Hi! beautiful weather we are having here in Victoria although a little too dry. Good weather for a long weekend with lots of festivals in small towns nearby.
The implant has been in place for about 18 months now and as I say I am wondering if this is as good as it gets! Drives me nutty and when I am stressed it seems to be accentuated; but isn't that the case for all of us, stress hits the weakest point! I am having the divine Zoladex injections and my tolerance has been tested of late. Yeah I know suck it up and I am, as there are others in a very precarious predicament compared to my aches and pains, I just happen to own these aches and pains! Humour helps, it breaks the cycle of nuttiness!
How long have you had it/them @iserbrown ? When I get mine changed they are a bit sore for a couple of weeks post op, then generally OK for about 6 months.
The clamp thing is familiar, years of yoga and stretching haven't made a difference. It feels like my chest is really inflexible, as if the muscles have lost their elasticity to the point that even deep breathing can be uncomfortable. At times it feels like I am wrapped in barbed wire, particularly if I am I'll, stressed or tired. Sometimes I don't notice them at all.
Oh well, while we all hope that reconstruction will go to plan, there are a few cases where it doesn't. No way of knowing until you try.
Oh yes. Multiple times. I'm on my third set of implants after the expanders and my body has attacked them all.
I thought at first I might have contributed to the problem--the words 'take it easy' have never made much sense to me--but it seems that some peoples bodies just don't tolerate the intrusion. I was warned when the expanders came out that I had developed an unusual amount of scar tissue and, unfortunately, that hasn't improved in ten years.
I've learnt to live with the encapsulation and the pain is manageable unless I do something like spending a day chopping wood or hay carting. I now know to plan ahead if I'm going to do anything that will really stress my chest. Tramadol works a treat.
My current implants are quite distorted and one has started to rotate which is both painful and frustrating. I've seen several surgeons, the consensus is that 'shit happens'. Or words to that effect. Removing the implants altogether is not advised as it would leave me with scar 'pockets' under my pecs which could fill with God knows what and would be unlikely to resolve without making things worse. Cosmetically, the whole business is a mess.
Any plans for more surgery are on hold since my recurrence. I'm terrified of what could happen if I tried flap recos so will probably just put up with it. Seems the least of my problems at the moment anyway. Marg
Hi Christine, Haven't experienced it myself. I do know that there are a couple of ladies who have experienced it so hopefully they will answer soon. Xx
I haven't @iserbrown as I chose no reconstruction but i thought I would put the other name in here for others to realise it is the same thing.. capsular contracture is another name for this condition.
