Exchange City

Six weeks! Woo how - I can sleep on my side again

Everything looks like it's healed up. The knot of tissue on the left has gone down dramatically. I'm not sure if the massaging helped, but I still massage the incisions once a day hoping they will flatten out. My right side is definitely smaller than the left (cancer) side, so now I'm obsessing that maybe the BS did not take all my breast tissue out and that the cancer may come back.....

Artista, good luck on Friday! I had to laugh when you said you watched a YouTube video. I thought I was the only one who went looking for surgery videos on YouTube. I remember watching a video of breast surgery one day and for some reason closed my laptop while it was still playing. When I opened it back up again the next day at a meeting at work, there it was, still playing. I'm still not sure if anyone else at the meeting saw it.

Thanks for your support, everyone!

My new foobs don't look the same..one seems higher and flatter, so hopefully when they settle things will even out. I keep telling myself what many have said, which is stepping away from the mirror. I have accepted that it takes time, but have people who keep asking me about outcome (because they are happy and excited for me). So although I'm being patient about it, I have to keep explaining that results take time. It hasn't even been 48 hours!

One question I have (I don't remember reading here), did anyone else feel itchy after EX?

I hope this makes sense..still have pain med fogginess.

Wildtulip I was extremely itchy for about a week after EX. My PS thought it was probably the pain meds. Twice I took liquid Benedryl after the pain pill and it helped a lot. Now I'm a little afraid of the next time I need pain med. my chest had a slight rash and itched. The PS said the towels used in surgery had adhesive on them and I am sensitive to adhesives. So I wondered if that caused it. I quit pain meds and still itched some on my chest. I even had itching that felt deep like behind the implants that came and went for a week or so. That may be disturbed nerves or phantom sensations because I could have sworn my nipples itched and I don't have any.

One of my mounds (non cancer side) seems smaller around, harder and tighter than the other side. I had not noticed that much swelling but there had to have been some. Maybe as that goes down I am just noticing differences between the two mounds. I can live with it as long as nothing is wrong. I am going to give it plenty of time. I wonder if swelling may be the cause of your difference right now.

Glad you are feeling ok.

Have often experienced itching and it's so frustrating because often the skin is numb so you can't even find a place to scratch (if that makes sense). Pain meds definitely cause itching. For me, Percoset is worse so I steer clear of it. Benadryl absolutely works but keep in mind it will also put you to sleep!

I'm feeling very nervous today. Trying to concentrate on work to keep my mind off the procedure in the morning. Didn't sleep much last night and walking around with a nagging tension headache. I'm mainly worried that this is my last chance to "cure" the capsular contracture and that if it comes back, I'll have no choice but to go flat or do a flap procedure. Just got to stay positive I guess...

Marketingmamma, Yes! That does make sense. It kinda feels like the itching is inside, not on the skin, so even if you find the right spot, scratching doesn't help. I had thought of the sleep effect of Benadryl too, so will have to be careful when I take it. Good luck with your procedure tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you!

Grandma, I also thought of it as a good (but annoying) sign of healing.

Wild, I am 21 months post EX and I still can't get to an itch!! It is usually somewhere under muscle so you can't tell where it is!!

Hang in there! Swelling is a big factor. I don't know if you have rounds or anatomical implants so it is different. Rounds will drop and fluff where anatomical do not. Side sleeping comes in time.

wild - implants are unique medical devices implanted so you should receive a card for each from your PS that state the specifics about size, as well as the serial numbers and the implantation (exchange surgery) date. Everyone who has implants should have these cards because they establish the ticking clock on the warranty, and the manufacturer's obligation to replace them if they fail during the warranty period. You can't necessarily count on your PS to retain your records, or this info, for that period - they could close the practice, lose the info, etc.

Got a message from the women's center confirming an appt I have tomorrow with Dr. Pham. I call back. Uh. Who and for what? Says here you are booked for a consultation about removing your IUD. Uh. First of all, I don't have an IUD.... Oh. So sorry...

Hope they have my sx booked correctly. Stuff like this doesn't make me warm and fuzzy inside.

Artista: sending you all best wishes on your exchange today. Wishing you a smooth surgery and a gentle recovery. Madelyn

Agree, that wouldn't give me a warm fuzzy either.

Wildtulip: how are you feeling today? I hope your recovery is going smoothly and you have a comfortable weekend.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Madelyn

Madelyn, thanks for asking. I think I'm doing ok...I don't feel a need for pain meds during the day. I tried going without meds last night, but ended up taking acetaminophen & muscle relaxer. One particular area hurts, where PS did IMF, but he warned me about it. I'm more tired than normal, but I have kids home too. Trying to take it slow!!

Hi ladies. Had my capsular contracture removed and received a new implant. I can absolutely feel the difference and so nice to have the tightness gone. He also lipod extra fat / side boob. Thought he was going to excise the skin but he decided to try and avoid giving me more scars. Hoping it looks ok down the road. More important was fat grafting done on my opposite breast (the one without CC). He took fat from my inner thighs. Told him I didn't have a preference. He seemed to think the fat there was particularly good! Ha! How do they know?! Well needless to say the lipo areas are really painful now. But I love how the grafting looks. Ripples hidden, breasts feel warm, filled in cleavage enough that I have flesh covering my sternum. Plus softened the drop off. So of course praying I keep the majority of the fat. PS said a sports bra is fine. Just no compression. Wearing the bra he sent me home in and ordered a few sports bras that are a size or two bigger than I am now. He said we wants to support the implants but gently. He didn't give me a garment for the thigh lipo so I'm wearing my own spanx. Ordered compression leggings. Really don't want inner thighs to wind up with funky contour issues. Not sure how much fat he took but will ask at my follow up.

Ok, hardest thing overall is sleeping on my back. Assume side sleeping would be a problem for fat grafts. Post up directions said stay on my back for 3 weeks. Ugh!!!

DH is being amazing. Feel so lucky to have his support.

Sending healing vibes to all

Thank you, Orca and MrsB888. I did have my exchange at last. It doesn't hurt like my TE surgery. It's another kind of pain. Now is a continuous sensation of burning in the site of the incision. As soon as I got here, I just went to sleep cause I think the anesthesiologist used too much anesthesia on me. I felt sleepy also the next day. When I woke up at 9 on the day of surgery, I had my bra and bandages stained on blood. So I took the bra off and went to wash it. Next day I called the PS's office to ask permission to change the bandages on the left breast (the one I was bleeding). The left breast is the one donating nipple and areola tissue to the right MX breast. Except for the burning pain everything is well. I can tolerate the pain quite well with acetaminophen 500 twice daily.

However, I would like to find out why it itches and burns so much. I have been using on the area around the incision cortizone 1% to manage the itching sensation. The burning is not controlled with pain med or cortizone. I will ask him if he used betadine; maybe that's why I have the reaction in both breast.

Bye ladies, sweet dreams. Happy holidays.

Hi ladies,

I had my exchange on 10/28 and wore a bra 24/7 until 11/29 (my last PS follow up) when I was told it was ok to go braless. So I did so at night and I've been waking up with a distinctive deep crease on the left side that runs at about a 45 degree angle on the bottom half of my breast. It fills out back to normal after a couple of hours once I put a bra back on. I know I am sleeping on my side so maybe that's it? Is this implant "rippling"?