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

I have always been small-chested, but with "junk in the trunk" if you will, and Beyonce thighs that I have a love-hate relationship with.... so I have always felt that my body isn't balanced.

My surgery is booked for Friday, September 18th, with Dr. Buford in Englewood, CO (yay!) He was the third surgeon that I met with. I chose him because I felt comfortable talking to him and my patient coordinator Astrid, and it was an altogether enjoyable experience. I also love that my patient coordinator, Astrid, is an RN, being that she is the one who answers most of my questions so I can feel confident that she knows her sh*t!

My two previous consultations were with Dr. Vath in Golden, CO and Dr. Squires in Cherry Creek. The one with Dr. Vath was in April. It left a really bad taste in my mouth and I didn't feel like booking the other consultations until July.

The consultation with Dr. Vath went badly because he never asked me what I wanted, among other things. First, I sat down with him in his office and he asked me why I wanted to get a BA. I explained that I've wanted one for probably 10 years and got serious about it this year because I switched careers and now had the funds to do it. He gave me a thorough explanation of the procedure and drew some drawings for me to understand where and how the implant would fit under the muscle, answered some questions, then we got up and went to the exam room.

Once in the exam room, Dr. Vath introduced me to his patient coordinator, Kari. Kari apologetically broke the news that their Vectra imaging machine was broken, so I could not actually do that, and would need to drive to Cherry Creek on another weekday to use their machine if I wanted the images. Honestly I didn't really care about the imaging, but I think that may have been where the ball was dropped on asking me what I wanted in terms of the look of my breasts. Kari worked with me while trying on the sizers, and when Dr. Vath was called in to look, he was surprised at the large sizes that I was considering (400-450 Mod Plus / HP was what I tried on that day). He said something like "I didn't think you wanted to go that big" - sort of funny because he must have just assumed that I wanted to be small because I'm petite and only 5'3".

All in all, I never fully felt comfortable with Dr. Vath or Kari, Kari especially was icy and didn't attempt to make any small-talk or put me at ease at any point either in the exam room or when we talked in her office about financing. Unfortunately I felt like I wasn't being taken very seriously because I was by myself and I look younger than my age.

Several months later I met with Dr. Squires in Cherry Creek. I saw his great reviews and extensive experience, and also knew he charged a higher fee. The consultation went swiftly and he answered my questions (though at this point I had only a few left), and what I really liked about the consultation was that he had me look through a book of after photos to pick out the looks that I liked best, ignoring the actual CC's listed. I felt that he really understood the look that I wanted.

The same day, I met with Dr. Buford. After trying on sizers with his patient coordinator Astrid, we decided I liked the look of the 500 CC's and would possibly go with 550, I don't remember if we chose Moderate Plus or High Profile but that will be decided at the pre-op. Dr. Buford then came in and spent a lot of time listening to what I wanted and answering my questions. He was the only surgeon to suggest "lowering the crease" of my breasts to accommodate the larger size that I wanted, he said that because I am petite the size of the implant would ride up into my chest bones and never be able to drop and look natural, so lowering the crease would be the best option. This sort of made me nervous because I had never heard of this prior to this consult, and after doing research I asked Astrid lots of questions via email about how risky this was, if there was a risk of "double bubble", if Dr. Buford performed this very often, etc., and she put most of my fears to rest. She even sent me photos of other women who had their creases lowered. The only last fear I have is that I hope that my breasts look even afterwards, in terms of volume and in terms of how the nipples lay, because I have some volume difference now that may be more noticeable when I go bigger.

I decided to go with Dr. Buford because I felt the most comfortable with him and his patient coordinator, and thought that lowering the crease was a great suggestion that my other surgeons didn't consider. I was between Dr. Squires and Dr. Buford but Dr. Squires' fee was significantly higher than the other surgeons fees ($8k).

Anyway, I'm super excited and I've uploaded some photos of how I look now and with sizers just to give you guys an idea of what I'm working with.

[RS bleep] just got real, lol, I just transferred over the $$ to my checking account for tomorrow's pre-op appointment where I will pay the full balance. It feels so good to have worked hard to save up over the past year and pay this in full! :)

Only 1 more week...

At the pre-op I think we will probably be deciding on a final size to go with.

I uploaded some wish pics that my coordinator asked me to send her before the pre-op.

At the pre-op I think I will ask for a range of 500-550CCs, I really like the look of 450CCs but I am afraid I will lose volume by going under the muscle so I think 500 should be my minimum. My doctor said he will be comparing me to my wish pics during the surgery so I will probably ask him to use his judgement on what looks best. At the consultation we decided on High Profile so I don't think that will change.

It may sound weird, but the biggest thing I'm afraid of is the judgement/gossip that will happen after people first start to notice that my apples have suddenly transformed into cantaloupes haha.

I have been very private about all this, and have not even told my friends, family, or coworkers. There's a total of 3 people in my life who know that this is actually happening... my best friend/cousin (who will stand up for me if my family gossips), my boyfriend of four years who I live with, and one coworker who I blabbed to while we were tipsy on a boat ride during our company retreat (she brought up "getting hers replaced" and I was like whaaat those aren't real? and the girl-talk ensued haha).

Other than that, I haven't said a word to any of my girlfriends. It's sort of a trust thing and sort of a thing where I'm afraid they'll all react negatively. I didn't tell any of them because I didn't want the added stress of being afraid that people were talking behind my back before the surgery. We're all super active girls, and none of us have much in the chest region, and on top of it all we live in a place that's really focused on "natural" living. I think I could have told a couple of them but seriously it was less stress for me to just tell only my closest friend who is across the country.

Aside from that I'm sort of concerned about the reactions from my coworkers, especially because I'm the only girl on a male software team and I don't want them to see me differently. Well of course they'll see me differently haha but I guess I'm afraid of widening the gender gap even more, if that makes any sense.

As for family, I guess they're the least of my worries particularly because my older cousin got a BA a few years ago and most people reacted positively, as far as I know. But I haven't yet told my Mom about this so I'm sort of concerned that she might be hurt or disapprove of the expense or of changing my body.

But aside from all this ^ [RS bleep] I am feeling pretty excited. I can't believe this will actually be happening in a week.

I'm super pumped to actually go bra shopping once I heal. It was always a depressing experience to buy bras so I'm looking forward to actually being able to accentuate my chest with pretty stuff.... I'm also looking forward to buying a dress for my younger cousin's wedding in Massachusetts at the end of October... which will be the first time my entire extended family sees the changes :/

It's going to be a challenge to avoid alcohol this week haha.. I read that you should avoid alcohol at least a week before surgery? I have a bunch of social things I need to go to and I'm not usually one to turn down a drink so I expect some people will think I'm pregnant haha! Flying with my boyfriend to a wedding this weekend then I have a couple social things after work next week. And then Friday is the day!

....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...