Do bras help or hinder one week on from surgery?

[lisa_lisa]

Great glad the tops help i even pin my softie into my vest top ive got one in every colour now lol lisa

[aliceblue]

Thanks for the advice, I will check out Asda. A friend bought me loads of secret support tops from Primark this morning, and it works really well - finally I can wear something comfortable, and at £1.50 what a bargain!

Thanks everyone, it's the little things that can really help post surgery.

[maude]

Hi everyone

I had my mastectomy last October and I got some great post surgery bras from Asda. They were supposed to be £8 but they were on offer at £6 when I bought them. I felt very comfortable wearing the bras with the softie I got from hospital until I got my proper breast form. I progressed to Triumph bras when I got my breast form as I am 40E and I found the Asda bras couldn't quite take the weight of the breast form! I found the Asda bras ideal for the first 8 weeks post surgery and I now wear them under my nighties or pjs with the softie if I have friends staying over so I can feel "normal" and not look lopsided.

Hope that helps. I found the information about the Asda bras on these forums just before my operation so I am pleased to be able to share it with you!

Love
Maude xx

ps I wasn't sure what size to get so I just bought a few different sizes then took the ones that didn't fit back to the store.

[lisa_lisa]

Hi Alice
hope this helps I had full right mas just over 6 weeks ago and only just started wearing bras again Im quite a big girl up top if you know what I mean and I also was given a great shapped sofftie it even had nipple moulded in it ( was in private hospital for op and the softie they gave me was fab also had one from my nhs hospital that was awful no shape to it ect) How bad is that ,that you get diffent types depending on cost ect !!!!!
Any way off my soap box now
Because im quite big i needed some support but couldnt wear my bras so I got these lycra vest tops from prymark in every colour they do there really cheap as well they have nice little straps and because they have loads of lycra in them they support my natural side and i just safty pin my softie under neath on the othere side it looks great with the better softie and you cant tell which side is the false one .
I have just been given my prosthesis but since starting chemo my scare has become really soar so am wearing soft and vest tops again ..
Hope it helps and There still on sale because friend just picked me up one in brown ...
Lisa x

[Guest user]

Hopefully some other ladies who have had a mx without reconstruction can give you some advice on what they were comfortable with post surgery. I do have a Royce post surgery bra that is very comfortable and has pockets in for prosthetics if needed. It is front opening with poppers and has very wide straps, its a bit like a crop top. They're not cheap but maybe worth googling.

Good luck for your results, xxx

[aliceblue]

Thanks Ostrich, that sounds really bad, I hadn't thought about reconstruction, this stage is probably really easy compared with that.

I haven't got a clue which size I am at the moment, and don't really want to get re-fitted until I "graduate" to a prosthetic (never know the spelling). Strappy tops might be a good idea once I can move my arm.

Might stick to wearing less obvious tops and scarves for a while to avoid too many problems. Will know on Wednesday how the next steps map out anyway when I get my results.

[Guest user]

Hi Alice,

I had a skin sparing mastectomy and recon on 22nd Sept last year and still struggle with wearing a bra. For me its the underarm muscle and slight lymphodema.

I can't wear an under wired bra for very long as it feels like I have no flesh around my side to prevent the wire and strap rubbing on my rib but other bras if they have the "wrong" stitching in the cup or some other random reason then I can't wear it for very long.

Some days I can wear a push up sexy bra for a couple of hours. Other days I resort to a strappy top with "secret" support. For me it has a lot to do with my back wound and the weight of my implant (problems sleeping with one heavy boob), the heat of the day, so many things........

I do wonder how we are ever supposed to find the right bra anymore??

[aliceblue]

Hi, I posted a few times in my run up to a mastectomy and clearance. I had surgery last Friday (24th) and was out last Sunday, drains removed on Wednesday, waiting for results - 3 days to go! Have a cumfie (anyone else given their's a name?) but really struggling with a bra, as all starts to hurt after an hour. Ran out of co-codamol on Friday, and BCN thought I wouldn't need anything other than paracetomol or nurofen, but found pain a bit too much. Got some more pain killers from GP. I'm sure things are swelling a bit, but nothing is really red, just lots of different coloured bruising. I've been out with friends for the past 4 days so wore non-under wired bras for about 4 hours each day, but things are really bothering me now. When I first came out of hospital for the first few days I had very little pain and felt great. It would really help if anyone else has any experience to share. I can usually do a bit of pain, but this feels a bit like toothache down and just under my arm.