Exchange City

well so far I dislike my binder. I think it s a little big on me because it buckles in certain areas,? Also it irritates my hip bone.Right now I'm to scared to take it off and too scared to see what's underneath. I am just like 48 hours post op though. I see ps tomorrow and hopefully I can see what it looks like and get drains out. Would be nice to switch to the surgical bra I was given instead of this huge bandage around my chest. I still don't know the fine details of my surgery ( like how many CCs I have or how much fat was used) ,because I didn't see the ps after my surgery. Will get all that info tomorrow.

I seem to have picked up a bit of a chest and throat cold in the hospital, or right before surgery. NOt fun. But hey at least I'm already on antibiotics so it's not likely to become an infection😐.

mom2, I had so much pain that I had a total melt down at my 1st post op appt after bmx with my ps. I cried so much, that they didn't make me change into the gown. Horrible. Anyway, I am a nurse and also have a lot of physical work. I took off 2 weeks post exchange, but had no pocket work and no drains. Take as long as u need. I would say 2 - 4 weeks because babies can get heavy, esp if they are wiggly. Ha ha.

wow, my PS is telling me I don't need any more then a couple days. I called again today to question that. The issue is that I own the business. If I don't work then I don't get paid and this disease has already left my business in shambles. People left when they found out I had cancer and getting new people isn't easy because of parents reaction to the cancer. Every day and every hour I miss I lose my livelihood. I'm drowning financially. It sucks. So I'm hoping that somehow the PS is right

I also had excruciating pain and anxiety after my mastectomy and I have been shocked at how easy this procedure has been. I don't have any drains and the swelling is about 60% gone already

DanGrankitty - everyone is allowed to be fussy now and then. Give yourself some time for TE swelling to go down and to start hearing. Good luck

Yay! glad to hear it went well. Hope you feel more normal tomorrow!

Thanks for the support SanFran..

Back to sleep now...;-/

LRGO2016... My friend ... you made it through ... twig in hand! Blessings!

Thanks Newme and sanfran!

Sanfran...I've been told not to worry about the lumps as your body will absorb some of the graft as some of the cells will die. It will take months to achieve a final shape. So hang in there!

I will be bound up in these bandages for several more days. Until I'm allowed to remove then, all I can tell it that my deep divots and puckers are no longer present. Woo hoo! I'm very sore today. Kind of like after a workout, the 2nd day is the worst. I have two drains and they are working overtime! 140 cc from one and 50 cc from the other. Good news, these drains are placed well - no nerves being rubbed.

My donor sites for the fat graft are complaining - feels like a burning sensation when I move around. Breasts are just sore but they look even and nicely shaped, even if they are swollen at the moment.

I expect the bruising on my donor sites is widespread and a lovely shade of purple... must wear a matching shirt to accessorize!

I checked out my Mentor card, I received two medium height, high profile, anatomical squishies, 495 cc each. Bigger than I thought I'd get considering my TE's were at 450 cc and I thought they were huge!

Guess I had big enough pockets to take them.

How are you ladies doing today ?

Funny thing, I just woke up from a dream where I saw my new breasts and I already had nipples and areolas! Guess my mind is running far ahead of my schedule!

Time for more pain meds and blissful sleep!

Mom2fourplusmore, How long have you had your TEs? By the time I was almost ready for my 2nd surgery mine felt pretty normal. But I was still sleeping in bed with like three pillows. I'm sleeping like that now too.

LRGO,my drains didn't bother me as much as they did with the mastectomy either. You are getting a lot of fluid so the drains are doing their job!

My squishies feel SO much better than the TE's. Even though I'm only 2 days after exchange and am sore from the surgery, they feel much better. No more hard and tight pulling of the muscle.

Can't try side sleeping yet because of the drains.

Look forward to the exchange, my foobs are feeling almost normal, much like they felt before the mastectomy ( Minus local sensations of course)

The entire time I had my TE's (3 months) I slept on my back or partially on my side by propping my back with a firm pillow. I prefer side sleeping, so not being able to do so is a bother. The pillow prop (have a small one to hug too) trick was all I could do to get comfortable.

You might give it a try. Not quite side sleeping but not full back sleeping either. Hope it works for you.

The pillows do help a little. I can only sleep on my side so this hasn't been fun and sleeping is kinda necessary. Lol. I'm just hoping when I have the surgery I won't be in pain at night. I'm a little worried that the weight will still cause issues.

I had my TEs for 8 months before exchange surgery 5 weeks ago. My PS has had me sleep on my back ever since TE placed. I'm so tired of it. I twist and turn trying to get comfortable. He still wants me on my back so the implants will develop scar tissue around them to help keep them where they belong. I'm almost a year from diagnosis and wish I could curl up in my preferred fetal position and sleep 6-8 hours I go back in a month so hopefully
he will ok side sleeping. I have been the most compliant patient ever because I want a good result . Mine look pretty good but I have some ripples or wrinkled looking area on outer left one which is the non cancer one. So I hope it straighten out or I may have to have more fat grafting there . Honestly at this point I think I'll let it ride a while because the cleavage area looks great and nobody but Drs and DH see the side . Sorry to ramble , feeling tired and hormonal tonight .

I have a lot of pillows on each side to keep me there. I do put a thin pillow under hip occasionally to relieve pressure . My implants are a lot softer and I'm usually very positive but I'm tired!!! And my husband sleeps in the other room to keep from bothering me as he side sleeps and has restless legs . It's all such a life changing experience .