Implant Exchange (oYo) ~ Anyone go/stay SMALL?? (B cup)
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Yikes! That long? Thanks Iago. I guess patience is a lesson for me. So you don't think smaller implants would relieve the feeling of pressure/tightness?
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Lmimp64 if they are way too big they might but you might just be feeling the tightness from surgery. I never felt the iron bra too badly but it does go away for most of us. I would discuss this with your PS. S/he would have more experience. I can only speak from personal experience.
Sorry for that long post. I think that was my longest to day. Lots of questions to answer.
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Good to hear from all you ladies two years out. I love my gummies but as I suspected, they are still bigger than I wanted. And these are two sizes down from what the PS planned. I agree that once TE's are placed, you can't do much about the width after that. I'm 5'8" and 150, but still thin bones and I too wanted a "runner's build". I hate that all my clothes drag & wrinkle over the "foobs" and was seriously considering a change.
Well, be careful what you wish for. On my 2nd year check we found a multiple tumor recurrance to chest wall & metastases to the lymph nodes - all grown in 6 months from the last MRI so very aggressive. So I'm starting over w/IDC this time instead of DCIS. I've started chemo since the tumors are too large for surgery. If chemo shrinks the tumors enough I'll do surgery & rads in the late fall. So here's the plus news...looks like I'll have the opportunity to switch out to smaller implants. Have to look at the glass half full, right??
On a happier note - to all you new ladies - taking in a bra in a size you like is a good idea. Whippetmom is an excellent idea. Sticking by your choice is important. Glad so many of us are still watching this thread.
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Lago - thanks for the laugh.
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This may not be especially scientific but I looked at how much tissue was removed on my path report and stopped fills just short of that. I have a wide rib cage, so I filled to 350 cc and ended up with 421cc mid profiles. I think they look much like the old ones minus the sag. I was worried about going too big, but once they dropped no one but me and my PS would know they are not the originals.
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Hi you guys -- So nice see some familiar names and faces from so long ago. I need that right now; I'm in a rough patch today. Still unhappy with my reconstruction -- not the size, but the asymmetry. I really thought I would be well past that by now, but I'm not. I really think I should have done BMX, and am beside myself that I didn't. Really thinking I might go get that other breast removed. Back to square one. Ugh.
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citykitty sorry you are so disappointed. Even if you do get the other one removed there is no guarantee they will be a perfect match… most likely they won't be. Mine aren't the same. Lefty is a little bigger, sits a little lower and to the right. Righty's scar from the exchange sunk. My scars are still noticeable. Sometimes the body does what it wants to do. In a bra I look fine though.
People really aren't symmetrical. I know at times I wish mine were smaller. I'm still not quite used to all this boobage. How to dress them is different. Have to worry about not being too revealing because men now look at them (never did before with the cute small ones that could have killed me
)But if they are really off maybe it's time for a 2nd opinion. Have you talked to some other PSs?
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G;ad to catch back up on this thread. it was my favorite one when all the chemo, etc was going on. Always good for a laugh.
I am 5'9 so you cannot rename the thread! Before BC, I was large C, small d. When I made the BMX decision, I was adamant that I go smaller to a full B, which I was up tot he time I had my second baby. I never could figure out what to do with big girls after that.
Because of thin tissue in the area of my infection, I had to go a little smaller than we had planned, but I am perfectly happy. I would like to have more uppper pole. It looks too normal to me, lol. And I agree with the pec muscle weird feeling. My left one is the worst.
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And dont be surprised at your bra size! I look like a B, which I love, but my bra cup size is a DD! it's crazy.
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MinusTwo -- UGH. I'm so sorry you're having to go through this crap again.
Lago -- I've heard (and seen, to a small extent) that BMX doesn't guarantee symmetry. But surely it couldn't be worse that having one side that bounces and one that doesn't, one side that changes with age and weight fluctuation, and one that doesn't. I just wish I had somehow realized all this before my MX. I have two different shaped breasts. In a bra and clothes, the bra lines show through more on one side than the other, and so far I don't think I've found any bra that doesn't show at all. I went through a marathon bra-shopping adventure several months after my exchange. I'm going to give myself one more try at finding a bra that works (the one I've been living with is discontinued!). Then I swear I'm going back for yet another surgery, much as I hate that idea.
I haven't gone to another PS yet.... Have to figure out with my insurance how to go about it. And I dread it, all of it. I still haven't ironed out all the billing red tape from the past couple of years.
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Yes, that does suck, Minustwo!
They found your recurrence with an MRI? I had one 1 year out, but not since. Do any of you BMX'ers have an MRI annualy? I'm sorry you have to go through chemo after all this. I'm assuming you didn't the first go around since you mentioned it was DCIS?Fluffqueen ~ I laughed at the "it looks too normal". I get that a lot from others...like they are disappointed that I don't look like I had a boob job.
citykitty ~ I can understand your frustration. My natural breasts changed noticeably with not much weight fluctuation...so I could imagine how that would be after a UMX. My BMX results are surprisingly symmetrical (dumb luck?). My PS didn't do much "pocket work" and maybe it helped having the NSM and staying similiar in size to the originals? Then again he said my originals technically weren't symmetrical and I never noticed.
Anyhoo.. I hope you will be happy with the outcome no matter which route you choose. I've heard that around 50% of reconstruction patients have revisions of some sort.. so you are not alone.
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Susan, back in the early part of this, somebody was talking about stripper foobs. I emphactically told my ps that i did not want that. Now, I don't want to be bigger, but I wish they had a little more up top, you know so you can wear a low cut and have some oomph. I have to really work a push up to get that. He said he would be happy to fix it. I told him I am waiting until I need new ones.
Funny thing, I have been helping this older lady who goes to my ps. He drives her crazy, and I have such a great relationship with him that I try to help her understand his thinking. She was in my onc's yoga class and complaning about her implants and that she was gonsidering having them removed. She had them for a month. I asked what bothered her, and she unzipped her jacket and holy cow! She looked amazing!. I told her she should go buy a low cut top and take those girls for a spin.
Told my PS I liked hers better than mine and she is almost 80, lol.
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Susan: They found the multiple new tumor cluster with an ULS & then ULS biopsy. My MRI 6 months ago was clear & the MO wanted to do another MRI to check a bump I found under my collarbone. I convinced him to try an ULS first. Of course that meant I still had to have an MRI and a PET/CT and an Echo before treatment started. Sigh.
City: Like Susan I'm fairly symetrical - at least on the nice "upper pole", but do have more sag by my arm on one side. I just wish they were smaller & not do darn wide. It's hard switching docs, but I did go for a second opinion before the original reconstruction. We'll have a serious talk if one implant has to come out with the new surgery.
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What is "timtam's site" and how do you get to it? Thanks.0 -
This is an old thread...but it is great!
I am planning a bilateral PMX for next spring due to high risk/family history. My natural breasts are a 32DD - one a smaller 32DD and one a fuller 32DD. When clothed they end up looking fairly similar to the 34D in the header post but fuller. I am 5'4", 125 lbs (including the boobs!), 29.5" ribcage (but it is "wider" side to side) and very athletic (especially running, hiking, scuba, etc) and active overall. I have had these large breasts since I was 12 and they have been a pain for many reasons. I do not care so much what the final bra size measures, since I have been buying expensive bras to fit a smaller ribcage/larger breast for years and know size is a weird thing and changes with ribcage measurements, but I want to APPEAR like I have a B to at most a small C.
For those who have downsized, did any of you have skin-sparing? Did they just cut out extra skin to make it work and then stretch you? What kind of incision did you have? Were the results still rather even? I look at my breasts and wonder how they will manage the extra skin when I downsize. I am very concerned about them matching better than they do naturally so think they need to take more skin from one side than the other and am worried about how that will look in end. I guess I also worry they won't take enough skin to fit the smaller size and I will have loose skin left! I am already opting out of nipple-sparing because that would have been difficult to do with going smaller, unless I had a reduction/lift first and the PBMX 6-12 months later.
I see my PS in January but I want to be prepared! He does prefer a more natural look, and works with both silicone rounds and true anatomical gummies, so I know at least we are on board with the natural look but I am undecided on rounds or gummies.0 -
I'm in the process of downsizing. I was probably a 42DD and should end up at a small C. I want to be able to NOT wear a bra. The PS originally recommend 900 cc and I said no way. I have 3-4 fills left and will end up at 500-550cc, small for my size. I had the skin sparing surgery which was not pretty to look at but I knew it wasn't premanent. I'm not feeling the skin stretching but definitely feeling the muscles. The 2 incisions to date are straight across through the nipple area. I don't have any nipples and not getting them back. The exchange will also be in the same incision. The whole process hasn't been too bad yet. Also, go to whippetmom and she'll recommend the best size for your frame/build. I don't know anything about the rounds, whippetmom will. I know I'm getting gummies and I'm not suitable for the anatomicals.
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DiveCat - This thread really helped me to stand up to my PS so I'm glad you've found it. I'm 5'8" and was 160 lbs when diagnosed. I was a DD+ and wanted to be a small B. I tried to explain it to my PS that I wanted to look like a long distance runner or a ballet dancer. I had skin sparing that went straight through the nipple area & did not save the nipples as my BS thought the margins were too close. TEs were filled over 7 months. Reconstruction was Allergan 410 anatomical gummies around 500 FF and I'm well pleased. Extra skin was removed when the implants were placed through the same incision. The scars are almost gone. I have good cleavage and they match well. I would have been even happier to be smaller but he felt I would look weird. Now I'm 115 lbs so of course could have been smaller. Good luck w/your choices.0 -
Thanks Smaarty and MinusTwo, very helpful!
Good luck with the rest of your fill process and your exchange Smaarty. My BS did tell me I could likely expect the same kind of incisions, and my plan so far is to do 3D tattoos if I do anything rather than recon but we will see how I feel down the road.
MinusTwo, I think I will have to take your idea of explaining it to my PS as wanting to look like a long distance runner...especially as I do run moderate to long distances. Not sure even a smaller bust would convince anyone I was a ballet dancer though
. I am also glad to hear there was no issue removing extra skin at exchange.0 -
I appreciate this thread. I was a 40 C/D before surgery. I always wore tight sports bras or reducing bras. I don't want to be tiny, but smaller than I was. I had 677/691 grams of tissue taken out. Whippetmom has suggested a minimum of 650....preferably at least 700 for my implants. My gut tells me that is just too big, but based on what everyone else here is saying, maybe they are right????? It scares me to go that big.
I am worried, though, that my PS actually tends to go small on everybody. I looked at his website and photos. It looks to me like all of the patients on that site have 500cc rounds or smaller. He put a 450cc (12.5 cm) TE in me, and whippetmom feels this is too narrow for my frame. It worries me that he seems to go with 500cc with everyone. Although, ironically I have wondered if this is the right size for me! I told my PS that I had a recommendation to go 650-700 and he was shocked and thought that would be ridiculously huge! It seems people here are happy with that size or bigger. I am large-framed. Definitely an 'endomorph.' UGH! These decisions are such a pain! I think he would freak out if we were still doing fills after 500 or so. I have a friend who has a different PS and she and I are similarly sized. She is currently filled to 650.
Did everyone find that if you "just waited to see how your clothes fit".......the exchange surgery was exactly how you thought? Or were you disappointed?
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Hi all. I hope you ladies don't mind a guy popping his head in here and asking a few questions. I'm doing some research for my wife, who had a PBM in November and we are currently in the "how big is big enough" mode. If it's a problem, I understand.
Anyway, I've been over to the Breast Implant Sizing 101 thread and spoke with Whippetmom. Wow, she's awesome isn't she? She gave us a couple of suggestions and we are still debating what to do. We see a lot of folks wishing they had gone bigger, but we'd also like to hear feedback from those that wanted to stay (or go) smaller. This is such a big decision and one I'm afraid we are going to stress over until it is actually over.
So, here's our situation...36 years old, 5'5", 130ish pounds, 31" ribcage, athletic. Never had a large bust except for when breastfeeding and even then it probably wasn't more than a full B (at PBM, removed a little less than 200cc). There has always been a desire to have more curves, but nothing that looks like an obvious boob job. She told her PS that she'd like to add a cup size or two to her bra size, and the PS has an estimate of 400-500cc implants. She currently has 13cm TE's, so we are probably looking at either 500cc Natrelle Style 20 or a 397cc Style 15. We are 5-1/2 weeks out from the mastectomy and things look amazingly normal, but maybe a little fuller/rounder on the bottom than she was naturally, and of course not as much projection. Obviously, things may start to get unnatural as her TE's begin to expand further.
So, let me fire off some questions...
How firm/stiff will the implants be? Will they be squishy enough to be pushed together in a bra for more cleavage if the need arises? Or, will they be too firm to have that much movement and once they drop and fluff there isn't much more you can do with them? I see ladies complaining that they don't have any cleavage, but I am wondering if that is just when they are nude, without the help of any support. I don't think she would mind not having nude cleavage (since that is kinda the way the average body works, right?) as long as she could create cleavage in clothing.
Whippetmom suggests the Style 20, and I agree that the lower projection of the Style 15 might be a problem. However, I worry that the 500cc are going to look like an obvious boob job.
Thanks for the time everyone, and hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
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whitenack the same implant can look different on someone else. I have the 397cc Style 15. I was wearing a 34B (not very full either) about 130lbs 5'6" with small shoulders. I think my ribcage also measured 31"
I am now wearing a 34D! While I am proportional, husband is happy and even mom says it's about time you got boobs I'm still getting used to them. Am I unhappy… no. It's just a change. I'm a lot fuller. Granted there is no way the surgeon can create what you had. I don't look huge it's just when you go from having not much to jumping 2 sizes it's a change. I only had to toss 2 shirts. They were a little too tight, but I fill out all my blazers now.
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whitenack: I was a DD before surgery & wanted to go waaaaay smaller. I had good natural cleavage before surgery. I have Allergan 410 anatomical implants 450 and have good cleavage with & without clothes now. I wanted a small B and got an XL C - but the PS thought bone & ribcage size indicated what he installed. Yes, I can push them up in bras, but haven't done it. Anatomicals don't really drop & fluff, and you probably won't be able to use my thoughts because the two type of implants don't compare. Just chiming in to say while I look good, I would be happier even smaller - not quite a ballet dancer but certainly more like a runner. But as lago says, no two women are ever the same. Hey - our own bodies are not even the same as they were yesterday. Good luck to you & your wife.
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Thanks for the replies.
Even though you all went with a more modest size, can you still move them together to create cleavage if needed?
Lago, are you happy with the projection, or do they look flatter than you would prefer?
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If I projected anymore I would need all new clothes. More projection than I expected. I never had cleavage. My old boobs were just too far apart. I have more now but more of a valley. They definitely can be pushed up an in when wearing a bra.
This was taken labor day this year. The shirt is loose and I'm not sitting up straight but you can see I have boobs
and this was taken 1 month before surgery and I was wearing a padded push-up bra. No need for padded push-up bra in the above photo
This is one of the shirts I had to toss out. This one on the right is me now
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Lago, thanks for sharing! You did a great job choosing your size. They look natural, and don't look noticeably different than your "before" pic. Good to hear that you are still able to push them up and in when needed. That will make the decision easier if she knows she can still do that with a smaller implant choice.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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Trust me the new size is noticeable bigger. I went up 2 cup sizes. Remember when I was small I was wearing a padded push up bra. I don't anymore.
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Oh, sorry I wasn't clear Lago. It isn't a noticeable difference between the padded bra before and the non-padded after. I think you did a good job getting the size that wouldn't be bigger than your padded size.
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Yeah I know you meant that. Trust me they are bigger than the padded size. This shot is a little fuzzy but it might give you a better idea on how big the new gals are… see updated shot above with all 3 photos
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Oh! Haha! Yes, I stand corrected! They look much different in this picture! Again, thanks for sharing!
ETA: Lago, I just went back and double checked your height/weight/ribcage. For some reason I was thinking you were taller than my wife, but you guys are very close...she is slightly shorter and is narrow hipped. I think the Style 15 397cc would be PLENTY for her. You have been a BIG help. Seeing how things look on people in regular clothing makes a huge difference. It is hard to find reconstruction photos of "after" while in normal clothing.
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