Finally - let's get to the filling - how many cc's?
On Monday I finally go for my first fill. I have read that some people take muscle relaxers -- do you have to ask for a prescription or do they give it to you. I was thinking of taking one of my pain pills before I go for the appointment to maybe fend off some of the pain or discomfort. I am only trying to get back to my B cup size, no larger. I just want to be back to normal. Can anyone give me an idea of how many cc's I am looking at for the B cup size or does it totally depend on the individual.
Comments
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slynch
Like everything, it depends upon the individual and your personal PS' approach to doing this. I have seen some of the ladies post that their PS wanted their expanders at 2-3 times the size of the implants they are going to get. Mine had told me that they go to about the same size of the implant they are going to use but did over-inflate the left side where I will be having radiation. The amount they put in at a time also varies significantly based upon your stage of recovery and the amount of discomfort you have during the filling. I have seen as little as 40cc at a time and my first one was around 150cc. For that reason, I chose not to take anything before I saw the plastic surgeon but at the beginning, did take a pain pill afterwards (not because I was in significant pain, just very tight). After the first 1-2 fills, I seemed to do fine with Advil.
Hope it all goes well for you!
Chris0 -
I agree it depends!
How many cc's depends on your height, your weight,and the size of your ribcage. You won't need narcotics for the pain, advil and tylenol will be enough. You may want the muscle relaxers, though. I had some leftover from my bi-lateral mast. and those really help. If you don't have any, ask your PS for a prescription. I take Flexeril, but there are others you can take. I've found a lot of helpful information on breastcancer.org. Here is a link that may help you: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/746448?page=25
My fills have been small. I started with 60cc's and my last one was 20cc's. A lot of women can handle larger amounts, I didn't have a lot to begin with. What size you want to be is a factor, but also how much your skin can stretch. My PS told me on my last visit that we were done, my skin couldn't handle any more stretching.
The fills can be painful, but they're not unbearable. Do get the muscle relaxers and take a tylenol before you go.0 -
Valium, fill amount, etc.
My plastic surgeon prescribed Valium to help with my tight chest after fills. It really helped. Sometimes I only took half a tablet. Ask your surgeon about taking a pain pill before fills -- she may prefer one medication over another. It's good to take one beforehand, I think.
The surgeon warned me about using a heating pad. You may be too numb to feel if the pad is burning your skin. Personally, I don't think a pad would have helped me anyway.
The fill amount is individual. Of the women I've talked with on this board, I have the smallest final fill -- 250cc. I think that'll be approximately the small B I was before. I just looked at myself after fills and judged when I was the size I wanted. My bras are athletic-style with no cup size. They fit now, though I don't wear a bra with my expanders.
I found that it was best not to vacuum, lift stuff, scrub pots, etc. for a couple days after a fill in order to avoid discomfort. Best of luck to you!!0 -
Slynch, I am going to bumpgreyhoundluvr said:slynch
Like everything, it depends upon the individual and your personal PS' approach to doing this. I have seen some of the ladies post that their PS wanted their expanders at 2-3 times the size of the implants they are going to get. Mine had told me that they go to about the same size of the implant they are going to use but did over-inflate the left side where I will be having radiation. The amount they put in at a time also varies significantly based upon your stage of recovery and the amount of discomfort you have during the filling. I have seen as little as 40cc at a time and my first one was around 150cc. For that reason, I chose not to take anything before I saw the plastic surgeon but at the beginning, did take a pain pill afterwards (not because I was in significant pain, just very tight). After the first 1-2 fills, I seemed to do fine with Advil.
Hope it all goes well for you!
Chris
Slynch, I am going to bump up a thread for you from m-star. She has a lot of information on there about expanders, and, she even has a video that you can see her getting her fills. Hope that might help you.0 -
It does vary by the individual
I still have my expanders in but im done with my fills. I could only start with 25cc's because i had little skin there to stretch, and if you stretch to fast you can spit your incisions. I finally stopped at a total of 400 cc's...I am a small person and 400 may not seem like much to most people but on me they are huge. (but not big enough to make me to top heavy) So like someone else just mentioned it does depend on your body shape and size.
As far as taking anything for the pain...I only did a couple times, sometimes it was a little sore and tight, but for the most part it was fine and i never needed anything.0 -
i would definately recommendjo jo said:It does vary by the individual
I still have my expanders in but im done with my fills. I could only start with 25cc's because i had little skin there to stretch, and if you stretch to fast you can spit your incisions. I finally stopped at a total of 400 cc's...I am a small person and 400 may not seem like much to most people but on me they are huge. (but not big enough to make me to top heavy) So like someone else just mentioned it does depend on your body shape and size.
As far as taking anything for the pain...I only did a couple times, sometimes it was a little sore and tight, but for the most part it was fine and i never needed anything.
i would definately recommend a muscle relaxer! Something like Flexirile, Valium,Codeine (i take codeine) about 45 mins before a fill.Also a couple of regular painkillers, then keep them up for 24-48 hours after. You may find sleeping upright helps as the fills are being resisted by your skin and muscle and when you lay down it can feel like a large brick on your chest pushing down.
I also recommend breastcancer.org as i have asked lots of questions on there and had some great answers.
As for cup size,it def depends on lots of factors.
Your height,weight,rib circumference,the size of the tissue expander that has been put in (and style/shape),how well your skin and muscle stretches......
400cc on a smaller lady could be huge,where as on someone taller could look quite small.Its hard to get an idea of size from your PS until after you get your last fill really.But be vocal and tell them how large/small you'd LIKE to be.Then they can just do their best for you. I wanted to be quite a bit bigger,but my PS only put 300ml TE's in. I'm already over expanded up to 390ml with another fill next week.
They cannot over fill much more and my PS like to stretch quite a bit more than what the final implant size will be,sadly for me =(
I'll be lucky to get a 300ml implant.......
If you do your research before you next see your PS,you can explain better what you'd like.
Good luck with that first fill!
Check out my youtube vid's of my fills!
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Look at m-stars other post.m-star said:i would definately recommend
i would definately recommend a muscle relaxer! Something like Flexirile, Valium,Codeine (i take codeine) about 45 mins before a fill.Also a couple of regular painkillers, then keep them up for 24-48 hours after. You may find sleeping upright helps as the fills are being resisted by your skin and muscle and when you lay down it can feel like a large brick on your chest pushing down.
I also recommend breastcancer.org as i have asked lots of questions on there and had some great answers.
As for cup size,it def depends on lots of factors.
Your height,weight,rib circumference,the size of the tissue expander that has been put in (and style/shape),how well your skin and muscle stretches......
400cc on a smaller lady could be huge,where as on someone taller could look quite small.Its hard to get an idea of size from your PS until after you get your last fill really.But be vocal and tell them how large/small you'd LIKE to be.Then they can just do their best for you. I wanted to be quite a bit bigger,but my PS only put 300ml TE's in. I'm already over expanded up to 390ml with another fill next week.
They cannot over fill much more and my PS like to stretch quite a bit more than what the final implant size will be,sadly for me =(
I'll be lucky to get a 300ml implant.......
If you do your research before you next see your PS,you can explain better what you'd like.
Good luck with that first fill!
Check out my youtube vid's of my fills!
Look at m-stars other post. She has the site to see her getting her fills.
Good luck to you!0 -
Fill 'er up
Hi There,
It definitely depends on your body size.
I am a larger woman and received 600cc and ended up with a C cup.
Just keep an eye on them.
I would put on tank tops and eyeball them for size.
I also took a Xanax to keep me calm and took an 800mg ibuprofen for pain that seemed to work.
Obviously I'm no doc so there's my disclaimer.
Best of luck!!!!
xxoo,
SamuraiMom0 -
An example of how varied it can be ....SamuraiMom said:Fill 'er up
Hi There,
It definitely depends on your body size.
I am a larger woman and received 600cc and ended up with a C cup.
Just keep an eye on them.
I would put on tank tops and eyeball them for size.
I also took a Xanax to keep me calm and took an 800mg ibuprofen for pain that seemed to work.
Obviously I'm no doc so there's my disclaimer.
Best of luck!!!!
xxoo,
SamuraiMom
My expanders are filled to 310cc's and right now I am a small C cup. So ... it really does vary.0
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