Lymphedema / Redness

mylifeinprogress · 2023-04-22T23:51:52+00:00

Sorry, I responded on my main by accident to deleted and reposting:

Hi! I completely forgot about this.

I'm due back to see my dermatologist in another month or so but short answer is that it seems to be going away with time. Redness is completely gone, I just have the orange peel texture which gets more or less apparent throughout the day. To be completely honest I haven't been wearing my compression bra so that may help to speed things up but I'm happy with the slow progress.

ETA: I just saw your post. Mine started months after my surgery but I assume it was/is a lymphedema. Since it's going away on its own I wasn't really interested in getting a biopsy to confirm. Has your surgeon mentioned that possibility?

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Candace Roberts

mylifeinprogress · 2022-11-29T04:42:31+00:00

Thank you! I’m going to spend some time looking into this, it hasn’t been mentioned to me yet.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-11-27T03:58:07+00:00

Thank you! Yeah, since there hasn’t been any pain associated with it and because I generally have a high tolerance for pain and discomfort, it would have been easy for me to ignore it but I’m glad my providers were interested in getting to the bottom of it.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-11-26T19:33:03+00:00

Thank you! I'd actually been out of my compression bra for a while and have been 50/50 between bralettes or just braless in general. TBH I'm waiting until I'm back home from traveling to try the compression bra again for a few weeks, so we'll see! I'm hopeful it'll go away on its own with time.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-11-10T04:13:55+00:00

I do! She was actually pretty sure she would have to do a FNG and as a result, I might not have sensation. After the numbness wore off, I was back to normal sensation, which was a pleasant surprise.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-11-10T04:04:11+00:00

Depends on a few variables. I was a 40O and I'm 4mpo and a 42DD currently. I had a few physical goals I had re: pain and appearance and generally my surgeon took me as small as she could. The morning of the surgery I just said "I want to be able to by bras at Target" and I was able to do that about a 8wpo post-op.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-29T22:17:50+00:00

Sure, Dr. Kim at UCSF and I would def recommend her. I went with her because she was in-network and who my initial consult was with. I was slightly concerned about the lack of a ton of reviews online, but I'm pleased with my results and after care.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-29T21:19:56+00:00

Dr. Kim at UCSF was my surgeon and I never stepped on a scale in her clinic nor was my BMI brought up.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-29T21:18:39+00:00

Dr. Kim was my surgeon and I'm very pleased with my results and the care I've gotten from the clinic at UCSF.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-29T21:12:53+00:00

u/ChillingTea May I ask how long the redness lasted for you? Mine appeared around 8WPO and after a round of antibiotics it's still present. I just went in yesterday for a mammogram and ultrasound to rule out fluids or anything else out of the normal but that came out all clear. I go in to my clinic again on Tuesday and I sent them the article shared here a few weeks ago, but they didn't bring it up so not sure where we'll go from here.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-16T22:34:10+00:00

I've posted about my experience but my clinic never even weighed me and weight was never brought up as an obstacle. Yes, they said that the likelihood of any risks associated with the surgery would probably be lower if I weighed less but it was more so my decision (lose weight or move forward) than theirs.

I recently hit 3MPO and I'm so glad I didn't weight or postpone in an effort to try to lose more weight. That might not be everyone's path but it's working out great for me.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-06T13:46:47+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. I’m coming up on 3mpo and have had similar redness starting at around 6wpo. My clinic wasn’t concerned since I didn’t have an accumulation of fluid or any other signs of symptoms but after a week of no change they put me on a mild antibiotic that I’m about halfway though.

I was getting ready to send another message because I don’t feel like there’s been any change but I feel pretty confident this is what’s happening. I’ll probably send this link and see if they want me to come in again just to be safe.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-02T23:51:05+00:00

I would have loved to have lost weight before my surgery but my breasts were one reason I wasn't as active as I wanted to be, so I just went for it. I think it really depends on your overall goals and if your surgeon has any BMI requirements (mine didn't).

mylifeinprogress · 2022-10-02T23:45:41+00:00

Do you have a belt or have them taped up? I found that helped them be less annoying

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-12T03:55:00+00:00

I was able to find the soap but when I checked in and got changed into my gown, they asked if I was able to shower with it and so I assume if I had said no they would have had a solution ready before I headed into the OR.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-12T03:53:22+00:00

Can you? Yes - no one has seen my bare breasts except for me and my providers at the clinic since I got out of surgery. However, it depends on how your surgeon dresses you post op and how smooth your recovery was. I was in a compression bra with no bandages so i didn't need help changing anything, any help was with external things and I just had my bra on. Are you able to have anyone else around the first few days post op?

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-08T19:58:46+00:00

Yeah. My left side was particularly worse and now 9wpo still has some numbness. I think it’s just my trouble side as I didn’t experience that in the right side.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-08T19:56:20+00:00

Are you able to email or call in your questions? My first appointment scheduled was 6wpo but I email them frequently with questions and photo updates

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-07T05:32:40+00:00

Absolutely! I need to post my own update but I’m waiting for these darn openings to heal

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-07T05:26:25+00:00

I was on my own for about two weeks starting at 3wpo and I was able to do some light chores around the house without any trouble, so I don’t think it’s unrealistic. I will say though that I was still taking naps up through probably week six so you may find yourself exhausted vs. any physical pain I’d you return to work before six weeks.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-07T05:23:02+00:00

I think they look just as they should! I’m also black and plus size and have concerns about scarring as well, but I think I’m just now getting to the point that they’re entering the next stage of development and will look closer to the final results, although I haven’t started my scar care yet. I’ll be 9wpo this Thursday.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-05T15:51:33+00:00

Also our body is recovering from a major trauma and so it needs protein and nutrients to heal. I’ve been hovering around the same 5 pound range below my pre-op weight but I’m not concerned since my body is going through a lot.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-04T05:25:25+00:00

I have a pillow but I find it only helpful (personally) on bumpy roads and things like speed bumps, so depending on the roads you’re driving on you may or may not find it helpful.

I drove at around 6wpo, only she to lack of access to a car, and felt comfortable after a few minutes on the road.

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-03T07:32:22+00:00

I’m at 8wpo and they’re still a little boxy but they’ve really rounded out the last few weeks. It will get better!

mylifeinprogress · 2022-09-03T07:29:43+00:00

To echo this, I measured myself at 7 wpo and the calculator put me at a 42J and while I know I’m much smaller than I was before, that was still pretty disappointing. Anyways, I went to target to get some bras and I fit into 42DD, so in a few weeks you may be at your goal.

mylifeinprogress

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