Personal Story - I am 41 years old and have wanted breasts since I was 20. I had several consultations over the years but never really got serious about it until now. I decided to have breast augmentation along with Liposuction of my hips, outer thighs and lowers abs. I was pear-shaped sporting size 10 hips with a size4-6 waist and A cup breasts. I just wanted to get more into proportion and have a little maintenance done while I was still young enough to recover nicely. I have no children, am 5'10" and 140 lbs. I have a thin frame and have a narrow ribcage.
Surgery Date - Wednesday, March 12, 2003 Arrived at Surgery Center at 6:30am, changed into a gown, nurse started IV fluids (at this point I told the nurse that I didn't want to do this and that I wanted to go home), doctor came in and marked me up, anesthesiologist came in and asked questions and started relaxing me, they wheeled me into OR, I slid from gurney to OR table and that is the last I remember.
Recovery Room - The next thing I knew they were waking me up asking about my level of pain, I felt intense burning pain on top of breasts, they immediately gave me morphine. They sat me up in chair and encouraged me to eat crackers and drink 7-up, my head was spinning, I threw up just once. I had brought my Arnica Montana 30 tablets with me and started 5 tablets under my tongue right away, this is for bruising and stiffness. My breasts were not wrapped at all, and no bra was placed on me. My doctor wanted me to just be free, only Telfa pads were placed on each incision. I had a crotchless girdle that went from just under my breasts to above my knee. I told the nurse that I wanted to pee and then I went home. I only lived 10 minutes from surgery center, so ride home was fine. I did not put on the seatbelt. I arrived home at 3pm.
Afternoon at Home 1st Day 3/12/03 - My friend is a nurse and stayed with me for the first two nights. I was taking 2 Lortab every 4-5 hours, but looking back I don't think I really needed that many. The Lortab wired me, I was in a great mood, talking and talking, but when it came time for me to sleep I couldn't, I took an Ambien but again the Lortab just overruled it and it did not work for me. My breasts did not hurt at all, but the Lipo was very painful. I drank 64oz of half gatorade/half water the first afternoon, I was very thirsty and knew it was good to get rehydrated. I drank out of "sippy" cups, this was very easy, you didn't have to sit up and reach your arm over to put it down, so could just put it wherever, I highly recommend this. That night I ate yogurt and crackers. I started rubbing Arnica Gel onto my breasts morning-noon-night to help with swelling and stiffness, I continued taking the Arnica tablets under my tongue 3x daily.
Thursday, 2nd Day 3/13/03 - Was very hungry, ate oatmeal, yogurt for lunch, steamed broccoli/cauliflower for dinner, ate lots of Goldfish crackers during day or saltines and peanut butter before taking pain pills or antibiotic, stayed in bed all day. Continued to drinks lots of water/gatorade/apple juice. Still wired on pain pills, not sleeping well. Can see through my girdle that one Lipo site had oozed a little through Telfa pad, but that was the only one. Breasts rock hard and high up under collar bone. Breasts do not hurt. My friend unzipped my girdle a bit to look at the Lipo bruising, had pretty deep black bruise on back of hip and then 8" diameter bruise on each outer thigh. She rubbed some Cypress Oil (good for bruising) into the bruise on my hip but we didn't do anything to the thighs yet.
Friday, 3rd Day 3/14/03 - More of the same, called doctor office to report that I was almost out of Lortab, nurse informed me that I was taking too many. I immediately switched to just Tylenol, took 2 Tylenol every 4-6 hours, This seemed to work fine for me and I wished that I had switched to Tylenol earlier. I did take ½ pain pill before bed and instead of taking Ambien took a Benedryl. The Benadryl helped me sleep plus I had bad itching under the girdle. Lortab makes me itch so I was glad to stop taking that. Stayed in bed most of day, but then moved out to couch. Breasts don't hurt, but the Lipo is hurting. I slept on the couch tonight as my couch is very soft. The girdle has a hook-n-eye close, then zips up on top of that, when I tried to sleep on my sides the hooks would feel like they were digging into me, felt like sleeping on rocks, very uncomfortable. I am feeling a bit depressed and am sick of everything.
Saturday, 4th day 3/15/03 - Still am hurting, still taking just Tylenol and Benadryl when I go to bed. I want to shower but am just not ready to do so yet. Still eating well, had steak and baked potato tonight, with lots of steamed veggies, still drinking lots of fluids, just water and gatorade and juice. I doze off and on during the day, just sit up on couch and watch TV, I am bored but can't do anything so it really sucks. My thighs really hurt and I am hating the girdle. It really hurts to sit on toilet, my advice to others would be to get a padded toilet seat. I have not had a BM yet, think the Lortab makes you a bit constipated and also your body is trying to get back to its normal homeostasis. When I urinate the flow starts then stops then I continue sitting there and it will begin again, I guess my stomach muscles aren't working just right yet. My girlfriend talked me in to taking a laxative, she went out and bought some kind and I just took one, what a mistake that was. I already felt horrible then at 1:30 in the morning I awoke to the most intensely cramping feeling that lasted for about 6 hours, up and down to bathroom. I felt so awful.
Sunday, 5th day 3/16/03 - I started crying today because I am miserable, sick of all this. Wish I had not done any of this, what was I thinking??? Very sore from Lipo, sick of breasts. My boyfriend put a white plastic chair in the shower and said it was time for me to get in there. Today is the 1st day that I have taken the girdle off. Wow, the bruising is not as bad as I anticipated and my body looks great, I have some hard tissue swelling by my bellybutton, stomach is very hard and hurts. I sat in the chair and just let the water run over me, I removed all the Telfa pads from my Lipo sites and also from under my breasts, my boyfriend washed my hair for me and I took the bar of soap and lightly ran it over my body. I got dried off and put the Cypress Oil on all of my bruises, then put the Arnica Gel on top of that, put a little Polysporin on a Telfa pad and taped under my breasts, spread baby powder on my legs and pulled the girdle back on and hooked it back up. I was worn out after this.
Monday, 6th day, 3/17/03 - I had planned to go back to work today but there is not way. I do not feel well and am moving very slowly. More of same. Hurts so bad to sit on toilet so I found two pieces of foam rubber in my garage and duct-taped it to my toilet seat, feels so much better.
Tuesday, 7th day 3/18/03 - Today I went back to work. My boyfriend helped me shower and wash and dried my hair for me. Today was the first day that I drove and it felt so strange, I didn't wear my seat belt and that kind of scared me. I am a personal assistant and work for a private family investment company. The two partners that I work for are out of town this whole week so that really helps me out. I did pretty well but around 3 in afternoon had to go and lay down on couch for an hour. A co-worker took me to the doctor that afternoon and I had my long running stitch under my breasts removed. I was very nervous, palms sweating because I thought he would hurt me, but I never felt a thing. Told me not to massage my breasts just to leave them alone, told me to purchase a very loose-fitting sports type bra to wear. I found at Lord-n- Taylor a brand called "Barely There", just a very loose fitting (I bought a XL), I also bought by the same brand a soft girdle to wear when I am washing my zip up girdle. Tonight I started applying an incision-blend oil to my scars under my breasts and on all the Lipo sites. I do this 2x day
Wednesday, 8th day 3/19/03 - Had to attend a funeral today. Very sad, feeling awful, still went into the office and still had to lie down during the day.
Days 9th - 12th - I am now washing and blow drying my hair by myself. Went to work and on weekend rented about 6 Blockbuster movies and just laid around and took it easy. Still taking the Arnica and putting the Arnica Gel on breasts and Lipo areas, I do this 3x daily. I just take Tylenol when I need to. Started taking hip baths in evening with about 15 drops of Cypress Oil in the tub, I rub my thighs and hips and soak for a little while then back into the girdle.
Week 3 - Feeling better, had a follow-up appt. with doctor a week after having my stitches out. The Lipo stitches were dissolving ones. He said everything looking great, was very pleased with Lipo and told me to start massaging the swollen tissues by my bellybutton. Said my breasts were still high and swollen but that in time they will settle. My nipples are very sensitive and swollen, look like torpedoes. The end of my third week I went to my massage therapist and she did Manual Lymphatic Drainage on me, a very light massage that moves the fluid directly under your skin to your lymph glands which then will eliminate from your body. It is a good idea to have several of these massages done, but at $75 a pop I only did one, then I started doing it to myself like she had done me.
My thigh bruises have now fallen down and towards the back of my thighs, pretty sore to sit on. I still wear my crotchless girdle, which is actually very helpful now and I love it. It's a pain in the ass but as weird as it sounds it feels good to have my legs and hips compressed. At night, I switch to the softer one, still hurts to sleep on my thighs so I put two king-size pillows on top of the bottom sheet and sleep on the pillows. Out of Arnica Tablets, don't feel I need to use anymore. If I have pain I now take 2 Advil, no more Tylenol. Have taken 2 Advil before bedtime for a few nights because sides of thighs still sore.
Week Four - Feeling so much better, all bruising is gone. Breasts never had any bruising on them, none at all. Went through 2 tubes of Arnica Gel but feel I don't need to use anymore. Even though all Lipo bruising is gone, thighs still feel a little sore if I press hard on them. Hips still have a little swelling and are a little numb. After I shower in morning I put 2 drops of Cypress oil and mix it in with my Cetaphil lotion and rub on my thighs. I massage my stomach working on the tissue that still is a little swollen. I went to the doctor this week, says my breasts are looking good, still a little high and a little swollen but very pretty, he now wants me to start squeezing them at the top to start to push the implant down, this does not hurt at all. Now my boyfriend will be happy, he can finally start touching them. I never lost any nipple sensation, they seem to be ultrasensitive right now but this will subside as time goes by.
After Note - I do not have to return to my doctor for 3 months unless I have a problem. I no longer have to wear the girdle but for the next week or so will probably sleep in it. I still am not wearing a bra, I found one on-line that is a 34D, no under-wire with a smooth cup so I can start wearing t-shirts. I like not wearing a bra, it is so comfortable but I do need some nipple coverage. My doctor tells them that I cannot hurt my breasts and I am cleared to do any activities that I wish.
If you asked me the first week whether or not I would ever do this again I would have said no way. But now when I think about it, I might. My surgeries were very easy and I had absolutely no complications thank god. Lipo is very painful so don't let anyone tell you that it is not. It is very uncomfortable, I felt like I was beaten over and over with a baseball bat. The breasts were very easy and I thought they would have hurt the most. I have gone from a size 10 to a 6, and that is a very exciting thing, I have a flat stomach and beautiful breasts and I am very happy. I would love to answer any questions that you may have and give you any tips that I have learned. Don't be afraid.
- Linda