Breast Reduction and Lift - Franciscan Plastic Surgeons

I am 48 years old and for more than 10 years my breast has caused me pain and illness. I have PCOS and am a diabetic and have thyroid disease. With these health issues my weight was fluctuating drastically. I went from skinny to fat and in all that time my breast just kept growing and getting heavier.
I went to a cardiologist because My doctor and I thought I was having heart problems. The cardiologist suggested, after determining that my heart is healthy, that my breast could be the problem. It wS then when I thought that maybe they were also the cause of my extreme headaches. I had headaches every single day for years.
I also started experiencing frozen shoulders and numbing in my hands.
Being that I lost my insurance and was struggling on unemployment, I just took Tylenol and figured that I would have to live like this forever and that as a diabetic I would never be able to have an "elective" surgery.
Well, thanks to wonderful doctors, I was able to get my diabetes under good control and my doctor said, she would okay me to have surgery the opportunity came to me. I tried physical therapy first and it didn't help at all. It made it worse. My PT said that as long as I had the weight of my breast that I wasn't going to benefit from physical therapy.
My primary care physician referred me to my surgeon. I had my consultation on 4/21/14 and on 4/23/14 I received the call that insurance had approved my surgery!! It never happens that fast normally and I was ecstatic. Dr Cohen had an opening and I jumped at it and scheduled my surgery for 5/6/14.
I scheduled a mammogram and ultra sound and had that done a day or two later and went in and did lab work and within a week I was on the table and it was great! I didn't have any complications and am healing great.
At the 10 week mark I started using Bio oil and I apply not twice a day, otherwise I didn't use anything, but, plain old water. No soap at all. I didn't get dry or itchy skin.
My biggest issue was my super sensitive nipples, which is okay now. I am still experiencing a little swelling, I believe because they still seem to be changing in little ways.
Having my breast reduction what's made me healthier and I no longer take Tylenol everyday. I have experience no headaches, at all, due to my neck or back pain. I also now sleep through the night.
If there was anything I would tell someone who goes through this is not to think that it is an exact science. There is no guarantee as to what your breast size will be. Most surgeries take about 2 hours and mine was more than 5! I have 2 friends who had it done and they both ended up with complications and infections. Follow your doctors orders and you'll end up with beautiful results. Be smart when selecting your doctor.

So excited to shop for bras now! My breast are settled and I am happy to announce I a C cup. I thought a D is where I was at, but, not a single D cup bra fit me.
It's funny because I know the cup size is basically irrelevant, but, prior to my BR I hated that I couldn't even buy a bra at JCPenney let alone Victoria's Secrer because they didn't carry GG and H cup bras. I had to pay $90 per bra and the styles were limited because appearance was sacrificed to function.
Today I bought cute and sexy bras and there were only 2 hooks in back and had skinny straps.
I am really loving my breast even more!!
(14 weeks post op)

Let me start by saying I LOVE MY BREAST! I am very happy with the results of my breast reduction and happy, that for me, it was positive every step of the way. I'm stronger than I think when it comes to managing pain and being patient (patience is not easy for me) with letting my body heal in it's own time.
I have to say I was focused pro op and post op as to what size my bra would be. It doesn't matter. At all.
Since my surgery I have tried on many bras and have purchased a few. I have bought 36C, 36D and 38DD!
Cup size doesn't matter! They ball for the same. Just different manufacturers. I remember when I was in my teens being excited when I wore a bigger bra size than some of my friends (like that made me more if a woman...hahaha) well I got caught up in wanting to wear a smaller cup size after my reduction. Silly thinking on my part. The truth of the matter is...I am absolutely satisfied with my breast the size that Dr Cohen made them. Size really is irrelevant. I no longer have any back pain or numbness in my arms or fingers and my headaches have gone and my breat look good.