Upgraded and Lovin' It- Latham, NY

I am very glad that my Plastic Surgeon recommended I check out this site. I’ve felt all the blogs I’ve read on here are so helpful! Thank you for sharing your story.

I am a 5’3, 150lb (working on losing more!), 36 year old woman of Asian descent I currently fit a 36 barely A bra. Since I was younger, I’ve always had “issues” with my inverted nipples. I’ve always wanted them corrected but was too embarrassed to see a plastic surgeon. When I did get up the nerve, I found out that insurance didn’t cover it and I was worried that it was major surgery that would cost a lot of money.

As a teenager, I was a skinny girl and had small water balloons for breasts. I was always ok with them but hoped they weren’t done growing. I refused to wear padded bras because I felt that it was “deceiving”. Then when I got into my early 20s I had issues with my health and developed Insulin Resistance and was diagnosed with PCOS, and I gained 30lbs in 1 month. Of course none of the 30lbs went to my chest. So I looked disproportionate. That is when I started to wear padded bras to even things out.

Still in my 20s, I managed to get my conditions under control, got married at my heaviest weight and within 4 years of getting married, I had 2 children (gaining minimal weight because I had gestational diabetes with each and was monitored by a nutritionist). However, since I’ve had my 2 kids, my little water balloons are now deflated balloons. My weight is lower and I am no longer in jeopardy of being borderline diabetic (since I’m active and don’t eat recklessly unhealthy anymore).
Recently, I did some research and I You Tubed “Nipple Inversion Correction surgery”. AH! Is it really that simple? I’ve waited all this time and I could have had them fixed a long time ago?! I discussed getting the procedure done with my husband and he was totally supportive.

At work, yeah, I know, most appropriate place to talk about boobs- My friends and I talk about clothes and sometimes we discuss how clothes fit and then sometimes it turns into our body image issues. I always say something like “I don’t have anything to fill out this shirt”, “I have no chest”, “I’m boobless”, “I’ll take whatever boobs you don’t want!”, “I wish we could just push the fat from my stomach up to my chest. I would be all set then!”, or “I have anthills”.
One day, my friend (she’s a good friend) said to me “why don’t you get implants?” I looked at her and laughed. She said she was serious and I said “Why would I get implants?” She said “Why not? I have implants.” WHAT?! NO. FREAKING. WAY! I could not tell that she had implants and I’ve been friends with her for 10 years!

It turns out that she had a consult done about 6 years ago and I knew at that time that she went. Afterwards, she told me that she wanted to lose weight before she had them done, but she did have them done and she told only her mother and her husband. I was blown away! She looks SO NATURAL!

So after seeing and feeling hers (she’s such a good friend!), I decided that maybe I should do implants with my nipple correction. I always thought that implants looked fake/noticeable/[RS bleep]-star-ish/JWOWW-ish. I never thought they could be natural looking. I was excited.

When I told my husband that I wanted to get implants with my correction, he was supportive and said “Whatever makes you happy.” I was a little shocked that he agreed so readily since it affects our finances, but he’s known how unhappy I’ve been with my body.

My friend came with me to the two consults I set up. The first one was with her surgeon. He was nice. The office was within the area of where we live and he would keep me overnight to ensure that no problems arise. My only issue with him was that he made me a little uneasy. He didn’t want to give me any guidance as to how big I should go. He took measurements and discussed the differences between the Saline and the Silicone. He said most of the people who see him get Saline. He said to gather a bunch of pictures and show him what I liked. I had come prepared and showed him pictures but he said they were too small on my phone and that I needed to gather a lot more than the 5 I showed him. The office wanted me to put a deposit down on the surgery and that would include the pre-op appointment. At that appointment, I would need to decide what size implant I wanted because they had to order it ahead of time.

The second consult was about an hour and a half away. The Plastic surgeon we saw was so pleasant. He gave me guidance on what would fit my frame and how big is too big based off of what I was looking for. He took measurements without making me feel weird and showed us pictures. He let me try on sizers and we discussed all the questions I had. Since I had already discussed the differences between Silicone and Saline with the first Surgeon, I already knew that I wanted the Silicone but I was very reluctant because of the possibility of a leakage and how it isn’t as easy to detect as it is with Saline. I addressed my concern with the doctor and he said that by the time I am in need of an MRI, they will be using Ultrasound for detection. That put me at ease. I told the surgeon I wanted Silicone and he said that was a good choice for me since I have little breast tissue. (I am worried about possible rippling and not feeling soft enough) My friend has saline and she said she wishes Silicone was offered when she had it done. He did not sway me to get the Silicone but he assured me that I would be happy with my decision. The quote I got from this Surgeon was higher than the other surgeon’s but not by much (Both quotes included the Nipple Correction Surgery). The only difference was that this surgeon does not keep his patients overnight. I didn’t mind paying more because I felt more comfortable with this Surgeon and he has a lot of experience (not to mention he is in a metropolitan area so prices will tend to be higher/not to mention that we’re in NY-so overall price range is higher).

I felt so good with this doctor that I set up my pre-op appointment and Surgery date the same day I had the consultation. My pre-op was on December 18th. My husband went with me and I spoke to the doctor about how big I wanted to go. He said that we can make up our mind on the day of the surgery. I was confused. I thought they had to order the implants ahead of time (I thought that is how all offices were). He said he would have both the 350cc and 375cc that we discussed on hand. I was amazed. I also discussed the Nipple Inversion Surgery with him. I asked him if I’d have to wear the plastic covers over my nipples (how would I return to work looking like that?!) and he laughed and told me they looked silly. He said he doesn’t use anything like that. I was so relieved. I asked if he used foam instead and he said yes. He told me not to worry about anything. It will be great.

I was still a little unsure about what I wanted and worried (I know!) that I wouldn’t know what to decide on the day of surgery and so the doctor offered to do a 3D image of me so I could see better. I was so delighted! They emailed me the images to me three days later- and when I saw the pictures (I won’t show them to you because they aren’t that great…) I realized that it looked like the difference of 25cc was not noticeable. Now, the great thing that I love about my surgeon is that he gives you an email address and phone number to contact if you have any questions. I’ve emailed them a good handful since I’ve seen him and he is so pleasant and responds fairly quickly! (I know he is busy but he usually got back to me no later than the end of the day when he’d be done with patients.) I emailed his surgical nurse, since she sent me the pictures and asked her why they looked the same. She said the difference in CCs would only add fullness not projection. So I decided to go with the 375cc.

I am very excited and cannot wait! I never would have ever thought that I’d be getting implants. My younger self would have snubbed me. But now that I am older (and wiser) I know this is the best thing for me! My husband has gone through the cycles of doubt, questioning whether or not we should spend the money on something else, not spend the money, how come I don’t just wear padded bras instead, if I’m aware that this is major surgery… yada yada yada. I told him that it was too late for him to change his mind. We made an agreement. But ultimately I think he’s nervous about the surgery. I KNOW he’s just as excited as I am in his own way… :p

My surgery date is December 28th. The time is still to be determined but it should be mid-morning. Since I live so far away, I will be staying in a hotel down the street from the surgery center and my wonderful awesome friend has volunteered to take me so my husband can stay home with the kids (they’re on winter break). I have not told anyone besides the two of them, a coworker that has implants -because I asked to feel hers, (and you!) that I’m getting it done. It’s not because I’m ashamed. It’s because people can’t keep their mouths shut and I don’t want this to be “news”. I wanted to tell my sister but I don’t know if she’ll tell my mother who would want to tell her sisters…. And that is how the whole snowball rolls… Plus- it will be interesting to see if people notice on their own. I am pretty open about things, but have been trying not to be lately. I think if I’m asked I’m going to just say “I got a new bra” (Which I did) or I’ll ask back “Why does it look like I did?” sometimes a sarcastic “What do you think?” would throw them off. People might assume you don’t have the money, desire or time (Who knows if you do or not?!) to do it so they’ll just laugh and move on. We’ll see what happens.

All I know right now, is that I will be starting the New Year as a new me!

Ok so it's implant eve! I didn't think I would rush around the house and clean like I've seen all you wonder womans do... But I actually did end up doing a lot of cleaning/tidying up and now I feel like I've accomplished enough to be okay and leave my family for 24 hours. I get rid of about 8 bras and will give them to a thrift store because they are all in decent shape. Varying sizes of 34A and 36A. I don't know anyone who could benefit
from them.
The surgery center called this morning and told me to be at the suite at 930 am but didn't actually tell me what time my surgery is. I was so worried because we had a snow storm here yesterday into today and I was worried about our drive. but the weather got nicer as the day progressed so the roads will hopefully be decent. Let's hope the temperature is above freezing by the time we hit the road. I called our hotel this morning and the gentleman I talked to was so pleasant about us checking in early! (I want to drop our stuff off before the surgery)I hope I won't have to wait too long at the surgery center before they take me back. That will be torturous!!
I think I am subconsciously nervous already because ever since I had dinner, I've been wanting to throw up.
The good news is that I am super tired right now so I think I'll be able to sleep tonight!
I will update sometime tomorrow! :p

Oh Happy Day! I got my implants!! Just got to the hotel. Slightly groggy. No pain really just a lot of pressure. My nipples are all covered so I won't see them until tomorrow. I am doing well! I thought I'd have more pain but I'm good!
I got Mentor 375CC Silicone implants submuscular and incision at the crease.
My throat is a little scratchy from the breathing tube but not painful.
My most awesome friend is running to Panera Bread to buy me something to eat.
The doctor put me in a bra and strap and right now everything is covered. I am already thinking I wish I could have gone bigger. (I need to stop that!)
Heavy in the chest- just like an elephant sitting on it- but overall doing great!!!
My doctor said everything went well and I will have a follow up tomorrow before I go home. I think he did a great job and can't wait to see my nipples.
Thanks for all the support and I hope YOUR recovery is going well!