Flat 34AA - 275cc Breast Implants, Mod+ Under the muscle silicone - Minneapolis, MN

About a week and a half post-op, and I'm feeling much better than my last review. A few great new friends I've met on here have given me some great advice for healing. I was relieved to know the second week was also hard for others. The pain hit me like a ton a bricks a few nights ago, and I worried I'd pushed myself too far. So, I rested. But then lying still constantly seemed to make me feel more tense and sore.

I took some good advice, hoped in a warm shower (which really seemed to loosen tensed muscles), and then did light activity around the house. I felt the best yesterday and today that I've felt so far. I have some weirdly - what's the word - sensitive areas? Washing my armpits isn't painful, but it almost feels like the touch is too much to bear at times. It's bizarre.

I'm understanding what morning-boob is! Sitting up in the morning is the hardest part. The muscle relaxers help a lot, and I take an occasional extra strength tylenol. Oh yeah, the stinging is nearly gone. I think the surgical tape was pulling and stretching the skin, and also drying it out. With it off and with a new bra, it's nearly gone. If I twist and the bra pulls against the incisions, then I feel the sting. Much more on the left than the right. But it's a world of difference - the day the tape came off, when we shopped for a bra, I felt the sting with every step and didn't want to move.

I'm learning to listen to my body better - when to stop, when to keep moving. It's a fun journey. It's so much more fun to walk past the mirror, I'll say that! Anybody else suddenly love stepping out of the shower??

Over the last week, timely as ever, the kids got sick. It's been a long weekend trying to rest and recover and also have sad kids that want their mama to hold them.

But, we survived, and today I had my one week appointment. I've been excited for today, if only because I knew all that tape was coming off. I took a shower over the weekend, and I kept feeling this burning under the tape. It stung pretty badly. The skin under the tape was very itchy, as well.

For some reason, last night and this morning were the most painful days. I've not been taking pain medication for several days now. Lots of pressure and soreness in my muscles and along the sides of my ribs. The nurse at the PS office said that was normal. They also said that everything looks fantastic with no concerns.

Ripping off the tape stung, but I've always been sensitive to things on my skin. Whenever I wax my eyebrows I look like Halloween for days. But, the tape actually has ripped away parts of my skin. I think water got trapped underneath, and it caused dryness and cracking ( you can see it in the pictures). But, most painful by far has been the incisions. My left scar stings horribly, and wearing this surgical bra which cuts in, makes it worse. But, I got the OK for new bras today! No underwire, nothing that pulls them together or pushes them up. I did get a sports bra with a thick, soft band which helps a lot.

I've been told I need to rest more, use scar-gel (complimentary from the PS) after 3-4 weeks, no lifting, etc. I'm regaining some feeling and sensation. I still have numb areas, and quite often throughout the day have some gentle pins-and-needles type feelings all over my breasts. Icing in the evening still gives lots of comfort.

Anybody else have stinging incisions? Despite the pain, I'm so impressed with the incisions. I think there will be minimal scarring if any!

It's day two! It's hard to believe that this really happened two days ago. Does anybody else feel that way? I can hardly believe I just had BA two days ago.

First off, I woke up this morning feeling MUCH better. So far I've been taking my medications as scheduled. Last night, however, I took a pain med before bed and didn't take anything else until I woke up at 8:00am again this morning. I did feel tight, but hardly any pain at all. It's hard to explain - the swelling seemed down a bit, the sternum bruising felt less tender, and I felt willing to be more mobile. In other words, I didn't feel like I immediately needed the meds. But, to stay in front of the pain, I took a half of the pain tablet instead of a full pill. While much of my outer breasts feel numb (and nipples), I felt aware of the muscles in my arm pit area. They're a little tender but it's all totally bearable. As I feel them even now, the side of my ribs feel bruised but there is no bruising visible.

If you've done this before, how did y'all feel about your size? I took a shower today (my PS said I could take one yesterday, but I didn't feel ready), and tried on a few different pieces that used to fit me. One swimsuit didn't fit at all. The teal one (see pictures) looks normal. I know that it doesn't look dramatic or probably even very impressive, but I am actually filling it up and supporting it! I'm not flat anymore! And I feel like I still look like me, which was so important to me.

I think the image that surprises me the most is the black halter-top. I look exactly how I wanted to in this picture. In others, I feel like I look a little small but I also think the surgical tape is throwing me off. I can't see my full breasts. And, I have to remember my reasons for doing this in the first place. I wanted to fill my clothes, fill my bra, and feel like myself. I think after staring at pictures of how 275cc looks on smaller framed women, I'm feeling like mine seem smallish. Does that make sense? What do you all think?

Also, anyone who has been through this and had numbness - please weigh in! I'd love to hear how that changed/progressed as time went on. Thanks!