28 year old went from 36M to 36D - La Mesa, CA

Surgery is tomorrow. I'm excited/nervous/anxious, but I'm ready to get it done. Luckily I booked the date only two weeks out so I haven't had too much time to wait for D day! I can't wait to sit up straight, get rid of my back and shoulder pain, fit into clothes, RUN, not have the seatbelt dig into my neck, buy a bra at ANY store....and so much more. I'm not looking forward to recovery, but it's going to fly by and be a distant memory in no time. I actually had a consultation and got approved by my insurance with Dr. Pousti 10 years ago, but I wanted to wait until I had children before going through with the procedure. Here I am 10 years later with two kids and I'm ready for my transformation! In just about 24 hours I'll be on my way home and on the road to recovery.

Everything went well yesterday! Arrival time was 5:45am. When I arrived I filled out some paperwork, gave a urine sample, and then got prepped. Changed into a lovely gown that had warm air flowing through it to keep me comfy and knee high compression socks to help with circulation...and I took off my 36M bra for the last time. Met with the anasthesiologist and answered all her questions, the nurse set me up with my IV and then Dr. Pousti arrived. He touched up my markings he'd done the day before, we chatted, had some photos taken and we were ready to go. Surgery was at 7, they got me all set up and centered on the table, the anasthesiologist told me I'd feel a bit cold as she administered the medicine through the IV and I was out. I woke up in the recovery area feeling groggy and had some pain. I think I told them my pain level was 4/10 they gave me some medicine and it helped, but I asked for a little more after they asked if I was feeling better. They called my husband to let him know I'd be ready to go in about 30 minutes. Dr. Pousti came to check on me and let me know everything went great, he removed just over 1,000 grams from each side (over 4.5 lbs total) that's more than double what my insurance required to be removed to qualify! I requested Ds or at the very least a full C, we'll see what I end up with! My husband arrived to pick me up, they gave us the run down on the drains and other aftercare, and I was on my way home at noon. I felt nauseous when I had to get up and walk and threw up a little bit into the designated container right after I got into the car. I was sleepy on the 20 minute ride home, but made it home without falling asleep. Got home went upstairs and took my nausea and pain meds and took a nap. Woke up from my nap and it was time for the antibiotic, I took that and then figured I needed to try to eat. I ended up throwing up about half an hour after taking the antibiotic, I should have spaced out the pain and nausea meds and eaten first. I just couldn't think of anything appetizing, but bread and a baked potato seemed to do the trick. I threw up another two times or so later in the day, but was fine once I had eaten and spaced out the meds for my second doses. The pain has been minimal and I only feel discomfort when I'm walking to the bathroom and such. That pretty much sums up day one, let's see what day two will bring.

I've been feeling good, not too much pain to report! Only a little sore when I'm walking around, nausea is gone and my appetite is back. Slept most of the day yesterday and took a few naps today, but was feeling good enough to hang out and watch the Chargers game at home with some friends. Looking forward to my follow up appointment tomorrow where I'll see my new boobs for the first time. They look so tiny in this compression bra, it's crazy. I know they'll be changing for a while and what I see now is not my final result. They're definitely perky!

Some background info I left out in my original post: I'm 28 years old, 5'5", 165 lbs, bra size before surgery was 36M US (36J UK), and my goal size is a D, still waiting to see what I'll end up fitting into.

Time has flown by and so far the recovery has been nice and easy. At the one week point I was able to stop taking pain meds and felt I could take care of myself for the most part, but I still needed help taking care of the kids to avoid lifting although this wouldn't be a problem with older children I suppose. I was delighted to get the drains taken out one week post-op, much more comfortable without those! They gave me a shot on each side before removing them and I didn't feel a thing, not bad at all. I looked a little more normal in clothing too, which gave me a little self esteem boost.

At my two week checkup they removed most of the gauze/padding, checked on the progress, and let me know everything was looking good and healing well. That was the first real glimpse I had at my new breasts (at least the bottom half), but I opted not to glance for too long when passing by their mirror because I know everything was still healing and didn't look too appealing. I had some bruising still and the incisions were scabbed over (itchy!) but everything looked good overall. My left breast was shaped a little oddly, but I think that was just from the positioning of the padding within the compression bra, everything will settle into shape with time. Finally starting to look normal in clothes without all the stuffing coming out from the compression bra, a little definition goes a long way!

I have my one month follow up appointment later today and am anxious to see how everything is coming along. I noticed yesterday that speed bumps/dips on the road aren't painful anymore, so that's great! I've also had some success sleeping on my side with support from blankets/pillows within the past week or so. I just know that if it hurts, I shouldn't be doing it! I'm really looking forward to laying on my stomach and getting a nice professional massage to work out all the built up muscle tension from the years of strain my breasts put on my back/shoulders/neck.

I'm still getting used to my new body and I struggle at times with negative thoughts. Sometimes I think they're way too small, or that my stomach is more noticeable and I don't want anyone to mistake me for being pregnant, or that my husband is going to find the scars unattractive, and I haven't compared my breasts to anyone else's so much in my life. I never noticed the breast size of other women until now, before it was a given that mine were bigger and it was nothing I ever gave much thought to, but now I can't help myself from noticing how much bigger everyone's boobs are and comparing! I haven't seen my nipples/areolas without tape yet so I worry about what they're going to look like and what's going on under the tape. I feel the need to tell anyone I see for the first time since the surgery that I'm still wearing a compression bra and that I think they're so tiny, so they won't say it to me. I try my best to keep the negative thoughts out of my head because they aren't doing me any good and most of the time I know I'm being irrational. I try to focus on the positive, and there are so many more positive things going for me now.

I dressed up for Halloween last week and had my face painted, went to a party and was able to walk past 5 or 6 friends without anyone stopping me to say hi....because I was unrecognizable! I sent my mom a picture of me in my getup from that night, she showed my dad, he said "Who's that?" not a clue! Everyone thinks I look great and I do too, just anxious for everything to heal and to start working out so the rest of me is as perky as my new boobies. I've gone to the gym a couple times and used the stationary bike, but I'm waiting a couple more weeks before doing anything more strenuous. Gotta get the go ahead from the doc!