Tbh didn’t want to spend much as believed (mistakenly) I wouldn’t be needing them for long.
What did you mean re rum and coke 
I’m sorry you couldn’t find a good fitting bra when needed. I promise there is a lot of selection in style and sizes ~ a good bra fitter Is key, as each bra style can involve a different cup size ! You have to work with them to know how they all differ 
The sizing difference between fashion bras worn pre surgery and bras needed post surgery, can also cause frustration but it’s essential to get the band right, for the rest of the bra to fit correctly
Take care Miss Match
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I promise b cup should be in good supply - from 32 band to 50 band .
(There will be more choices in 36-42 bands as these are the average sizes)
And if you don’t achieve the cup you like, remember partial shapers can be adapted to suit , so even if you just require confidence when you go out, out - you can have a larger cupped bra with partials in, to achieve this take care ~ Miss Match
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I have been thinking of starting a bra bank to help ladies such as yourselves but also non surgery bras to help teens,
With our country in financial crisis, I hate to think of youngsters not being able to afford a correct bra ~ it’s so important for breast development and confidence at that age
take care Miss Match
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I have been sending some of my unused bras to Smalls For All - they go to Africa and some other places around the world where not all women can afford a bra and a bra is seen as a status symbol .and a sign of gentrification. Women there who own bras are less likely to be victims of sexual assault. Awful.
if anyone would like to contribute the address is Five Sisters Business Park , Westwood , West Calder EH55 BPN
@missmatch if you do start a bra bank I would happily contribute to that also . I can remember being a teen ( quite a long time ago !) Wearing a weird sort of horrible training bra that my Mum had bought for me that didn’t really fit and feeling both physically uncomfortable during games and then very self - conscious when in the changing rooms afterwards at school .
Joanne
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Thanks for your comments. I was measured before and after my double mastectomy. None of the bras post surgery were comfortable and kept riding up under my implants. I lived in zip front sports bras for nearly a year until I found some more comfortable ones at Sainburys. Unfortunately for me my op was Jan 2020 so by the time I could go out looking we were in the throes of Covid. Four years down the line I still find the Sainsburys ones the most comfortable.
Sue
Quick update !!! Bought another bra this week (possibly 15 in 2 months 
).
Sainsbury’s super soft bralette, really comfy, and best of all bright pink and matching knickers 
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You got matching knickers ?! Wow that’s amazing though I did manage that for one of my M+S ones . Not pink though .
Xx
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Great thread. I too have purchased a fair few bras. 36G lady here. After surgery, best options for me were M&S post-surgery front opening bras. They are not cheap but excellent. My top tip is to search for them on ebay. I got two in a lingerie outlet. Later, those bras were uncomfortable due to the position of my scar too close to the bra edge so I opted for sports bra that I already had (and became an expert at doing them at the front and twisting round!) and a Primark bra that had been uncomfortable previously. During radiotherapy, I returned to the M&S post-surgery bras. After radiotherapy, I am wearing less structured cotton bralets, including one from Poundland. These are great for absorbing all the moisturiser and allowing some fresh air through under the band. I have some nice coloured wireless bras for the future. My 80-year-old mother thinks its hilarious that I have finally succumbed to buying a Doreen bra - a model that she has been wearing for 30 years! And completely agree with comment about importance of matching knickers. Though I did find myself wearing Bridget Jones type big knickers under trousers for radiotherapy…!
I fear I succumbed to a black Doreen bra but it doesn’t fit as it has a sort of cone shaped cup. I could get it turned into a sharp shooter and fire from both of my bazookas at anyone in hospital I feel is patronising me.
Seagulls
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What a thought, Seagulls! Oddly enough, Doreen suits me now though maybe I am turning into my mother…
Best one I’ve had (out of the 20 or so I’ve purchased and discarded !!) Is a Sainsbury’s soft bralette one, bright candy pink and matching knickers 
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Oddly enough I’ve picked up a cornflower blue Doreen style bra in M+S . I was attracted by the colour and the fact that I was able to get the matching knickers ! I’m finding it’s very comfortable and gives quite a nice silhouette . I’m only a B/ C cup so I’m not likely to knock anything over when turning around in small spaces 
xx
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Sounds a bit more alluring than my Doreen black bra
We are all unique as are our breasts. In my case I have a diep reconstructed left one and a natural right one. So mine don’t match at all. My husband doesn’t mind and nor do I but I am getting on a bit. My GP has just rung to give me the bad news I have high cholesterol and should take statins. I feel I am officially an old lady now and I also have high blood pressure so am on tablets for that too. I definitely need one of those plastic pill dispensers that have individual boxes for each kind of medicine and are filled for a week at a time with the pills to be taken at different times during each day.
Seagulls
Just a little update on my bra situation 
To try and offer some reassurance to those who are not as far down the line as me.
I’m now 2.5 months post op lumpectomy, and today suddenly realised that I could tolerate a more structured bra
Not quite my fully wired, padded, push up ones but definitely enough to give s better shape.
I think I’d got into the habit of reaching for the same bralette one, and meanwhile I’ve healed enough to upgrade.
I have no doubt this finding will involve shopping !!! And not just digging out my original ones
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To all of you - see also my new topic I was properly chuffed to be given a totally free bra last week at my BC support group
Xx
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In case this helps anyone, spotted a lot of post-surgery and nonwired (flexifit and wild blooms etc) bras reduced in M&S today. A lot of the bras are sold out online but I managed to find my size instore.
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Jumping back in here. M&S have started doing post surgery pockets. Packs of 2 beige or 3, one each of white, beige and black. Left or right side.
They are an excellent idea - they mean I can wear my favourite bras that have been sitting in a drawer for years. Sunshine yellow and Seville orange both with matching pants 
The sizing is well off - too big by 3 cup sizes. I wish I’d taken the reviews into account. But I went by M&S’s sizing. 40D/size 9/500g is not XL. Nor is 40DD as I tried my old size 10 prosthetic in one. The large is still a tiny bit too big for me.
There’s me now strutting my stuff in those yellow and orange bras, looking good in the chesticle department and not concerned the falsie will shift. Mind you, I’ve not tried dancing on the tables after an afternoon on the cocktails with the girls… yet.
My fave ‘NHS put me a pocket in’ beige bra spat out a wire the other week. Primarni to the rescue! £5 on a t-shirt bra that fits a treat and no waiting to wear it 
I just wish there was a way of securing the armpit side. The opening is huge and exposes the falsie onto the skin. A fab idea though and much nicer, and safer, than the unstrapped cover I have tried before. So no need to get rid of your favourite bras any more.
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So happy for you Gelbel.
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