40 Years Old, Tall and Went Conservative - Concord, CA

Apparently, I'm going to live. I am feeling pretty good today and glad that I went through with it and most of thankful for my plastic surgeon. I can only imagine the delicacy with which he has to approach his job, politically and practically. I am so grateful for his steady hands and good judgement!!! I realize now that I don't see my body very clearly. Thank god Dr. Mariotti has a great eye. I am just right. Not too big and not too small, thanks to his discretion. If you are looking for the best, go see Eric Mariotti.

I got a perfect email from the dr. I am officially 350 on the right and 400 on the left. I now understand that he didn't want me to get the wrong info. And he gave me exactly what I asked for. And I think the Percocet made me paranoid. ???? ps. Boob greed is real!

I'm 5'9" and 153 lbs, with a small upper body. I work out 5x a week and love to lift weights. I have scoliosis. It's not noticeable, but my ribcage is highly asymmetrical. As a result, I had an A+ on the left and a B (maybe C) on the right. They were both pretty but very different. For as long as I can remember, I wanted symmetrical breasts. I have never been able to buy a bra, or fit into a swimsuit. Now I'm 40 and I breastfed two babies, leaving me with an A- and and really deflated B. The babies only wanted to nurse on the big side, so I lost all the tissue on the right. Plus my nipple now pointed down. I was ready to get surgery. I've been with my husband for 20 years, he is totally supportive and didn't care if I got a BA or not. I kept waiting for surgical technology to catch up. Here I am 25 years later and they do the same ole procedure, knock you out and stuff you full of allegedly higher quality silicone, that has to be checked on every 3 years for leakage. It's a little depressing :(. Apparently, vanity conquers all and I got silicone implants on the 21st of May. I was scared to go too big and in my fear, I went a little too small. I kept reading that going bigger than 400ccs comes with more risks, and I thought I wouldn't be able to handle the weight of them. Turns out that my 350/400 (I'm guessing here...I will explain later) look like Bs. I wanted a full C. I was scared of the number that would have gotten me there, but I shouldn't have been. My advice is to show the PS photos. Go for a "look" not a cup size or a CC. Don't get too caught up in numbers. Being as tall as I am, I think I swallow the CCs, let the dr. Decide what ccs will get you the look you want. I didn't want a bolted on stripper look but maybe you like that, so ask for what you want and show examples. I am not disappointed in the sense that I can go bra less and no one would know that these boobs aren't mine. They are pretty and balance out my hips without making me look like that mom with the giant fake boob job. (On the flip side, the giant fakers are fun.) I thought one and done, I would never do this again. I know exactly what I want. But, I didn't. I will probably go back and forth on how I feel about how they look and how big (or small) they are until they stop changing. (6 weeks, 6 months???)

Now, the details... I also had my nipple stems shortened (the breastfeeding made them longer -no I don't regret it) and I think he might of taken too much off of the left (I'm hoping it looks smaller/flatter due to swelling). I haven't dropped and fluffed yet so it's too soon to tell but my left breast is smaller and shaped a bit differently than my right. The right is perfect in size and shape and nipple. They both have that snoopy nose, too full, upper pole thing. I have to be patient but I'm not doing that very well.

My surgeon is a very nice guy with great bedside manner btw. He really listened well and I absolutely give him a stellar recommendation. I'm sure he did the best he could but I was hoping for more symmetry. I'm not blaming the PS, there are simply limitations to what can be accomplished. His office ladies and physician assistant are nice. The only complaint I have is that I wasn't told how many CCs I have in me. It was the first question I asked when I came out of surgery and the nurse said the dr would go over it later. When the Physicians assistant called the next day to check on me, she said my file wasn't available and when I called the office, they told me that they didn't want to say because women obsess on the number. I think this is a bad policy. Its patronizing and anxiety provoking not to know.

It's a weird thing to go through such a big overnight change. It hurts like hell too. The surgery is a big deal. And the recovery is no joke. My advice is to invest in a wedge pillow and stay highly medicated for the first three days. I have a high tolerance for pain - I had my two daughters at home with a midwife - but the burning and soreness are pretty serious. Getting up out of bed is the worst. I'm also looking forward to being able to exercise and get off the Percocet. I haven't taken any today, day four. It is great for the pain, but messes with your head.

I wasn't really prepared for all of these mixed feelings. I don't know if you can prepare for this part. I'm just glad there are these forums :)
It helps to talk about it...