How long should I wait before fitting for prosthes

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gshoemate
gshoemate Member Posts: 190
edited June 2014 in Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
Hi all, I am almost 10 days after surgery and was wondering how long I should wait to be fitted? We are taking a cruise the second week of June before chemo starts and I think I would relax alot more if I had a prosthesis. My surgeon says I am healing good and there is no swelling so I'm not sure if there is any other reason to wait.

Thanks
Ginger
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  • caaclark
    caaclark Member Posts: 936
    edited May 2007

    I think it was about 4 weeks for me. I don't remember exactly but I did go see the fitter about 2 weeks after surgery and she told me when to come back.

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  • tos
    tos Member Posts: 376
    edited May 2007
    Ginger you might call and ask your surgeon if it is ok to be fitted or like Carol said, see a fitter and see what they say.
    With my insurance I have to have a prescription signed by my doctor to order when the time comes for me, you might check into that also.
    I'm 5 wks out from my bilateral and having a few problems so it will be awhile for me to be fitted. So I bought a inexpensive pocketed front closing sports bra from TLC and use the puffie things I call them, just did it yesterday for the first time and it felt great. If you don't have the soft puffie things, they have those also. It's a thought if you have to wait anyway.
    Best of luck to you and have a wonderful cruise, it sounds dreamy!

    Hugs, Pam
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  • mellen1226
    mellen1226 Member Posts: 29
    edited May 2007

    I will be 2 weeks out on Monday and my surgeon is having me fitted on Tuesday. I have healed well and she (as well as me) thinks it is important to get fitted and comfortable as soon as possible. I would make sure and talk to the surgeon to make sure all is well. I hope you are doing well and recovering quickly.

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  • msmimi
    msmimi Member Posts: 12
    edited May 2007

    No rush for me. Five months since surgery and I just got fitted. After the bilateral, the incisions were extremely sensitive, plus I had swelling. I have been wearing a cami with foam forms, but now that it's getting hot I'm ready to have a bra.

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  • nagem
    nagem Member Posts: 353
    edited May 2007

    I was told to wait at least 6 weeks, and it turned out to be good advice because even though my initial healing was rapid and I was eager to move on and get the prostheses, I developed weird rashes and a "leak" on the scar line of my irradiated side a few weeks into the recovery. All turned out fine, but I think it was good to wait until it was entirely healed. In fact, even though I now have a couple of pairs of top-of-the-line expensive prostheses, I find that I rarely wear anything at all and if I do I often opt for a couple of handmade ones (pattern on this site) or other soft fluff-filled ones because they're cooler and lighter.

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  • Raye99
    Raye99 Member Posts: 1,350
    edited May 2007
    It was about 4 weeks for me. I was able to be fitted once the fluid quit building up and the bs didn't have to aspirate that fluid any longer. In the meantime, I wore TIGHT camis - I am an A cup so I was trying to flatten the other boob - something I wouldn't have imagined wanting to do in the past! Tight camis and loose fitting button up shirts.

    Have a great time on your cruise.
    Raye
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