Isabel's Breast Augmentation Blog

Update..28 wks pregnant (10mths post-op)

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:18:00 +0000

I have been meaning to do this for about a month now but we are in the process of moving to Japan so needless to say, its been put on the back burner. As for the girls they are doing well and up to about 2 mths ago I hadn't changed a bit but since then I have grown from a DD to a full F. It's amazing how much they have grown which is much more than with my other two. I only grew a cup and a half and now not even including when the baby is born and my milk comes in they have grown 2 cups..LORDIE! The hardest part and the most excruciating is finding a bra AND one that I don't have to spend a lot of money on. Other than that, I have had a couple of instances where I actually have lactated from my left breast. Which for me is huge because even though my doctor said he was 95% sure I would be able to breastfeed, I was still very hesitant mainly because of my areolar reduction. I guess I will find out in roughly 12 weeks so we will see. As soon as I can I will post pictures :)

Pregnancy after a BA

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:20:00 +0000

I just recently found out that I am pregnant. When I say recent I mean I am only a few weeks..haven't even gone to the doctor. I thought it would be interesting for other woman to read about my story. So I decided I would start blogging about it. I know I am really interested how the pregnancy is going to affect my brand new boobies. I am especially interested in seeing if I can breastfeed since I had an areola reduction, I had an incision completely around my areola. I go to see the Dr. Pousti tomorrow and will definately ask him how this surgery will affect me breastfeeding. I do not regret getting the surgery before I got preggers, this pregnancy was very unexpected and no matter what happens to my breasts at least they wont look like what they did before..haha

6 weeks+

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:34:00 +0000

It's crazy how the time has flown. I am completely back to normal with all my activities. I just started last week weight training again, sucks that I have to basically start all over but I am glad I am able to finally do it. I was getting tired of nothing but cardio and lower body workouts. My breasts are still dropping my left more than my right. Hopefully the right will catch up in a couple of months. The incisions are looking better everyday, they still are tender and I am still numb around the area. I have feeling on my nipple though which is good, it has dulled since right after the surgery but I suspect that is normal. I go and see Dr. Pousti on the 27th and hopefully this appointment will be like the last.
I am very happy with how everything turned out and now am excited to be looking for a dress for the Marine Corp Ball this year. I must say though after working out and dropping a dress size, I have found out because of the boobies I have to go back to my original size and have it altered in some dresses. Its kind of upsetting but when the dress fits everywhere else except around the chest...I will get over it :D

4 weeks later..

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:52:00 +0000

Wow, I can't believe it has been 4 weeks since my surgery. I am totally comfortable with the girls now although it seems now that I must first look in the mirror before walking out of the house. Some of the tops I owned before now look..hmm...well, now look like my boobs are popping out. I also went shopping today for a bra, I kind of just winged it and went to the Exchange (military department store) and bought a bra. Don't quote me on this but OMG! I think I might be a DD. I had to laugh at myself because I would NEVER have problems finding a 34B before and there I was rummaging through the bra's like a mad woman looking for a DD. OH and on top of that, something WITHOUT an under wire. Never realized how many bra's are built with under wires now, guess I never really had to think about it till now..duh! Anyway, I finally gave up and found a 34D. I just need something to wear with my clothes while I am out and thought, eh what the heck. SO, I wore it for a couple of hours and when I got home the bra had made indention's in my breasts above the nipple area...ugh I give up. As soon as the Dr. says I am out of the surgical bra I am working my way over to Victoria's Secret or Nordstrom..SOME PLACE that will measure me and fit me in the right bra. Crossing my fingers it won't be some specialty bra that costs more than my husband's pay... haha

3 weeks out

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Monday I had an appointment with Dr. Pousti and was praying that he would take the bandages off my areolas. So I am waiting in the room and one of his assistants asked if I would like to share, Dr. Pousti comes in and asked me the same thing. He said, just a couple of women. Um, 6 women came in later..OMG! Don't get me wrong, I love to share with other women about my experience (hence why I am on here). I started thinking about that and MAN I should ask for commission. haha Afterwards I FINALLY had my bandages removed and my first look at my new areola's. Compared to my before pictures, I can't believe how much better they look and only being a couple of weeks out from surgery they didn't look too grotesque. I didn't realize but once they took the bandages off and the air hit my skin I was so sensitive and was in some pain for the rest of the day. I knew that my nerve endings were growing back before but once they took the bandages off..GOODNESS! That night I took 2 percocet which helped. One of the ladies that came in earlier to ask questions wanted to come back to see my areolas after the bandages were removed. She said that they were healing beautifully and she would know because she was a nurse. To my untrained eye they did look good but to hear it from someone who knows what they are talking about felt really good. I learned new exercises to do to help them drop more and am really excited to see how much they will change.

As far as my healing has been going, it's been good and every day I try to push myself a little bit more. I am thoroughly excited to say I am now sleeping on my side and am having much better nights since then. I still get sore when I use my chest muscles or when I work out (still not doing upper body). I have moments where when I stretch or use my chest muscle in a certain way, it's like I feel the implant rubbing up against something...like a gritty sensation. Not sure what that is but at my next appointment I am going to ask. I honestly don't think anything bad is happening but it can't hurt to ask. Also, my areolas have been really sensitive but that is expected and also is getting better. All in all, I am feeling much better and am buying cute tops and getting ready for another night out with my husband :D

Day 15

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:23:00 +0000

It's crazy to say a lot has happened over that last two weeks but it's true. The first week I was freaking out a little because my right breast felt as if it wasn't dropping compared to my left breast. Now I can say that they both feel "almost" natural and have dropped a significant amount in only 2 weeks. The Dr. told me that they would fully drop after 3-6 mths and here I am happy with how they look now (in clothes, that is). Obviously, looking at them without any clothes on you can still see they are high and need to drop plus I have the bandages covering the stitches of my areola reduction. I have an appointment with Dr. Pousti on the 15th and hopefully I will be able to see my new areola's. I kind of like the fact that I still have a surprise waiting. I can't wait till I can take pictures and really see the difference without the bandages on.

1st Day Back At The Gym

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:45:00 +0000

Yesterday I decided to see how well I would do back at the gym. I didn't want to overdue it since I was only 11 days post-op. My friend and I drove together, she was totally cool with leaving if I wasn't feeling up to it. To my GREAT surprise I did a half hour on the elliptical (no arms and going at a much slower pace than usual) and another half hour of walking on the treadmill. By the end I was sore but felt ok. I took today off just in case, plus I am a member of the PTA and Tuesdays I help out at the school anyway. I am excited to get my butt exercising again and will be there first thing tomorrow morning. Now all I have to do is wait until the doctor says I am ok with lifting weights and I will be more than thrilled. :) I KNOW I must have gained weight over these past couple of weeks with no working out and having my mother-in-law in town, we ate so nasty but it was soo good. haha

A Nights Out

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:44:00 +0000

So last Thursday was my anniversary and my husband and I decided that we would go out to celebrate on Saturday night. I was a little apprehensive because I knew that there was no way I would wear the surgical bra out. We went out to the House of Blues here in San Diego and had dinner, afterwards we went to see the band Shinedown. We were out for about 6 hours and I was surprised how well I did. I did wear a bra, it was a simple flimsy sports bra that I would wear to bed at night while I was pregnant with my daughter. (just something to keep them from falling all over the place..lol) The bra worked out well, just enough support. My husband was kind of funny, the top I wore definitely showed some cleavage and I wasn't sure how he would take it. He of course liked it but I think, like myself, he has to get use to the girls as well. We ended up having a lot of fun and are already talking about doing something similar down the road.

1 week post-op..yippee

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:17:00 +0000

A week is down...I am feeling better each day and am just looking forward to the day where I feel 100% again. So last night I decided that I would try to go to sleep without the help of Ambien. WORST NIGHTS SLEEP EVER! Not only was I awake most of the night but when I did sleep I was having some crazy dreams that freaked me out. ugh! I am not sure if it was just because I was uncomfortable sleeping on my back or the pain of the implants moving upward when I lied down or the fact that my body was sooo liking the Ambien and was like "wait, we had a good thing going..what did you do?" I am sure it was a mixture of everything but I was almost in tears because I literally only got a few hours of sleep. Tonight I am not going to be so brave, I am taking a percocet to relax me and hopefully tonight will be much better.
I have been paranoid pretty much since yesterday and decided to call the Dr.'s office today. I feel as if my left breast is doing so well. It's dropping and it starting to not feel so hard and heavy but my right breast is feeling hard and its hurting when I do my exercises. I just really don't want to have any major issues to where I might have to have surgery to fix them. They assured me that its basically having two separate surgeries and one might heal faster than the other. Also the velcro strap on the bra has been on the bottom of the bra and I wanted to ask about putting it overtop of my breasts overnight to help with the swelling in the morning. She told me that having it on top is usually what he did but because of the areola reduction(which I basically had a lift) that is why it was on the bottom. I was told having it on top will help them drop and as soon as I got off the phone I put that puppy over top of the bra...haha It was painful because it was pressing my breast together and of course pushing them down but tonight I am doing much better. Thanks to a dose of percocet but nevertheless better. As the days go by I am getting more used to them and liking them more and more. They look gigantic to me but in reference to the rest of my body they balance me out and that was what I was going for. I am happy with how they proportion me now, I can't wait till they have dropped and look more natural. I want to be that girl that people look at and ask, "did she or didn't she". :)

Post-op day 6

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:17:00 +0000

So I had originally had my dr. appt on Friday but I called yesterday morning in hopes they would see me sooner because I still had the padding on and I had heard that after a few days I would be allowed to shower. To my unpleasant surprise he told me because of the areola reduction and the amount of stitches I would have to wait another WEEK!! Yes I can take baths but its still a chore to take a bath and then to wash my hair separate. NOT FUN! As for the rest of the appointment, it went well. Dr. Pousti said I was healing well and showed me the exercises to help the implants drop.

As far as how I have been feeling over the past two days...pretty well. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't need a nap. I definitely felt it last night though and zonked out pretty quick. Today my mother-in-law and I had to go to the grocery store to stock up on the "uh ohs." Today was the first time I drove (Dr. gave the ok), that was an interesting experience. Parking and getting out the drive way were where it kind of hurt. But I am just thankful that I have an outlet now. Going to the grocery store was suppose to be just the essentials but going there hungry wasn't the best idea. :) Thankfully my mom-in-law helped with my 2-yr-old daughter and some of the heavy stuff, loading and unloading. I am very happy with my progress and it's only been less than a week later, granted some things hurt still but I am up and going. YIPPEE!

4 days post op

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:20:00 +0000

So I have been sleeping in our glider and this morning I woke up to get in the bed, it was 6:30 and I knew if I were to fall asleep I would wake up within an hour so I decided to lay on my side...well kinda, turned toward my side. Ohsugahoneyicedtea! When I tried to get up it felt like my boob had fallen between my armpit and was falling back into place. Nice and painful, won't be doing that any time soon. I have been taking sponge-like baths lately and my husband suggested this morning while everyone was still asleep(mind you I had my mother-in-law and father-in-law in town this weekend)to take a bath. I jumped on it as soon as he suggested it. Granted I just got my bottom half in the tub, I took off my bra so that my husband could wash my back. The bra has been itching me like crazy, especially on my back. Who knew that taking a simple bath would help so much. It was awesome. Next stop taking a shower..lol
As for me still feeling tired, it hasn't really calmed down. Trying to just do simple stuff like give the kids cereal and getting their clothes layed out for the day, poops me out. I feel like I need to be doing SOMETHING though. It's hard for me to just sit my ass on the couch or bed and be waited on. My husband has been awesome, poor guy I know it is starting to get to himand he still has roughly 4 more days left. My mother-in-law has been helping out a lot too but with her its just hard for me to ask her to do the things I normally would do. I have been getting better at it though and trying to feel less guilty every day for asking. It would be so much more nice if my mother were here, I would be able to tell her what to do and not feel one ounce of remorse. Ah the bond between mother and daughter. haha

3 days post op

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:34:00 +0000

On Thursday I took 2 percocet every 4 hours and continued that on Friday, yesterday I wanted to see how I would do with just taking one and it worked out well. So today was my first day of seeing how I could do on no percocet. So far it hasn't been too bad, instead of every 4 hours I have been taking one every 5-6 hours. I am definiately going to continue with the Ambien every night because that has been a heaven sent. It seems now I am getting into a groove with the sleeping arrangements, I sleep in our glider for the better part of the night until I wake up with my back sore and then move to the bed with my head propped up with a backrest pillow. I am also figuring out what I can and can not do. With each day I seem to be a little bit more mobile with my arms but today it seems as if I am way more tired. I think the past few days I have been up and moving around too much and its pretty much just getting a hold of me. I don't feel completely tired like I need to sleep I just feel lethargic. Everytime I sit down I feel more comfortable just closing my eyes and relaxing.
As far as my breast go, they are tender near my areola's but not so much on the breast itself. That part is still swollen though and very heavy. I looked at them for the first time last night and took pictures. Its so funny, my friend who had gotten the surgery done in November 07' told me they would look like "frankenboobs" and guess what....she was so damned right. They are crazy looking. haha But I am actually happy with the way they look now because I can imagine once they've dropped how pretty they will be. All and all I am on the mend and am happy I got this surgery done. It still seems so surreal that it actually happened and it probably will feel that way until I get use to this "new" me.

Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:14:00 +0000

So yesterday I was up and going for the most part. I would have written a blog yesterday but our power was out for the entire day..yippee I wanted to die by 6:30 last night. :( Anyway, I went to see Dr. Pousti yesterday afternoon and they were quite surprised to see me so coherent just a day after surgery. Apparently, they told me I must have a high tolerance for pain. I was having trouble taking the Valium, it wouldn't let me urinate properly so he prescribed me some Ambien to help me sleep. Last night was awesome! Since Wednesday I pretty much have been waking up on the hour every hour and last night I slept basically until my pain meds were due to be taken again. I am not sure if I woke up because of the pain or just the fact that my subconscious mind wasn't going to let me even think about getting close to having pain. Who knows. I do know that probably with the mixture of everything, I have been pretty lethargic. If I use any of my energy it gets zapped pretty quickly.
Some of my issues as of right now are that this stinking bra itches the CRAP out of me. It's like wearing a cast and not being able to reach the spot that itches. Another one of my issues is yes, I know I am much bigger than I was before but because of the gauze and bandages I look like freaking May West. haha I feel very uncomfortable even in my husband's XL t-shirts.
I got tired of trying to sleep with my head up on my bed so I had my husband pull out our glider and put it in our bedroom which actually did a better job than I initially thought. So needless to say, that will be my bed for the next few days. Ok, so this is a little nag but a nag in the least. I am so grateful that my mother-in-law is here but I still feel like I need to be helping in some way. Either the fact that she doesn't know where I put the dishes and just finds a place for them or some other issue with housecleaning. I know I shouldn't be picky and should be grateful but I am a little OCD at times, so there is a lot of swallowing of pride going on. As for the kids and my husband they have been very helpful, so helpful I feel a little guilty being so out of commission. Hopefully a few more days and I will be better help to all of them.
As for my next appointment its not until next Friday which is killing me to even think of keeping this bra on for that length of time. I am going to call on Tuesday and see if I can get in any earlier. I should have pictures by next Friday if not sooner.

Phew...the scary part is over with :)

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:25:00 +0000

So today was my surgery . Yeah not fun waking up at 5:00am but I am so glad that my surgery was in the morning, that way it was done and over with. So I showed up and filled out the normal paperwork. I was dressed in my pj's and no bra when I arrived, kinda awkward but I am so glad I did that. They took me back to a small room with a chair that reclines (would love THAT right now). I was asked to get into my hospital gown with compression tights..very flattering haha. Everyone was very nice and accommodating, such a great staff! Dr. Pousti came in to do his final drawings and to go over exactly what was going to happen. He asked if I was nervous or anxious and to my surprise through this whole experience I was almost completely calm. I think I was freaking out over NOT freaking out. haha Afterwards they led me to the OR a little after 7:00 am and laid down on the table and pretty much was out but not before saying how bad the anesthesia tasted and asked if everyone was happy, yeah I get kooky sometimes. I was done with surgery around 8:30 but didn't wake up completely until 9:25. Of course the first thing I did was take a little sneak peek. hehe I was in recovery for about an hour and arrived home at 11:00. I took all my medication and got some rest but for the most part today I have been awake and somewhat comfortable to my surprise. I am kind of dreading tomorrow though, everyone is telling me that that is when the pain will start to kick in full gear. I have an appointment with Dr. Pousti tomorrow so I am planning to take pictures. Hopefully he looks at me and says...WOW your healing wonderfully.

Nerves...

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:04:00 +0000

It’s a little less than a week away from my surgery and the nerves are starting to hit a little. I feel as if I have a lot to do between now and then and very short time to do it in. I am also realizing that after the surgery things will be different in my world. Not just physically but mentally as well. One issue I am struggling with is the fact that before I wasn’t afraid to let people know that I was getting the surgery, I was happy to announce to those I felt comfortable with (minus my dad..having trouble with that one). Who wants their father to know something like this? I can only imagine how uncomfortable we both will be once it is out.
I am starting to realize that for a person that never had anyone stare at her chest before, that is going to be the topic of discussion and it is truly freaking me out. I can't even fathom what my husband will be feeling knowing that people are going to be staring. On one hand he might like it, ha ha but on the other how awkward would that be for him. It's definitely something we both are going to have to get used to.

Counting the days down

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:48:00 +0000

I went to my pre-op appointment. It’s amazing how real this is beginning to get for me, although it still seems so surreal. Everything went smooth and now I just have to worry about tying up loose ends. My surgery is set for Aug 28 at 7 am. I have to be there at 5:45 and for any of you that have kids and no family near to help out, asking a friend is a lot. Thankfully, my mother-in-law will be coming into town to help us out. For right now, since I still have a little over two weeks I am just trying not to obsess about it. I have total trust in my doctor so on that point I am comfortable. It’s just the “afterwards” that is making me anxious. I just don’t want my family to have to worry about the small things. It’s almost like I am nesting all over again. ha ha

Second Consult

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:42:00 +0000

I went for a second consult and the doctor decided that I would need some kind of lift. I really wasn’t too keen on having scars down my breast. He then suggested an areola reduction which was perfect for me. My areolas had been bothering me for years, my husband never had an issue with them but I was always self conscience about them. The doctor (Dr. Pousti) suggested that with doing the areola reduction it would provide a slight lift, so basically I was happy to be killing three birds with one stone. I get the lift, my areolas reduce in size and I get the augment all in one. The price did go up with that and after a few days of considering all my options and talking to my husband, I decided to go for it. I had been waiting 6 years for this and I didn’t want to walk away with the bare minimum. If I was going to do it, it was going to be all out.

Getting the ball rolling...

noreply@blogger.com (Isabel) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:46:00 +0000

So I wanted to mainly start this blog to try and talk about all of the things I can no longer talk about with my friends, since they have heard me banter on about this surgery for a couple of months now. I am 28 years old and a stay at home mother of 2 children. I have been wanting a breast augmentation since after my first child was born. I breast fed but had some difficulty and it turned into a case of mastitis. From that point on I secretly wanted my “old” look back. My husband is a Marine, so if anyone knows anything about the military, it’s taken us 6 years to be able to save up the money. I had a second child and we were living in San Diego, which propelled me to finally start researching. You can’t beat the opportunity and the great doctors here in southern California. I went for my first consult in May 2008, I had heard of the doctor through a friend who had him do a revision surgery. I liked that he was double board certified, which meant if I had any complications like my friend I would not have to worry about finding another doctor to fix it like she had. He was very nice and relaxed with me, I felt very comfortable despite how uncomfortable the situation was for me. I thought about it over the next few weeks and decided to go for it. I called and set up the surgery date for a time suited best to where my husband could be with me, which stinks because it’s a week before our anniversary. Also it was a good 2 months I had to sit and wait. Which in retrospect, I am very glad I did it that way. It gave me time to really consider all of my options. I couldn’t decide whether to have silicone or saline. My friend who referred me had saline the first time and then got silicone. She really was pushing the silicone because of the feel but eventually the saline won out. I decided on saline because first off, if something were to go wrong I would know it right away and with two children and living off of a single income I didn’t want to rely on our medical insurance to pay for MRI’s, which would have to be done every few years if I had chosen the silicone.