Journals and Photos from Women With Breast Implants – Harley Girl – San Francisco, California
I am 29, 5’10, 135 pounds and was a 34A. I am now a 34DD after two surgeries. I had capsular contracture after my first surgery and multiple minor complications after the 2nd surgery.
Why I did it? It was at a New Years Eve party. Like usual, I was feeling frumpy. I could not wear the sexy v-cut spaghetti strap dresses that were in style because they looked ridiculous on me. Like many of you, I had nothing to fill it up. I needed to have a bra on that I could add padding to just to look somewhat balanced. Then one of my friends walked in with a new girlfriend, and everyone’s jaws just about dropped to the ground, including mine. If only! Later, another friend said to me “You know they aren’t real, don’t you?” I was shocked. I had no idea that implants could look so natural.
I am a pure vanity case. I was not real saggy, nor was not completely flat. I was not uneven. But I was sick of stuffing — sick of what I was limited to wearing if I did, or did not, plain sick of not feeling sexy.
My husband was very against the surgery at first. He had three arguments.
“But I don’t care if you have them. I am a butt man.” That did not go over very well with me! It was not about him. But tied to the 2nd and 3rd arguments of
“There are a lot of things we can do with that much money.”
“If you are going to do it, at least wait until AFTER we decide about having children.” It was an awful lot of money for a vanity issue, especially in the San Francisco area where everything is expensive! I hemmed and hawed over the decision for almost five years. Finally, after that party, I just did it. I did my research first of course. I spoke to a dozen women that I knew had them, and consulted with 6 doctors. I heard that every single type of incision was best, and that I should go under, over, round, oval, textured, smooth and even that I needed a lift (with an A cup??)
I learned, and slowly ruled out what was not right for me. I finally selected the doctor of the woman I met at the New Year’s party. He was not a breast specialist, per say, but he had done hundreds of breast surgeries over the years and he and his staff were very impressive. I met three other women who had had implants done by him, who had been happy for over ten years. He was very highly recommended.
We went though my sizing activity, and I stressed what I wanted over and over. I did everything right. I stuffed, we sized and measured. I took in pictures. I gave exact desired measurements. We decided on under, smooth, about 450 cc’s to get to a baby D, or about a 9.5 inch cup. Perfect Balance, natural but a tad large was my goal.
There are so many surgery stories out there so I won’t bore you with mine. Suffice it to say that it is easy for some, horrible for others. I, who did natural childbirth and have never taken anything stronger than Advil, went through three full bottles of Vicodin and was in bed for over a week. No bruising, though! Many say this is one of the areas that using a breast specialist is key – their techniques are perfected, and your recovery is easier.
My new breasts were perfect at first; they looked absolutely fantastic! I started massage on day 5, following the instructions to the tee. My husband was in awe; he loved them! At 6 weeks, they had shrunk down below 9″. Not even a full C and far below the size I had so carefully chosen and communicated. All my C bra’s were too big. The doctor said he had put in 410 and 420 cc’s, because the 450’s were a tad large on me. I was disappointed and stared at them night and day. My bust measurement was a just over an inch smaller than my hips. I finally realized that I was being silly; that I was very LUCKY to have such wonderful results. They were perfectly shaped, the scars invisible, the implants completely invisible and not able to be felt at all. Undetectable. Perfect. What else could someone want?
I did my exercises religiously and stopped staring so much. I even stopped visiting Nicole’s site hourly! Then one day, during my regular massages, I realized that my nipples had become quite uneven. I went up to the doctor the next day, and discovered that I had capsular contracture, starting from the bottom of the left side pocket. My body was naturally trying to heal the pocket that had been created for the breast implant.
Despite dramatically aggressive massaging, Vitamin E, etcetera, the capsule got progressively worse. I started to get sharp, shooting pains in my breast, and it moved a full 3 inches up above the other.
I had no choice. I needed a capsulotomy. Since I really wanted to be about 1/2″ to 3/4″ of an inch larger, I took advantage of the necessary surgery to have my implants completely replaced.
This is where, I believe, my biggest mistake was. I had perfect results, which a minor, inexpensive surgery could have easily corrected. Instead, I gave into my vanity, and the influences of people that could not see me, that did not know me, to go bigger.
I had heard over and over that you “had to go up at least 200 cc’s to get up a size.” I mean over and over and over, adamantly from so many women. This is very untrue. Maybe on some, but it is NOT true for everyone!
My doctor recommended only an additional 80 cc’s. I insisted on more based on what I heard over and over about needed 200 more cc’s to get up one side. We compromised at 125 additional cc’s. We discussed textured implants, but my doctor wanted to try the smooth one more time, as did I. I was nervous about the lack of movement in textures that I had personally observed. I insisted on the redo through my original transaxillary incision. My first results had been great; there was no reason to believe the second breast enlargement surgery would not be fine.