4 weeks tomorrow!
At 28 years old, I really miss my pre-pregnancy...
At 28 years old, I really miss my pre-pregnancy body! I was a young wife and mother - I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, who is now 7, one month before my 21st birthday; 21 months after giving birth to her, I had our second child, our son who is now 5. I struggled with post-partum and have not liked my body since giving birth to our children. I breastfed both of our children, our daughter for 3mths and our son for 6 months, and that greatly impacted the perkiness of my breasts. I remember waking up one morning while breastfeeding with huge breasts filled with milk thinking this must be what I would look like with breast implants! Too bad they deflated so rapidly once I stopped breastfeeding. ?
Over the last two years, I have gained about 20 lbs putting me at 140lbs on a 5’2” frame – which is considered overweight for my frame. The anti-anxiety medicine I take is also not helping my weight gain! Due to some recent happenings, I have taken a step back, evaluated what I really want to look like, and am making steps to get there. I decided plastic surgery was a serious option for me.
I finally went for a consultation about two weeks ago and was surprised at how much fun I had! I originally inquired about a tummy tuck and a breast augmentation. After having two 8lb babies, the skin around my stomach is stretched but not as bad as a lot of others I have seen that have gone through tummy tuck surgery. I was shocked to see how expensive both surgeries were. Together, I would pay approximately $12-$13k. After some soul searching, I decided at this point, I really want just the boobs.
Here are my reasons:
• I am working out and toning up some, once I tone up I will evaluate if the pain and expense of a tummy tuck is for me
• If I had more volume and nicer breasts, I would not feel as self-conscience about my stomach
• I am not 100% sure I will not have any more children! Implants can survive a pregnancy, tummy tucks – not so much.
So, my adventure begins. I am almost 100% I have chosen the right surgeon. In fact, my husband and I go back tomorrow to see the before and after pictures that are exclusive to my surgeon. I am hoping my husband is just as excited as I am once he gets to play with the implants. Hee Hee
I am scared and excited at the same time. My fears are that my boobs will look funny, my nipples will be crooked, or I will hate the implants. After my consultation, I feel much better even though the fears are still there. Because I am a 34B now, my surgeon feels the tissue I already have will help my implants to have a more natural look. And once he measured my chest, my surgeon also said the size of a full C or small D would suit my frame. He was very open that I needed to look for images of people with breast like mine because if my nipples point one way now, they will only be worse with implants. My natural breast “look” will still exist – which is great for me. In addition to the implants, I am going to have him even my nipples. After breastfeeding one breast is slightly larger and my nipples are off from being in line with one another. I have decided on the gel implants versus the salt water filled due to the fact that they feel more natural. With all this said, my next steps include seeing the before and after pics for my surgeon’s work, and finding other images online that I can use to visually show my surgeon what I want and don’t want. Wish me luck! Thanks for sharing my journey with me. I will keep you informed as I go.
ANM04's provider
Replies (3)
Thanks for starting your story on RealSelf! I'm looking forward to following along on your journey!
Update 10/2/2012: Last week my husband and I went...
I am also on a mission to lose weight before the surgery. I was placed on anti-anxiety medication approximately 2 years ago and gained 20lbs. I am 140 and hope to be around 125 before the surgery. I am weaning off the medicine to see how I do and have been working out every other day with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.
I have been researching the post-surgery roller coaster I will face and am embracing the fact that it will be approximately May when my boobs are where they are supposed to be. I keep hearing of "boob blues" where women don't like their implants for the first few weeks and start regretting their decision. I would love feedback on others who have experience these blues and how they handled it.
Thanks again for sharing my journey with me. I will post again in a few weeks - on November 2nd- when my pre-op is scheduled.
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Update 10/04/2012: I have been searching for a...
I have been searching for a nice, high impact zip-front sports bra for the last week. I know I will need one at some point in my recovery. Well, after searching what seems like everywhere, I finally found one at T.J.Maxx for only $16.99! So if you are looking - try there.
My current bra size is a 34B and I am right at 140 lbs. The size I bought was a large and should fit a C/D.
I wasn't really told what some of the complications or long lasting effects would be. I wanted small ones and the Dr. complied. They were like hard boiled eggs under the skin because the capsulized almost immediately. When I went back to have that fixed, the Dr. convinced me that 'bigger is always better' with a big grin. So this time I complied. They were bigger than I was ever comfortable with--a full C. I was 5' 8" with a slight frame and no upper body fat.
I have had implants for 34 years now. I had to have surgery to release the scar tissue due to that set due to them capsulizing. I had to have an expander put in the left side to try to stretch the skin in hopes of preventing more capsulizing.
It wouldn't end for me. I finally had the idea to have a size smaller put in. He used a C cup size, but smaller than the others. I can still wear the same size bras. They just aren't as full. That was about 13-15 years ago. I'm OK with them, and they are very soft, but the left one still 'rides higher' than the right. Now that I'm in my 60's it would be nice if they both started sagging equally.
I didn't mention that the Dr. had stitched me to the left implant. They used to let you have the ones that had been removed, and the stitches were there for about 2 inches. I didn't tell him for a long time. When he asked to see them I took that one to him. The left one is the one I've had the most prob. with. They told us back then that approx. 20% would have problems. I believe that to be higher.
The one thing I miss and never thought much about beforehand, is that I lost sensitivity in my nipples. You realize how important after it is gone.
I should tell you the type of implant that finally worked. Initially, and thereafter to the last ones, I had the clear ones that you see all the time on TV. There were never any other kind discussed, and I didn't know to ask. The ones that have worked are the grey textured ones that look kind of furry. My sister-in-law got those initially and never had a bit of trouble with hers. She also breast fed two babies with them and as far as I've heard, she's never had any problems with them.