It's Twins!! - Very Long!

[lacey320]

Hi everyone, I'm using this thread to detail everything about my BA/BL experience. Hope it is helpful to everyone!

[lacey320]

I’m a single mom, age 35, one son age 8. I’m 5’3, 120, started out as a very, very small 34B. I started thinking about implants the day I got measured for my first post-nursing bra and was told I was a “large A” by the lady at JCPenney. I burst into tears, thinking, isn’t that a contradiction in terms? I can thank my son for the big reduction – I nursed him exactly 13 months, and that was enough to do it. The best I ever looked was when I was still breastfeeding but had lost the baby weight – I could stop traffic! 
I used to be sooo against implants. I equated them with Pamela Anderson – cute girl, loved Baywatch, but I just knew that in my profession (college professor, psychologist), I would never be taken seriously. I get enough flak for dressing cute and wearing makeup. I was also against them because I didn’t like the idea of anything foreign in my body, I didn’t want the big helium balloon look, I didn’t want them to feel fake, I thought they looked trashy, etc. The list went on and on.

Then I started reading about silicone and that it had been re-approved and I knew without a doubt that that was what I wanted if I ever went through with it. For the next three years or so, I continued to go back and forth about the cost, the complications, etc, but on the other hand really wanting them because I just wanted to get back to the nice mid-sized 34C I was before pregnancy. I had become very aware of how small they were, how I didn’t fill out my shirts or bathing suits anymore, etc. Pre-pregnancy, they were nice and I never gave them a second thought. Post-pregnancy, I was dissatisfied and thought about it a lot, every time I got dressed.

The other thing I noticed was that during intimacy, guys didn’t seem to pay as much attention as my pre-baby body, when they used to be all over them. My breasts had always been like a sense of pride for me, and now they were barely getting noticed, and this did affect my enjoyment of intimacy.

[lacey320]

I knew I wanted to go to someone who really knew breasts. I didn’t want a plastic surgeon who did facelifts or nose jobs all day going anywhere near my breasts. I researched Dr. Tebbetts in Dallas and the rapid recovery process and knew that’s what I wanted. I had considered flying to Texas to have Dr. Tebbetts do them, but after the flight, bringing someone with me, staying in a hotel, etc, I figured it would be much better to have them done closer to home.

The final thing that happened that prompted me to make the consult appointment was a couple of milestones. I had a bad breakup with my boyfriend of over a year and completely had my heart broken – I was the one to end it, but I had no choice due to the fact that I was quickly finding out he wasn’t who he had presented himself to be. On top of it, I had spent most of 2008 helping him get over a severe ankle injury, playing nursemaid, taking him to his physical therapy when he couldn’t drive, etc. Our break-up coincided with his ankle starting to get better, and even though I don’t think that was the only reason, I was still pissed about all that time I invested, all the things I missed out on, only to have the relationship end just as he was getting better. Just one of those curveballs life throws at you. It was devastating, really, but it caused me to think more about myself and what I wanted, rather than always focusing on everyone else and ending up disappointed. I also turned 35, and I had decided to always have a little work done on birthdays that end in a zero or a five ha ha. I figured it was time. For me, BA has been just as much psychological as it has been physical.

[lacey320]

I went for a consult in May, and the first plastic surgeon told me I would need a Benelli lift. The second plastic surgeon, Dr. Ganchi in Wayne, New Jersey, who I ended up booking with, confirmed this.

The reason I didn’t go with the first plastic surgeon was because his patient coordinator was just awful to me and it was adding to my anxiety. I just wanted to feel comfortable, and even though I liked the doctor, I couldn’t be in a state of nerves every time I called his office. She was just rude and unhelpful. Plain and simple.

I was very bummed about needing a lift, but I double checked online what had been said about my measurements, did the pencil test (and yes, my right boob held it in place perfectly LOL) and he was exactly right. Still bummed. It was more money, more invasive, couldn’t get the crease incision I wanted, ugh. But I knew I would still go through with it. And I trusted the doc knew what he was talking about. He told me that even though my sagging was minor, I would likely be very unhappy without the lift.

I looked at pics on the web of women who got implants but did not have a lift when they clearly needed one, and that helped to also make my decision. I realized my boobs have *always* sat low on my chest, even when I was a teenager and I first developed them. Losing volume after breastfeeding made them perkier, but not enough to avoid a lift.

The girl who does my hair had had the exact same lift/incision, but she had saline and went much bigger than I wanted to. I had seen her breasts twice, and at about 3 months post-op I could barely find the scars. She looked amazing. It was nice to actually see what the incision looked like in person, because the last thing you want to do after spending all this money and going thru the operation process is end up feeling like the part of you that really makes you feel and look feminine was mutilated or something.
I also told the doc that I have a complete phobia about having my wrists restrained during surgery – bad experience being strapped to a papoose board as a little girl to have stitches done. The doc assured me they would only strap my wrists after I was under and un-strap them before I woke up. I felt better. I also told him I didn’t want a machine breathing for me – I wanted to breathe as much on my own as possible. He said there was a type of anesthesia they could do that was one step above full intubation, where I would have a mask over my face but no tube down my throat. I was okay with that.

I took a couple of weeks to think about it, made sure my mom could come up and help me the weekend after surgery, and booked it. I saved up the money by working lots of overtime and paid in full. I used my American Express so that I could get the major # of points it would give me for free travel, etc., then I paid off the balance right away.

[lacey320]

I wasn’t sure what to tell my 8-yr-old son, I was concerned about my boobs being too big to be taken seriously at work (but also concerned that if I went too small I’d be disappointed), I was concerned about what would happen if I started dating someone around the time I got the BA. I was worried about waking up in the middle of surgery or feeling pain.

What I Did About My Son: Surprisingly enough, the topic did come up one day while we were doing dishes of all things. I told him I was *thinking* about having my “boobies made bigger.” He asked why, and I told him the truth – that I was thrilled to have breastfed him, but they had lost their shape as a result. I’ve always been honest with him. He told me, “Well think really hard before you do it, Mom, because you can’t undo it afterward.” And that was it! LOL It’s like talking to a grownup sometimes! The other thing was, I decided not to tell him my exact surgery date and just let him know afterwards that I’d had it done. This is so he wouldn’t worry on the actual day-of, and by the time he saw me afterwards, he could see that Mommy was safe and healthy.

My Ex-Husband: Well, he’s a typical ex-husband. Always worried that the *huge* amount of support he’s giving me every month is being spent to fund my life of luxury (yeah right!!). I decided not to tell him anything and when he inevitably asks if this is what the child support is paying for, I’m going to tell him that it’s all part of my evil plan to bankrupt him so I can have more surgery. That ought to keep him quiet. Plus he was always a boob man so I know he’ll be sneaking looks, LOL.

Being Taken Seriously at Work: This has always been a problem. The doctor assured me that he would give me a look where I could dress up the girls when I want, or play them down under a blazer. I was very happy to hear that. Honestly, what others think doesn’t bother me BUT as a single mom I can’t afford to jeopardize my career opportunities or earning potential, which is why I cared about this so much. Put it this way – if I were independently wealthy, what my colleagues thought would be the last thing on my mind, but in my profession it can make you or break you.

Telling People, Dating: I’ve been single for 5 years, with the exception of the one year I dated my ex-bf and another 6-7 months I dated someone before that. Otherwise, I just date casually – dinner here and there, nothing serious. I am a very private person, and to be honest, due to bad past relationships, I have huge trust issues. With people I trust, I’m an open book – I told my close friends everything they wanted to know. But with someone whom I might just be newly dating, I tend to be more reserved until I can determine whether their motives are honest. I realized the healing process would take a while – till everything felt and looked normal, and I was thinking, what if I enter into a sexual relationship just before BA or during the first two months of the healing process? How funny, I ended up seeing an ex BF around the time of the surgery, so I did tell him, b/c we had that comfort level. And of course he was very curious LOL! I also told a potential new lover, but only b/c he and I have been good friends since we were six so the comfort level was there with him as well. It was no big deal.

Waking Up in the Middle of Surgery: I think I have this fear from seeing a bad Lifetime movie or something, where a nurse was addicted to meds, and she would substitute them with water and the patients would feel pain! Although this remained a fear, what I tried to focus on was the fact that I had had rhinoplasty, wisdom teeth extraction, etc with twilight anesthesia, and I remembered nothing. I had lipo in 2006 and I was marginally awake for the procedure (they gave me a bunch of sedatives, no IV or anything) and I have almost no memory of it. So I just tried to focus on that. I also thought about how fabulous I was going to look in clothes afterwards!

[lacey320]

5 Weeks Before Surgery:
I booked with Dr. Ganchi. Really liked his office and his staff, and he took a lot of time with me during the consult. His assistant even showed me her crease scars from when he did her BA. Everyone was great. Started to get really excited.

4 Weeks Before Surgery:
I freaked out when the office called to tell me they couldn’t honor the surgery date I’d booked – June 5. Something about operating room availability. I told them to find a way to make it work, and they did. I just could not change everything around – I had already had my mom change her own work schedule, made arrangements for my son to be taken care of, I was like no way. I need that date. And they worked it out for me and I was very grateful.

During this time period I also started making lists of things I’d need to buy/take care of before surgery, like grocery stuff, getting my work done for the week by a certain day, etc. I was pretty excited, feeling good about my decision, and looking at my boobs a lot in the mirror, trying to picture what they would look like afterward! I also called my plastic surgeon’s office to make sure I could keep taking my allergy meds up until surgery – I’m prone to sinus infections and I didn’t want to get one right before surgery.
Saw an ex-bf and told him I was getting my boobs done. He tried to talk me out of it saying it wouldn’t feel the same and I was like whatever dude, we’re just having drinks so don’t worry about it!

3 Weeks Before Surgery:
Thought it would be a really good idea to do certain things like color my hair (which requires a lot of reaching up above my head) and also use a spa certificate I had been given to get a massage, because I figured it might be a while before I would be comfortable lying on my stomach.

2 Weeks Before Surgery:
Took a trip to the beach with my mom, enjoyed my last margarita! Started eating only whole foods, minimized any foods with preservatives in them, for example, eating strawberries for dessert (good antioxidants!) instead of ice cream. Started drinking pomegranate juice, just because it makes me feel good, it’s full of good nutrition. Increased intake of liquids. Started taking Vitamin C, which was recommended by plastic surgeon. Made a list of what I would need in my hospital bag, what to wear on day of surgery, etc. Started logging into the Post-Op/Recovery forum more often to know what to expect right afterward.

1 Week Before Surgery:
Got my prescriptions filled. Cleaned the house really well – it looked great! Got all my laundry done. Made a list of extra chores my son could do in the weeks after BA to earn some extra allowance money. Got all my paperwork done for work, even got ahead a few days so I wouldn’t have to do any work the day after surgery. Did a final grocery trip. Planned and laid out my day-of-surgery outfit – really comfy shorts made out of sweatshirt material, flip flops, hoodie. Had trouble finding PhisoHex, a soap I was supposed to wash with before surgery – called the plastic surgeon’s office and they said I could use Hibicleanse, which is over-the-counter and much less expensive! Started having trouble sleeping – kept waking up, which is rare for me.

Day Before Surgery:
Set up my night table with all of the things I’d read were good to have there – a water bottle with a loosened cap and a straw next to it, my laptop, cell phone, makeup remover wipes for freshening up, ponytail holders, some magazines. Did a final cleaning of the house, even though I knew my mom would keep things nice and neat while she was there.

Night Before Surgery:
Took advice I’d read on the forum and had a small meal (my favorite spicy shrimp rolls from the local sushi guy!) right before midnight. This was especially important because I had a late surgery time and I knew I would be starving the next day. Hung out with my mom, who had arrived to help out the next day. Made sure my son was with his dad and that he would take him to school and pick him up the next afternoon so that I wouldn’t have any worries there (didn’t tell the ex why, just told him I had “plans” LOL). Did a few loads of laundry, and got some last minute things together.

[lacey320]

We did the 90 min drive to New Jersey, and we got my mom checked into her hotel. I had to be at the hospital at 12:30. I took the Valium the doc prescribed at about 9 a.m., but other than making me lose my train of thought from time to time, it did nothing!! I got pretty anxious waiting for surgery to start. The staff at the hospital was wonderful, so cheerful, helpful, and reassuring. I took the pee test then they sent me to get changed for surgery. My mom was allowed to stay with me until I went into the operating room. It really helped to have her there.

The doctor came and took some measurements and marked me up. I wanted 371cc silicone, and he said he would do his best to get the implant in through the areola rather than doing an additional crease incision. He said he would place the implants first, then do the lift after the implants were in. He said the process would take about 3 hours. Then the anesthesiologist came to talk to me. It turned out he used to do anesthesia for open heart surgery patients, so I felt like I was in very good hands. After a quick bathroom trip (they said I was peeing so much because of the anxiety!) they wheeled me into the operating room. I was chatting w/the nurses, then all of the sudden I started tingling all over, in my head and my body. They kept saying “Okay, good night! Off to la-la land” but I stayed conscious long enough to ask them if I was going to be okay. That was the last thing I remembered!

I woke up in the recovery room, and after another half hour had passed, I was sent to my assigned hospital room where my mom was waiting for me. What is great about my doc is that his patients can stay over in the hospital at no extra charge. I was SOOO glad I did this – they kept an IV drip on me through the night, and I had to keep calling for help to go to the bathroom. I was able to get extra antibiotics and pain meds, and it was so much easier on both me and my mom that way, given that the first six hours after the surgery were the worst. The first time I sat up and tried to walk to the bathroom, I got nauseous and dizzy, like I was going to faint. I was also in quite a bit of pain in my chest. The nurses added some anti-nausea meds and gave me some morphine into my drip, so within about 20 minutes I was able to get up and go to the bathroom. I drank a lot of apple juice and water, too, because my mouth was very dry.

I was covered with the hospital gown, so I couldn’t see what my boobs looked like!! Everything was very tight and sore, but I was not in any excruciating pain – it was just uncomfortable. The pain meds helped a LOT. Each time I got up, it felt a little better. The nurses were just wonderful. So helpful and kind. I think a part of me was expecting some attitude or something, given all the people they encounter who are in for serious illness, but they treated me just as well as anyone else.

I can understand now why people pay extra money to stay at recovery facilities afterward. The hospital stay made everything easier for both me and my mom. The hospital bed was great too – it helped me to sleep upright, and it was very comfortable. And it was nice not to have to pay additional for this service!

[lacey320]

Woke up about 5 a.m. and a nurse came in to take my blood pressure and offer me some cranberry juice. Soon afterwards, they brought orange jello and chicken broth for breakfast yuck! Didn’t touch it – ate a piece of bread instead. Although I hadn’t eaten for 36 hours, I wasn’t hungry. The nurse brought me 2 percocet, and I took them and dozed off.

My doctor came at about 9:00 a.m. to check me out. He said that everything looked great and that he was able to do everything through the areola, which is what I was hoping for. He reviewed all of my post op instructions then said he would see me in about a week. He undid my bra, which is white Velcro – there were two pads covering my breasts, and there were steri-strips around my areolas. I wasn’t bruised at all, and I thought they looked amazing, even though they are sitting very high right now. I was like, do these actually belong to me?? Even all square and swollen, they looked so much better than my sad deflated boobs did!

My mom arrived about 11 to pick me up, and I was feeling great by then. Stopped for some coffee on the way home and it tasted so good! The drive felt like nothing, but I think trying to go home the same day of surgery would have been a disaster because the pain was so much less today than it was the day of surgery. I felt very alert and awake.

I ate a sandwich when I got home, took my meds, and just relaxed. I feel very good! I weighed myself the day of surgery, and today when I got home the scale was 7 pounds more!! Must have been all the fluids.

I’m going to nap for a bit then get up and watch some movies with my mom and my son. Overall, this has been a great experience so far.

[lacey320]

I will be posting some pics in the next couple of days, so send me a friend request if you would like to see them.

[Momtotwo]

Congrats Girl!!! :-) Thank you for posting such a great story! I'm really glad everything has gone so well for you! I hope the rest of your recovery continues to be a smooth one. Best of luck to you. You are going to love them!!! :-)

[nicolelove]

congrats thank you for sharing this story.

[wantachange]

great story, very informative! And Congrats!!!

[Carmella]

WOW...what a great story. Thank you for taking the time out to give us such a detailed account of your experience.

[Summer7]

Wonderfully detailed story. I love reading stuff like this. Please keep updating it as your journey progresses!

[DeniseWantsDDs]

WHAT A GREAT STORY! Thank you for sharing!!! Two booobs [thumbs] up!

[urbanite403]

Congrats & thanks for the detailed story!!!

[daisydog]

Love your story!!! I cant wait to see pics & get an update. While reading this I realized I wont be able to drink while in Hawaii.
Hope you have an easy recovery & enjoy the time with your mom & son.
Best Wishes!!!

[cosmo422]

Ver nice story, thanks for sharing your experience

[all4me81]

Thanks for taking the time to post your story for us. I hope you continue to heal quickly.

[lacey320]

Originally Posted by daisydog

Love your story!!! I cant wait to see pics & get an update. While reading this I realized I wont be able to drink while in Hawaii.
Hope you have an easy recovery & enjoy the time with your mom & son.
Best Wishes!!!

Awww, it stinks that you won't be able to drink on your vacation!! I guess it's a good sacrifice to make, though, considering the reason!