Bilateral mastectomy at 56, no implants, but...

I felt the same way, katsie. I'm 9 months PFC now, so my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes have come back in--my hair is about 2"long and very curly. But when I had no hair and eyebrows I was very sensitive about it. I never went without a wig outside the house and I never went without a beanie inside the house, never, ever, ever.

I opted for no recon, which turned out to be a wise decision because I lost a LOT of tissue to necrosis--I would have lost to whole business. I could not tolerate a bra of any kind until about 7 months post-BMX, due to the massive scaring. I just last week got prostheses and I'm pretty happy with them. I had them fitted professionally and the bras I chose are very soft, even the band is soft.

Anyway, I have not been happy with the results of my BMX. I am heavy and have short chemo hair, so I look like a man. I have taken to wearing earrings and makeup every day to make me feel more feminine. But I can hardly look at myself in the mirror and i just can't let my DH look at me naked. PTSD has been a big problem for me, due to the mutilation that has been inflicted on me. At this point I have decided to seek out an opinion about the DIEP flap from NOLA.

Gosh, I can relate to this subject.

I bought the beaded, foam prosthesis. They are super light weight and breathable. I'm still looking for a more comfortable bra. When I was trying on prosthesis, I also had the option of a pocketed tank or cami... Maybe the combo of the lightweight, soft prosthesis and the Cami will feel softer on your tender scar area.

As for the hair loss... When I lost my hair, I wouldn't go anywhere without a hat. I didn't have a wig, so I wore my hat always. I was lucky since it was winter while I was on chemo. But with the hot flashes I was having... Wearing a hat would sometimes set me on fire! However, it was harder to hide my hair loss on my face. I noticed people staring. I wondered what they might be thinking... Did they think I had poor taste in make up, that maybe I was heavy handed with the eyebrow pencil? We're they taking pitty on me? Either way, I just wished I fit into the crowd like everyone else.

I finished chemo on the last day of February and my hair is growing back, 2 inches short and crazy curly. Bras have been incredibly uncomfortable, so I walk around flat. All a huge self esteem buster. People still stare. But this time I wonder if they think I'm trying to look like a man... I wear my husbands t shirts often since I gained 40 lbs on chemo and fighting with tamoxifen induced menopause. So, recently I decided to go shopping for some bigger clothes. Trying to look more feminine.

If you have sensitive skin, the adhesive on scar strips may make you itchy; I had to stop using them due to that, however, I can use silicone or dimethicone gels on my scars and it doesn't cause the itching.

Silicone gel will be more expensive than dimethicone based gel, but it's a bit more effective and works a little faster than dimethicone based gels or creams.

I've been using NewGel+ E on mine for about a month now; as a bonus, it also makes an excellent foundation primer (most foundation primers are silicone based--for the higher end ones--or dimethicone based anyway!) too.