Implant Consultation

[AZashleemarie]

Hi I just wanted to share a recent experience I have had and I feel somewhat guilty about, yet somewhat feel like it was okay. So anyways down to the point of the story I recently thought it might be interesting to get a consultation on implants, although to be honest unless I made a few deals at work me millions allowing me to retire about 35 years earlier than average and had some falling out with family where I would be able to make this type of move the possibility of following through is very low. I kind of justified making the appointment by feeling like it is a very superficial procedure so its not like I was leaving someone in the waiting room who needed actual medical attention, so anyways I took the plunge and did it. (If you live in AZ and want to know where PM me and I will let you know)
Anyways I emailed random places - wanted to make sure it was a female staff, as wherever I do anything femme it makes me super uncomfortable being around males, plus I find medical facilities to be somewhat intimidating. So I got a positive email back about getting a consultation at a place a few miles from home. I booked an afternoon appointment and spent the morning buying a tight sports bra as they suggested from Target and got underdressed and went. I explained (lying, which is why I feel guilty) when I arrived that I have thought about doing an upstairs procedure but leaving my boy parts in tact and living as a woman for more than just the time when I got home from work at night. They asked about financials - I told them I have wealthy parents in California (not a lie) and will get a substantial inheritance. I was then taken to a room by a super nice lady in her late 40ish who explained the procedure and that she has had hers done twice and that it is much better than it used to be as far as risks of boobs popping and what not. She asked me to remove my shirt as she would have to make some marks on my skin. I took off my shirt and she - laughed and made a goofy remark about my breastforms that I can not recall at the time. I told her that although they are great and realistic feeling - obviously I cant wear low cut tops or dresses that show cleavage. She said something about the lines about well damn we need to be able to let you shop at victorias secret hon (coincidentally my panties were VS, but I was like in nervous mode and just stifled a laguht). She then asked questions about how often I dress, do I go out, etc. She then measured me and asked if I want to "stand out" or look natural. I responded that I wanted something that fit my body type, dont wanna be Anna Nicole, but dont want to be flat chested. She understood - she had me take my forms out - and complimented me on getting good ones and not using kleenex or socks - again we laughed. Then we tried 3 different sizes - she had me walk around - put my cami back on, then do random stuff like jog in place, pick up something off the ground, pretend I had to grab stuff out my purse to simulate movement and see how my dexterity was with each size. Anyways she then said she will be right back with me and left the room.
I sat there feeling dumb in a bra and these simulated breasts (which were not as good as my breast forms) feeling kinds bad about waisting there time. Then the next consulatant came in and was awesome super cheery eurpoean lady who was joking and when she showed me before and after pictures to show me what they could do kept making jokes and made me feel at ease. She then had me go to the finance room. Like and idiot I just followed her - honestly forgetting I was wearing a bra and no top - there was another lady (no worries she was a older than me and I doubt I would ever see her again) about to get a consultation - she looked at me like WTF?!? The European lady quickly shuffled me in the finance room and joked that I dont have boobs yet so I cant be strutting around like that. I profusely apologized she laughed it off grabbed my tshirt and threw it to me.
I put it on and pretended to care about the financing of my new boobs and when I could do it. I then left with a quote and a hug and retreated to my car. I felt bad about wasting their time so I did return two days later with flowers and a thank you card and said I am still contemplating and did the whole hug and thank you.
Sorry this is a way too long account - just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. I would never do this at a medical center like an ER where someones life is at risk, yet I feel like the trophy wife in the lobby can wait for 15 minutes so i can get my consulatation. Hope I did not offend anyone or ruin anyones eyes having to stare at their computer screen reading this novel, but would like feedback - should I feel bad or just chalk this up to a fun CD experinece?

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Ashlee Marie, That was an interesting account about Implants.:hugs:

What was the cost going to be, and what about healing time.:daydreaming:

If I ever get in that position that you described, Who knows ?:devil:

[AZashleemarie]

The median price was aroud the $5kish range (this may vary depending on the surgeon this was in a high income area). They said to take a week off and if you need to return to work earlier see if u can work from home or double up on a sports bra and have a job with very little impact that first week where you could literally put your feet up and type and/or take phone calls.

[Tracii G]

I don't think they took you seriously.

[Sara Jessica]

Time wasting and involvement of others taken to another level. :sad:

[Jenniferathome]

What's the point if you have no intention of using that service. You wasted YOUR time too! I wouldn't chalk that up to having an experience. A makeover, shopping, getting your wig trimmed, just going out are all experiences and much more fun

[OCCarly]

From a moral standpoint I really don't think that doing that is any worse than tire kicking at a car dealership. I am sure there are a lot of guys out in the great big world who have "faked it" in order to cadge a test drive of a sports or exotic car they never had any intention of buying. This was approached as a body modification, rather than something based on medical need.

To be perfectly fair about this, there are performers in the adult entertainment business who get breast augmentation and facial feminization surgery without ever going on hormones in order to preserve full male function down below. So getting implants without going on hormones is a thing, at least for some folks.

That said, however far I end up carrying my own transition, breast implants are literally last on my list of things to do. I like being a cute, geeky, small breasted girl, and I would spend the money on a Brazilian butt fat transfer before I spend it on a pair of bewbs.

[Paulette]

It is never OK to waste someones time, that is how they feed themselves and possibly a family. Please think twice next time about what message you are sending about our community. If you just want your own boobs go on HRT for a couple of years and you will get smaller versions of what your mother and sisters have.

[Tracii G]

I did call about the fat transfer thing and got shut down quickly by one Dr. Said he wouldn't do it on a man.
Called another and explained to the nurse what I wanted and the reason why and that I was TG and she said you are kidding right?
She also said there was no guarantee it would take or last. I thanked her for her time and she hung the phone up giggling.
Blatant discrimination IMO.

[AZashleemarie]

OCCarly - I appreciate your take on this. I know I will get destroyed by some of the "holier than thou" cds that follow every rule, but I mean honestly, live in a high income area of AZ this doctor basically enhances breasts of trophy wives for the local sports teams. Just like you said I can afford a nice Cadilac but not a Mazerati - but why not drive one around for an hour. No one was hurt or harmed from this, yet everyone here celebrates other members who parade around and try on wedding dresses?!?! Nothing wrong with that either as long as you compensate someone who helps you out which I did with flowers and a gift certificate which most enititled women in this area do not do anytime for any service.

[Tracii G]

I'm out of this thread before it blows up.

[Lorileah]

as a medical professional, I would be very unhappy that you wasted my time and staff. I don't understand why you did it. No one was hurt? It's a business, you took time and thus money. Nothing to do with you're being Cd. Put me down as a holier than thou...businessperson

[Katey888]

From a moral standpoint I really don't think that doing that is any worse than tire kicking at a car dealership. I am sure there are a lot of guys out in the great big world who have "faked it" in order to cadge a test drive of a sports or exotic car they never had any intention of buying. This was approached as a body modification, rather than something based on medical need.

I think this is a fair assessment... I'm sure I read somewhere that cosmetic surgery is pretty big business in the US today... from a business PoV they'll build in time for folk that have a discussion and a bit of a tinker with the product but either get cold feet or never intend to buy... And as if no GG EVER does the same thing... :doh: Of course they do... Don't sweat it Ashlee - going back with flowers is probably quite unusual and might mean they're better predisposed to TS/TG visits in the future - that was a nice thing to do... :D

Katey x

[Marcelle]

Hi Ashlee,

Interesting story. Not something I would personally do but if it was just to as Carly pointed out "to kick the tires of a Maserati vice a Ford Focus" well, no harm no foul IMHO. If the clinic staff felt put out by you, I am sure they would have told you to pack it in and hit the road. However I am also sure they have seen a lot of GGs come in and do the same thing without any intention of actually carrying through. However, for every 10 "looky loos" who do not come back, one or two will and that is how they make their money.

Goodness folks if Ashlee had posted a story about going to high end haute couture dress shop to try on expensive wedding dresses or ball gowns without the real intention of buying one we'd all be saying "you go girl" or "sounds like a fun day". Geez cut the OP some slack. :facepalm:

Cheers

Isha

[Pat]

as a medical professional, I would be very unhappy that you wasted my time and staff.

But business person to business person, you know that you build the cost of developing new customers into your overhead. Even people who come in the door saying they're never going to buy can be converted into sales with a good product and a good pitch. If this doctor is in the business of elective surgery then he's already used to dealing with the idea of only converting a percentage of free consultations to paid procedures. (By the way, $5K for a good boob job isn't bad.)

[I Am Paula]

I don't really care who's time you waste. However. A boob job is not a superficial procedure. It is major surgery, and has a correspondingly long healing time. Also, the $5K enhancements are at Mexican surgery factories, where you wait in line. When you are done, you sit in the same waiting room for a hour for the anesthetic to pass, and then go home. No American Dr. will give you a follow up.

[Sarasometimes]

Did they suggest an implant the same as your forms or different?
I agree that they have many who come in eager and leave saying no way and others just shopping or curious and this is part of their business operation. If free consults are not profitable they will start to charge a fee that may be applied if you have them done.
My guess is that only a small percentage of patients in for a consult go through with a cosmetic procedure. They are obligated to tell you all the scary bad things that MAY occur and that has got to have a huge effect on saying yes.

I went to an ENT for a sinus problem and he noticed my deviated septum. He said he could fix it easily and then when asked told me I could die, or he could slip and drive an instrument into my brain....I amzingly so I still have a deviated septum.

[suchacutie]

I'm confused. Was the consultation free? Even a consultation for getting contacs is $100.

[I Am Paula]

Good question. Every surgeon I contacted had a $100 consultation fee.

[Krisi]

Put me down in the "holier than thou" group. If you go to a business and waste the people's time, knowing full well you are not going to do business with them, that's dishonest. And you make it harder for the person who is really interested in doing business with that business.

Put yourself in their place. Think about it.

[Pat]

A boob job is not a superficial procedure. It is major surgery, and has a correspondingly long healing time.

Maybe it's different in Canada. In the Boston area it's an outpatient procedure. General recovery is about a week, full recovery 2 -3 weeks. $5 to 7 grand is in most doctors' ballpark (though of course there are probably additional charges, fees, taxes, etc. that I'm unaware of.)

[ReineD]

I don't think this is wasting time. Where there's smoke there's fire, right? The OP is definitely interested. So the seed is now planted in the OP's mind and who knows how it will grow in following years. The possibility may be low now, but you never know when and how things might change.

To Ashleemarie, if and when you do decide to get boobs, just make sure that the surgeon is board certified.

[Meghan4now]

Hmmm. Are you bragging or confessing?

You've already answered your own question by saying you feel guilty. After the fact rationalization of "tire kicking" is to relief your sense of guilt. I would suggest avoiding creating internal conflicts needlessly. You will deteriorate you're self worth and move closer to cognative disonance.

If you are looking for some sort of approval or forgiveness, I would suggests speaking to someone who's ethics you respect one on one rather than rely on the approval of this board. You indicate that you already know what the responses will be, and I suspect that you will take the ones you want and reject the ones you dont.

[michelleddg]

I don't think this is wasting time. Where there's smoke there's fire, right? The OP is definitely interested. So the seed is now planted in the OP's mind and who knows how it will grow in following years. The possibility may be low now, but you never know when and how things might change.

To Ashleemarie, if and when you do decide to get boobs, just make sure that the surgeon is board certified.

Totally agree. If the surgeon was worried about this sort of thing being a drain on resources they would charge a consulting fee to cover their costs. As it is, the seed has been planted, and the potential customer has had a positive experience they will share with others. I can think of twice I went to car dealerships in strictest "just looking" mode and walked away with a car. The surgeon doesn't need to score too many hits to make being totally open to "just looking" a profitable venture. Hugs, Michelle

[AZashleemarie]

To answer a couple members questions - yes the consultation was free.

Also Isha - thank you for the comment that echos my thoughts - okay for many members to do a similar thing at a bridal shop - yet this at a place that advertised free consulations is not okay? How many of the posters in the wedding gown threads actually bought those expensive wedding gowns, veils, etc? Sorry to be a stick in the mud but some of the hypocrisy here is silly. Sorry to upset some of you - if you read my past threads I have always tipped well when I have had makeovers, pedis, etc. Cant please everyone.

[Meghan4now]

In fairness to the wedding dress posts, the girls told them up front that they were not buying.

You admitted that you lied on purpose. You also knew that you would get flack about your post, but proceeded to illicit an ethical response. You then called anyone with an opinion that didn't agree with yours holier than thou.

Please define hypocrisy. Maybe my panties are in a bunch, but you invited contraversy.

Quite frankly, the post to me seemed like an attempt to play a game of one upsmanship to how far can I go in tweeking the vanilla world.

[Sometimes Steffi]

I work for an engineering firm that does a lot of work for the US Government and for forign governments.

We spend our own money to prepare bids, and we often do preliminary deigns to support them. We often need to produce a working demo. e spend a lot of money doing proposals. Mostly the Government is serious. But sometimes they change their mind. Sometimes the price is too high, and they cut back. Sometimes their budget gets cut. There are always competitors who bid against us. It's a cost of doing business, and it's built into our rats when we do win a contract.

I would think a consult (for a boob job) is a cost of doing business

[LeslieSD]

I don't think it is a big deal. Take it easy, folks.

How many of you have gone into a shop browsing knowing full well that you probably are not going to buy today? Did you always announce to a shop keeper at the door that "I am not intending to buy anything today"? Have you tried clothing in store just to try it? Have you tasted free sample at Costco just to taste it?

Free consultation is part of cost of generating business, just like free samples, or coupons. Before we put such a hash standard on someone else, let's think about if we can measure up to it ourselves.

[chelyann]

dont throw rocks in your glass house..
we all have done it some time.

[Sara Jessica]

No, we haven't.


In fairness to the wedding dress posts, the girls told them up front that they were not buying.

I cannot imagine there is a lot of disclosure up front about not buying. Some in these pages truly want a wedding dress of their own and as such, they follow through with buying. Others see it as some sort of fantasy to go through the picking-out/trying-on process and manage to concoct elaborate stories to pull this off with no intention of buying. This is time wasting and gives our community a bad name.


You admitted that you lied on purpose. You also knew that you would get flack about your post, but proceeded to illicit an ethical response. You then called anyone with an opinion that didn't agree with yours holier than thou.

And OP disclosed a deep disconnect with the males of our species and went to a lot of trouble looking for a "female only" medical establishment (I can only imagine those phone conversations). This tells me that running around sporting breasts as a male is a significant non-starter which doesn't suggest to me there is anything even remotely serious about this consultation endeavor. I see nothing that suggests this information will be filed away for safe keeping for use sometime in the future.


Please define hypocrisy. Maybe my panties are in a bunch, but you invited contraversy.

Quite frankly, the post to me seemed like an attempt to play a game of one upsmanship to how far can I go in tweeking the vanilla world.

Right, involvement of others just to play a game, exercising a fantasy.

This has little to do with kicking tires at a car dealership but that is also time wasting if the person kicking knows very well they cannot afford the car. Years ago, my wife and spent an afternoon looking at car models which were just outside of our comfortable price range. We ended up buying one. But it isn't like we went looking at Ferrari's knowing full well there was no way on earth we could afford such a car. And I'm sure said Ferrari dealership has measures to weed out the time wasters who certainly walk onto their lot.

In this case, affordability doesn't seem to be so much the issue. Rather, it is about knowing deep down there is pretty much zero intent to follow through with the recommendations made in the consultation. If that isn't time wasting, and involvement of others in one's petty fantasy scenario, then what is?

I'll bet the doctor's office had quite the chuckle afterwards and when a transitioning woman comes through their doors sometime in the future, she might be looked upon in a similar light thanks to the impression OP likely left behind. That is a hurdle she shouldn't have to be concerned about overcoming.

I think I'll go to Costco today and sample up a free lunch!!! ;)

[michelleddg]

I'm on the other side of the fence of some of my absolute favorite posters on this site (I'm looking at you, Sara Jessica, and you, Meghan). No problem, love hearing your thoughts and perspectives.

A couple of times I've gone dolled up into Louboutin and Jimmy Choo stores and announced "every girl should try on a pair of $600 shoes in their life time, don't you think?" Every time the SA continued as if I were purchasing. Unhappily neither makes a shoe big enough for me, so it was all moot. I think this is all OK, and I'm sure a very large percentage of their customers are driven by curiosity. Hugs, Michelle

[Sara Jessica]

(Mutual admiration society, Michelle :) )...

The difference is that if you found a Jimmy Choo or CL in your size, you may have fallen in love and bought one when you saved up enough pennies. I know that is what I did.

I've talked buying patterns with a high end retailer that I frequent at times and the owner told me that women who begin to shop there often don't make their first purchase until at least their third visit. The point is that they eventually buy.