Friday, April 07, 2023

I had my implants removed (and now I need my card back)

During the Covid Pandemic, I, like a lot of people, gained a little weight.  I weighed the most I have ever weighed during the pandemic.

For me, it was a combination of stress and then compensating by eating ice cream after lunch while working at home.  I was also unable to run and workout like I normally do since I had a knot pop up on my right Achilles tendon.  I was in virtual physical therapy for over a year, but finally made it through.

By eliminating the ice cream after lunch and starting to work out again, I lost the weight that I had gained.

It also felt like my breasts had gotten a little bigger when I had gained a little weight or maybe because I wasn't working out as much, or maybe they had just taken a long time to grow.

Anyway, they felt bigger. Like.  Bigger.

I got implants in December of 2005.  When I got them, I had conflicting thoughts.  They looked great, but I could also feel the implants below my chest muscles.  They also felt big, like, maybe too big.  I went from a small A to a good sized C in the blink of an eye.  I was hoping for a B, especially since I play sports and workout.

I knew that implants were not considered permanent, and that they last 15-20 years.  Also, as we age, the implant might not be in the optimal position that it was 15-20 years ago.

Fortunately for me, Dr. Gray, the surgeon who put in my implants, was still in business.  I still think he is one of the best surgeons for breast augmentation, especially since he can do all of his work through such a tiny incision.  I set up a consult early this year for implant removal.  

He said that he sees a number of patients have their implants removed.  He said of those that have them removed, about half have implants put back in.  He said that number used to be higher.

I don't see me putting implants back in.

I asked him if I would need a breast lift, and he said no, but he also offered a procedure called BodyTite that could help tighten things up.  So, I signed up for that, too.

And, so, last month, I had the 375cc implants removed.  A long time ago, he said cup sizes were about 200cc and that I would gain 2 cup sizes with the 375cc implants.  I felt like my breasts had grown to a D, so going two cup sizes smaller would make me a B...which is what I was hoping for all along.

I missed filling two prescription meds before surgery, one being the Ativan pill I was supposed to take when I showed up for surgery.  Honestly, I was pretty chill, so things were fine.  The other was filled by my wife before she picked me up after surgery.

Once the IV was in my arm, I kinda just sat around looking at my phone until Dr. Gray arrived.  Once he showed up, things moved relatively fast and I was in the OR and on the table.  They started talking about Star Wars or Star Trek, I made a comment, and then I was out.

Surgery was about 2.5 hours.  Things went well and I was up and out in no time.  My wife drove me home and I only had mild pain.  I took a pain pill and a nap that afternoon, but, honestly, things went well and there was only minimal pain afterward.

I used the pain pills at night, but they put me on a pill that I'd never heard of called Tramadol.  I had some weird interactions with it, namely I would fall asleep with it, but I'd seem to wake up soon after.  I would eventually make it to sleep, but my internal night timer would be off.  For example, if I wake up at night, I can usually tell approximately what time it is.  I woke up one night and thought it was around 3, but it was only around 1am.  That happened every night I took the stuff.  I'd also wake up every morning as though I just had a fresh cup of coffee.

I switched to the Celecoxib after multiple days of Tramadol.  I got better sleep, but felt groggy in the morning.

Early on after the implants were out, there was fluid and swelling in the breast area.  I knew that what I saw then would be bigger than what I would end up with.  Now that I am approaching a month, I can tell that I have a nice B cup, which, again, is what I wanted all along.

I wonder if I had simply waited long enough for the breasts to develop that I never would have needed the implants.

Bah...patience...who has time for that?