eExchange surgery recovery question

hoop77

How long does it take after the exchange surgery for your chest to feel normal again? I am 4 weeks out and still have weird feelings particularly around my incisions and a lot of tenderness. I do my exercises religiously but I'm so afraid of capsular contracture. I had my husband feel them last night to see if they were getting harder. He said no, but it seems to me that they are more dense than before. Guess it could all be in my mind...Just looking for assurance and other people's experiences. Also, I don't have to wear a bra ever again, but I bought one because my scars show through some of my shirts. I can only wear it for about half a day and then it drives me crazy and starts to hurt. Anyone else experience this? Thanks in advance to all of you wonderful sisters out there!
Laura

jo jo

Hi Laura
Im roughly 2 months
Hi Laura
Im roughly 2 months out from my exchange and i still have funny weird feelings around my incisions...like its numb but you feel every little thing, plus a weird sensation of pressure at times, and some tingling just to name a few.
I ask my PS cuz i thought mine felt a little to hard but she told me they gradually soften up and mine would differently be getting softer...whew! Plus i had one drop but it turns out it dropped to were its suppose to be and the other one hasnt cuz im having so many issues with my muscles and shoulder pain on that side...and with everything being so tight on that side it needs to relax before the implant can relax into place. With all this going on i was forced to wear a bra for awhile to sorta even them out cuz they kinda roamed to much on their own...at first i did not like it at all...very uncomfortable...then it got to the point i was ok with it but now im getting back to the point i dont like wearing it anymore and prefer braless.
Oh ya about a week or so ago i could actually sleep on my belly again as long as i use my arms or pillow as a brace to take some of the weight off it.

shelbyhome

I had my exchange 3 weeks
I had my exchange 3 weeks ago and I still have strange feelings, it could be all the nerves that they cut on and out... my doc said that sometimes a nerve won't die and it has feeling when you touch it, hard to explain but I just hope it will go away! What exercises are you doing? I think mine are getting softer but they do feel different some days. I think I may worry to much sometimes, I do and I try not to however easier said than done. I have to go buy a new bra because of my scar and stretch marks from my kids...thank them very much! I don't like the feeling of a bra either. Hope some of this helps.Hugs

hoop77

shelbyhome said:

I had my exchange 3 weeks
I had my exchange 3 weeks ago and I still have strange feelings, it could be all the nerves that they cut on and out... my doc said that sometimes a nerve won't die and it has feeling when you touch it, hard to explain but I just hope it will go away! What exercises are you doing? I think mine are getting softer but they do feel different some days. I think I may worry to much sometimes, I do and I try not to however easier said than done. I have to go buy a new bra because of my scar and stretch marks from my kids...thank them very much! I don't like the feeling of a bra either. Hope some of this helps.Hugs

Yes I know what you mean
Yes I know what you mean about the nerves. They are really bothersome, wish and hope they would just die!!! As far as exercises, my PS has me push my boobs north, east, south and west and hold for 10 seconds 4 times a day. I know that some people just massage, but he feels that this is the best way to keep scar tissue from clamping down and causing capsular contracture. I love my PS so I will follow his orders. I have to do this for a year! I guess it's all part of the journey, I'm just glad to be here!

Dawne.Hope

hoop77 said:

Yes I know what you mean
Yes I know what you mean about the nerves. They are really bothersome, wish and hope they would just die!!! As far as exercises, my PS has me push my boobs north, east, south and west and hold for 10 seconds 4 times a day. I know that some people just massage, but he feels that this is the best way to keep scar tissue from clamping down and causing capsular contracture. I love my PS so I will follow his orders. I have to do this for a year! I guess it's all part of the journey, I'm just glad to be here!

Hoop,
My PS has me doing
Hoop,

My PS has me doing those same exercises ... although I'm supposed to do it 3x a day for three months, 2x a day for six months and then 1x a day from there on out, I guess.

I've had pain too, although I've probably done too much. I'm about 9 weeks out and moved four weeks ago and did a lot of reaching, tried not to do a lot of lifting. But I'm achy, mostly along the left side, which is my cancer side and the one I've had the most pain in since my DMX in February.

I think it just takes time. From what I've read, it can take up to a year for the pain to go away, some women it never goes away, God forbid. Your'e still early out, so I wouldn't worry.

Re bras, that whole scenario has been a frustating one for me. I couldn't stand them in my TE's, wore camisoles with shelf bras at the very most. But I've found with the implants that bras help the pain. I wear one 24/7. I wear a zip up sports bra at night and have recently bought some underwires that help everything stay in place. I've read that wearing a bra can keep the implants from shifting over into the armpits and keep them from dropping. I've spent more money on bras in the last six weeks than I have in the last six years trying to find what works. And what worked six weeks ago, isn't working now. But I'm hoping that things have settled in and they're not going to change much more. Now that I have a pretty good idea of what works, ebay is going to be my best bra buying friend!

Best of luck to you!
dh