Alrighty, this is for all you well-wishers, BA-hopefuls, curious cats, etc.
I had my surgery on April 23, and I started with natural 36C's which had originally been 36D's. I don't have kids, but am about to turn 30 so age and gravity did cause me to lose some of my youthful fullness and firmness. I wanted to rectify that and go a bit bigger. I figured in the DD to DDD range.
I won't go into tooooo much detail here, because I'm planning to write an article and submit it to Pryce, but here are all the main points:
I did ALOT of research before making any decisions. I asked girls I worked with and on forums like this one, and went through hundreds of websites. I found that has the most information and resources in one place, so I used that site extensively. When I finally decided I really wanted new breasts (last October), I went into high gear and really started researching, making consultations appointments, and asking around. Since I live in Puerto Rico I started with doctors here, but after consultations with 5 docs here, decided to look in the US because all the docs here in PR wanted to give me something like 350cc at most, and I knew I needed more than that. I also knew I WANTED more than that.
Next closest place was Florida and I've always heard there are good docs there and costs are relatively low, so I used the resources on Implantinfo to find some docs there. That site has links to FL state websites where one can look up ANY doctor's medical license, his lawsuit/claim/settlement history, and whether he has been disciplined by the licensing board. I used those to filter through tons of docs in FL, and narrowed my potentials down to 3 in Orlando. Made appointments for consultations (free - in PR you have to pay for consultations, but not in the states). Had consultations during the first week of February, after which I knew which doc to choose.
I had been going to consultations with a guess that I'd need at least 500cc to get to the size I wanted, and all the doctors had said they don't go that big or they don't like to go that big. Only one said, "You'll need something in the 6-700 range to get the look you want." I also liked his staff and the fact that they gave me a complete tour of the facilities, including surgical suite, before they let me leave the office on that first visit. I pretty much knew I wanted him to do my surgery, but being the perfectionist I am, I waited until I could go online and ask the ladies on the Implantinfo forums about my perspective doc(s) in Orlando. I got several positive replies for the one I liked, so the next day, before my flight home, I went back to Dr Jon Trevisani's office, paid the deposit and set the date (not to be confused with Dr Tom Trevisani in the same town - Dr TOM has a bad reputation; Dr JON has an excellent one). That felt kind of like what I'd imagine setting a wedding date would feel like, since I was choosing the day I would permanently change my body. I wouldn't normally plug other sites here, but I found Implantinfo to be so helpful, and I am so pleased with my results that I definitely recommend them both to anyone. Dr JON Trevisani's website is .
Once I had my date set, I figured out how much money I would need for surgery, trip and living expenses during recovery, added a little extra, and set a savings goal. I could have used some savings I already have, but I prefer not to do that, so I literally started working my butt off to save the necessary funds. I worked ALOT of hours during the next 10.5 weeks, but it paid off in two ways: 1) I met my goal plus $200 extra, 2) I toned up a bit more from all the extra dancing. Sometimes it was hard to drag myself in for all the extra hours, but whenever I thought about skipping out, I just thought about my new boobs and that got me excited enough to go on in and hustle.
The doc normally does pre-op visits two weeks prior to surgery in order to get a blood test for possible anemia (can't do surgery if you're anemic, so take those vitamins), but since I was travelling from PR he said I could save that trip by getting the test done by my local doctor and sending him the results asap. I got my test done and everything was normal, so I bought my plane tickets and made hotel and car reservations.
The next important thing in the planning was to figure out who would take care of me. I have no SO to drag along, and none of my friends could take the time off work to go, so I had no other choice than to opt for an overnight stay at the doctor's office (with a 24 hour nurse), and arrange for a nurse to come to my hotel to check on me and help me for the next 2 days. The overnight stay only cost an extra $300, and with all the IV drugs for pain, nausea and sleep, plus the constant nurse's care, it was totally worth it. I highly recommend this even for those who have SO's to take care of you after surgery.
The first day is the worst. Pain, nausea, and generally feeling crappy from coming out of anesthesia is much better dealt with by professionals. When I first woke up, after a few minutes, I started shaking uncontrollably - even my teeth started chattering - so the nurse came right over and injected something into my IV which calmed me right down and made me nod back off to sleep in a few minutes. She also gave me stuff for pain and to keep me from getting sick and throwing my guts up from all the drugs. I was kept very comfortable, with crackers, Sprite, and food and water when I was feeling better. The nurse kept ice packs on me to keep my swelling and bruising minimal. They had a TV in the room and I could also read the book I'd brought.
In the morning the nurse who was taking care of me in the hotel came and drove me home and got me all set up in my room, gave me her home and cell numbers, and called to check on me later. She came back that evening and the next, and also called me at other times to see if I was ok and if I needed anything. I didn't need much because I had dones my homework and rented myself a studio in an extended stay hotel with full kitchens, and made sure I had plenty of food all within arm's reach. One side note, during the first few days after surgery you can't reach over your head, and the microwave in my room was set up in the cabinets, so before surgery I pulled it down on the counter so I could reach it to nuke my food. I like to home-cooking, so in the couple days before surgery I bought groceries and made up a big pot of soup, potato salad, cole slaw, and mashed potatoes and froze them in those ziplock freezer bowls. I also bought a big box of crackers and plenty of Sprite. (Saltines and caffiene-free sodas like 7UP, Sprite, and club soda help settle an upset stomach, and with all the drugs they give you, you're bound to get a bit sicky-poo.)
I had slept most of the day after surgery, and the next day I slept alot too, but not quite as much. I took the prescription pain-killers and antibiotics on the clock, and the prescribed valium at bedtime to sleep. That second day I spent entirely on the couch, except for when I had to get up to eat, go the bathroom, or carry the icepacks to or from the freezer. They had me use bags of frozen peas which work extremely well as icepacks - 15-20 minutes every hour for the first couple days.
The second day after surgery, I woke up feeling alot better, so I didn't take the prescription stuff anymore - only the antibiotics. My on-call nurse had brought me Extra Strength Tylenol so I used that a couple times, but for the most part I only had a LITTLE swelling and discomfort - mostly the weird feeling of having something foreign and heavy stuck in my chest.
I wasn't allowed to shower until the second day after surgery, and my on-call nurse helped me with that. She washed my hair, shaved my armpits, helped me in and out, combed my hair, etc. That was the first time I'd seen my new 'girls' and they looked really good already. Every time I looked down at them I just giggled with excitement. I was giggling so much in the shower I had the nurse laughing with me. And I was so excited when I got out and looked in the mirror I had to have a picture, so I had the nurse take a couple shots on my camera. She was very good with helping me, and a very nice girl. One of the times after she'd called to check on me, and I'd said I wanted chocolate and it was the one thing I'd forgot to get before surgery, she brought a whole stack of candy bars to my room that afternoon.
I had to sleep on the couch for the first 4-5 days after surgery because it was too uncomfortable to turn on my side, but now I'm sleeping in the bed with 3 pillows - one for my head and one for each side. I can't sleep on my back, and can no longer sleep on my stomach with the new twins, but with a pillow on each side I can sleep on either side. I just lay the pillows longways beside me, and when I want to turn over I carefully do so (the extra weight is still slightly uncomfortable) and prop the 'girls' on a pillow. It works fine and I sleep fine this way. Without the pillow the girls would hang a little too far to one side and pull uncomfortably on my newly stretched skin.
I had my first post-op visit last Monday, 5 days after surgery, and I was told to start taking my regular vitamins again (they had me stop them all a few days before surgery so I my blood would clot well), and to up my vitamin E intake to 2000 IU per day for the next month. After that I am supposed to drop the vit E to 1000 IU per day, indefinitely. I am already used to taking vitamins daily so this is no big deal. The vitamin E helps your skin heal, and more importantly, helps ensure that the membrane your body forms around the implant bag doesn't get hard and cause capsular contracture - a very ugly complication. I also have to put lotion on my new girls every day for a while to moisturize my newly stretched skin.
I've had a very easy recovery so far - apparently overs aren't nearly as painful as unders, and last Sunday I was able to go to Universal with a friend I work with who was home in Tampa with family that week - we also took her neice and nephew who were in town visiting. Of course I couldn't ride any rides, but I could go in the special effects things and check out the stuff, and generally enjoy being out and about. I was told not to drive for 4-6 days after surgery, and then only if I had power steering and could steer without pain. I was able to drive on the 4th day.
Yesterday I had my second post-op visit, and the doc took some 'after' photos and showed me how to massage. I have to massage them twice a day for, I guess, forever. Everyone agrees my new girls look great and my recovery is going extremely well. I still have a little discomfort - stretched skin, brief minor pain from nerves healing (when they cut into you, depsite what anyone says, nerves WILL get cut and it takes time for them to heal), soreness in the pec muscles, weird feeling of something foreign in my body. All of this is getting better by the day, and I can see the possibility of going back to work in a couple weeks. I'm not supposed to do any upper body weightlifting until 8 weeks after surgery, but I can do some light-to-moderate cardio now and lower body weights in a couple weeks.
That's all I can think of for now, and I'll start an article that I'll finish once I'm able to go back to work. I've got some pics I need to scan and upload, but I've got plans to go out with my friends tonight for the first time since surgery (for the first time in months for that matter), so sorry all! You'll have to wait a day or two for the pics! But I'll put up a nice progression on my yahoo group as I get them, and a couple shots for the gallery here, so until then.....
I hope this helps all you ladies thinking of having breast surgery - I am soooo glad I did! Like two of my doctor's nurses said, I don't regret doing it, but I do wish I done it sooner!![]()




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You look great! I'm glad your BA experience was so positive. Have fun showing them off when you go back to work.

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