Breast Implants: Stories

I have been wanting breast implants since I was 18. I was always embarrassed by the small size of my boobs, but after I had my 2 kids and breast fed them my breasts became deflated baggies that I don't even feel comfortable showing to my hubby. So seeing how this makes me feel my wonderful hubby has agreed to sponsor the BA, so I have it scheduled for the 14th of December!!! I am flying to Mexico to have this done since it costs practically half of what I would pay here and the doctor is supposedly very very good, I have a family member who worked with him and numerous friends of the family who had different procedures done with him.

I am flying there with my 2 kids so they can meet the dad's side of family and then my mother -in-law is going to fly back with us to help me during the flight and around the house for about a month after the surgery. Originally I was planning to just fly by myself with the kids, but I was really worried if I could handle the kids on the plane 2 weeks post-op. So it's a blessing that mom-in-law offered her help.

Oh, I should probably mention that I am 33 yrs old, 5'3", 120 lbs. I don't have any other measurements yet since I haven't been to the doctor.I did a ton of research on breast implants, read lots of reviews here and on other websites and I think I decided to go with memory gel (Natrelle) 425cc. I am a 34A now and I'd like to be a full C or small D cup. I did the rice test so that's how I came up with the 425 cc. Well, that is at least what I decided. Unfortunately, my doc is not gonna confirm if that's what I'll get until he sees me (obviously) and that just makes me really nervous (the not knowing part).

The plan is to get the tests done the next morning after we fly in, then go see the doc in the afternoon and have the surgery the following day.
I got my post-surgery bra (Annette with kelp) and my pre- and post-op vitamins from MakeMeHeal.com, hopefully these will help with the healing. I'll write an update after the surgery to let you guys know if those helped.
Today is exactly one month before we fly down. Let the count down begin!!!

So today is 2 weeks until the surgery and also the day I start my pre-op vitamins. Starting the vitamins makes it all feel so real. I started feeling scared for a little bit thinking of what happens if I have really bad complications and they have to take the implants out and then they won't be able to put the other ones in and I'll be left with something even worst then what I have now..But my best friend lifted my spirits so now I just feel really excited, partially still in disbelief that it is actually going to happen. I'm going to start crossing the days out on my calendar :).

So yesterday I found out my surgery is actually on the 15th, not the 14th. I guess they make you rest for 2 days after a long flight to take all the tests. Oh well. I am kind of anxious to get this over with already. The good thing is that we are flying tomorrow night so the change of scenery itself is going to help the anxiety I think. I can't wait to try the sizers on! I thought I wanted to go with the 425 cc, but now I think that might be too big so I keep going between 350 and 400 ccs. I'll write an update on Friday after my pre-op appointment.

So I had an appointment with the doctor on Thursday, the 13th of December. We decided on 415 ccs Natrelle Allegran full profile cohesive gel implants, periareolar incision placed under the muscle. My doctor wanted to do the lift first because he said my boobies were hanging too much, but after some discussion he said we can achieve good results with a bigger implant (I was thinking between 350 and 400) and full projection. So we went with that.
On Saturday the 15th I arrived to the hospital at 8 am. I got admitted (which took about an hour) and then was wheeled to my room. On the way to the room they also weighed me and took my height. I was pretty surprised with my room. It was very large with the TV, 2 large couches, another day bed and a table with chairs and a bathroom. I was given the robe to change into and then the doctor arrived to draw on me. After that the nurse came in to put the solution into the dropping counter (or whatever it is called). AT that point I was shaking with fear :) Just a little while later a guy came in with another bed that I moved to and took me to the surgery room. When we arrived the anesthesiologist came and asked me what kind of anesthesiology I wanted- local or general. Well that question caught me by surprise since everything I read here pointed to the only option of general anesthesiology. Then he explained that the local is easier to come out of so I decided to go with the local. He gave me a shot in my spine so my back and the chest area and arms got numb. They also gave me something to put me to sleep. I remember laying on the table, feeling my chest getting numb, then they put a screen in front of my face and I was thinking: am I not going to sleep? will i hear everything? The next think I remember was waking up in the post-op room. I was shaking terribly, but the doctor said that was normal coming out of anesthesia. Luckily that did not last long. I did not feel any pain, just felt tires and felt the pressure in the chest area. The whole day I was in and out of sleep, didn't eat much, but drank a lot of water. the nurses came in and out to bring me more pain medicine and some food. I was on a liquid diet, so they brought me fruit,jello, tea and juice. I just drank the juice after the op, but ate some fruit in the evening. I did not feel any nausea at all. At times that I was not sleeping I felt pretty good, no pain, just a little heavy. I had visitors coming the entire day so I was able to talk to all of them just fine. The doctor stopped by around 6pm to check on me, said everything went fine and said he'll come back the next morning. The nurse came in around 9.30 pm and gave me a pill so I could sleep the night. It really helped because I fell asleep within half an hour and did not even hear my phone ringing. I woke up around 4 am to go to the bathroom and then slept until 8.20 am of Sunday, the 16th.
I was told that I'll be released around 10am, so I got up and started getting ready for the doctor. The nurse brought me some breakfast (same as the day before), but I didn't really feel hungry. The doctor came in around 9.30 am, took my bandages and the drainage off and helped me put the bra on. He said everything looked really good and gave me some instructions on what NOT to do. Basically I cannot lift more that 6 kg (about 12 pounds), drive, cook, lift my arms, stretch my arms, exercise for 3 weeks. After that I was released and went home. I played with my kiddos for a little and then I felt tired so I went to bed. I slept for about 3 hrs and when I woke up I felt pain. Not unbearable, but definitely present. Fortunately my father in law had already gone to the store and gotten my meds so I took the pain pill which helped almost right away. It was strange,most of the pain was under my right breast. It is strange because I have periareolar incision. I think I saw the same comment from someone here before and they said it was because the doctor cuts the pocket for the implant inside the breast so probably that's why.
My next post-op appt is on Wednesday, the 19th. The doctor is going to tell me how to massage my new friends then.
So far I feel great, no pain in general, even without the meds I could have lived through it, I just don't want to suffer the pain and the discomfort at the same time, but I think I start coming off the pain meds in a day or two.
The only hard thing is dealing with my kiddos. My 3 year old understands that mommy is in pain and that I cannot carry him, but my 1 year old does not understand that so she cries every time she sees me. I do hold her when I sit down, but she wants to be carried all the time since she didn't see me for the entire day before.
I just hope she gets used to not being carried by me soon.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.
Continuing on Monday, the 17th. Today I feel really good. A little tired, but no pain at all so I did not take my pain pill this morning, we'll see how that goes.

Today is day 4. Posting some pics I took this morning. Still feel no pain, just a little stiff. I think I chose the right size for my frame, the only thing I'm kind of regretting is not going with the lift or at least reducing the size of my nipples. I never realized they were so huge :). Oh well. In the pictures it looks like the boobs are a little uneven. That is because I am holding the camera and also because there is tape above and below each breast. They are actually pretty even. Tomorrow the doctor will take the tape off so I'll take more pictures. I can actually feel that they are going down already. I am also very pleased that I have no bruising whatsoever. I think that is because I have been taking the pre-op and the post-op vitamins as well as the SinEcch program that I bought on makemeheal.com.
Oh, I never mentioned the meds that the doctor prescribed. I'm not going to write the names because all these are mexican, but I got an antibiotic, a pain med, something to reduce the swelling and something to help my stomach not to get irritated because of all the above medicines. I have been taking all but the pain, not even Tylenol. I only took one pain pill the first day I was out of the hospital (which is actually the second day after the op). Another thing I thought I'd mention is that my doctor did not tell me to sleep elevated and said I can sleep on my back or on my side which works out great because that's how I normally sleep. The doctor is also having me wear TED stockings for good blood circulation day and night.
Yesterday I took a full shower (excluding the breast area because I still have the tape on), washed my hair by myself with no problem. Sometimes I feel like may be something is wrong since I feel so good, but then I think that that is because my wonderful mother-in-law is not letting me do absolutely anything, even change the diaper of my youngest.
Even though I do feel good and I like the size I cannot wait for my new boobies to drop so they look more natural. Hope that happens soon :).
I know that there are a couple of other ladies here that have their surgery around the same time as me. I hope you ladies have a pain-free quick recovery and are as happy with the results as I am!

Day 8 (counting the day of). I am getting a little of the boobie greed now. Everyone who sees me says I have the perfect size for my frame and that they look natural, but I kinda wish I went a little bigger..may be 450. I'm sure it will pass though when they come down and settle where they are supposed to. I went to the post op appointment with my doc a couple of days ago and he showed me the pre-op pictures. It was like a revelation. My mindset is already changing to accommodate for the new additions so when I saw those pictures I thought "oh my Gosh, how terrible I looked before! and how happy I am that I went through with this".
I am only going to see my doc one more time before I go back home, so I am working on my list of questions. If any of you ladies can help with the list I'd greatly appreciate it!
Thanks to everyone for your kind words and hope you have a marvelous holiday season!

OK, so I'm a little over three weeks post-op. As you can see in the pictures my left side dropped considerably more than the right one. I hope the left does not drop more because this is where I want it be. I had been having difficulties with my right side from the get go. First the doctor had a little trouble getting the drainage out, then it hurt really bad after he cut the end of the stitch that was closing the drainage and now it is very slow to drop. The doctor said it is perfectly normal, so I'm not worried about it too much. It feels just as soft as the other breast when I massage it so I'm not worried about the cc. It's only been three weeks and the doctor said it will take 3 months to see the end result so I'll just wait. The thing that kinda started concerning me recently is that now i can feel the edges of the implant if i feel around the fold of the breast that has dropped and if i lean forward i can feel them on both sides. I emailed my doctor but has not not gotten the reply yet. I was going to call him tomorrow, but I asked the doctors on this website about this and I got a reply that it is normal, so I am not panicking any more.
I am really liking the results. What I am getting impatient about is wearing the bra 24/7. Even though it is a very comfortable bra it compresses the boobs and they constantly feel tired and itchy. I always sigh with relieve when I take it off to take a shower. Oh well, that's a very small price to pay for my increased self esteem :). My hubby really loves them too. I was worried he would be disappointed with the size (not big enough), but he says he loves the size.
I am gradually getting back to doing household chores and cooking. My mother-in-law is still staying with us so she is not letting me do anything too straining.
I'll probably do another update in a month since there is not really a lot changing from day to day.

Something weird is happening..I measured myself and went online to victoriassecret and wacoal to see what size i would be. It comes out as 34B!!! At first I got really disappointed, because I was going for a full C-small D. But then I tried my B- and even C-size bras at home and they were too small, so I hope the online measuring is off or I am measuring incorrectly.

I am a little over 7 weeks post op. A couple of updates. I started to have some rippling. It is only visible when I don't wear a bra, but it is pretty upsetting especially this early on. I just hope when the settling is done it will magically disappear. I was told by one of the doctors here to wait and see.
The sensation in my breasts did not come back completely yet, they are still partially numb under the scar, I am not too worried about that though.
My right breast is still higher than the left one, but I do see the progress, so it's just a matter of time.
I went out and got some pretty bras and I am happy to report that I am a 32 DD in Wacoal and Chantelle bras. It's so weird..before the BA I thought DDs are huge, something that looks porn-starish and here I am with DDs and they don't even look that big especially in clothing.