Botched: My Breast Implant Story

I keep it real around here. There are topics in life that I don’t think are transparent and if only they were it would be so helpful to other women! Like giving birth. I was pregnant for NINE months. In nine months, not one woman told me about the ring of fire. I even took a birthing class! Like legit if you do not have an epidural and you are giving birth vaginally. As soon as your babies head crowns (your babies head is now peeking out of your who ha), your vagina will literally feel like someone lit it on FIRE. With actual fire. Never in my life had I heard about this and it happened with Bladen. Thankfully I had an epidural with Eero and I did not have to experience that. However to be totally real, the epidural was so strong you literally could have sawed off my entire leg in front of me and I wouldn’t have felt a thing. No one also just tells you after birthing kids and specifically breast feeding you have a high chance of losing your breast tissue. But I will tell you. More people in my opinion should be more vocal about it!

Okay so let’s get down to business. I got breast implants twice in 2021. You heard that right. TWICE. This is my experience. I got botched. I don’t prefer using that work because I feel like it is aggressive but it is what it is and it was also a huge blessing and I am grateful!

My cup size before breast-feeding 2 kids

Growing up I had natural C’s. Shocking to most people because I am a small Asian. I liked my C’s but to be totally honest I always wanted a little more fullness. Not for anyone else but myself! I was accustomed to dressing a certain way and when I got pregnant with Bladen my Cs turned into large D’s/DDs and I breast fed for 15 months. Then my C’s shrunk down into medium B’s. My shape and nipple size stayed the same. I always felt like I was the perfect candidate for implants because of my natural perky shape and nipple size and shape. When I got pregnant with Eero. My B’s grew to C/D cups and I breastfed for about 14 months. Then my boobs shrunk down to small Bs. Then over the next couple of years my Bs shrunk down as my weight shrunk back from breastfeeding but my shape stayed the same. I honestly had not been happy with my breast size in clothes but I did like my small boobs. The shape was good and they were in my opinion still cute! I was going to just wait until I was done birthing all my kids but life happens and I didn’t know when I will get married and have more kids so I figured get them done now and it will all work out!

Research and find your doctor

When I decided to get the surgery I reached out to friends whom I known who got the surgery to get referrals. Which I highly recommend doing. Make sure you go with a Board Certified Surgeon. I started gathering images of boobs I liked that looked similar to mine and also on women similar in size. I love Jessie James Decker’s boobs. She also got them done recently and they look great! I will tell you all of the before and afters plastic surgeon websites are not immediate after results. No where near it. Which no one also tells you or prepares you for what you will actually look like after surgery! It takes months for your implants to settle and also your skin to stretch if your skin is tight like mine was.

The size

I went on YouTube to find videos on the surgery which also are not totally transparent when it comes to size! I wanted to know what cc size people got and what it looks like and no one tells the cc’s! Which I find so annoying! I went in at the perfect time in life because enough time had gone by and my breast tissue that I believe I was going to loose was gone. Which is good for sizing because if I went in closer to after having Eero my boobs would have been larger than they were and I would not have gotten an accurate size as I would have lost the breast tissue anyway over that time. When I went in and spoke about sizing they said most people get 400cc’s. I tried on a 350cc and also a 375cc and also 400cc. I shouldn’t of felt this way but I didn’t want to get judged of just wanting to get big tits! I was a girl who had good C tits then had kids and just wanted to get them back with a little extra. I was not wanting porn star/Playboy boobs but just ones that fit me. Random fact: The largest implant you can get is 800cc’s in the United States. I went with 400cc’s. My doctor made it sound like it was a lot and the most I could do. I wanted a very full C/small D. The sizer bra I wore was loose and now looking back made a 400cc implant look pretty big. We went with the newest gummy bear silicone implant placed under the muscle to look the most natural with the incision going under my breast but above the fold. I got the narrowest implant also. They measure the width and height of your chest to see what will fit. The main thing I wanted is my nipples to still work. That was very important for me! He said doctors used to go in through the armpit but that is where your nerves are coming from and that it is risky. My nipples are perfect in size and shape so I didn’t need them to be touched. The risk of your nipples loosing sensitivity is rare also the percentage is actually really low.

The Surgery Day 1

May 26, 2021 I went in for surgery. It was still a Covid year so I had to get a Covid test 5-7 days prior to surgery. I was feeling just fine but the surgery was hard to schedule and I was worried. Before I went into get my Covid test I took an at home one for peace of mind. My doctor had sent in pain meds to the pharmacy about a week prior to the surgery along with the anti-nausea medication.

I went in for surgery which so happened to be on the same day as my work spa team building day. I had a massage with no oils or lotion and had to fast for 12 hours. My surgery was at 4:00pm that day. I fast normally during the week so it wasn’t hard for me! I went in with no make up and only my lashes. The doctor marked me up. I went in for anesthesia and woke up getting sat up and I remember getting wrapped up briefly seeing my boobs.

My doctor said I had a tiny difference between my left and right. Your boobs are sisters not twins and that he was going to do a tiny lift on my left side which honestly I never thought. TMI but my boobs have always been basically identical twins.

Anesthesia and the IVs not only made me so constipated it also made me super swollen for days. I was in the car already concerned with the size.

After the wrap was off in 24 hours

I went in at 8:00am the next day May 27, 2021 to get my wrap taken off. this is when I saw my boobs for the first time. I am SUPER swollen from the anesthesia.

I was immediately not excited. It was hard for me to not cry at the office. He said my skin was tight and that they will settle. That he could barely fit the 400s in there. But if you see what I started with and then see this after its not a major difference but I was trusting the process. My after care was simple. Leave the tape on until it falls off then clean the wounds and put neosporan on with gauze twice a day. Don’t get wet in a pool or bath just a shower with running clean water. I couldn’t pick up Eero or anything heavy for one month. Take pain meds as needed but I dislike them and only took tylonel. I bruised hard. It got worse as days went on. The yellow is the bruising.

My left side looked like this. Gnarly I know. It was painful which the other side was not. My whole chest was swollen. Overall I was not in a lot of pain and I think easy.

By June 22, 2021 you could see the difference of my left side higher than my right. They are settling into shape. As soon as you get your stitches out, I started the breast massages. Basically you squeeze them up and push them in a handful of times throughout the day.

By July 1, 2021 things are not looking good. They are not only not healing correct, they are small and I am not thrilled. I try to not even look at myself because I am sad.

Blessing in Disguise

On July 28, 2021 I go in for another check up. Time has not fixed the problem and neither has the breast massages. My doctor asks if I am happy with the size though he knows without me telling him no I am not happy. I wanted bigger, this isn’t it. Not near it. Breast feeding two kids for a combination of 2.5 years nearly gave myself a double mastectomy. There are a couple different theories on this. Either he messed up on purpose or my body didn’t heal right on its own. I will never know. For insurance purposes would never tell me but what he did say whether it is the truth or not is that my scar tissue when healing attached itself to the implant and with the insurance we will have to swap out the implants. Since we swap them we can size up with no extra cost. Also the fact that I have had these implants in for a little while my skin has stretched so we can fit a larger implant in.

You can’t tell much here but they are not correct.

I had to hide my lop-sided boobs here with my hair! I was pretty sad here!

August 23, 2021. They have settled in but they are still lop-sided. The size looks fine in a sports bra but I’m not happy with the size still.

This is 3 days before the surgery I went to a quick trip to Dallas. Last swimsuit day with these boobs!

Surgery Day 2

I went in for surgery on August 31, 2021. The shape of the implants settling in had finally started to look good. But you can see from the markings how lop-sided they were when they were never lop-sided my entire life prior to my first surgery. I was so excited for this day. My doctor ordered multiple sizes and said he would put as large as he could fit. It was between 575cc-615cc. I was hoping we’d fit the 615!!!!

I was loopy after surgery.

Here I am 24 hours post surgery. Wrapped up about to get it taken off. I am pretty tight and nervous of the size still not being big enough.

September 3, 2021 look at the healing!! It is night and day from surgery #1. They said it would be less invasive so I bruised less. Still swollen in the middle from the IV and anesthesia but the size and scarring is looking amazing. I am so thrilled! Same thing, no pain meds. I just took some tylonel. 4 days after surgery I went on a 5 mile hike with my Bible study sisters and was all good. I really wanted to go horse back riding that weekend but my doctor said it was unsafe which it was and I did opt out of that!

Halloween 2021 the girls were settling in!

5 months later

I am so happy! As time goes on they continue to look better and better. I am a 32DD. I feel so great and like myself! I’ll just say it, I got them for myself. I’m the one who looks at myself everyday. I am a firm believer in doing what makes you happy. I love the way I am able to wear swimwear again and just tops in general. If my boobs healed correctly or if my doctor didn’t lift my left side I would have had some nice C’s that I wouldn’t be totally happy with. The fact that I did go through all of this after what I started with. The fact that my skin had the opportunity to stretch and allow the larger implant I am beyond thrilled. I didn’t have to pay to size up which is just freaking awesome. The little time where I was depressed and sad about the result of my surgery is long over and short lived. I will still be able to breast feed my future babies I will have hopefully sooner than later. If you are interested in getting a breast augmentation I hope this is insightful and helpful to you. My journey was not normal but it is real, not just the pretty.

My tips for breast implants

1. Find a board certified surgeon and have at least 2 consults.
   • Make sure you feel comfortable with the doctor and staff.
   • Make a consult ASAP. Covid backed surgeries up. A lot of doctors are booking 6-12 or more months out.
   • Google your doctor. There was a doctor I read and spoke about with a handful of women in the local Denver area who had severely malpracticed.
2. Go big or go home. I’ve talked to so many women and not one person has ever said they went too big. In fact everyone I’ve talked to said they wish they went bigger! 25cc has some weight to it. Really decide what you want in size. Keep in mind you loose size with going under the muscle.
3. Make sure your cost includes the insurance.
4. Do what makes YOU happy!

If you have any questions on what doctor I saw or my experience I am super happy to chat!

XOXO

Erin