Runninggirl46 - Chicago, IL

It's time for me to join. Been reading & following along for a while considering Explant surgery. I'm 46 married 2 kids. Had 425cc silicones placed under the muscle in Aug 2014. I was a lite 34B pre-augmentation. They look great & there is nothing wrong with them. Had pre & post mammo & check ups. They are just not for me. Made myself keep them for at least 1 year to be sure b/c of the $ I spent. Wish I just would've taken family on a nice vacation instead! A good bottle of wine & a few therapy sessions! Ha! Didn't think I was struggling w/aging but in retrospect, maybe I was. And I really am aging well I think. Anyway, Don't like how they feel in me & they hurt. Don't like feeling them move or when I hug my family. So unnatural feeling. Massages are hard b/c I can't lay on my stomach. When I say they hurt, my neck, back & shoulders hurt/ache constantly. I have dull headaches a lot & I never had any of that before. Hard to catch my breath sometimes. Think they are to blame & want them out. My runs have gotten shorter & shorter since implanting & I miss them. Had a consult & who I'm going to have remove them today. The doctor is young & very well recommended. My original Doctor moved out of state. I did my research (here on Real Self) Scheduled for 1/14/16. I am not reimplanting or lifting at same time. In part because of Real Self. I am against reimplanting & want to wait & see what my body does as far as lifting goes. I'm hoping for good results. I know they won't be perfect or even where I started due to size of implant I chose but I'm hopeful. Really inspired by your stories & pics. Given courage by what you've all shared. So here goes. I am afraid of what I'll look like when I'm done. Looking forward to the day but scared too! Wish I wouldn't have messed up what I had. They were beautiful. These are burdensome. They look actually appropriate on me. I'm 5'8 & 135# but I'm just so uncomfortable. The doctor was good & I know he does good work. He agreed to Explant. No general anesth just IV sedation. No capsule removal. Stitch chest muscles back down, etc. I will have drains for a few days. He recommended lift at same time but I asked to wait & see. Gave me 2 prices. 1 to do Explant & 1 to do both. If I decided to do both I'd just pay the difference between the 2. My plan is to wait until next winter to lift if I'm not happy. But truly hoping I will be & be done. What do you think? I'll do pics at a later time.

After sleeping on it I've decided to go for the lift as well. I may be left with an A cup but I'm ok with that as they will be my natural breasts. I'm hoping for my light B that I had before. My PS discussed yesterday in consult b/c of course he recommended it but I was wishing for good results w/just explant. I know in my heart of hearts he is right. I don't have a lot of breast tissue left, I am 46 & I chose a large implant. I can see the handwriting on the wall. I'm not going to be happy with flat sag. I don't think my results are going to be as good as those of you. I wish. Oh how I wish. Got the estimate today for both procedures at once. $500.00 cheaper than staging them. $5,500.00 total. Almost as much as putting them in. Ugh! It's a stretch but I can do it luckily.
Decided I'm worth it & want to resume the life I had before BA. I was an avid runner for last 6 years. I just love it. Always felt light & free. Loved my tank tops & sundresses & want to return to them this coming summer instead of wasting yet another year. I've always wanted to live for as long as I can see & run! Want to heal one time instead of 2 & put this behind me. Trying to figure out why I did this to myself. Never ever thought I'd implant. Was always pretty happy w/breast size. Mid-life crisis of sorts - best I can come up with. Got a hubby that loves me very much & supported the BA but was fine with me the way I was. He kept asking me if I was sure before I did it. Telling me my breasts were fine as is. He was right. They were. Better than fine. They were healthy & they were mine. Not going to dwell on it tho. Going to turn this into a positive experience. A rebirth. At least I'm healthy & can undo it. Vowing to do no harm to my beautiful body anymore.

Hello from the other side! Underwent Explant w/lift as planned on 1/14/16 & all is well! Spent the time leading up to the day in quiet reflection & preparation for it. The time went blessedly fast. With every passing day I became more sure of my decision to Explant. I did not like the way the implants felt in my body or even really how they looked. I much preferred my bony sternum. And really missed my clothing that I wore before & didn't care for the clothing I bought after. Don't really know what drove me to do augmentation in the first place. A mid-life crisis of sorts I supposed. Tho I'm quite happy w/the way I'm aging so far. I looked at it in a way that I would be "adding to" my body or "treating myself" to them. An accessory or luxury of sorts afforded by the affluent. Which really we are not! Anyway, turning the page on that chapter of life! It's a new day! It's a New Year! I am human capable of making mistakes & big enough to admit them.
I underwent general anesthesia, had the 425 silicone implants removed from under the muscle & capsulectomy. That is how my PS does it even tho I was having no issues w/implant integrity. I trusted him & his recommendation completely. They were completely intact & aesthetically my results were great! They just weren't for me. I had them for 17 months.
He said I would probably end w/an anchor type lift w/scarring b/c of the size of my implant I chose & I'm a thin woman. I'm 5'8" & 135#. I was ok w/that. I didn't fill up a B cup before BA & was a 36 D to DD depending on the bra after. He drew all over my chest w/his marker & I prayed & hoped for the best! I just wanted to come out w/my normal 46 y.o. Looking boobies. I don't have a lot & I'm a runner. I didn't expect perfection. I could tell he was nervous but I told him I trust you to do your best.
I awoke 3 hours later & they were gone! I was sore but really felt better than when I went in! Partly relief that it was over but mostly my body was relieved of the intrusion! He told my husband that he only had to cut on the bottom of my breast & didn't have to use any of the other markings he made. My skin looked remarkably good! He removed the implant reduced the extra skin & rearranged the breast tissue after suturing my chest muscles back down. They sat me up a few times & laid me back down to check symmetry & decided that was enough. I followed up yesterday w/his NP & she removed my drains b/c I was doing well & they were barely collecting anything any more. I get to see & talk to him next Thursday but I'm very pleased! They really look as they did pre-augmentation. Which is really all I was hoping for. Just took my first shower & it felt great! I wanted to share b/c this site helped me a lot. I was very worried about what I would look like after Explant but you all gave me the courage to move on. I prepped my breasts w/coconut oil & palmers as everyone recommended & just kept thinking positively. Life is way to short to spend it not happy or comfortably! My husband & kids were very supportive & are instrumental in my good outcome! Now just going to be patient w/them & allow them to recover. I know they'll be fine. They are healthy & all mine! Made by God in his vision for me!