I've been putting off blogging as usual, and I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to talk about but I'm not sure if I'm going to remember it all now. We shall see.
So, my final volume is 350 cc. My PS likes to overfill, and he recommends me getting a 300 cc implant, but he said that I can go with 350 if I want. I need to decide what size I want since it's my decision, but I have time to figure it out.
Also, I'm not as certain about getting silicone as I was before. I'm still definitely leaning toward it, but I found out that the saline implant is much softer than the saline expander. So, if I did go with saline, it would not feel like a softball like I thought it would. However, silicone is even softer and closer to natural, plus it doesn't ripple all the time like saline would. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, I just need to decide which one is better for me overall. I still think silicone.
At my last appointment I asked about the possibility of me doing the Alcatraz Sharkfest after my exchange surgery, thinking the race would be in late July and my exchange is planned for May 23. He said no, that would not be enough recovery time. However, he said that if the race were about a month later he would say it was okay. I got home and looked up the dates of the different races in the series, and I realized my question didn't even matter as the Alcatraz race is in May. I might have been able to swing that, except that I haven't swam in a long time, but the race is already sold out. I did find one in Lake Tahoe in late August (I think the 25th), and it's only a mile as opposed to 1.5 miles. It seems like a much more laid back swim than Alcatraz, and I think I can do it based on what my PS said. I still have to ask him to make sure before I sign up, but I'm sure it'll be fine and I really want to do it.
The phantom itch/phantom pain continues, and I still wake up in the middle of the night almost every night, which is getting a little annoying. I'm really looking forward to the exchange, only about 3 more months!
Oh and another thing, maybe TMI but not really considering the content of my blog. It is really hard for me to shave my underarm on my right side! Like impossible! I can do it but it is not a simple task. I'm hoping that will be easier after the exchange as well.
Okay that's all for now, there might have been more that I wanted to say but I have to run, going to spin class! Oh that reminds me, I went skiing yesterday with my brother Chris, it was so much fun! But now I'm really sore and my leg is killing me from my boot on that side being too tight.
Okie adios amigos, I'll be back to say what I forgot lol. <3 p="">
Monday, February 25, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Phantom itch, working out, etc.
Hey everyone! Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day, mine was nice :)
I had my 6th expansion on Tuesday, putting me up to 325 cc and only one expansion away from being done. It's bittersweet for me, I'm not sad about not having the pain and soreness after each expansion (which has only been getting worse the more expanded I get), but in a way I am going to miss my weekly ritual. Everyone knows me in the plastic surgery department, I'm going to miss seeing them all the time, they're so nice and friendly. My last expansion appt is next Tuesday, and then all that are left are the little details like what kind of implant I'm gonna get. I'm almost positive I want to go with silicone, because if the saline one feels anything like this expander (which is not unlike a softball) that will bug me.
Lately I've been having this thing that I'm referring to as a phantom itch, and it's driving me crazy! I think it's pretty common, it's discussed pretty regularly on the breast cancer discussion boards and I talked to my neighbor recently and she's experienced the same thing. I get an itch on my fake breast, but I have basically no sensation there at all. So when I scratch it, I get no relief! It is so annoying! It comes off and on, I hope it stops soon but some people have said it never fully stops for them, even after the exchange.
Anyway, I've finally been getting back into working out after a long time off. I got the approval to do cardio like two weeks ago, but I never had the motivation to actually do it until last week. Since then I've gone running, played tennis (very poorly), and gone to the gym twice. I'm really going to try to stick to it, I want to get in shape again before my exchange surgery. I want to be at my goal by then. I don't really have a specific goal in terms of weight loss (I don't even know how much I weigh or how much that is affected by the super heavy feeling expander I have), I just want to feel healthy and fit. I figure if I say all this to the public then I'm more likely to actually stick to it. I'm thinking about starting to go to spin class regularly again, those things are killer! Wish me luck :)
Okay I should go, I have two tests next week. Conveniently both on the same day (Wednesday), one for microbio and one for a&p. So I should really study. Adios for now :)
I had my 6th expansion on Tuesday, putting me up to 325 cc and only one expansion away from being done. It's bittersweet for me, I'm not sad about not having the pain and soreness after each expansion (which has only been getting worse the more expanded I get), but in a way I am going to miss my weekly ritual. Everyone knows me in the plastic surgery department, I'm going to miss seeing them all the time, they're so nice and friendly. My last expansion appt is next Tuesday, and then all that are left are the little details like what kind of implant I'm gonna get. I'm almost positive I want to go with silicone, because if the saline one feels anything like this expander (which is not unlike a softball) that will bug me.
Lately I've been having this thing that I'm referring to as a phantom itch, and it's driving me crazy! I think it's pretty common, it's discussed pretty regularly on the breast cancer discussion boards and I talked to my neighbor recently and she's experienced the same thing. I get an itch on my fake breast, but I have basically no sensation there at all. So when I scratch it, I get no relief! It is so annoying! It comes off and on, I hope it stops soon but some people have said it never fully stops for them, even after the exchange.
Anyway, I've finally been getting back into working out after a long time off. I got the approval to do cardio like two weeks ago, but I never had the motivation to actually do it until last week. Since then I've gone running, played tennis (very poorly), and gone to the gym twice. I'm really going to try to stick to it, I want to get in shape again before my exchange surgery. I want to be at my goal by then. I don't really have a specific goal in terms of weight loss (I don't even know how much I weigh or how much that is affected by the super heavy feeling expander I have), I just want to feel healthy and fit. I figure if I say all this to the public then I'm more likely to actually stick to it. I'm thinking about starting to go to spin class regularly again, those things are killer! Wish me luck :)
Okay I should go, I have two tests next week. Conveniently both on the same day (Wednesday), one for microbio and one for a&p. So I should really study. Adios for now :)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Almost done expanding!
I've been terrible at updating this, I'm sorry about that. I've been keeping pretty busy which is good for me, but it makes me less inclined to post blogs regularly. My bad ;)
I've had expansions # 4 and 5! I'm up to 275, I think I only have a couple more to go. I'm about even right now, a little bigger on the fake side, but all the volume is up high so it looks weird haha. When I go in for the exchange my PS is going to make it so the implant sits lower and I'll look normal. And it won't be a rock hard expander, so yay. I'm really looking forward to the exchange. Unfortunately I have to wait until after the semester is over, because I'll have to take another two weeks off. I think I might have mentioned this in my last blog lol. My mind is all over the place.
My 4th expansion was fine, but after my 5th expansion I had some pain which is weird for me. Luckily it's subsided since then. I don't have a whole lot to complain about expander-wise, but I won't be sad when I say goodbye to it haha. I think I'll be ready for my new silicone friend. That sounded so corny. I'm trying to decide if it's too corny for me to say, but I'm thinking no. I'm such a dork.
Aside from that, I've been really busy with school and really enjoying my classes. Really. I like all of them. My psychology class is full of just-graduated-from-high-school freshmen, and most of them are really immature, but I enjoy the material. Microbio is so much fun! Especially the lab. And anatomy and physiology is as interesting as last semester, although it's a lot more work this time around. I think I'll be almost done with nursing pre-reqs after this semester, then I still want to take that EMT class so I can get some much needed clinical experience before I apply to nursing school. It's so exciting!
Anyway, I'm off to hopefully finish my psychology homework before American Idol starts, wish me luck with that. Ta ta for now. :)
Wait, before I go. I just happened to log into my breastcancer.org account, which I hadn't done for a while, and I had a message from someone else who was diagnosed with fibromatosis in the breast at around the same time I was. This is the first person I have talked to with the same thing as me! As sad of a coincidence as it is, it is really cool to have someone else who really knows what I'm going through with this super rare tumor. That was a nice thing to see. I really hope that she doesn't have to have a mastectomy like I did, but she's already had 3 lumpectomies and is looking into more surgeries. Even though some don't consider this a cancer, I don't see how you can consider it benign.
Okay, I'm really going to sign off now. Adios amigos.
I've had expansions # 4 and 5! I'm up to 275, I think I only have a couple more to go. I'm about even right now, a little bigger on the fake side, but all the volume is up high so it looks weird haha. When I go in for the exchange my PS is going to make it so the implant sits lower and I'll look normal. And it won't be a rock hard expander, so yay. I'm really looking forward to the exchange. Unfortunately I have to wait until after the semester is over, because I'll have to take another two weeks off. I think I might have mentioned this in my last blog lol. My mind is all over the place.
My 4th expansion was fine, but after my 5th expansion I had some pain which is weird for me. Luckily it's subsided since then. I don't have a whole lot to complain about expander-wise, but I won't be sad when I say goodbye to it haha. I think I'll be ready for my new silicone friend. That sounded so corny. I'm trying to decide if it's too corny for me to say, but I'm thinking no. I'm such a dork.
Aside from that, I've been really busy with school and really enjoying my classes. Really. I like all of them. My psychology class is full of just-graduated-from-high-school freshmen, and most of them are really immature, but I enjoy the material. Microbio is so much fun! Especially the lab. And anatomy and physiology is as interesting as last semester, although it's a lot more work this time around. I think I'll be almost done with nursing pre-reqs after this semester, then I still want to take that EMT class so I can get some much needed clinical experience before I apply to nursing school. It's so exciting!
Anyway, I'm off to hopefully finish my psychology homework before American Idol starts, wish me luck with that. Ta ta for now. :)
Wait, before I go. I just happened to log into my breastcancer.org account, which I hadn't done for a while, and I had a message from someone else who was diagnosed with fibromatosis in the breast at around the same time I was. This is the first person I have talked to with the same thing as me! As sad of a coincidence as it is, it is really cool to have someone else who really knows what I'm going through with this super rare tumor. That was a nice thing to see. I really hope that she doesn't have to have a mastectomy like I did, but she's already had 3 lumpectomies and is looking into more surgeries. Even though some don't consider this a cancer, I don't see how you can consider it benign.
Okay, I'm really going to sign off now. Adios amigos.
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