Breast Reduction: Stories

I am 35 yrs old and about a size 42G. I am hoping to go down to a large C cup. My BR is on Dec 3rd bright and early in the morning! I am very excited, but nervous at the same time. I have anxiety as well, so I am hoping they can give me something that morning as I am already freaking out.

I have had large breast my entire life and have been living in constant pain for so long I don't remember what it feels like to not have some sort of back pain. The last few years I have been having more issues with neck/shoulder pain and headaches as well as all the low back pain I have had since I was 18yrs old.

Right now I am struggling with managing my pain before surgery. I was advised not to take any Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Aleve, etc… 2 weeks prior to surgery. I have 6 days to go and have had a headache for 2 days. Today it turned into a migraine and it has been a struggle! I usually take 4 Advil at least once a day to handle my pain. Tylenol is just no cutting it for me!

Last week I had my Pre-Op with my regular Dr. and was given 2 thumbs up! This 2 week wait is almost as bad as the end of a pregnancy….just wanting it over for the relief, but the fear of the pain that comes with it!

I think I have prepared my husband and kids as much as possible for this! I am most worried about my puppies (ok really they are dogs). My baby thinks she is a 50lb lap dog and doesn’t understand personal space, especially with me!! She is not going to understand why she can’t lay on me. I know she will get over it, but I need something to worry about since everything else seems to be going OK. LOL Dang anxiety makes me find stuff to worry about.

I am so glad I found this place! I will make sure I upload before and after pictures soon!

Wow, 2 days to go! The nerves are in full effect! I can't even tell you what exactly I am nervous about, lol. I tossed and turned all night long, and I have to work my last shift today, then I have 3 Weeks off. I did buy some bandini type bras yesterday! Got my pillow wedge and aired it all out too. Not sure what I will be wearing home for a top yet. I don't own any button up shirts, and only have one zip up sweatshirts. Will I be able to get into a large t-shirt or hoodie type sweatshirt?

I am still unsure about how my dogs are going to handle this. My one is already acting out, as I am trying to get her out of habit of needing to be on me in bed or on the couch. What a thing to be worried about huh? LOL.

I will get some before pictures up soon!

Less than 24 hours to go!! I am extremely excited, but nervous as well. I know that is normal though.

I guess things went well yesterday. I was in surgery only a few minutes past 7:30 and was waking up in recovery around 11am. I woke up in recovery feeling pretty good, When they brought me to my room, I got off the gurney to my bed with only a little help. Morphine was given to me and by the night I had to tell them to stop. It was making me feel horrible! So they switched me to NORCO and that seems to be doing OK.

Dr came in this morning to take out my drains and to put me in my bra. He said he took off 5 lbs total and I should be a good D cup. OMG they look so little!! They discharged me and we were home by 11am. I have pretty much slept unless I was eating a meal or using the bathroom. LOL.

As for pain.....I am either a baby or it is more painful than what people are saying. haha The underside of each breast and the sides where the lipo was done is the worst. It is like a bad burning sensation. My throat is killing me from the vent and my neck is pretty sore. Back pain is noticeably better though! I just need to relax more and that is hard to do worrying that one of the animals is going to try joining me on the recliner.

I have some before pictures that I will put up in a bit. Haven't looked at the boobies after yet, just from the top down. I got really lightheaded during dressing change. We will see how tomorrow goes, maybe the hubby will take some more for me.

Changed the dressing today for the first time. Dressing 1-0 Dawn 0-1 Yep, I almost passed out! I didn't really see anything either, I think it is just my anxiety that gets the best of me. Thank heavens for my wonderful and awesome hubby!! He was a champ and even took one quick picture for me to look at later. LOL I told him I want to try more next time.

I am not very comfy in my surgical bra. It almost seems like it doesn't fit me right...... It was such a relief to have it off for just the few minutes, but I don't think I am ready for a regular sports bra yet.

Took my first shower and it felt so good! It wasn't very long as I did start getting a little lightheaded. Had the DH take some more pictures too. I noticed the incision on the one side goes much further back that the other side, weird. I plan on taking another shower today and hope I can stay in longer and actually wash up a little bit better.

I took a quick trip to Target to pick up a prescription and to just walk around for a minute or two. It wore me out and I took a nice long nap once I got home! Today it is just a relaxing day at home in prep for a bigger outing on Sunday (company's kids Christmas party). Gotta take pictures of all the kids with Santa!

PO day 6 and I am in a down mood today. Wishing I didn't do this because I am so uncomfortable! I can't sleep worth shit, the swelling on righty is not going down at all (may have increased a bit), Lefty is still a little swollen, but nothing major. The itching and pain is driving me crazy today, and to top it off everyone is outside have fun and I am stuck in the house in pain.

I don't want to wear this stupid surgical bra anymore, but I can't find anything else that fits me. And to think I thought this BR was suppose to make that easier..... I wish I could just wear nothing at all, but I don't trust myself and I think the compression is suppose to be good for the swelling? Maybe I need to wrap myself in an ace bandage or something, I just don't know.

Thankfully the kids Christmas party was postponed today because of our snow storm, so that give me an extra week to recover. My youngest was disappointed, but she is having a blast in the snow with family and friends right now.

Yesterday I was 10 days po and had my first appointment with the surgeon since the surgery. He took all the surgical tape off and said everything looked good. I had one small open spot that was draining a little and he just put a band aid on it and said that is all I need on it until a hard scab forms. It was still normal and he wasn't concerned. After getting home it was draining pretty good and the band aid needed to be changed. As soon as I took it off, it was dripping with......stuff. I ended up putting some gauze on it, thinking I may have just over did things after the appointment (I went and did a little shopping with the hubby). This morning when I took the gauze off, same thing. The dripping started again and the gauze caught a decent amount of drainage too. I guess I will give it the weekend and if it still like this on Monday I will call. I will get some pictures of the spot up soon.

PS said I can start using the Palmers Oil on everything except that one area, and I can stop wearing my surgical bra and go into a regular sports bra if I want. Needless to say, that is what my shopping trip was. Picked up 2 front closures from Walmart and they are so much more comfortable than the surgical bra! Now to just get that one spot to heal so I don't freak that I have stuff dripping down my stomach or staining my shirt all the time.

I am just shy of 4 weeks PO (will be as of Monday). Not sure why I thought I could get away with not being in the small percentage of people who don't have complications....I am just not that lucky. I know it could be much worse than it is, but I can't help questioning stuff. Both breast have openings at the T-junction, but the right side is much worse. I don't have any infection as of right now, but I am not holding my breath! I did see the Dr and he cleaned out both areas (cutting out the yellowish crap that was inside the wound) and pulled out a few stitches that my body was spitting. Told me to put bacitracin on with a bandage until it heals. Last night the end of my incision on the left side is now red, swollen, bleeding, and oozing (where the drain was placed under my armpit area). I am still in some pain, the bottom half of both boobs are still numb, I still have to wear bandages and will for the next who knows how many weeks, and I am itching like crazy!

Like I said, I know things could be worse, but to me I just wish I could catch a break and have something go the way it should without any issues! I am just so ready to be over with all this incision care and be thankful and enjoy my smaller boobs, Right now I am hating them and regretting them! I know when everything is over with I will be happy, but I just can't seem to see a light at the end of the tunnel at this point and it is very frustrating!