Exchange City

Hi everyone, I just got home from the hospital after my exchange surgery this morning and all went well. The Dr went with Natrelle implants and they already feel better than the tissue expanders! I am only having a little pain at the incisions, but no muscle pain. This is SO much better than the double mastectomy pain (which felt like an elephant sitting on my chest). I am wearing the cute pink bra with the hooks on it for the drain on each side. Dr. said drains will probably come out on Monday. Hooray! So to everyone awaiting your exchange, it is definitely much easier! I took a Percocet before I left the hospital and will take one before bed. I also have an antibiotic to take since I have drains. Glad to be done!

Welcome to the squishy side eemaxx! Good news, my left implant is finally softening up!

heartfelt, sorry I didn't address the bra question. I found that the Fruit of the loom front hook bra was the most comfortable. I got them in a two pack at Wal Mart. Very inexpensive. I am very happy with my implants and definitely easier than the BMX. I took 2 weeks off but could have gone back in 1. Follow your PS instructions to the "T". It will pay off and you will get good results. I forget if you mentioned it or not, but what kind of implants are you getting? Take care and best of luck.

Robin

Hi ladies! I copied and pasted this from another thread as various people wanted to hear my experience. Surgery went well, ended up not using drains, THANK GOD!!! Funny thing was, the day of my BMX I was barely nervous. But when I got to preop for the exchange I had major butterflies!! I was so nervous!! The nurse said it was PTSD, remembering the BMX and how hard it was.

My new boobs look really good though!! Smaller than TEs, which were 475cc. My Inspira smooth rounds are 470cc. I had him move them a little bit closer together. He raised them up a little bit too. I'm probably a C cup, not sure as I am wearing a compression bra. The bandages have not come off yet. PS said I can take a shower after 48 hours which is today. I may take one tonight or wait till tomorrow morning.

Now we must remember everyone is DIFFERENT, and some people tolerate things better than others. That being said, I Had a LOT of post op pain!! More than I expected! Everyone told me ahead of time that this was a piece of cake compared to the BMX. That being said I didn't think I would need as powerful a pain killer as I did following BMX. I requested Percocet instead of Dilaudid for the exchange. That proved to a BAD idea!! 10 mg percocet, I took two of them along with Valium 5mg and I might as well have taken a sugar pill!! Did NOTHING for the pain so I didn't sleep the 1st night.

I called the doctor the next morning and they wrote me a prescription for Dilaudid which I filled and got relief, but still very SORE. I almost feel like I should have stayed in the hospital a day or 2. Remember, I spent 4 days in the hospital after my BMX instead of the expected 1 night.

The implants are definitely softer but I can't really tell too much as it so fresh and raw, I don't want to push on them. It's a stinging, burning, aching and throbbing pain. My sternum hurts because he had to loosen the stitches to bring them closer together. And strangely my ribs hurt too! My incisions are along the IMF but extend past my armpit to get rid of the "dogears". Now that it's been 48 hours I would say the pain is localized to the IMF incisions and the sideboob. Sternum pain has eased up.

I asked my PS again prior to the surgery about nipple reconstruction. He was adamant that I would be wasting my time and going through extra pain and recovery needlessly as they would flatten out in a year.

He said Vinny charges $1000 per nipple for 3D tattoos and It's a six-month waiting period and when you go, instead of Vinny doing it, his daughter does it. I don't know, I guess I'll just have the PS do my 3D tats. I will ask to see pictures of their work. If I get them and can't stand it, I will save up for Vinny.

I have time to think about it. I would love to find pictures of gals that had nip recon over a year ago and see how they look after a year has gone by. Maybe my PS is wrong and the nips may shrink some but at least have a little "bump". If any one knows of women who have had nip recon and are pleased with the results after a year please let me know!!

Leslienva $400 sounds much more like it!! Maybe my PS is just trying to keep me from going to Vinny so his office gets the money!!

Grandma3x, I have two friends who have had successful nipple reconstruction. I had mine done two weeks ago, so I won't know for awhile if it was successful or not.

Shoregirl, eemaxx, robinblessed54, leslienva and others! Thank you for the update! This is the night before my exchange and I have the butterflies too! I guess it's normal! Thank you for the sports bra ideas! Sending you all hugs and smiles!

All you ladies, Vinnie charges $800 for the set. Kingster has them. I went to Corey Miller of LA Ink fame. He charged me $600. He also knows Vinnie. Corey is amazing! I love them. I didn't want to do the nips. They have a high failure rate. Plus, I didn't want to have more scar tissue. The need for nipples is over.

Hope you ladies that just had ex are feeling better soon. My ex was easy, just took otc Tylenol. Just had some pocket work to even them out

Robin

In your pocket, Heartfull! Shoregirl, I am sorry you are dealing with so much pain. It's funny, my PS was disappointed that I didn't want nipple recon. I plan to get 3 D nipple tattoos instead. I really want to use Vinnie but another member told me about a tattoo artist pretty local. I can't imagine paying the airfare to Baltimore. I am very encouraged at the improvements the last couple days to my implants. Radiated side still is wonky but softer. Right side is a tiny bit dropped and to the side but I think the sports bras are helping. My scars are looking better with the calendula lotion and coconut oil.

You all are just the best. I am grateful to be part of this group.

I am trying to put a new avatar and I can't see it. So this is a test.Robin

Resting here on the couch 48 hours after my exchange and thinking about shopping for bathing suits for summer! Haven't had my follow up appointment yet with my PS to ask, but what kinds of bathing suits are best for our "foobs"? Underwire or no underwire?

Heartfull, good luck tomorrow!

Thankyou, Robin!

Eemax,

4 months from exchange, settling in and one side small divit. Both kinda Barbie boob looking. I might consider fat graft but it would have to get worse than this. I'm 67 so what the heck. Got this great suit, Vince Camuto from Macy's. High enough to hide top of implants, has very thin liner that is removable to smooth things out, and shelf bra, no underwires.

Hey guys...I've talked to a lot of plastic surgeons about nip recon before I took the plunge and got my Vinnie's. The vast majority was against it (including mine) that said they flatten out and cause scar tissue which makes the ink not hold as well. When I got my Vinnie's, a lady from Atlanta Georgia said that she would not have gotten nip recon if she had to do it all over due to how much flattening occurred. Vinnie's are $800...$400 at the time you make your appt and $400 at time of service. My insurance reimbursed me $315 after I was granted a benefits exception through my employer ( had to contact human resources). My claim and appeal were denied because I have no coverage "out of network". Medical grade ink fades very fast and looks terrible...think twice about going to a doctor for tattoos. Ask robinblessed54 about her experience with medical grade ink. The best part about my tattoos is that they don't look like tattoos!

I just came back from seeing Vinnie. I live in Mich and happened to find tickets to Baltimore for $48 one way. My friend and I went for one night and I was able to pay for both of us plus motel and car. Had a great time. $317. Vinnie is good. Just expensive. Hoping to get it back from ins...

You're probably done by now.