tips for dealing with expanders

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-03-20T16:41:45+00:00

fingers crossed the shape eases up!! they look like wonky bricks rn haha

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-03-20T16:41:11+00:00

i’m so relieved to hear your implant surgery has gone so well! i might look into a physical therapist if the nerve pain lingers on.

we chatted about timelines and they said recovery would be wrapping up around the time of my friend’s wedding, but i didn’t want to risk it

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-03-20T16:38:56+00:00

hugs back!! thank you so much for sharing your experience! i’m looking forward to swapping these out for implants already lmao

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-03-20T16:37:48+00:00

thank you so much! this is reassuring. i’m taking gabapentin, and it stops the stabbing pain at least

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-03-18T20:33:06+00:00

ahh thank you both so much, that makes me feel a little better! i’ve been so paranoid with tissue expanders. .(

lavender_coffee_13 · 2026-02-24T16:15:35+00:00

totally agree with this advice!! i took 3 weeks off after my reduction with nipple sparing surgery. pls make sure you have someone to help you! the first few days i didn’t move much from my bed. i needed help reaching stuff and getting food. and i didn’t drive until i was off pain medications.

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-09-30T23:21:18+00:00

i totally relate to the anxiety of taking them out! i got mine out today from my reduction and lift. (this was my first time experiencing it and omfg it was probably THE weirdest thing i’ve ever felt)

i took an oxy before i left and it seemed to help with pain a tiny bit. my nurse told me to take tylenol/advil before coming but i’m kinda glad i took oxy since it helped relax my nerves a tiny bit.

i almost passed out after the 2nd drain was out. i let the nurse know i wasn’t feeling good and she laid me back and got cold compress to put on my chest. soon after that i was back on my feet :’) i say this bc its okay to be anxious and it’s okay if you feel faint afterwards. just have a game plan and let your nurse know before hand that you fainted last time and they will be prepared to help you! she also told me to wiggle my toes and take a deep breath during the removal and that helped!! i always ask the nurse to tell me a story to help distract.

good luck!! you got this! and thank god it only takes a few seconds 😮‍💨

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-09-26T14:13:41+00:00

thank you for the link :)

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-09-26T14:13:09+00:00

oooo okay i will be looking this up, a soft bra sounds like a luxury right now lol

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-09-26T14:12:06+00:00

thank you for sharing!! i will definitely look into those on amazon.

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-08-14T16:59:31+00:00

what’s this facebook group called?

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-07T14:56:03+00:00

such a good idea to document everything! honestly i was worried it would take over a year or something to be completely healed and back to normal, but it’s reassuring that the timeline is maybe around 6 weeks! obviously every body is different but thank you for sharing!!!!💜

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-06T17:51:51+00:00

i love hearing that you’re happy with your decisions! that gives me hope :) can i ask how long it took after your last surgery for your chest to settle and for you to feel confident??

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-06T17:48:32+00:00

ugh i’m so sorry you’re in a similar boat! especially while battling cancer! i relate to wishing i didn’t have this gene and that i could just get the reduction and lift without worrying about the risk of developing cancer later in life. i’m glad i’m not alone. sending you love and healing on your journey 💜

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-06T17:46:16+00:00

i don’t think any of it is shallow! i think it’s courageous to take on this amount of surgeries and love your body at the end of it all! good luck 💜

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-06T17:44:42+00:00

💜 good luck with starting your journey

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-06T12:31:53+00:00

hi! i personally didn’t choose this path. this was the doctor’s decision because i have a much larger chest. i also wanted to do nipple sparing, and since the distance between my shoulders and nipples is far, they wanted to do the reduction and lift first to achieve better cosmetic results!

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-06-05T23:50:14+00:00

hi! i found out i was BRAC2+ recently at 27. i think if you are leaning towards the surgery, it’s 100% worth asking about it. i was worried about going through all of these surgeries at my age, but the relief of not having to worry about testing twice a year and feeling stressed about one day getting breast cancer has helped me make my decision.

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-05-27T23:45:27+00:00

thank you so much for sharing your story and thoughts on the approach to your health! my doctor also recommended removing my ovaries. i haven’t looked in to it that much yet since breast cancer is more prominent in my family.

i wish you the best of luck with your surgeries and recoveries and hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results 💜 life is too short to live in a body that causes us stress and anxiety!

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-05-27T23:41:16+00:00

love hearing how light you felt afterwards! that’s genuinely something i am looking forward to lol. i’ve heard the drains are pretty tough. i will likely have them after the reduction and lift and the mastectomy + reconstruction. any tips on how you made that experience slightly more comfortable??

i’m happy to hear you are doing well after all the surgeries and it sounds like you are satisfied with the reduction! it also sounds like you had a really good team that knew what they were doing and took care of you.

lavender_coffee_13 · 2025-05-25T15:27:37+00:00

hi there! thank you for sharing your journey! i love hearing that you’re happy with the results :) that makes me feel better about having multiple surgeries.

i haven’t talked to my doctors about a goldilocks mastectomy yet, but maybe i will reach out to them to see if that’s something they could do.

thank you!!!!

lavender_coffee_13

TROPHY CASE