TE removal and just going flat

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kae_md99
kae_md99 Member Posts: 621
edited September 2017 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

hi all,

i am 6 weeks post Bmx with TEs . i am still in pain plus i have medical condition ( severe reflux and delayed gastric emptying) that is aggravated. i honestly dont think i can go on any further and i am not sure i will tolerate implants to be honest. i meet with PS on the5th and i am thinking of just removing my TeS permanently amd just go flat. anyone here who did not go further down the road of recon and just had TEs removed? i have lost 9 lbs since surgery...any experiences will be appreciated..

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  • justbeatgeno
    justbeatgeno Member Posts: 36
    edited September 2017

    It's been a few days, so hopefully you're feeling better by now. I had a UMX 8/11 with no reconstruction. I could have had reconstruction, but for me, I just wanted the cancer gone, to heal and feel well, and then to consider reconstruction later. My husband was 100% supportive of this idea.

    I did have severe reflux for the first couple of weeks, but was told that was a side effect of anesthesia. I wound up take omeprazole for about a week to control it, and then felt well enough to go off of it.

    I can't speak to having the TEs removed. If that's what you wanted, I hope it works out for you. But I can say that I'm surprised by how much I'm not bothered by not having the breast. I've gotten used to what I look like in the mirror, and in a bra, everything looks normal to me. I even forget sometimes that the right one isn't real. I'd be surprised, at this point, if I decide to ever have reconstruction.

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited September 2017

    Kae- Breast recon is TOUGH. I threatened to take the f-ers out a thousand times. I never got brave enough to talk to the PS. It does get better. I had issues with a burning throat for months which was quite upsetting. I swear I would think of something scary and my throat would start burning. The GI doc thought I was crazy, and I was crazy with grief, terror, not eating, taking different new meds. Later on I felt like I had a lump in my throat, though I could still breathe and swallow it was very scary. I read on this site about globulus hystericus.

    I went forward with the exchange. Things improved slowly. Still not 100% sold on the recon, but it definitely is easy. I never have to wear a bra and my prosthesis is internal and always in place.

    Here is a link to a thread discussing TE removal. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/82/topics/823502?page=11#post_4891570

    Best of luck with whatever you decide.
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  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited September 2017


    So sorry you are sick and in so much pain. I hope you will feel much better very soon.

    Member Lisey had her TEs removed.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics/845597?page=1


    If you decide to "go flat," or if you wonder about being "flat," we have a very supportive bunch of folks in BCO's Living Without Reconstruction After A Mastectomy forum section.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/82


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  • kae_md99
    kae_md99 Member Posts: 621
    edited September 2017

    thanks ladies

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