25, 36G. Denver, CO

Hello all. I have been following the stories on realself for quite some time, and now that my insurance company has scheduled my surgery, I thought it would be a prime time to begin sharing my own. All of you ladies have been so helpful in normalizing this experience, and all of the feelings that come with it through the entire process. I feel so much more prepared and reassured thanks to this community, and I am so proud of everyone here.

A quick backstory: I started developing breasts at a fairly young age, and by the time I was in the eighth grade I was regularly being asked if my breasts were real. They were about a hefty C cup at the time, and quickly ballooned up to an F by high school, to where they currently rest at a 36G/34H. For a decade, they have been the primary fuel for my low self esteem, the topic of every dreaded conversation, and have taken a real toll on my upper back and shoulders. I have always had problems looking even somewhat professional, and at a young age adopted what friends refer to as my "uniform:" a black v-neck t-shirt and dark jeans, thinking that this pretty effectively minimizes the appearance of my chest. I have been researching breast reduction surgeries since the days of AOL, but the opportunity never really presented itself until I obtained substantial health insurance coverage through Kaiser with subsidies from the Affordable Care Act. I work in the service industry and attend college, and neither of those fields provide much in the way of benefits.

I visited with my primary care physician a few months ago, and asked her what could be done about my crunchy shoulders, and if Kaiser covers breast reductions. She wrote me a referral to the plastic surgery department, where I was to attend a group information session early one morning. After the hour spent there, the nurse scheduled our individual consultations with surgeons.

My consultation with the surgeon was about one month ago, and upon running some numbers and measurements (height/weight, bra size, nipple distance, estimated removal, etc), he determined that I would be a great candidate and told me he believed Kaiser would cover the procedure. Just yesterday, I received a call from their surgery scheduling offices offering me a surgery date of October 15th, and I jumped at the opportunity.

The relief and excitement this brings to me, knowing that it is all coming together, and the support from my family, friends and boyfriend has been incredibly overwhelming. I am so ecstatic and nervous. I'll keep this page updated as the date comes and goes!

Quick question for anyone who works on their feet, how long did you take before returning to work? I am a bartender at a relatively high volume venue. Money is tight, but I want to make sure to give myself enough time to not do any damage. Also, how long before any students returned to normal classes? Thank you guys!

I figured it is time to upload a few before photos to document this journey. I am lucky to have a pretty full upper breast with relatively highly placed nipples, so I am hoping that will help simplify some nipple placement concerns I have had in the past. My PS doesn't believe he will have to move them very much during the procedure.

Only 36 hours or so until surgery! I finally told most people what I'm having done, including a post on Facebook. The encouragement has been unreal. The outreach from so many ladies and dudes, saying how excited they are for me, and tons of women saying they, too, have always wanted this.

I have my mom coming with me the morning of, and staying at my house for the first night to take me to post-op on Thursday. After that, I am hoping to be somewhat independent with the help of my roommates and boyfriend.

I'm more excited than anything at this point, and am spending the next couple evenings preparing my house and self for this (hopefully) awesome change.

Any last minute hints and tips?

I'll let all you wonderful gals know how it goes!