Breast Reduction in TN- From a very asymmetric J cup to ????

Hello! Like many of you, I developed breasts at an early age and they just kept growing- especially on the right side. I have been considering a breast reduction for years and finally decided to go for it after getting insurance approval. So many of your stories here helped me, so I wanted to share mine!

As you can see, my breasts were completely asymmetric! The right breast was much larger making it especially hard to find a bra that fit properly.

I made it through just fine! I was incredibly nervous and barely slept the night before. When my PS came in to mark me up, we talked again about the fact that I hoped to have children in the future and would like to have as much of a possibility of breast feeding as I could. I told him that I would like to end up a 'D' cup. Since I am 5'11 with broad shoulders, I thought that might be the best fit for my frame.

After waking up, I was only in recovery for about an hour before I was able to go home. I took my medicines and fell right asleep with little pain that evening. My sweet husband has been taking the best care of me!

I had my drains taken out the day after surgery with no trouble. I felt energetic and quite good- all things considered! However, I definitely found myself taking lots of naps, which was so nice. :)

On the 3rd day, I started to feel a lump on the top of my chest on both sides that worried me. I called the nurse who asked me to circle the lumps (seen in red in the photos) and monitor them. When I called again in the afternoon, she had me send in pictures so my PS could see what was going on. When I heard back from her, she told me it was totally normal! Because of the way he did my surgery (attaching my breasts to my pectoral muscles) the swelling was expected. Very reassuring to hear!

I went yesterday for my one week follow-up with my PS. He did a bit of lipo on the sides of my breast and I had to have fluid drained from them. I was hopeful it would make the weird looking lumps on the side of each breast disappear, but no such luck. I'm not exactly sure why they don't seem to get smaller/better, so I will definitely be following up on that at my next appointment.

I think the area around my nipples looks SO weird and I'm hoping that it will fade and look a bit more normal soon. Other than that, I am starting to get back to the normal routine but noticing that my energy level isn't quite as high as before. For someone who is used to working out 6 days a week, it feels weird that I still get tired after being out and about for just a few hours!

Has anyone has similar results on the side with the lipo? Did it go away?

So today is officially 10 days post surgery and each day keeps getting better. I have definitely felt a bit down over the past few days as I adjust to my smaller breasts. I am so used to having so much that having a lot less is an adjustment- especially when I try on my old clothes! I know that those feelings will fade and I will enjoy having much less, but I think it's psychologically tough when you lose something you have had for so long. Having incredibly large breasts really does shape your self esteem!

Anyways, I will continue to update/post pictures over the next few weeks.

So much swelling and bruising today. I have been following all of my Dr's orders to the note, so hopefully it's just part of the healing process. However, when I compare what my breasts look like to some of the pictures I see here on RealSelf, I am not loving my own. They seem almost too small and boxy and very fake looking. I hope they will start to drop into something that looks more natural! I'm not exactly sure why my PS chose not to do the anchor scar, so I plan to ask more about that at my next follow-up appointment with the nurse on Tuesday. Plus, I still have 2 huge 'dog ears' on each side which are driving me nuts. I'm typically a 'glass half full' type of person, so this is tough!

2 questions for you all: Do you see your actual Plastic Surgeon at each follow-up? What did your daily activity look like at this point in your recovery?