Athletic 28 Year Old, 5'3" 135 Lbs, Getting Natrelle 500-550 CC's :) - Englewood, CO

Well I'm 5 days post-op and I've been back at work since Monday.

The reason I've been popping Valium (went off the Vicodin after day 2) is mainly because my back is killing me and starting on day 3 I felt like a frickin knife was lodged inside my left breast. I thought this was a new pain that started on day 3 but now that I'm writing this I realize I probably just didn't feel it because of being on the Vicodin. I asked my PC about the pain and she told me it's normal nerve pain from the inner pocket. I guess I expected nerve pain (I've had nerve pain before from a previous surgery on my wrist) but I didn't expect it to be this debilitating. I basically can't make any large movements with my left arm or I feel the knife stabbing that sometimes makes me gasp :(

I've been icing it and not using my left arm much, I think that is the most I can do while it heals.

Sleeping on my wedge was very comfortable the first couple days, but now it KILLS and I wake up at 3-5am to readjust since I slip down on it. My back hurts throughout the day. I think my back is also tense because I'm in pain.

I'm jealous of all the women on here who wrote about easy recoveries with little pain and just tightness... I didn't expect this much discomfort/pain at all but I guess everyone's body is different, and every surgery is different.

On the upside of things, I've been massaging since 3 days post-op, 10 times a day for at least 2 minutes each time (doctor's orders), and wearing my sexy breast band 24/7, and the top of my breasts are looking a lot less swollen/ridiculous. They still look ridiculous from the side so I won't be wearing any tight shirts anytime soon...

I can't wait for them to drop a little and look more round so that I can show them off :) Dressing for work is challenging, I've been wearing baggy shirts with scarfs to hide the breast band, ugh. I also can't do my hair so I've felt kinda gross-looking these past few days. I have a friend's party to go to on Saturday night and I am probably going to conceal them for the most part. I've been telling everyone that I've been sick since the surgery as an excuse for not going to different social things; I really don't want anyone to know until they look somewhat presentable.

I am really, really hoping that they are dropped enough to show off at my cousin's wedding the day after Halloween. That's more than a month from now. It'll be the first time I've seen my family in about a year since we live on opposite sides of the country.

Hope everyone else is having a better recovery than me!

Looked in my post-op packet and the size that I was given was 580cc (Natrelle Inspira SRX). Big ups to Real Selfer LisaRochelle for mentioning that she got her Natrelle card with her packet. I didn't even see it in there (let alone look at it yesterday, as I was completely drugged up haha).

....In all their awkward high-riding glory haha!

I am not sure what size was put in but during our pre-op, Dr. Buford told me he was going to choose from between 500-650cc High Profile Natrelle Inspiras depending on what best matched my wish pics. And I'm sort of happy he proposed the Inspiras as they are a newer implant type that has more of a projection so that I can get more upper pole volume. I'll find out the size on Monday when one of the nurses gives me a call.

Yesterday was my surgery day. My wonderful boyfriend drove us to Renewal Surgery Center in Lone Tree, CO at 9:30am to get prepped for surgery at 11. The anesthesiologist (Dr. Thornton / Thurton?) was young, so friendly and witty and she really put me at ease, answering my (many) questions about being put under.

Which was very welcomed because the nurses that had to stick me for the fluids ended up having to try 3 times on both hands and in my arm, which was sucky because it hurt like a [RS bleep] because she said she hit a valve and then had to press HARD on the vein to stop it from bleeding and making a huge bruise. Owww. Eventually the anesthesiologist was able to stick me a fourth time in my left arm and finally I felt the cool fluids going through my veins. Yikes, not a good way to start the day haha, it made me anxious. It was probably hard for them though because I was dehydrated from not being able to drink fluids since 4 hours prior and Colorado is a pretty dehydrating state to live in :)

Dr. Buford came in and was extremely cheery and friendly, he marked me up. I told him I was surprised because at my pre-op he warned me that he would be "dead serious" the morning of surgery, so it was a pleasant surprise to see my doctor's smiling face.

The anesthesiologist then gave me some happy juice through the IV and I kissed my boyfriend goodbye, started talking too much, then after that went out like a light.

Next thing I knew I woke up in the same room with my boyfriend and the nurse, like a time warp lol. I was SO tired. The nurse had already dressed me and I was supposed to leave but all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I told the nurse the pain was a 6 or 7 out of 10 and she gave me some Vicodin. It was kind of a whirlwind of activity after surgery, I got wheeled to the car and then fell asleep on the hour long drive home.

When I got home I took the meds I was supposed to take and some Vicodin, then climbed into bed. I slept ALL DAY and then went to bed and slept all night, probably because of the combination of Vicodin, Valium, anesthesia, and the trauma to my body. It was VERY painful yesterday. I guess I expected it to not be that painful, after reading all the posts on Real Self from other women who seemed to not be in pain so much as discomfort.

Today when I woke up it was a ton of pain, but I think waking up will be the hardest because you go from feeling nothing / being asleep to having all the pain hit you at once, whereas during the day I sort of get used to the incision pain and pressure from the breast band and skin stretching, so it's not as bad. I also switched to 1/2 Vicodin every 2-4 hours and now I've been able to stay up and walk around and go online and read, whereas taking 1 whole Vicodin just puts me to sleep.

The breast band is super uncomfortable/hurty, and I'm supposed to wear it 24/7 to help drop the girls. Should be interesting to try to find some high-cut shirts to wear for work on Monday to hide it haha...