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Well, At this point things are not too good. I went in for surgery on 8/31. I had my pre-opt the day before and Dr. Baxt said I looked bigger than in my pictures. That made me worried especially since he seemed less confident about getting me to a C than over the phone. The procedure went fine, from what I know. I was asleep the entire time. When I woke up I felt incredably alone and I wanted my mother but they wouldn't let her into the recovery room because of other patient's privacy. Finally I was allowed to go. When we got to the hotel things were fine. I wasn't tired like some people claimed to be. I felt pretty good considering. I was able to eat dinner and talk. Then I recieved a called from Dr. Baxt. He said that I would be feeling worse the next day. He described it as feeling like I was hit in the chest by a 2 by 4. He also said that the procedure had gone very well and he thought he had gotten about 1 1/2 cup sizes although I could get that extra half cup. I went to bed that night and the next morning I was feeling worse. I think a 2 by 4 is not strong enough. I felt like I was hit in the chest by a jack hammer. I took my prescription pain pills and began to feel find again. As I got in the car to go to the airport I started to feel nauseus. They had given me a prescription for compazine incase the anesthesia did it to me so I took one even though it was not being caused by the anesthesia. When I got to the airport it was apparent that it wasn't taking effect. My mom called the pharmacy and they agreed that it was probably the percocet and they told me to take another one. I did, and the nausea went away. On the plane, I was completely miserable. I was unable to sleep even though I was tired and all I could feel was the pain. Finally we landed and I got to go home. I decided once I was home that I needed the percocet for the pain and I took it. I did not become nauseated which was good. I went to bed but it was far from a restful sleep. I woke up several times and finally work up at 5:20 am with nausea. I took a compazine but it didn't help and I threw up and went back to bed. I slept until some neighbor's kid woke me up and I have been nauseated ever since. I took more compazine but it didn't really help. I have been instructed not to take any more antibiotics or percocet but who knows when this pain will end. I will post later to let people know how I'm doing.[/i] my experience: after the surgery, WC did not have significant pain, she felt pretty good, she was not tired, she had a good appetite, she ate a good dinner, we had a nice night watching TV in bed. Dr Baxt called to see how she was and to discuss the results. He said she would be one and a half cup size smaller, maybe more. He said he worked up a sweat on the procedure, i thought he meant he tried hard to get as much as he could. I mentioned how good she was feeling. He said the next day would be worse, he said it would be pretty bad, the anaesthesiologist had said he would give her something to make her comfortable for 24 hours. I'm glad Dr Baxt told us that the next day would be worse. It would've been more alarming not to have expected it. When WC woke up the next day, she complained of pain. She didn't want to move around. We had to catch our plane back to Los Angeles, a 5+ hour flight. She took one of the prescription pain pills. In the limo on the way to the airport, she was feeling nauseated. She had medication for nausea which she took when the driver stopped to get gas. At the airport, she still felt nauseated and was feeling generally bad. I had called in advance that morning to ask the airline for a wheelchair at the airport. American Airlines was really kind and helpful with everything. While we were waiting for the plane (we were an hour early) WC continued feeling nauseated. I called the pharmacy to see when she could take another dose of the anti-nausea medicine because it didn't say on the directions. The guy said she could take two at a time, so she took another and it did help, she was like a different person. On the plane, she ate the lunch that was served. But after not very long, she was complaining about pain in the breasts. The seats don't recline very much. I discouraged her from taking the prescription pain pill in case it might cause more nausea and she agreed. She took extra strength tylenol. She complained a lot during the ride about the pain and discomfort. She had hoped to sleep but she wasn't sleepy. We took a cab home. When we got home she took another prescription pain pill. She felt better after a while. She had an appetite and had a good dinner. Later, when she went to bed, she took another prescription pain pill. She woke in the morning very nauseated and vomiting. She hasn't taken anymore of the prescription since then. This morning she took the anti-nausea medicine again. It helped somewhat but not as much. She has felt very restless all day, and thinks it might be from the anti nausea medication, so she stopped taking that since this morning. The pain in the breasts is much better today. The incisions are healing and are small. When she gets through the current discomfort, once she finds that her breasts are smaller, I'm sure she'll be happy, especially if she can wear a C bra. I think part of the problem is her fear that she will still be a D. She says she remembers when she was a D and she hated being a D, it was too big. So i think her disappointment or fear that she won't be a C is part of what she's going through. She has had problems with nausea in the past, it comes and goes. Maybe it was triggered by all the things her body has been through this week. Can someone tell us, if she was DD before the surgery and she goes down one and a half cup sizes, is that a C or a D? We aren't sure. If she went down one cup size, that would be a D for sure. If she goes down 2 cup sizes, that woudl be a C for sure. But what if she goes down one and a half cup sizes? what size is that? Sorry WC has been having a rough time of it but happy that she has had the procedure done and it all went well. The nausea sounds stress related, unless the meds have had a really weird effect on her. Nothing to do with the surgery. Poor girl! Sounds horrible! I suppose a 1.5 cup reduction would take her to a large C or small D depending on the bra manufacturer, but let's think positive and visualise her getting down to the ordinary C that she wants. How many cc's were removed? Thanks for your support Bonchai. 800cc were removed frome each breast for a total of 1600cc. Sorry to hear about the nausea thing. I think it coud be related to stress and fear of the surgery. Now thst WC is home it should go away. As for the bra size---- you have to be patient PLEASE. You can't judge the size till the swelling goes down. When the badnages are out you will see how much smaller the BBS will look. I am six weeks post op now and much older too and I have come down from a ddd to D in some brands and to C in some brands and I feel they are still shrinking. Somedays they did feel a bit bigger and that could be water retention and swelling. I am still a bit swollen on the sides but seem to be going down daily. So dont RUSH just be PATIENT and get as much rest as you can. Drink a lot of water. healing takes quite a while. Someone from the forum will help answer any questions. So ask away PATIENCE AND TIME IS THE FACTOR HERE--- good news, WC is improving, she feels better this morning, her body is re-adjusting, the pain is not an issue. she was able to sleep a lot. thanks for the kind words and good advice--especially patience. Hi, A good amount was taken out. WC will definetly come down to a C. Give it time. She will have fun looking for new bras soon. Dont buy too many yet because the shrinkage continues. Use Cocoa butter and Vitamin E after the bandages are out to keep the skin tight and to reduce the stretch marks. How old are you WC? Take care--- and be Patient!! I just turned 21 in June. Thanks for your support. I really hope I am able to go down to a C since I think a D is still too big for my frame. I am trying to be positive and optimistic. Patience is not one of my virtues but I'm working on it. How are you doing now? Things better? I am interested in doing the same thing as you. I'll be flying from Utah, and I'm also 20 with a small body and DDD. Is it worth it? Any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks. Sorry it's been so long since I've written. I'm back in college and am having a very busy quarter. I'm a few days short of two months post op. I have mixed feelings about the procedure. A quick reminder of my stats. I'm 21, was a DD before surgery. I am 5'4 and 124 pounds. I am at a D cup now but I'm a large D. I don't even think I've gone down a whole cup size. Of course I still have lumps in my breasts so maybe they'll go down more. I was hoping to be smaller, a C cup. Dr. Baxt told me that I should go down about a cup and a half and that it can take up to a year but it's hard to imagine that I'll go much smaller after hearing other people's experiences where they basically didn't change much in size after the first month or so. But I can't say that I wouldn't do it again. I have definitely noticed a reduction in weight. It isn't that I even think "wow, my back doesn't hurt" I don't even think about my back. I use to think about it all the time because it was constantly hurting me. Once in a while I do realize that I don't feel it anymore and that makes me happy. As for the shape, the shape looks good to me. There is some loose skin but the only way I can tell there is any is if I pinch the skin. It doesn't look loose if you just look at my breasts. It's not even that loose. My nipples do look a little funny sometimes but it's not really a big deal. So as far as weight and look they're fine, I'm just not satisfied with the size. I would choose this procedure over nothing at all. I submitted the insurance claim to Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, even though i have Blue Shield of California--that's what they told me to do. That was about 3 weeks ago, i think. I'm waiting to hear how much they'll pay out of the $7500. Judy, Please do post when you get notice from BCBS. I too submitted my $7500 charge to BCBS about 3 weeks ago and am waiting to see what they pay. Would be interested to know if it was the same allowed amount. Thanks I just received my insurance reimbursement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware: I got $1400 reimbursed from the $7000 claim submitted. I just received my insurance reimbursement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware: I got $1400 reimbursed from the $7000 claim submitted. that's about what someone at my insurance company said we'd get. When WK decided to get this surgery, she thought she would be reimbursed most of the cost, over $5000, because our plan says it pays 70% out of network. I assumed this would be 70% of the reasonable and customary amount, and i talked to Terri about it, and she said that Baxt charges less than the customary fee for BR surgery, which made sense, with the traditional procedure being more involved. But apparently they've changed from using a 'reasonable and customary' standard to 'allowable,' and allowable apparently means the amount that the HMO charges, the amount they agree on with the HMO. I think that's a rip off--when my plan advertizes itself as covering 70% of out of network treatment, that's very misleading. ("diamond-state grrl":1w5dshgw) I just received my insurance reimbursement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware: I got $1400 reimbursed from the $7000 claim submitted. that's about what someone at my insurance company said we'd get. When WK decided to get this surgery, she thought she would be reimbursed most of the cost, over $5000, because our plan says it pays 70% out of network. I assumed this would be 70% of the reasonable and customary amount, and i talked to Terri about it, and she said that Baxt charges less than the customary fee for BR surgery, which made sense, with the traditional procedure being more involved. But apparently they've changed from using a 'reasonable and customary' standard to 'allowable,' and allowable apparently means the amount that the HMO charges, the amount they agree on with the HMO. I think that's a rip off--when my plan advertizes itself as covering 70% of out of network treatment, that's very misleading. ("diamond-state grrl":1ej27lv4) I just received my insurance reimbursement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware: I got $1400 reimbursed from the $7000 claim submitted. was your total fee $7000? WK had her surgery around the same time you did and her fee was $7500, and that's what we claimed for reimbursement. Did you have a lower fee than she did, or did you claim less than your whole fee? Hi Judy, I claimed my whole fee. I had a lower fee because I had my consult and received a surgery proposal last year (2003) at which time the fee was 7000, and they honored that fee. My insurance (BCBS of DE) will reimburse all the "parts" of the procedure (surgeon's fee, facility fee, anesthesia, etc.) if they are separately billed. Because the fee for Dr. Baxt (and most PS do this from my research) is "all inclusive," my insurance reimburses the surgeon's fee (which was 2800, before all the deductions and % reductions were calculated.). ("diamond-state grrl":3hb3q9kc) Hi Judy, My insurance (BCBS of DE) will reimburse all the "parts" of the procedure (surgeon's fee, facility fee, anesthesia, etc.) if they are separately billed. Because the fee for Dr. Baxt (and most PS do this from my research) is "all inclusive," my insurance reimburses the surgeon's fee (which was 2800, before all the deductions and % reductions were calculated.). That's interesting. But if the fee is all inclusive, how do they know how much the surgeon's fee is? The paperwork i received from Cosmedical just had the total fee, i think. I don't remember seeing any breakdown. Does the insurance company contact Cosmedical to find out how much the surgeon's fee is? Do i understand you right? If the feel is submitted all inclusively, they will only reimburse for the surgeon's fee whereas if the different services were billed separately, they'd reimburse for those too? Is there less reimbursement when the bill is all inclusive? Was yours based on an "allowable" amount? The allowable amount they quoted to me was very small, just a small fraction of the billed amount.

Source: http://www.cosmedical.com/pdf/sbr-fourm/forum47.pdf