2 Weeks to Go! - Oxford, MS

Hello everyone,

I am 8 days post-op and I am feeling great. I cannot even stress to you all how important it has been to my recovery to get out and see how mobile I can be. Being stationary has made my worst days worse, but I got out and went Black Friday shopping yesterday... It was my best idea yet. I not only had to walk around, but I also got use of my muscles (that I have been avoiding) by trying on clothing that fits "the girls." My incisions non longer bother me, my digestive tract has gotten back on its normal routine, and the only discomfort I have is the slight soreness/tightness in my pecs. (Possibly because I got the under the muscle implants) I am still unable to lift heavy objects, but I was power walking through sales yesterday like a champion. I took frequent breaks after walking through larger stores or trying on a lot of different clothing, but besides that I am just about good as new.

Since I did a good bit of shopping yesterday, I have discovered a few things. Let me know if anyone has any similar tips or even clothing recommendations to better help our shopping experiences.
1. Victoria's Secret - wonderfully comfortable bras, decent price, but I am slightly concerned that their bras run a bit small (like a whole cup size small) - I was fitted yesterday and they told me that I was a 32DDD.... Holy cow y'all, I was aiming for a C/D and my jaw dropped when she brought me a bra with 3 D's on the tag. I didn't even know that was a size, and I almost immediately started regretting my size decision for surgery. After trying on the bras, I decided that although they looked fairly large that maybe it was just because I have been so used to my smaller A cup bras for the past 10 years. That being said, my boyfriend and his mother both assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that the size looking perfectly proportional. Has anyone else had experience with VS sizes like or even opposing this?

Lululemon - Let me start off saying that I do not usually treat myself to the higher end yoga gear sold in this store. I think it is incredibly cute, but I am so hard of my workout gear, its almost unfair to the brand for me to abuse their clothing (I do a lot of outside training, flipping tires, low/high crawling in mud, the works) Now, I plan on wearing my new fun finds to the inside workouts only (I'm not a huge yoga fan anyway), But they have a "We Made Too Much" rack that is absolutely phenomenal. I found (reasonably priced) clothing that tailors perfectly to my new body. They have a lot of stretchy material, but with my new "assets" it was worried that clothing would look boxy compared to my smaller frame. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I only had to go up one size in their shirts (with the built in sports bras) in order to fit "the girls." That being said, I highly recommend the brand to anyone here whom is looking for workout gear (or even lounge gear) that tailors in more towards your waist while still comfortably fitting your new boobies.

Underarmor - I know some of you maybe be Nike babies, and I completely understand. I hoard Nike shoes just as much as the next tennis shoe collector, but I have found that the Underarmor tops tailor in to my waist just a little bit better than the comparable Nike Pro gear. I am in love with the Underarmor color schemes, and their vast variety of quarter/half zip tops.

Also thank goodness for bikinis that tie. I am going on a cruise for spring break this year and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to wear any of my swimsuits anymore due to the surgery; however, I have found that the majority of my tops still fit, just fit a little differently. That being said I'm not claiming that I won't still go swimsuit shopping to find a couple more (maybe more supportive) tops, but just a small side note.

If anyone else has any recommendations for brands that tailor in to a more hourglass figure (or just work well with bustier chests), please feel free to recommend them.

I apologize for the delay, but I have been a busy bee post surgery (well busy, but still moving a little slower than usual). Anyways as I said before, my procedure went great!

I went to the surgery center on Friday morning (my surgery was slated for 0930), and went into a pre-op. Although we had a little bit of trouble getting my IV in (apparently I don't have any "good" veins in my forearms/hands), we were finally able to put it in the bend of my arm. Then the plastic surgeon was in to mark up my chest and go over some post-op instructions. I vaguely remember being wheeled into the operation room moving onto the operation table, but after that the only thing I can remember is waking up to such a sweethearted nurse in the recovery room. She answered all of my questions (most of which I don't remember asking) and when my boyfriend was allowed into the room she instructed him on caring for me for the first couple of days.

I haven't been in too much pain, mainly just uncomfortable. I was prescribed a pain med but I wasn't a fan of feeling groggy so I fully switched to Tylenol after the second day. The muscle spasm medication seems to help, but nothing is a better cure all than a hot shower. I recommend having somebody there to talk to you (inside the shower curtain or even just sitting in the bathroom) just to keep you from falling asleep, but the warm water and having to wash my hair (by myself) has been the best stretching and an all together feel good remedy.

My incision sites are a tad itchy and sting a bit during various activities, but the majority of my discomfort during recovery has been from constipation. I felt so bloated the first few days that it made my almost regret the procedure. I tried to combat it with milk of magnesia, but diarrhea was fairly uncomfortable, too. Honestly that was to be my biggest complaint of the whole ordeal.

Now that I am about 5 days out from surgery, I am certainly past the hump, if you will, and moving towards resuming my regular daily activities (minus the workouts and lifting anything over 10 lbs). I have been released to ride a stationary bike if I would like, and I will let you guys know how that goes when I make a trip to the gym tomorrow. My incisions are still tender (as to be expected) and they have started bruising above, but the doctor assured me that everything looks perfect and was impressed by how mobile I was at the 3-day checkup Monday.

He also mentioned to me that daily activities would not hurt the implant; all the pain and discomfort that I am feeling is due to the muscles being stretched and of course the actual incision site healing. I guess I was initially being extra careful to touch even the breast skin around my implants, but it's just something to keep in mind for those who are also in recovery. Implants aren't a crutch, the only healing you need to worry about is the muscle/incision.

I had my surgery yesterday morning, and I was released from the hospital around 1 PM. I went home and slept for several hours, woke up, had some coffee, and went to watch Mockingjay Pt. 2. I thought it was extremely helpful for me to get out of the house and think of something else besides my boobs or being uncomfortable.

I woke up this morning with what I assume to be "morning boob" (i.e. pain and discomfort from being stationary all night). I combated it with my arm stretches from the plastic surgeon and then getting in the shower. Although I felt very tight beforehand, the warm water enabled me to stretch out, and I was even able to wash my hair without too much discomfort.

I got out again today (I got to Ole Miss and we are having our final home game against LSU this afternoon) but I had to leave at the end of the first quarter because the cold air started contracting my chest muscles and causing serve discomfort even though I took a muscle relaxer right before leaving. I think I might have over estimated how well my recovery was going, but I plan on backing off for awhile. I am back at my apartment now under my electric blanket and making hot tea.

I will post some post-op photos later today of how my boobs are looking. With the exception of some nipple swelling, I couldn't be more happy with the way that they have turned out so far. I'm fairly bloated in my abdomen too, but my surgeon said that would go away within a week or so. The incision sites are covered by water proof bandages, so showering isn't hard and I don't have to deal with the issue of redressing my wounds.