Today's the day!

As I knew they would, the 2 months since I had scheduled my surgery had flown by. I had been running around like a maniac for the prior couple of weeks making sure that my kids had all their new school clothes and necessary supplies. In the 4 days immediately prior to my surgery I had a list each and every day of what I needed to accomplish before I got my new boobs. The night before I was cooking like crazy trying to make ahead dishes for my family, and was completely nerve wracked that I was running out of time!

I had my sister come over to spend the night, so she could be there when the kids woke up because I had to be at the hospital at 6:15 am for a 7:45 start time. She was sweet enough to pluck my eyebrows since I never found the time to make it to the salon where she works to get them waxed. ( Reminded me why I get them waxed! ) At 10 pm I had reached the time where I needed to take the Ambien in order to make sure I could still wake up on time. I thought it would be cute to not head to bed as soon as I took it, and apparently I am a pretty funny person on Ambien! My sis had to help me up the stairs and into the bed since I was a little wobbly!

So here I'm thinking that since the instructions for Ambien say to make sure you have at least 7 hours of sleep available when you take it, I should be good for a decent night's rest before surgery. Ohh, how wrong I was! That stuff cut out on me at 3 am. I couldn't believe it! So I headed downstairs and watched some TV and then decided to surf the net. At 5 am I decided I had better get in the shower and wake my hubby up. ( wow, he's cranky that early in the morning! ) I had gotten my hair washed and braided the night before, so after a quickie hot shower I was ready to sit and twiddle my thumbs for a bit before we left.

We arrived at the hospital right on time, and the nurses were so pleasant to us. I had to change into a gown and put all my stuff into a locker. They got my IV started with no issues, and sent some blood off for a pregnancy test. Apparently, even tho I have my tubes tied, they have to confirm for sure. About 7:15 I had to say goodbye to my husband and they wheeled me up to the recovery area to await Dr. Vanek. Let me tell you, I started to cry. It was scary saying goodbye to my husband, and I think my emotions went all goofy!

So anyway, while waiting for Dr. Vanek, we were still waiting on the pregnancy test results, and I told them that if it came back positive then they had to call and tell my hubby. After 4 kids, we're done. And I wasn't gonna be the bearer of that kind of news! LOL

Of course, test was negative. Dr. Vanek came in and started making measurements and marks with this black sharpie on my breasts. I'm thinking "Holy crap, that stuffs permanent! How am I going to get it off? " Then I told him that even tho we had agreed on 375 saline F/T 400cc, I was totally ok with him adding more if he got in there and saw I could use it. Remember I was freaked about getting boobie greed! I acknowledged that he probably wouldn't, since that's not his style, but told him he had my permission anyway! He just chuckled at me, I think he thought I was nutso. I remember getting some Versed in my IV, and I remember being in the OR but not necessarily the ride to the OR, and I remember them telling me to take some nice deep breaths of oxygen thru the mask. Then they told me to think happy thoughts, and I was out.

I remember hearing my name being called, like in a tunnel, but I couldn't make my eyes open up. When I did open my eyes, I don't even remember anything but asking how much he put in. I was soooo excited to hear that Dr. Vanek had put 425cc in each side. All I could say was, " I love that man! He's such a good doctor!" I think the nurses thought I was pretty nutso by that time too. I was also in some decent pain, like 5 on a scale of 1-10, so they gave me some IV pain meds which worked beautifully. I can honestly say that was the only time I had any real pain. It was only discomfort after that.

I think those pain meds they gave me in my IV made me a little loopy because as they wheeled me past the family waiting area I sat up to look for my husband. When I saw him I waved and yelled "Hiiiiii baby!" According to my husband, a few people chuckled and this little boy asked his mom " Who is that? " Her response was, " I think that is that man's wife! " All I can say is at least my hubby knew when I was ready for him to come see me!

Recovery was easy, I drank ginger ale and munched on ice chips. They made me eat graham crackers so my tummy wouldn't get upset from the pain meds, but my mouth was so dry it was like chewing sawdust. Blech! After I was able to void they removed my IV, I got dressed and got to go home. No pain, no nausea, no problem. Wonder if the next 24 hours will be so easy?

It's all about the size!

So I made it to Dr. Vanek's office in pretty good spirits. I was excited to discuss and finally decide on my size, and I knew once I paid all the money it would definately seem more real to me. I had told myself today was it, there was no turning back, if I had any doubts, now was the time to get answers!

The visit began with paperwork. Nothing huge, but a decent sized read and of course several different intials and signatures from me. I read the risks out loud to my husband, I don't think we heard anything we hadn't heard before. We did, however, hope that none of those bad things happened to me!

When we got to see Dr. Vanek, it was back to the drawing board to find the right size for me. I knew I wanted at least 350cc, so we had a starting place. It was funny to see how easily I was able to increase in size and still look pretty natural. I think even Dr. Vanek was surprised to see that the 400cc implants still looked very nice on my body. I was keeping in mind that I would lose a very minor amount of skin and tissue with my lift, and that muscle would hide some of the implant anyway, so it wouldn't look exactly like it did in the office with the implant just inside my bra. Hubby agreed that 400cc looked good, and I was able to get dressed and head out for some more paperwork and post op instructions. He explained that he would verify the size with me the morning of surgery, to make sure we were all on the same page. There was no changing of my mind now!

Susan had a nice little binder ready for me with my surgery date, and my cost for the procedures, as well as all my Pre op and post op instructions. That thing was awesome, I referred to it alot from that day clear up until just a few days ago. It had a list of medications to avoid and there was alot! Things like Pepto Bismol that I never would have guessed was bad for you to take before surgery. It contained information regarding the emotional roller coaster of surgery, as well as a copy of all those risks my husband and I had read and signed off on before. She also gave me all my prescriptions that I needed, including Cipro, Ambien, Percocet, and a small tube of Arnica Montana. The Arnica is a homeopathic remedy to help prevent bruising, Cipro to prevent infection ( starts evening of surgery ) Ambien to help sleep ( sleep patterns may be off from the anesthesia ) and Percocet for pain. She also took the time to give me lots of tips about recovery and getting back to my old self.

Then came the big part....I had to PAY! Once we did that, I knew it was full steam ahead! My Pre op history and physical was the following week at the medical center, and then my surgery the week after that. My time crunch was on, I needed to get all my kids school shopping done before surgery so I didn't after to worry about it afterwards. I'm an insane planner, and I knew what I had to get done every day leading up to the surgery. Part of the recovery phase including no vacuuming for 3 weeks, and only lighter housework ( guess they didn't want me scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees anymore! ) so I scheduled for a cleaning service to come in 2 weeks post op. The 17 was fast approaching, and I was getting beyond excited. I was counting down the days!

Am I nuts?

Ok, so now that I've gone and scheduled my surgery, I was feeling depressed! I've been told what I went thru is fairly common, but it seemed odd to me. My husband was being completely supportive, he wasn't throwing a fit about the money or anything, yet I was feeling awful and confused about the whole thing. I felt guilty. Like how dare I spend that much money on elective surgery for myself instead of putting the money towards my kids' education. It wasn't necessarily anything that anyone was saying to me, I just felt it.
I knew the 2 months was going to go by fast, but I wanted to do it at the end of summer when we wouldn't be missing the pool too much, and when my kids would be heading back to school. I've been told it can take about 6 months for complete healing ( Susan at Dr. Vanek's says most healing is done by the 3 month mark ) and we're taking a Disney cruise in February so I wanted to make sure I was giving myself enough time to heal. August 17 seemed like a perfect date, and it was a Friday just like I wanted.
Summer goes by fast for us every year, and this year was no different. I really was surprised at just how quickly my date was approaching. I had to take a break from it all; I refused to surf the breast augmentation forums and spend so many hours a day reading about my upcoming surgery. I needed to put it out of my mind for a little while, I felt consumed by my surgery. At night I would lie in bed and think to myself " OMG, am I really going to go thru with this? " It felt sort of unreal to me.
I also was feeling unsure of my decision to go with silicone implants. Dr. Vanek had us hold the 2 different types in our hands, and play with them almost like they were snowballs. Sure, the silicone sure as heck felt alot nicer and softer than the saline, but would I notice any difference once they were put under my chest muscle? And my husband reminded me that if it was about how it was going to feel to him then I might as well go with saline since he will always know they are fake no matter how nice they feel. I also considered the fact that they recommend a MRI every 2 or 3 years to detect a problem with silicone implants. If something happens to a saline implant, such as a rupture, you know right away since you get a "flat tire." However, with the new silicone implants, which are like a gummy bear kind of substance, the filling doesn't go anywhere so you don't have any idea if you have a problem. And that MRI isn't going to be covered by my insurance! Finally, the silicone implants were twice the cost of saline, adding another 1200 bucks to my total.
Then I started agonizing over size. What if 350cc doesn't get me where I want to be? I was reading about "boobie greed", women who wished they had gone bigger. And it's fairly common! I finally did decide that I wanted to go bigger and that I wanted the saline vs the silicone ( hey, I need to save money somewhere right?! ) so I made sure to call Susan and inform her so she could change my paperwork and not be shocked when I showed up to my pre op appt and asked for something larger.
July was almost over and I was becoming an emotional train wreck. The 29th was my grandmothers birthday, and she passed last year. The stress of my surgery and the grief over my loss was alot to bear. I had scheduled my Pre op and final sizing appt with Dr. Vanek for August 1. It was the one year anniversary date of my grandmother's death. And I was hoping that the excitement of deciding on my size and signing all the paperwork and really getting excited about everything would help to make that date something more than just the day that grandma died.

Which Dr. is right for me?

So now that I had decided to really spend some time researching breast augmentation and trying to find a doctor that would be right for me, I felt like I had a huge task in front of me. I began by researching just what augmentation involved. Saline vs silicone, smooth vs textured, round vs anatomical. The choices seemed endless. I got to a point where I said to my husband "Ok, I want saline implants above the muscle and I want to be a full C or small D cup. "
I was feeling like I had a pretty good understanding of what the surgery involved, and an idea of what to expect afterwards, but I really needed to find a reputable doctor. I made alot of phone calls to various offices, received many informational packets, and wrote down all the different consultation fees associated with each doctor. After about 3 weeks, I was ready to start making appointments and meeting the docs.
I decided to meet first with Dr. Vanek because ( quite frankly! ) he offered a free consultation. I figured I would start at free, and then go to the others who charged anywhere from 100 - 135 dollars for a one or two hour consult. I had already filtered thru the possibilites by location and credentials, I didn't want to waste any time going to someone who didn't have that extra certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
When my husband and I arrived at our appointment, we were thrilled by how friendly everyone in the office was, including the front desk staff. We were offered refreshments, and sat down to watch a short informational video regarding breast augmentation. When Dr. Vanek came in, he immediately put us right at ease with his demeanor. He was so friendly and down to earth, and didn't make us feel rushed at all. He took the time to explain the procedure in detail, as well as the details for a lift in case I needed one. When he saw my breasts, he immediately told us that I would need a lift with my aug. ( Thanks kids, hope that breastmilk really did do all the things it's supposed to! )
Dr. Vanek allowed us to feel the difference between saline and silicone, and explained that he prefers to do under the muscle implants, especially with women ( such as myself ) with little tissue. By the time all was said and done, we had spent the better part of 2.5 hours in his office and I left with an estimate for a full anchor lift and silicone implants placed under the muscle. Not once did we feel rushed or uncomfortable, nor did we feel like we were being pushed into something we didn't want.
When I got home, I cancelled the other consults I had scheduled. I knew Dr. Vanek was the right doctor for me. It's not just about the credentials, or the cost, or the location. This man made my husband and I both very comfortable with his abilities and experience, but almost more importantly, we felt that he was a good personality fit for me. He laughed and smiled, and actually hugged me as we left his office. We were confident that he was going to be able to use his knowledge and experience combined with my expressed desires to give me the look I wanted. I scheduled my surgery later that same day. It was hard to believe that in 2 months I would finally have breasts!

Introduction

Hi everyone! Let me take a few minutes and introduce myself. My name is Millie and I am a 29 year old married mother of 4. My oldest childest is 11 and my youngest is 1; needless to say we have a very busy life! I am a stay at home mother, but I stay on staff as a receptionist at a health club to pick up shifts when the other ladies need or want a day off. It works so well for us for me to have control over my schedule :)
In my downtime, I enjoy reading and also scrapbooking. I also enjoy getting to the gym in the morning and working out. I was recently able to lose the last of my baby weight ( I gained 60 pounds! ) and that's sort of where my story with breast augmentation begins.
I've never had large breasts, even in high school I felt like I missed the whole puberty thing. However, it wasn't anything that I really spent a lot of time brooding over until this year. About 6 months ago I really started to feel unhappy when I looked into the mirror. I was tossing around the idea of breast augmentation in my head, and would ( half ) jokingly say to my husband, " Well, you know, after I get my boobs done! " Finally in May, I revealed to him that I was actually very serious about my desire to have plastic surgery. His response wasn't what I expected, he actually was supportive. Not like, " OMG you definately need to get that done" but more like, " I don't think you need to do this, but if it's something you feel like you need to do for yourself, then I support you. " What a great guy I have!
After getting his postive ( but still hesitant ) response, it was time for me to start researching doctors and just what I was getting myself into. That's where the fun begins!