nipple reconstruction

jessica80 said:

I just had mine done
I just had mine dne 6 weeks ago and just like you girls mine turned black and I freaked out!!I was so mad when the girl at the desk said this is normal and I will fall off!!What really!!Well when I went in my doc said yes its normal for the tip to turn black and fall off!!I was releived until it did fall off and I have the smallest nipplr bump I have ever seen!!LOL!!Definatly does not match the other but it will do!!I talk to my artist and he showed me pics of some ladies that he has done and they look great he also says even though I have the bumpe he can still do it and it might look even better!!Im so very glad I found this site I finally have someone to talk to about this!!

I hear ya!
Dear Jessica,

Thank you posting! I had no idea it was the 'norm' for them to turn black. You have no idea how encouraging that is to me ... you're right, no one tells us this stuff and who can we talk to about it? All I want to talk about these days are boobs & bras!

SusanEliz said:

"Take ownership of your
"Take ownership of your breasts!" That is very funny It's been about ten weeks since the tram flap surgery and they're just starting to feel like "mine"

Susan

Take Ownership .. Interesting === Well I think I've taken
ownership by telling my Plastic surgeon .. No to nipples, and just the 3D tatto's. As many of you are aware of .. I had my bilateral and exchange -- 1 year ago today, 1/12/10, contacted a staph infection in April .. 5 days in the hospital, emergency surgery .. right breast affect (non cancer breast) .. replaced right tissue expander in May .. fill ups again .. agony and pain -- had 1 breast for 6 weeks before replacement .. hard to live and walk around with 1 C cup and 1 no breast -- I applaud all you women who do this on a daily basis .. exchange surgery 7-29 ... my last which was a lift to my right breast was on 9/29/10 .. My health insurance ran out the very next day. 5 major surgeries in 8 months --. So yes, I am proud to sport my new C cups .. without nipples, and will go for 3 D tattoo's .. If you decide you want nipples -- you can always go back and have nipples put in.

My choice .. Take back my life -- No nipples, but perhaps in the future.

Strength and Courage to all of you,

Vicki Sam

VickiSam said:

Take Ownership .. Interesting === Well I think I've taken
ownership by telling my Plastic surgeon .. No to nipples, and just the 3D tatto's. As many of you are aware of .. I had my bilateral and exchange -- 1 year ago today, 1/12/10, contacted a staph infection in April .. 5 days in the hospital, emergency surgery .. right breast affect (non cancer breast) .. replaced right tissue expander in May .. fill ups again .. agony and pain -- had 1 breast for 6 weeks before replacement .. hard to live and walk around with 1 C cup and 1 no breast -- I applaud all you women who do this on a daily basis .. exchange surgery 7-29 ... my last which was a lift to my right breast was on 9/29/10 .. My health insurance ran out the very next day. 5 major surgeries in 8 months --. So yes, I am proud to sport my new C cups .. without nipples, and will go for 3 D tattoo's .. If you decide you want nipples -- you can always go back and have nipples put in.

My choice .. Take back my life -- No nipples, but perhaps in the future.

Strength and Courage to all of you,

Vicki Sam

I had nipple reconstruction
I had nipple reconstruction in October and my PS took skin from my lower belly and made the arora (sp) and nipple. It did not need tatooing, it turned the correct color on its on. Not sure if it was a different way to do it or not, but it worked. I like them, they just went down. They are not flat, but not as big as they were right after the surgery. Considering everything, I am happy. I had my replacement and nipples at the same time.
Love, Rhonda

Jean 0609 said:

Good for you VickiSam,
Good for you for taking ownership. You have definitely been through enough in one year and enough surgeries!

I had my nipple done the same time they did my "exchange" surgery (plus my ovaries & fallopian tubes removed). Wanted to get it done all at one time to be done!!!!!

The same day (December 1st), a friend of mine was having her nipple done for the THIRD time! No way. I said if mine doesn't take, so be it. (So far so good however). I haven't spoken to my friend recently, but was having a lot of drainage and problems with her 3rd nip.

xoxo,
Jean

Why did you decide to have
Why did you decide to have your ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. I am going to new OBGYN end of month. This will be the first time since dx a year ago. Long story, but the old OBGYN had me taking Yazmin all the time except for 4 weeks a year. It is not designed to be given that way, it also has estrogen. I took it for 7 years this way. It took him 2 weeks to call with news of my cancer, so needless to say I dropped him. Anyway, I was going to ask the new OBGYN if I should have my ovaries out.
Love, Rhonda

Giant Poodles said:

Why did you decide to have
Why did you decide to have your ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. I am going to new OBGYN end of month. This will be the first time since dx a year ago. Long story, but the old OBGYN had me taking Yazmin all the time except for 4 weeks a year. It is not designed to be given that way, it also has estrogen. I took it for 7 years this way. It took him 2 weeks to call with news of my cancer, so needless to say I dropped him. Anyway, I was going to ask the new OBGYN if I should have my ovaries out.
Love, Rhonda

Hi Rhonda,
I talked with my oncologist about having my ovaries removed. My aunt had breast cancer and ovarian cancer. She referred me to a Gyn Oncologist. We talked for a very long time. She said that the link between breast cancer & ovarian cancer wasn't that high. However, because of the estrogen in the ovaries, there may be a higher chance or recurrance. She said this surgery wasn't for everyone. She spoke with my oncologist and decided that I would be a good candidate for this. So I decided to get it done since I was going under anyway. I don't need them anymore. My onc was thinking about putting me on Tamoxifen. However, since I had my ovaries removed she put me right on Femara.

xoxo,
Jean

Jean 0609 said:

Hi Rhonda,
I talked with my oncologist about having my ovaries removed. My aunt had breast cancer and ovarian cancer. She referred me to a Gyn Oncologist. We talked for a very long time. She said that the link between breast cancer & ovarian cancer wasn't that high. However, because of the estrogen in the ovaries, there may be a higher chance or recurrance. She said this surgery wasn't for everyone. She spoke with my oncologist and decided that I would be a good candidate for this. So I decided to get it done since I was going under anyway. I don't need them anymore. My onc was thinking about putting me on Tamoxifen. However, since I had my ovaries removed she put me right on Femara.

xoxo,
Jean

How did your appointment go
How did your appointment go Tuesday with your surgeon? Post when you can.


Hugs, Diane

aysemari said:

Wow
I think this is exactly what I needed to hear:

Take ownership of your breasts!

I said I felt like they were fake, not mine...

But I suppose it is up to me, to MAKE them mine.

I have to ponder on this one....

Thanks,
Ayse

What your friend gave to you
What your friend gave to you in your profile pic Ayse is so beautiful.

SusanEliz said:

"Take ownership of your
"Take ownership of your breasts!" That is very funny It's been about ten weeks since the tram flap surgery and they're just starting to feel like "mine"

Susan

What a great saying "take
What a great saying "take ownership of your breasts". Love that.


Jan

Dawne.Hope said:

3-D tats ARE awesome!
If you can find a good tatoo artist, the 3-d tats are awesome!

I strongly leaned towards just getting the tats ... but deep down I really wanted to try to see if I could get an actual 'bump' for a nip. I think with everything we've lost in our surgeries ... having something that actually looked like a nip was extremely important to me. I didn't realize it until I had almost cancelled my nip surgery twice.

Anyway ... if you're not comfortable with the nip surgery, I say go for the 3-d tats! They are impressive and look sooooo real. From what I've read, you have to go back for touch-ups but that's the least of our worries, right?

The after-care for the tats is extremely important so, follow the instructions given to you by your artist.

It's my PS's Physician assistant who does the tats ... and that makes me kind of nervous. I'm thinking about getting a 3-d tat too!

P.S. Here are some links to 3-d tattoo artists that I've found if you've never seen one:

http://vinniemyers.com/section/105672_Nipple_Areola_Tattooing.html

http://www.facecrafter.com/scarcamouflage.htm#areola

http://www.ashevillepermanentmakeupclinic.com/Areola-Tattoos.html

And yes, you can get 'stick on' nips:
http://myreforma.com/

I'm so sorry. Just wanted
I'm so sorry. Just wanted to tell you that I have seen the 3 D tat on a pink sister and it really looked great.

SamuraiMom said:

third times a charm
Hi Bestymorgan,

I just had my left nip redone for the third time on Saturday.

Don't give up.

I'm not.

xxoo,
SamuraiMom

You're all such brave souls .. SamuraiMom .. 3 times for your
left nip .. are you being charged money each and every time?? Is your insurance paying for this ?? just questions that come to mind -- I would be screaming "cry me a river", right about now.

3D tatt's here I come!! LOL Nipples -- maybe somewhere down the road, in a year of two.

Strength and Courage to all:


Vicki Sam