Size question

bethq
bethq Member Posts: 311
edited July 2014 in Working on Your Fitness

I can't see that this has been asked before so here goes. I am "somewhat" athletic (gym 4-5 nights per week and lots of walking) and want to learn to surf next summer. I have no idea what size my breasts were before....I think they used to be a B but I lost 30 lbs and who knows. Anyway I am trying to decide when to stop on these fills. I dont want the breasts to get in the way. My old breasts were 180 cc and so far I have 220 cc now. I am 5 ft 4 in and 122 lbs. Any suggestions?

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Comments

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited July 2014

    bethq - go to this thread and list the information asked in the header by whippetmom. She can advise based on the info you provide. 

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/746448?page=375#post_4087082

    FWIW - I am about your size - an inch shorter and the same weight - I have pretty large implants (actually implant - I only have the right side right now - lol!), so visually a C cup but in an underwire bra a 34DD with 650cc implants.  Remember than you will most likely appear smaller visually once you exchange for implants because you lose the forward projection provided by the hard-backed expanders.  In some cases you look about half the expanded size depending on your anatomy and implant type, and many advise to go a bit larger in the expander phase because of that.

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  • DiveCat
    DiveCat Member Posts: 968
    edited July 2014

    I am and have always been very athletic. I run/do cardio and weight train almost every day and my "hobbies" also generally also involve athletics, like hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, etc. And yes, I have even surfed (pre-implants though, and not very well but would love to do it again when I get chance!).

    I am 5'4", 118 lbs, ribcage is 29" snug. I was a 30E before surgery with natural breasts. I have 435cc high profile silicone rounds and I still need to wear a 30E though I do think visually they look a little smaller than they did before because of the way they are shaped and such.  I did not find my breasts got in the way before with proper bras, and I don't find they do now either. It is actually a lot easier now as they are firmer than the old ones and move around a lot less! Before you think a 30E is big...it really isn't! Lots of people have misconceptions about cup sizes and how they work...which is why asking for a certain cup size is rather useless.  Check out thebrabandproject to see how it looks! http://www.brabandproject.com/gallery/search?band...

    They don't get in the way at all. I feel very proportional, but obviously that is subjective for everyone :)

    If you are on the picture forum you can also see my thread there, or the photos I posed of me in bras in the bra thread (I am under same name).

    As SpecialK said, the TEs are hard backed and are designed to stretch tissues, so going to implants you will lose projection, etc. I never had TEs, but I see this on the forums all the time.


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  • bethq
    bethq Member Posts: 311
    edited July 2014

    Wow I must have NO CLUE about sizes then! I assumed an E would be HUGE! Now I wonder if I wasn't a C cup to start off with (I never measured anything, just bought what fit). I would love to get Whippetmoms take but I know nothing about my expanders. I go for my third fill tomorrow so I will ask. Thanks all.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited July 2014

    bethq - be sure to look at the list of questions for whippetmom - your PS should give you the brand, style, max fill volume, and I think she can get the measurements from that info.  She also needs your height/weight/ribcage circumfrance.  Tell her what you would like and she can recommend implant size and type, but this is also something to be discussed with your PS.  Do you have any old bras?  Look at the tag and see what the band and cup size are. 

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  • sarahjane7374
    sarahjane7374 Member Posts: 669
    edited July 2014

    I'm 5'3'', 116 lbs.  I have 650cc rounds.  I have no idea what I had for expanders, either.  My bras are D or DD, but I think visually I look more like a C, although in certain styles....I can look all of a D.  It's the shape of the implants that needs the bigger cup.

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  • bethq
    bethq Member Posts: 311
    edited July 2014

    SpecialK my last bras prior to surgery were 34C but I purchased them prior to losing 30 lbs and I was swimming in them. I had always worn 34B but my daughters told me I needed to wear a C so I did! I will try and get this info tomorrow but my PS is so busy I don't get to see her very long.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited July 2014

    The info on your expanders is in your file - your PS office staff should be able to make a copy for you so you don't have to take valuable appointment time getting that.  You should have the discussion of where you would like to end up though - that is pretty much tied to how many fills you get, so the PS should make some time for that.  Keep in mind that a B or C cup visually will be larger in a cup size in a bra.  Implants tend to sit a bit laterally in the chest so you need the underneath curve of the bra to go all the way around the implant, you don't want either the wire, or too much seaming in a non-underwire bra, to be sitting on top of the implant, so you generally have to go with a larger cup size.  My implants don't move much - you can't really squish them into the cup like a natural breast.

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  • bethq
    bethq Member Posts: 311
    edited July 2014

    So SpecialK it sounds like you end up with some extra room in the front of the bra then? My PS said we will just fill 60 cc at a time until I am happy with the size.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited July 2014

    I went for a bra fitting at Nordstrom, and their fitters have been trained to deal with reconstructed breasts.  I was quite surprised to see how many bras she brought in but I found two that were good and both 34DD and no empty space in the cup.  I would be careful about filling until you like the size and then exchanging for that same size.  You will look smaller in the same cc implant, and I have seen a lot of disappointed people who have done this.  If you are not very concerned about size that is one thing, but if you have something specific in mind you need to be sure - you don't want to discover this after your exchange surgery.  This is where whippetmom can help you.

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  • islandmom
    islandmom Member Posts: 191
    edited July 2014

    bethq I agree with SpecialK consult Whippetmom about size, the woman is amazing.  The expanders do not give you a true sense of what the implants will be like.  Another factor is how you are built. I am a uni I have a 450 cc on the mx side and 160 cc in my other breast.   I wear a 32 DD or 30E and I would say my breasts look bigger than 450 cc.   I have a narrow frame 27 1/2 inches under the breasts.  

    I would also say that the breasts do not get in the way.  I exercise regularly,  I do Bodypump and HITT religiously and walk a lot. 

    Being a uni I have to be careful with weight fluctuation.  At the time of exchange I was heavier so I got a 550 cc implant, one year later I went down to 100 lbs, the implant looked huge and I was uneven.  My PS exchanged it for a 450 cc and I also gained a little weight, currently they match very well.  

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