From 40D to 38B and Only Wish I'd Done It Sooner! - Chapel Hill, NC

Not sure if all silicone floats, but mine did..guess saline would not, but....funny if nothing else!

Have made it to the third week and things are still doing well. I was instructed to tape the sides (3M microfoam tape) so the nipple position remains forward and it is doing that though had to switch to paper tape as am sensitive to adhesives (allergies). Was finally able to run on Saturday (albeit with two bras and still holding up just because I am not ready for any bounce that might jeopardize the remaining healing. Kind of feels like the pocket is not completely healed, but that may be that I did a bit (hope doc doesn't read this!!!) of leaf raking last weekend. I'm still struggling to keep the bra band off the incision and the heat here in NC last week made it imperative that I switch out bras pretty a couple of times a day. The one thing I'd say is don't spend a lot on bras to start with. ( I went to Target and picked up two on sale the first week and they are not fitting at this point so very glad they were cheapos.) Still feeling like my Enell bras are the best compression and I am able to wear the old ones for really tight compression although I ran a stitch at the shoulder seam to shorten the strap by an inch which gave enough stability that there is no lingering soreness.

@GodMadeMeRight - the cost for removal is really individual and sure they will tell you that, but I cannot say enough about their office so give them a ring and see what they tell you as it is also based on under/over placement and I wold bet capsulectomy if necessary. I have not hd single pain, joint ache, weird irregular swelling or back ache almost since a few days after the removal. Best of luck, best decision I've ever made and I've def made a few bad ones!!!:)

Thanks to all for so much support and kind words of encouragement. This was a decision I took a long time to make and up until they came out I was almost sure I was going to mis them. Multiple people that have seen me come up and say I look like I've lost a ton of weight when really it was just the implants. They were fun, but I feel like new person and for the first time in years, people notice my eyes and look at my face first. It almost became comical after I got them and realized no one looked above my shoulders for the first 5 minutes after meeting me. They may be a bit lower and one day I may get a lift, but they look very natural and the only thing I don't like (which is slowly "fluffing" )is the upper pole area that looked flatter and could see what looked like pale stretch marks early on. Cheers to all and will report in again soon. Posting the tape rash pics, but it is healed and by next month will take a couple more and try to post every month for a few. My first reaction when I saw some newly explanted pics was sheer panic, glad I took the time to check it out for myself rather than more drastic lift/improvements. Hope everyone has as positive experience as I did and a a great week! Thanks again for all the encouragement!

Five years ago, following a divorce, I was looking for a makeover/confidence boost and many of my friends had implants. The all loved theirs and none had any complaints so I went for it instead of the lift I really intended. I got 450CC (against my docs suggestion) cohesive gel implants over the muscle in lieu of a full lift (crescent). Post implants I immediately noticed that people would stare at my chest and NEVER look above my shoulders . My entire life I was used to people commenting about my big eyes, and suddenly no one ever looked at my face! I was a 36B and 5'7'' and I was now a 40D. Because I have a small waist, I had a pretty hourglass shape (my BF calls it perfect "Rubenesque or Botticellish" though I gained a lot of weight ~+5lbs a year because I could no longer run (hilarious running at night so I could hold my breasts up which resulted in a fractured foot from coming down on a stick in the road in the dark) which just escalated the immobility, weight gain and recovery time. I began having odd joint aches almost a year post implant and within weeks of the joint issues, I began to notice weird sharp pains which I attributed to scars.

My right implant had a slight vertical capsular contracture which looked fine but I could push it up and it looked somewhat square. Even funnier was that they float so if I was in the pool and someone took a photo, my boobs looked like they were under my chin! (see attached). I also had a few xrays done and an MRI after the back pains started and there is significant difference showing progression over time in different studies. In particular, the shoulder and chest wall showed soft tissue damage and I am accident prone so who knows if a fall or wreck facilitated the speed of the tears and pulling.

Both implants began to sag to the same point my own boobs did after about 4 years and I began searching for any bra that would hold them up without digging into my shoulders. I was buying Enell sports bras at $80-90 a pop and having to add 2 inch elastic at the shoulder or dig a trench in my shoulder which eventually became so painful ( I also had custom bras made, all bras were altered and finally I got tired of the constant neck, shoulder and back pain. In addition I began having swollen lymph nodes, weird allergies to things I'd been around my whole life without issue. Once I began doing research, I realized several of the symptoms I was experiencing were common to many women with implants and I apparently was sensitive to something about them which led to weird pains that every doctor suggested was something chronic yet no one could diagnose anything. I began to obsess about getting them out just to see.

The looked great initially, but the droop and the fold was so big and heavy I began getting yeast rashes in the summer if I didn't change my bra every few hours in the heat and humidity of the South. Ick.

The final straw was attending a job interview and having the recruiter call to tell me the potential manager said he didn't think clients would take me seriously (I work in a very technical medical sales field) because I had such distractingly large breasts. He initially said he thought I could lose a few pounds--I know!!!)and then called back to tell me it was my big boobs!!!

I debated for a year before going forward with my explant surgery. I was afraid of the recovery time, what they would look like and I was definitely NOT going to get replacement implants as I wanted to see if the strange allergies and pans went away. I was not prepared for the rapid droop and sag due to their size and the only way to fix it was a lift with a lollipop scar which I did not want.

I had the surgery done under local anesthetic and it was relatively painless, but I also have a pretty high tolerance for pain. The capsulectomy was quick (a bit weird sounding) and one was more difficult than the other (the contracted side). The only thing I felt was a little tiny itchy sensation which they just shot in more local. It makes recovery a bit quicker though if I had it to do over, I'd likely go for light general as I was a bit more tense than I would have liked and the cost is not much more. but I live a few hours away from the surgeon and I really wanted to go home to recover rather than stay with my family (akin to a hospital with everyone fussing over you non-stop. Good to have, but I'm a rotten patient and hate to be bothered when I'm sick or in pain, just let me sleep!)

One thing I know if food is the key to avoiding nausea from pain meds so before I left home I set up my den with couch turned sideways( so I could lay back semi-upright and watch movies), down comforters, fluffy pillows, a back wedge, my laptop and phone cords for work, pens, paper and books to read. I stocked the fridge with ginger ale, healthy homemade soups, lots of green and ginger tea for hydration, sliced apples, grapes and baby carrots.

I stocked the bath with bandages, tape, antibiotic sprays and a stash of 5 bras to compress as swelling went down. I put everything I'd need (including cups, plates) at counter height to avoid any over head lifting or stretching and the last three days have been a breeze. (Far less painful than getting implants!)

For the first time in 4 years, I awoke today without the severe joint, back and shoulder pain. I tried to stay mobile at least 4 hours and switched bras twice. I am thrilled. My surgeon did tape each side of my nipple with a vertical v shaped foam tape to allow the nipple to retract to a natural forward tllt as it appeared to be aimed slightly down post explant.

I have had some incision pain and a slight sharp pain in the same general area as the sharp pain I had with the implants, though it is slowly decreasing. I will report in tomorrow or the next day with more pics of progress as the tape job is interesting and I understand the skin will retract nicely over time and possible upper pole fullness though you can see from the picks, it looks fine with a bra and under clothing. Not so great without, but I look like I've lost 20 lbs (actually did lose 3 in implants) and can wear my favorite clothes again. I've spent the last 4 years running around all summer in long sleeves and wearing camis under linen jackets with major compression bras and scarves to reduce their huge appearance. I am thrilled to see they look pretty normal though it is very early in the process so if this is the worst it looks, I cannot wait to see it 6 months out!

Absolutely worth doing and I'm going for microdermabrasion on the chest area and maybe a little chin work as the only other thing I have noticed is the upper chest is not as tight without the weight of the implants pulling downward. Easy smooth ride this far!