Breast Augmentation - Natrelle 415cc SSF, 32y, Mother - Extremely Satisfied

Hello everyone!

I would like to share my story because I spent a lot of time on this website and really appreciated how many people were willing to share their experience. I was so very nervous before my procedure, and reading about people's experiences, and especially seeing the results, helped me a whole lot. I plan to share my journey through all of its stages, so I hope my story can help someone as well.

I am a 32 year old mom. I have one child, and my husband and I agreed we will not be having any more kids. I decided to go through with a breast augmentation after reaching my ideal weight post-pregnancy. I am currently a size 0 and weigh 110 lbs.

Before getting pregnant I was also a size 0 and I always had small breasts. Through pregnancy, my breasts got huge and I loved them, but I also gained a lot of weight. After giving birth, I made the horrible mistake of letting some nurses at the time convince me to take the Depo-Provera shot as a means of birth control. It made me feel awful, I put on a ton of extra weight very quickly, and started hating myself. I stopped that treatment very shortly afterwards. I think I had one or two follow-up shots, and then I switched to the copper IUD. I have had the copper IUD for about ten years now, no side effects, no issues whatsoever, it has been amazing. Unfortunately, the hormonal imbalance caused by the Depo shot still took years for my body to overcome.

A couple of years ago, I was finally starting to feel like myself again. My period normalized to what it used to be prior to pregnancy. It lasts for a week, hurts unbearably, and I bleed a lot but that is what is natural for me and that was my first sign my hormones were balancing out. I got my old metabolism back, got an exercise bike (Bowflex Velocore) for the house, and started working out. I don't do anything crazy. I am a mother and a wife first and love that. In general, I try to bike three times a week for an hour straight. I usually go about 16 miles or so. I also picked out a few exercises for the body areas (mostly stomach and legs) I wanted to focus on and I try to do those daily. Sit ups, leg lifts, squats, crunches, stuff like that. And that's it. I lost about 30 lbs over the last year and made it to my ideal weight goal.

Losing all that weight completely deflated my breasts and made me extremely self-conscious. And not for any other reason than that I myself was unhappy. I did not like the way I looked and working up the courage to own that feeling was a little bit of a struggle. I kept hearing all this stuff about loving and accepting oneself, but it came off in a way where I felt that I somehow had to be okay with this new me. Yes, this is what naturally happens to breasts after pregnancy, and for some women that is enough, and that is awesome. But it was not my truth. I did not like feeling guilty for wanting to look the way that I genuinely wanted to look. When I brought up breast augmentation to my husband, he was incredibly supportive. He reminded me that he thought I looked beautiful and attractive no matter what, but that he supported me finding my own sense of self in my skin. He personally prefers smaller breasts, but was completely on board with what I wanted, which was to restore them to their former glory!

I researched my area for a board-certified plastic surgeon and found Dr. Kathleen Waldorf of the Waldorf Center for Plastic Surgery in Portland, OR. One of the key elements that drew me to her was her extensive experience in her field. I went in for my consultation and explained what I wanted. I felt like Dr. Waldorf took one look at me and also instantly knew what I was going for. She gave me two choices, either a breast augmentation or a breast augmentation with a lift. The version with the lift called for smaller implants (385cc). I told her I wanted to go as big as possible and she recommended the Natrelle SoftTouch Full profile round implant, size 415cc. She explained that although I had some drooping, going with the larger size without the lift was a viable option for me, and that is what I chose! I have the same size implant in both breasts.

My surgery was on Tuesday morning at 1000. After arriving at the surgery center, they took me into the back and got me settled. I signed some additional paperwork and got undressed. A wonderful nurse took care of me the whole time. She put in my IV, gave me some pain medications, and let me relax until it was my turn. Right before I went into the OR, Dr. Waldorf came to speak with me and made sure that we were both on the same page about what was going to happen. Then, the anesthesiologist also came to speak with me and reassure me that everything was going to be fine. She told me the medications they would give me would make it so I would not remember much, and I literally woke up and it was over. Seriously, that is it. I wish I could remember the name of the nurse who took care of me, but the last thing I can recall is the anesthesiologist pushing my bed toward the OR room. Right after that, I was getting dressed to go home.

When I woke up from surgery, I was already bandaged. They told me to leave everything alone and just relax. The first follow-up appointment is the following morning and that is when the bandages come off. I was a little groggy, but nothing too bad. No nausea, no dizziness, nothing like that. Just kind of tired. We got a hotel room nearby, so we just went back to the hotel for that first night post-surgery. I was not in any major pain, but I have been taking my painkillers regularly, so that is probably helping.

Today is day one post-op. I am allowed to take Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and the Oxycodone but I am only taking the Oxy. I am feeling sore in my shoulders and I feel a little hunched over. Most of the pain, which is minimal, is near my ribs where the incisions are, and I can feel it when trying to take a full breath or straighten out my back. This morning's visit was very simple and brief. I met with a nurse who took my bandages off and told me how to take care of myself for the next two to three weeks. She was also awesome and answered all of my questions. She told me NOT to massage my breasts. I mentioned I had seen all sorts of post-surgical bras, some with a strap across the top and asked for her feedback. She said absolutely NOT, especially because you don't want that top pressure pushing your implants towards the incision before it has time to heal. She was very happy with the support bra that I did have and said to just stick to that. She also let me know my breasts are currently compressed and that with time they will become rounder as they drop and fluff. She told me to keep an eye out for unusual and imbalanced swelling, fever, and extreme tightness. Knock on wood, I have no negative side-effects at all. In fact, I am really excited because I do not even see asymmetry which is entirely common while each boob does it's own thing to find its place and heal.

In my photos so far, I posted my simulation image where you can see what I looked like before. You can also see that I am currently orange (will be taking a gentle cloth bath later on). I also included a photo of the brand I chose for my support bra, although while it was comfortable this morning, it is starting to feel a little tight, like maybe it is too small. I LOVE they way I look already, and am so thrilled I chose Dr. Waldorf!

I probably forgot to include all sorts of details, so if you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

Hello!

Here is a quick update. I don't have any photos to add because nothing is very different appearance wise. I thought I would share some information I either found or would have found helpful.



I am still experiencing moderate discomfort. I am taking my pain medications as directed and doing quite well. I still get some shooting pain around the incisions and especially in my right armpit. For whatever reason, almost all of my pain is focused on the right side. I called to chat about this because I was nervous but I was told it is all completely normal. Today is better than yesterday, and my range of motion is slowly coming back. On that note, I am not doing anything. Literally, I am taking it as easy as possible. My daughter, for example, is awesome about helping move things or pick things up. I am not trying on different bras or shirts or stuff like that. I am focused on just letting them be and leaving them alone. I have been sleeping elevated on my back. I was cleared to sleep whichever way I wanted, but I feel really good about keeping my position on my back and not squishing them on either side. I'll try and keep this up for as long as possible. I want to do whatever I can to help the pockets heal perfectly. Overall, I am very happy and love the way I look and feel!!



I'll check in again later. Good luck everyone!



PS: I removed one photo that was supposed to show the support bra brand. It was really blurry. The brand is Amoena, and the size is small C/D for both the bra and bra-shirt that I have. They are really soft (90% cotton, 10% spandex), no wires, no straps, nothing extra. They just clip in the front. I am very happy with the product. I feel that I get perfect support without unwanted compression.

Hello!

Hope everyone is having a great day. I am checking in with my one week post-op update.

First and foremost, thank you Dr. Waldorf! If you found your perfect board-certified surgeon, that's awesome. But if you don't know where to go or who to pick, I strongly recommend Dr. Waldorf and the Waldorf Center for Plastic Surgery. I did not have too many questions for her because I knew exactly what I wanted and she knew immediately what I needed. Most of our discussions were simple and brief and focused on the risks involved and whether I fully understood what having this procedure meant. She mentioned issues with textured implants, but let me know that was something I would not have to worry about because she did not use them. I have read some posts in which people regret their decisions, especially when new information becomes available to them post surgery. But if you are thinking about breast implants, it's my opinion that you can and should do as much research as possible in advance on your own. Types of implants, shapes, profiles, materials, risks, all that information is out there. When I learned that the Natrelle implants have three different versions of gumminess, all I knew was that I wanted to go as round and full as possible. But when I asked Dr. Waldorf why she chose the medium level for me and not the gummiest one, she explained the risks associated with the highest level of gumminess included bottoming out or flipping around within the pocket, and that a particular type of patient would benefit most from that level. Not me. She also explained that the really good looking, really large breasts were the results of multiple procedures, not just one. If I wanted to go bigger later, the best way to go about this was to go as big as possible as safely as possible now and leave an additional procedure for consideration to a later date. This is exactly the kind of expertise you want your surgeon to have because it is their job to know which fit and path are best for each of her patients. I am so thrilled I listened to her! If I do decide on another procedure later on, I am going right back to her.

Overall, I feel amazing and am enjoying how I am progressing. I am in love with my breasts, and it's a little funny or maybe interesting, but I don't remember being small at all. Like it's a mental block or something. I just feel like myself and I LOVE it.

I had my one week follow-up today with my amazing nurse. It was just a phone call, but she was awesome at addressing all my concerns and questions. She always tells me I can call back whenever I need to if anything else comes up, but I have not had to do that. (Thank you, M!) I am still in a decent amount of pain and taking Tylenol. She told me to make sure and remember that the same movement restrictions apply through my next appointment, which is in week three, so even if I start feeling better, I need to remember not to overdo it. So, I've only taken the Tylenol when the pain gets distracting, otherwise the soreness is a great reminder not to push myself. All the pain is in the expected area, the lower half of the sphere where the incisions and bruising are. I now have pain in both breasts; both nipples are awake and painfully sensitive. I still only feel the tugging sensation mostly on the right hand side, but I have been reassured all of this is completely normal. I took a full shower today and gently peeled the Steri-Strips off. I am really happy with how the scars look. My next appointment is with Dr. Waldorf in person, so I can check in again after that. I was told at that point (three weeks post) we can start discussing massages and scar creams, things like that. So until then, same old. Just chilling.

I added a bunch of new photos. The support bra I originally mentioned in the previous post turned out to be too small. As my breasts uncompressed and rounded out, they started to hurt in that bra, and it would leave compression marks on my skin. I did not like this and stopped wearing it. Luckily, I've been cleared to wear whatever is comfortable (no wires), so I moved to my soft/foam VS bra (32 DD). This was something I owned before, so I should have figured in advance that the C/D size I picked up for the support bra was not going to be right. Oh well. I still like the brand, and they do have a larger version (Small D/DD) but since I can wear what I want, there was no point in reordering another set. You can see that depending on the style and material of the clothing, I can play with the profile I want to have in a shirt from subdued to very obvious. All my shirts are size small.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Wishing everyone the best of luck, and a safe, speedy recovery. See you in week three.