No More Baby Bumps for Me! - Huntersville, NC
?So I've been going to consultations for the past 10 years....
So I've been going to consultations for the past 10 years. I guess I've just been putting it off until after I got married and had kids. I'm 28 and still am not married so I've decided that I'm tired of waiting and I'm finally just gonna go for it!
I'm pretty athletic and work out a lot, so I'm not wanting to get anything too major or obvious. I'm a little worried I'll regret going too small though, so I'll probably go a little bigger than I want to just to rid any doubts. I'm also nervous playing contact sports could increase the likelihood of my implants popping, so a cohesive gel implant may be best for me.
I think I would like to go under the muscle with an armpit incision with the gummy bear implant. I'm not even sure if those three options are possible, but those are my initial thoughts. I haven't done too much research because I don't want to hear anyone's opinion because I'm 100% doing this for myself. I've also decided not to tell anyone, and not because I care that they know (I'm a pretty open and outgoing person and will prob tell everyone post-surgery), but because I (again) don't want to hear anyone's opinion on what they think I should or should not do (I'm a little nervous even posting on here due to it being open to opinions and thoughts, but I enjoy this site and would like to help others if possible). I'm small as hell and ready to not be self conscious every time I put on a sports bra and go to the beach.
If you're interested in following me on this journey, feel free to check back on my posts. I'm 5'4, 130 lbs, about an A-B cup. My pre-op is January 6th and surgery is Jan 16th.
Lucky8's provider
28 Hours Left to Go!
I had my consultation on Jan 6th and it went pretty well. I waited for an hour, but that’s because someone else was in the room with the Vectra machine and I mean, I can’t really be upset that someone is taking their time to make a decision as important as this. Anyway, I went into the room and felt all the different implants, took my Vectra image (that machine is cool as hell BTW). Next Dr Kortesis came in so I could tell him my goals, concerns, and I also showed him some photos I brought in. I would suggest that everyone brings in various photos of what they like and don’t like. My biggest concern was going too big to where it limits my athletic activities (I’ve played soccer for 20 years and run so I work out 3-5 times per week), but also not go so small where I regretted the size after spending so much money. I knew I wanted the gummy bear implant and assumed I would go with textured from the many reviews I’ve read on Realself.com, and that ended up being the final choice.
So, he suggested the Sientra smooth, round, under the muscle (no kids and I’m pretty thin so there’s like zero breast tissue) since I wanted to do the armpit incision. I asked him why he suggests round over shaped and smooth over textured. He told me he actually favors textured, but since I wanted the armpit incision, that smooth would be the best option. He suggested round because I naturally have a pretty big gap between my boobs and that round shape would help fill that a little bit. When I was showing him breasts that I liked, I had made some comments like “these are nice, but too far apart” or “these are nice but too close together,” and he explained that has nothing to do with their implant choice and more to do with their body. After some more talking, we decided to go with everything explained above, except textured and inframammary (breast fold) incision. I’ve been 100% against this since the first day I ever considered this (10 years ago), but after hearing all the benefits compared to the armpit incision, I decided to value my health and safety over vanity. He said that incision provides much more control of the placement and pocket size, less tissue damage, and, again, allowed me to go with textured. Plus, he assured me the incision would be 2-3 cm’s in length.
So, next we were discussing size. I don’t know why, but CCs over 300 scares the hell out of me, but he suggested 385-410 based off the photos I provided and goals I expressed. I think the problem is that I don’t really know how boobs work (I’ve read many reviews where people say they were obsessed with the number of CC’s, but they are happy with their size because they can still hide their boobs when they want or let them out to play if they want). I’m just so used to having nothing that I’m afraid I’m going to have these crazy big jugs all in my way and it’s going to [RS bleep] me off. I’ve seen women with implants in the range with the same amount of breast tissue to begin with, none, and they look great, even a little small for my preference, so again, I think I’m just freaking myself out and need to just trust the professionals here.
I left the office really happy with what was discussed and settled on (again, sientra 5th generation, round, textured, under the muscle, inframammary, 385 CCs), but on the way home (I have a 3 hour drive) I was freaking out a bit. I just kept thinking of everything I should’ve asked and said and checked and done and then I thought maybe my dr didn’t know I already had my surgery scheduled and thought I was just a consult and maybe if he had known the visit would’ve gone differently and I damn near about had a panic attack thinking about the breast size and kept looking at my Vectra image over and over again. The next day I called my Dr’s office and asked them to please have the 355CCs on surgery day just in case. I know the difference between the 2 is a matter of tablespoons, bit for whatever reason the number 355 made me feel so much more at ease. In case you’re wondering, I did look at smaller sizes on Vectra and didn’t feel happy with the gap I would have and decided less than 300CCs was too small to achieve what I wanted. The next day I was going to call back and request to also have 325CCs for the day of surgery, but I decided that if it was between the 3 sizes, the smart choice would be to go with the middle size, so I decided not to request that smaller size. Yesterday was the first time I started to feel like 385 would be too small (because I looked at those Vectra pics all day) so again, I think I just need to stop thinking about it. It’s hard not to because this is such a big thing, but I wish I could shut my brain off. I’m not too worried about capsular contracture or bottoming out, but I am a little worried about muscular deformity or my muscles causing the implants to look deformed. I’ve seen quite a few reviews of women who have dents or lopsided breasts or breasts that look really funky when they flex, so since I work out a lot, I really hope that doesn’t occur. I don’t lift on my arms or chest at all, but I do have a BMI of 21 so I guess that’s making me think my chances are high.
Anyways, wish me luck tomorrow! Apparently my ittie bitties are damn near perfect in terms of asymmetry and size so I guess that means I’ll have damn near perfect bigger boobs, right?!?
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Day of and Day 1 Post-op
Yesterday was the big day. I only got two hours of sleep the night before bc I had to get up at 3:45 to be at the appointment by 8am (3.5 hour drive). I got there at 8 and waited about 15 mins and got called back. A nurses assistant came in fist to take my vitals. Next another lady came in to speak about the meds I'm supposed to take and she had me take my clothes off and put on my gown. She left and the anesthesiologist came in and spoke with me for a while about how everything will go and what to expect and she asked me a lot of general questions like my medical history. She didn't say or do anything significant, but for some reason I really liked her. She just seemed super sweet and put me at ease. She left and another lady walked in to take all my before pictures. Then the Dr came in to grab my dream boobs photos and make all the markings on my boobs. The lady took another photo with my markings and then they both left the room. Then it was time to go back!
I was taken into the OR, which was a first for me. It was kind of cool seeing everything that I would see on TV. lol I laid on the table and they gave me a super warm blanket and these massager things that she wrapped around my legs so I was SUPER comfortable. Dr. Williams, my anesthesiologist, then put my IV in, which kind of stung, but at least she got it in on the first try. Then she put the feel good stuff in my veins that feels like chugging a 6 pack in a minute, which made me giggly. Then another nurse put the mask on over my mouth and I was out. I'm sure my lack of sleep helped knock me out super fast.
Next things I recall is waking up in the recovery room and my mom was in there. I think the surgery lasted just a little over an hour. The nurse and my mom helped me walk to the potty so I didn't fall over. I got pretty dizzy at first, but was OK and I didn't puke at all. Then I got rolled out in a wheelchair to go home.
I wasn't in any pain and took my first pain pill and all the other ones as soon as I got home. I was able to eat my soup OK then I passed out for a little bit. I woke up for a little while and then passed out for the night at about 11pm. At 1am the pain in my boobs woke me up. This was the most pain I had been in so far. Yesterday the only pain I had was a bruising feeling. My boobs aren't bruised, but it felt like someone was pushing on a bruise, if that makes sense. I have a foam mattress so it was pretty hard to get out bed like most people have said. I put some ice on my boobs and passed out on the couch bc it's a lot easier to get up from. I didn't take any pills because I couldn't get the bottles open and didn't want to wake up my mom. I woke up again at 7am and woke my mom up so she could open my pill bottles for me. I had some fruit, napped a bit, then my mom made me get up and shower, but I'm glad she did because it felt good. BTW, she's a nurse so she likes to make me do things I don't wanna do bc she knows it's good for me.
Some challenges for the day was pulling my pants up after using the restroom and I can't get my jackets or shirts on. My chest was a lot more swollen and stiff today. I've been doing these exercises where I put my arms up to the side like you would if you were doing the muscle man pose (except you def don't want to flex your arm muscles) and then I pull my forearms as close together as I can in front of me. I was told to these at least once an hour, but I haven't been very disciplined with it. These were a lot easier to do yesterday than today probably because the swelling was so bad. Lot's of swelling in my armpits, the tops of my shoulders and my upper chest area. I've been icing on and off in 20 min periods, but I've also not been very good at icing them every 20 mins. BTW, i used a solution for form-fitting ice packs that's 1 part water and 2 parts rubbing alcohol. That keeps the bags from freezing rock hard so it remains slushy and can form to your curves. Today was also the first day I took muscle relaxers. I've been having minor spasms just under my armpits...I couldn't image having the incision in my armpit and I'm happy I didn't. The scars under my boobs look amazing!There was no blood and they aren't puffy and the line is very thin and short in length.
I was able to go for a walk on the beach and look for sharks teeth and grabbed lunch out with my mom. Anywho, I'm rambling, but that's how everything went the day of and the day after surgery. My implants feel like they are in my armpits and up in my chest. Oh, and the final size was 385 CCs.
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