PLUS-sized and 800cc implants too small?..need feedback, please

Hello Ladies

 I'm so glad I came across this website.  I am in the same boat as some of you and need some recommendations and advise.  I to am a larger girl 5'10 with curves.  I had a MX in Jan. and currently have an expander in place. My treatment has come to a halt since my PS told me he can no longer get the larger implants. I've asked him about the saline implants and do an overfill but he refuses due to hospital regulations.  I am needing in the area of 1100cc.  I have been trying so hard to find a way and another surgeon to help me.  800cc will not do my frame any justice and I just want to be back like I was prior to my MX. 

Hello Denise  --  My PS stated that it was due to the hospital policy they stay to the guidelines of the manufacturer.   He also states  the warranty would be void if he overfilled to 1100cc or more.  He knows I was looking for something at least 1100cc.  I suggested the saline implant that could go to 960cc and possibly  overfilled to 1100cc or more.  He refuses stating again the hopital policy and hes not allowed to do this.  I was told that PS that were in private practice had more flexiblity on more overfill for the saline implants. In addition the nurse says that the 960 has a wider base and the projection is not what I'm looking for.  My PS seems to perfer silicone implants over saline since they are more like the natural breast. All I would like is to get back close to what I was before. 

I have the mentor high profile 800cc silicone implants.  I was at least a DD before surgery, and a small C after, which is what I was as a young adult before kids, so I was very happy with that. 

Then I lost more than 50 pounds.  I am now a very full C cup/small D cup, and I definitely have more than enough projection. 

If I were selecting a size now, I would probably go a bit smaller. The implants stay the same size whether you lose weight or gain it.  If you lose weight with natural breasts or some of the other surgeries, your breasts are the first place you lose weight, and they deflate.  With implants, the girls just get more projection. 

For me, getting a nice figure back after all these years was an incentive to lose the weight, and to keep going with it.  That won't work for everyone because there are soooo many factors in our weight, but it is one avenue worth trying if getting more projection is important to you and you have reached the limit of available sizes.

I watched carbs and portion sizes, wrote down everything I ate, and seriously increased my physical activity.  I now walk at least 2 miles a day in additon to what I would do during my normal activities, or substitute walking in a mall, or swimming or an exercise class for one of the miles if the weather is too hot, too cold, or too anything to walk. 

It isn't a matter of making a huge change immediately, just start moving in the right direction.

Pick something to change for the better, and go from there.  Good Luck!!! 

So glad to have found this thread!!  I am also a plus size 250 lbs 5ft 6 in size 20/22 wondering if 800cc implants will be disproportionate.  My PS is very passive and says that "it's better than no reconstruction at all".  What?  How is that the right answer to my concerns?  Anyways, he did say that we could do the overfilled salines.  I just wonder if I should have a 2nd opinion.  I know with him having done my TE's and all of the expansion, that it would be hard to change doc's at this stage of the game.  I just want him to find a way for us to have the best outcome, best projection now.  Hoping to lose weight after all the surgeries and chemo are over but will be starting Tomoxifan then.  I know I have some challenges ahead of me but right now I need the PS to understand the importance of doing the best job possible with my reconstruction.   I'm getting discouranged w/the process...isn't it enough that we have to go through the process at all?  Not to mention coming out w/a training bra worthy chest b/c there are limited options available? Urgggg!  Just needing to vent....  Where are the pics I see everyone talking about?  I'd like to see what I could possible end up with at the rate I'm going.....Thanks!

I Have been expanded up to 800cc. After bm.  I will do the exchange in Oct 2010. They are very round and kind of flat. they just dont look very big. I know many of you have refered to the pic forum. Where is that.I could not find it

And will they be softer after the exchange. i think i am just getting alittle worried.

Traci

I'm plus size and wanted to go smaller--to a B.  My upper back hurts a lot with too much weight on top.  I now have 650 saline overfilled to 750cc.  I have more profile than I had with the expanders, but I will swap out this summer for Mentor silicone gel high profile implants.  PS said I may loose some projection, but I'm fine with that.  I like the idea of camisoles instead of support bras.  Maybe it will get me motivated to lose some weight.

Terri

Wow! I so wish I would have found this thread sooner!!! I thought I was all alone........so much to say and I am so tired and need to go to bed.

I hate my B's! They look so out of place on this 240 pound body. Ugh! Will go into more detail later. 

This is a thread I wish I had found at the beginning of my journey.  I just had my exchange five days ago.  I got the mentor high profile 800cc.  I tried on an old bra yesterday and did not come close to filling it out.  Putting on a button up shirt with darts (is that what they are called....when there is an extra seam to make room for the boobs?) made me cry, as I used to completely fill out the shirt and now it looks like I am wearing a hand me down.

Anyway, as I said, I am only five days out and know that I will have to go shopping for work clothes now that nothing fits.  

I was told that 800 was the largest possible size.  I wish I had read this so I could at least ask PS about it before the surgery.

Although it is hard, I try to look at the positive side of things.  I no longer spill food on my chest as I have for many many years.  Now it hits my stomach which is not at visible when I am sitting at a desk or table.  lol.  Gotta keep a sense of humor, right?

I wish I had known better before my exchange surgery too, like many of you. I ended up with a 800 silicon gel implant. WAY too small for me. They reduced my "real" side, but not enough to match. I'm glad that my PS didn't make it any smaller...my body NEEDS D cups! So, this Novemeber, I'm getting rid of the gel implant and going with an overfilled saline implant to 1200cc's. My new PS this should be just about right for me.

I'm glad I am not alone, but it is frustrating to go from a small D to a small B.  My plastic surgeon assured me throughout the entire process that I could still be the size I was before a double mastectomy.  Although when the bandages came off, I, too, cried and was so upset I was shaking.  What a huge disappointment!  I have 800cc gel implants.  The surgeon told me 800cc is the largest the FDA approves for gel or saline implants.  Any truth to this?  Definitely not happy with these "little ones."  Feel like a pre-teen again but at age 43.  Would like to consider options before nipple reconstruction in Feb. 2012.  Would saline ones make a difference?  Very interested in your input and suggestions.  Thanks.

Waterski,

I heard you can overfill saline implants; that may make you larger.  Also, your skin will loosen up a bit about 2 months after exchange.   I'm a little larger than I thought I would be now.

Terri

Before being diagnosed I had made a commitment to regain my health and my life. I started eating healthy, drinking water and exercising with Curves and Zumba. With the determination I have not had since college I lost 45 pounds; then my efforts came to a screachiing halt.  I now have had a lumpectomy and two additional surgeries to finally obtain a clear margine. I have multifocal DCIS in addition to the invasive cancer that was removed. As we all have found out there are a lot of decisions we have to make and I am having a hard time this time around. I have again been told I can have a mastectomy and "possibly" avoid necessary chemo treatments. I have decided that as badly as I don't want to have chemo I would likely choose to have it anyway. One of the concerns that has me tormented over this decision is what I would look and feel like with reconstruction. I'm 48, over weight and my breasts are sagging, I could get new boobs. After reading several posts I feel so much better. Still undecided though. If I were to go with a mastectomy do I understand correctly that I should loose the weight I want before getting the reconstruction?? Anyone have a suggestion?

Wow - I've been looking for a thread like this!

I'm 5'5", 180 lbs, and a 38DD. My breasts are heavy, dense, and droopy. I always wanted a reduction, but never got around to it. I can only wear underwire bras, and they hurt.

Now I'm awaiting my BMX with recon on December 5th. I told my PS that I wanted to go smaller, and he said I needed at least a C cup to fit my body size. The TEs he'll use can be filled to 700 ml (cc) but can be overfilled. The exact size of the implants will be determined at exchange time.

It does give me hope that I can go smaller with the implants, but that they'll have better projection if I lose some of this weight! Guess there's my motivation!

 I am currently 5'5 and 180 lbs also.  I used to be a 40DD and I certainly do not want to ever go back to having big boobs.  Maybe I am in a minority here, but I always thought my boobs were a nuisance.  It was hard to find clothes that fit correctly (now I WANT to wear button down shirts). I am motivated to lose 35-40 pounds and since my implants that I will be getting down the road will not lose THEIR size, I want to be a large B cup or small C.  I am currently filled to 400cc in the left and 350cc in the right.  I guess they expand to more than the implant they will use so as to have enough space to work with.  I could be happy right where I am. 

Beth3172- I am in Michigan too....SW corner!!  Where is Chesterfield Twp??