Member Posts: 616
    edited June 2014

    Ladies -

    After exchange, the new girls take a bit to settle - 3 - 6 months.  I am going on 6+ months now, the girls have settled and feel more like me and not some attachment.  I meet with my PS in two weeks to discuss fat grafting to provide a more nature slope (now I am flat, flat, BOOBS). 

    So, depending on recovery time, I may or may not have it done.  I am told it isn't the grafting itself that takes time to heal, although that's part of it.  I am told it's the liposuction sites that take the time and that you have to wear compression garments etc.  The girls look great as is, but my other docs all agree they will be even more amazing with fat grafting.

    Good luck and enjoy the new boobs!


     

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gma04
    Gma04 Member Posts: 62
    edited June 2014

    I just had my exchange surgery today I am all bandaged up like a mummy. I am in a lot of pain I did not want to take the pain drugs, but I had to it is helping. I am a very nervous  when the bandages come off in a week I wonder if the girls are going to look normal. I had left side MX and left side just implant to match it up. I am very sore just to move  is that normal?

    Waiting!!!

    Gma04

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Ally2345
    Ally2345 Member Posts: 320
    edited June 2014

    Gma04-

    Congrats on your exchange!  I still have to wait 2 months and these darn TEs seem to be getting more uncomfortable each day.  Anyway, from all the different posts I have read, the one thing that seems to be clear is "step away from the mirror."  It will be several weeks (months) before they look like they are supposed to.  I know I am going to find it hard not to look but, if you do look, know they are only going to get better.  Hang in there!  You have gone through all the major hurdles and the girls just need time to settle in.

    Ally

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Amelia123
    Amelia123 Member Posts: 96
    edited June 2014

    Why do some PS bandage after the exchange, while others don't?  I just had some steri-strips along the incision, so I could take a look at my new foobs when I took the first shower.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories