You may or may not know that on the 26th July 2015 I underwent a breast augmentation at Transform, read my thoughts to why here if you're interested, or watch the video here.
It has taken me a while to do the update for several reasons. I lost my vlog camera whilst at Leeds festival just before my 6 weeks point. I'd been filming most days showing my progress, thoughts and feelings and now it was all lost. Highly annoyed at myself, but then feeling totally devastated when I then lost my best friend Jacqueline a couple of weeks later who I had taken with me to Leeds. All my memories from the last time I saw her were now lost. So for awhile I have been quite distant, watch my personal update video talking about life between July - November 2015 here if interested.
It's now been over 5 months since the op and they have changed so much over this time! As time goes on I'm becoming happier and happier with them. So let's catch up from the point I last left you guys.
Pre-op
On the 14th July 2015 I went back to Transform, taking Jacqueline with me to help me choose my size and to also have my pre-op. The pre-op happened first with a nurse where I had my height, weight and before pictures taken along with a blood test. I was talked through everything, had any questions I had answered and given notes to take home to read and refresh my memory.
- No vitamins or anti inflammatory drugs taken 2 weeks before surgery.
- No drinking alcohol or eating garlic 48 hours before.
- No makeup, jewellery, hair extensions or nail varnish.
- 6 hours prior no food or drink except water.
- 2 hours prior no more water.
- Pack a dressing gown and bring a sports bra to wear.
Then with Jacqueline and my point of contact I tried on sizers, before I'd just had implants placed into a sports bra to give an idea. This time they were more of a teardrop shape and emulated the sort of ski slope of an actual breast. Wearing a tight top on top, we decided 375CC suited me the most. This is actually the size I preferred in my first consultation with the surgeon but I was worried it would be too big so having a second opinion really helped. Next I saw Mr Meleagros to just confirm everything as I wasn't fully sure on the implants profile. Basically I was spending a lot of time reading up on things on forums and it was making me quite confused. Originally he said ultra high would work best for me but I was worried they'd look so fake. I expressed my concerns and he said for what I was working with they'd be the best option, if I went high profile or any others, with the projection being less, they'd look more rounded and then more fake. So all my concerns were address and I'd chosen! 375CC Natrelle TSX Ultra high profile over the muscle. Cost would be £4589 including the £189 warranty.
Surgery
On the 26th July 2015 I underwent my breast augmentation. In my bag I packed a dressing gown, phone charger, portable battery incase my cable couldn't reach from the plug to my bed (which it didn't so that was an amazing idea), pjs, tooth brush, tooth paste, face wash, pants and my macom bra.
As I lived far from the Riverside hospital which resides in London, I would be staying over one night. I went alone in a taxi and would be one of the first to be seen that day. Before going to my room I saw my anaesthetist who talked me through what he was going to do and warned about possible things like a sore throat or chipped teeth from the tube being inserted down my throat for breathing during the operation. I had heard of this from watching other girls' experiences on YouTube. Most seemed to have a sore throat after the op from the tube.
My room was ready, I chose my food for the rest of the day, changed into my paper gown, paper pants, DVT socks and dressing gown. Mr Meleagros came into see me, made markings on my chest and reassured me everything was okay. Next two nurses came in, took my blood pressure, gave me a hair net to wear. I put on my slippers and was led towards the operating theatre. I honestly cannot express how lovely they were, they distracted me by talking about YouTube as they watched a few people like Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter :) we chatted for awhile in a side room until everyone was ready. Then I was led into the operating room, laid on the table where the nurse held my hand. I was getting very nervous by this point, but they were all so lovely I started to relax a bit.
The anaesthetist was incredibly good at making me feel at ease, I was even laughing on the operating table! I told him my left arm wasn't the best for getting a vain, he responded that if anyone ever had any troubles with me they should come to him, within no time he'd got one and was telling me how beautiful it looked and I couldn't stop laughing. He asked how I was with needles, to which I cringed. He spotted I had tattoos and said, okay, what little tattoo would you like today? Perhaps a little star? I never even felt it go into my hand. I'd worked myself up a little over this part as I'd heard some girls say the anaesthetic was cold or even painful. All I felt was a sort of wave move from my legs up past my chest towards my head and before I even could count to two I was out.
Waking up
After surgery you are put into a sort of waiting area ward, I remember being woken up by a nurse and offered some water to drink. As I spoke to say thank you I found myself speaking in slow motion. Very surreal and amusing, I spoke again saying how slow I felt and how I knew I was speaking so slowly. I got to look down at my new additions and the first thing I said was, yey they aren't too big! My nipples looked hilarious, standing up like rockets! They had stretched in size a little but if anything they just looked in proportion with the boobs. I saw there were some bandages on the underneath of the boobs covering the incisions. The next thing I asked was if I snored! They laughed and said you cannot snore. I remembered there was a tube and realised I had no pain or discomfort in my throat what so ever. My chest felt tight but no pain. I was wheeled back to my room and within 30 mins after surgery I took this picture.
I was straight on my phone messaging my parents and friends telling them how it all had gone so smoothly. I could speak normally again, I was eating, drinking, vlogging and was completely fine. No loss of appetite, no pain. Just amazed at my new boobs, they were rock solid, very swollen and high up, but I was thrilled.
A nurse came in and helped me get into my pjs and my macom bra. I still had my drains in and would do until the next morning. As you can see from the pictures they were very high with a lot of upper pole fullness. I was checked very frequently by nurses, my temperature, bloody pressure, heart rate and given pain killers when needed. As the day went on the frequency reduced. Mr Meleagros came in and checked everything was okay also. The day whizzed by and soon it was time for bed. I hardly slept to be honest. Being sat upright all day and then sleeping in the same position on my back was quite uncomfortable! I'm very much a side sleeper so this wasn't pleasant.
The next day
I was seen by a nurse, had my drains removed which really wasn't bad at all. I got myself so worked up on this too from people's YouTube videos, some said it was the worst part. My boobs were numb so I felt no pain, it just felt weird. I was told how to take my painkillers, anti-biotics, how to take shallow baths and wash my top half with a cloth, not getting the incisions wet. The stitches were dissolvable so I wouldn't need them removed. She was so helpful and just reassured me and gave me all the information I needed and notes to refresh my memory when I was home. I got my taxi home and spent the day on the sofa with my parents fussing over me.
The following week
Anaesthetic slows down your body after surgery. The codeine in my painkillers can, erm, bung you up. It had been 3 days without a bowl movement, my stomach stuck out more than my boobs. I literally looked 6 months pregnant! I was miserable, not from my boobs, but my bloody stupid swollen stomach and still getting used to sleeping on my back :( I was drinking all the water, eating all the fruit, dried fruit, you name it. I came off the codeine painkillers on the Wednesday and moved to only paracetamol when needed.
Luckily things got better :) on the Saturday I tried on a non wired bra to see how my boobs looked in clothes. It felt so surreal as my boobs were still very numb, I felt very dizzy and slightly faint. My skin was so swollen it looked as if I'd oiled my chest!
I think having a break from my macom bra and wearing a non wired one for a little while helped reduce some swelling as by the Sunday it had started going down. Simple things like washing my hair and putting on some makeup helped pick me up from my week of a painful stomach.
1st check up
This was around 8 days after my operation, the nurse removed the bandages and strips covering the incisions and said they'd started healing really well already. I expressed my concerns, due to the swelling, in between my boobs the skin wasn't flush against my chest wall and I was worried I was getting what some call a mono boob! She reassured me that it was only the swelling and I should push my finger down between them to help drain the fluid. We noticed my left boob was also dropping a little quicker, it's very normal for this to happen.
I was asked by Malibu if I'd like to go to Ibiza with them so I checked with the nurse if it was okay to fly. The trip was 16 days post op and you're okay to fly short haul 14 days after so it was fine (12 weeks post op for long haul flights). She just said I had to get a bikini or swimsuit with good support and no under wiring. I got mine from Huit. See the trip here. For 6 weeks you aren't allowed to swim or expose the incisions to sunlight. I was also advised to always sleep on my back during this time too.
When I got home I noticed I'd had a reaction to the sticky parts of the bandages, the skin was itchy, irritated and sore, in the end the marks took several months to fade.
After 9 or so days I was back to work, I was told in my handbag I couldn't carry no more than my purse, lipstick sort of thing. You don't want to be carrying anything heavy. My arm movement was quite restricted, I just did things slowly, I didn't reach behind me and didn't push myself to lift my arms up too high.
For showering, I had shallow baths and had help from my mum with a cloth to reach my back. She also helped me wash my hair. The following weeks I was able to do more for myself, slowly being able to wash my own hair. Luckily I only needed to wash my hair once a week anyway.
Boobs felt quite surreal like they would fall off if I lent forward and removed my bra. In the mornings you get what's called "morning boob" where they can feel quite stiff but this only lasts an hour or so.
2nd check up
This was at the 6 week point, I had my after photos taken, strips removed and advised to use rose hip oil on the scars. I could have baths and get them wet. I could start sleeping on my side and wear bras with wiring. I still slept (and still do now) in my macom bra as it's so comfortable.
I still had a lot of numbness, this was due to my skin stretching so much, there was nerve damage but it was slowly coming back. At this point I still felt they sat so high up, but was still thrilled with my decision.
Final check up
This is at the 3 month mark back with my surgeon. He was really impressed with his work which made me feel really good! He said all was fine, just not to lose any weight as this would effect their appearance.
At around 3.5 months post op my contraceptive pill I decided to come off after my surgery was finally out of my system and I had my period. During this time of course boobs change, just before I was due on they became firmer and felt a little different. Once I came on my period I was relieved and relaxed to know this is what caused the change. They then went back to normal, being softer again within a few days.
4 month post op
I started feeling so comfortable with them, I could go braless if I wanted. I did this more and got nipple covers so I could wear backless things and not have my nipples saying hi to the world. They moved a lot more, they were getting so much softer. I was gaining more feeling and the scars were fading a lot.
Now
It's been over 5 months now and I really love them. I love them much more now as they have changed so much. I'm sure I'll love them even more as time goes on and they get even softer etc. They have dropped a considerable amount compared to right after I got them done. I think they look reasonably natural as on Instagram I've had people asking when I'm going to go through with the procedure, upon telling them I already had, they just thought I was wearing a good bra! I'm so happy with the size, I'm glad I didn't go any bigger or smaller. I think I'm now around a 28E - 30DD although I've not been measured yet.
I feel finally so comfortable in my body. It's weird, I thought it would be a confidence thing. But I just feel this is how my body should have been if that makes any sense. I often don't notice them, they are just a part of me and I feel good. I haven't noticed a change in any attention from people, I don't get them out often to be honest anyway.
Since having my operation done I've had two friends also go to Transform with the same surgeon and they are also so happy with their results. I've spoken to so many girls about my experience when they've reached out to me, since then a few have had theirs done and I'm so happy I've been there to reassure them. When you know you're going to get it done, you will regardless, but it helps so much to have someone to put your mind at rest and to help you realise everything is normal and okay.
My advice
- Do your research and find the right surgeon you feel comfortable with. Originally one of my friends went to see a different surgeon and he did not tell her as much as mine did. She didn't know what profile she was getting and felt a little rushed. She looked up his reviews and people seemed to get the same service from him. She looked up my surgeon's reviews and saw nothing bad. Upon having a consultation with him she was so happy and knew exactly what she was getting and was much more clued up on the whole procedure.
- It can be helpful to read blogs and watch videos of girls' who've been through it, BUT bare in mind things are different from person to person. It's good to prepare you on things like what to pack, bras to get etc, but different surgeons will practice in different ways and nurses may have different aftercare advice. It's best to listen to the professionals and have a consultation. A girl's implant size may be perfect for her, but not necessarily for you. Results will depend on several factors, what you start off with originally, your breast tissue, your skins thickness etc.
Surgery isn't for everyone, your bodies may change or you may come to love what you have. Everyone is different and that's okay :)
I hope this has been informative, if there's anything else you wish you know which I not have answered please leave it in the comments. If there's enough questions which I haven't answered in this post or my video then I will do a Q&A video. If there isn't enough I shall just reply to the comments :)
Check out my video:
Some before/after & progress pictures:
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