Again, alittle late! My very long story.

[Melanie]

I posted to the introductions forum after I had already made 50 posts. And now I'm 3.5 weeks post-op and am just now posting my BA story. I have been super busy with school and work and boyfriend, etc. and I finally just got a chance to write it. It's just over 2 pages single-spaced, to give you an idea of how long it is. It ranges from research to today.

My Boob Job

Ever since I was 16, I knew I would someday get a boob job. I was dissatisfied with my appearance, which made me dissatisfied with myself. In February of 2007, when I was 20 years old, my sister, Melissa, came to me and offered to loan me the money for the surgery if I would go with her. I took her up on that offer.

Melissa was recommended to go to a plastic surgeon named Dr. Jeffrey Hartog, in Winter Park, FL. The friend who recommended her was recommended by someone else. Both were very satisfied with their results, so we already knew we would be too. We made a consultation and began the journey. In the meantime, we started our research, sharing websites and pictures, spending hours each day looking for new information. We had questions to ask at the consult and were very prepared.

At the consult, we had everything we wanted to know answered. We were so pleased that we went ahead and scheduled the surgery! Melissa paid the down payments and we set the date for just over 4 weeks out. We were so excited!

At the pre-op, we tried on different size implants to get a feel of what we wanted. The nurse said that a general rule of thumb is that the 375cc looks like the 350cc when on you, the 350cc looks like the 325cc, and so on. I liked the look of the 350cc, so I decided on 375cc, almost instantly. We signed ALOT papers (you would’ve thought we were buying a house!) and read a bunch of pamphlets. Because Melissa was doing silicone and I was doing saline, she had many more papers to read and sign. I went ahead and got tested for anemia (a simple prick on the finger, tested immediately) and went about my day. Everything was good to go.

March 29, 2007. I was scheduled for my bilateral mammoplasty (i.e. breast augmentation) at 10:30AM. Needless to say I got minimal sleep the night before, as my nerves were excited through the roof! I finally went to sleep after 4AM and woke up 3 hours later at 7:00. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything, including water, after midnight, and that’s when I usually eat dinner! In the morning, I took an anti-flammatory prescription with the tiniest sip of water. My sister Melissa came home from her boyfriend’s house. We got pillows, puke buckets (just in case!) my iPod, and our favorite stuffed animals, and by 7:30 we were out the door!

When we got to the clinic, we sat in the waiting room for like an hour. I felt perfectly relaxed, but my body thought otherwise. I had diarrhea while we were waiting to get all set up. Finally, we got called back to the room. I had diarrhea 2 more times during the long wait. Finally, Melissa and I filled out forms, signed our lives away, asked a few questions and spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Hartog one last time. Dr. Hartog took pre-op pictures of my breasts and left. Within minutes, the anesthesiologist was in the room, and said she was ready.

I walked with the anesthesiologist through one door, which led to a real nice recovery room. Unfortunately this room was for overnighters, not for us. Oh well. Then we walked through another door, and the atmosphere was completely different. While the previous rooms were warm and inviting, this new area was all white and stainless steel, and smelled just like a hospital. I was given a pre-warmed blanket and led through one more door to the surgery suite.

The weirdest part of the whole experience was physically walking to and lying down on the operating table completely free of any medications. In my past surgery, I was doped up on meds before I went to the table, and don’t remember a thing. Once I lied down on the table with my head positioned, the anesthesiologist put in the IV and started the drug cocktail. She told me what everything was that she was putting in, but after the first one (which would make me a little dizzy, she said), I don’t remember what the others were. I still remember the feeling of the medicine going through my veins. It’s a really cool feeling. I was joking around, having a good time and laughing with all of the nurses and the anesthesiologist, talking about their stupid husbands and some other things. It was pretty entertaining and very comforting.

Within a minute, Dr. Hartog entered the room and had me sit up, with LOTS of help. I was so out of it. He drew with permanent marker around my breasts and I lied back down, with even more help.

Then I woke up. I had anesthesia shake REAL bad, even I was scared. I was cold and feeling the effects of the anesthesia. Melissa was scared because I was shaking so profusely. She was still wide awake and waiting to go to the surgery suite. According to my mother, I kept trying to look down my gown and see the new ta-ta’s, but they kept making me wait until I stopped shaking and calmed down. Finally I did, and when I saw the new twins, I enthusiastically said “hello, girls!”

Melissa walked back to the surgery suite as I was recovering. I slept on and off, and laughed and made doped up jokes, and enjoyed myself. My mother was the most amazing person, using her nursing skills to tend to my every need. I love her so much for all of the assistance, and especially the love, that she provided.

Melissa finally got out about an hour later and I was starting to feel better. She only had slight anesthesia shake. I don’t remember anything she said, unfortunately. After a couple more hours (I think?) we finally headed out. Melissa got the back seat so she could lie down and I got the front seat because I had had a longer time to recover.

When we got home, we went straight to our beds. Yet again, our mother was always there for us, checking on us more than you would think a husband would. She helped us sit up, toasted and jellied our bread to take the Lortabs with, and logged every single medication we took, including Arnica Montana (a natural pill used to reduce bruising). We pretty much just lied in our beds for the first day and a half, with our mother giving us Lortabs every 4 hours.

By day 3, we were starting to wean ourselves off the Lortab, taking it every 6 hours instead of every 4. Melissa and I were up and walking around when the Lortab was kicked in, and we even started to watch the movie Crash, until we both fell asleep halfway through. My grandparents came over and saw our new additions, and my best friend and her fiancée came over the next day. The day after that, our dad came over for support. By this time, I was still very sore but not in dyer need of painkillers.

On day 5 we had our 1 week post-op, so I could head back to Jacksonville without having to drive 100 miles back for a 5-minute appointment to hear everything was fine. And yes, everything was fine. Dr. Hartog took off the tape that was helping to form the crease, and confirmed everything looked great!

I also went back on day 5 to Jacksonville. My boyfriend had ordered baseball tickets (Florida Gators vs. Florida Seminoles) for me to join him and his family. The game went great, and I even showed SOME skin (as much as you would with your boyfriend’s family!), but my breasts were very cone-like.

Needless to say, I showed everyone, as long as they were female. Everyone’s reaction was “They’re BIG” but that they were the perfect size for me, once their initial shock or seeing me with breasts went down.

I became paranoid that I was bottoming out, or that I was developing Capsular Contracture, but that went away after a couple of weeks. Here I am now, 3.5 weeks post-op, and absolutely loving my new look. I have a newfound confidence, which of course my boyfriend loves as well. My breasts are beginning to really soften and look more realistic, and I am starting to feel like they are a part of me. When I compare my life pre-BA to my life now, I seriously tear up of happiness. I love the new me.

[Bethmomof6]

Thanks so much for sharing your story!! I love reading all the details. CONGRATS!!

[sun]

Thanks for sharing your story. It is great that you have a mother as wonderful as her. My mother inlaw is a nurse and would do the same thing if she knew that I had surgery but I'm living in South Korea right now and she is in tennessee. She is coming over to visit in June and I'm having my surgery after she leaves. No one in my family knows that I'm having surgery and we are not telling them. I will be healed by the time I see them in January 2008.
She would just die if she knew that I did that to my body. She will flip when she sees that my DH and I both have tatoos. Oh well its our bodies. Sorry for rambling. Glad you are healing good. Keep us posted on your changes.

[hortongirl]

Great to hear all went well and that you got what you wanted.

[workoutgirl]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I am glad you did not have any problems as you suspected.... It is also so lovely that your family was so supportive. You have heard so many stories on this board about family and friends not being involved and actually being a little let down at our decision to have implants, you're lucky! Anyway, thank you for sharing....

[gemma]

thanks for sharing xx

[Nica]

THanks for the story

[rachel2314]

Glad to hear everything went well! Thanks for sharing!

[dawnieuk]

aww what a lovely story can i borrow your mother she sounds great! lol.

[familyofsix]

Nice story. I'm with you on the anesthesia, really gives me the shakes. Sometimes that is the worst part of any procedure for me.

[camrok22]

...And she lived happily ever after!

The End



(you forgot that part) =)

[Fashionknockout]

Thanks for sharing your experience!!
You are going to look great!! Congrats!!

[amy_k]

I would like to borrow her too, mine is a nurse but she wouldn't take care of me like that, she is too selfish

[SweetShyGurl01]

Thanks for sharing. You're one busy girl! I just laid here the first 3 days half dead! Glad ur doin well. I also wanted boobs ever since I knew I wasn't gettin any naturally...all my sisters got bigger boobs and I was the first born...

[Jellybee]

Thanks for sharing your story! How nice to be able to go through this with your sister