I Must Be Hallucinating

I am 52 years old and have always hated my boobs. In high school I always wore layers, the underneath layer really tight to flatten them, and then a shirt or sweater on top. My posture was terrible. In my early twenties, the back pain started, and I got red ridges on my shoulders. When I had my kids in my late twenties, oh my god, my boobs hung to my waist- breastfeeding was the worst. I remember singing the song "do your ears hang low do they wobble to and fro" to my kids when they were little and always substituted "boobs" instead of "ears" in my head and cried. Over the years the back pain, the shoulder pain, the headaches, the embarrassment, the poor self image, the layering of clothes- I just assumed it was something I would always have to live with. I tried physical therapy, chiropractors, pain meds, anti-depressant meds...and I was petrified to even suggest breast reduction to my husband- who is the "crunchy granola why are you wearing makeup?" type. We also are on a very tight budget- especially now with my kids in college- and all the info I read suggested insurance companies would never cover this "cosmetic" procedure.

So then, at my last physical my doctor was examining my breasts which she always does at my yearly appointments and she said "you know, your chronic pain could very well be from these large breasts have you ever considered breast reduction surgery?" WHOA. She said at our local hospital there is a shared medical appointment kind of thing where I could get information about it. Well, I left there kind of in shock.

So that night at dinner my husband asks how my physical went. I gathered all my courage and told him what the doctor said about how all my pain might be from my huge boobs. And HE said "well why don't you get a tit job?" (his words not mine). WHAT??? I couldn't believe my ears I thought I was hallucinating.

SO I went for the shared appointment which consisted of an individual exam by the PS in addition to all the information they gave us in a group and she said the breast reduction surgery would most definitely relieve the pain and be a positive thing for me and she would recommend it and she said a lot of times, especially with the amount she suggested be removed from each breast, the insurance company might possibly cover it. SO - they penciled in a date for surgery and they submitted to my insurance company, I also asked my doctor to write a letter explaining the history of my pain.

Then, a couple of weeks later the hospital called and asked if I had dates for the physical therapy and chiropractor visits - that insurance companies usually wanted them to be within the last couple of years...mine were 10+ years ago and I gave up because they didn't help. So I said, no, they were many years ago and she said they would submit what they had and see what happened.

On Friday- two days ago- two days before Christmas- the insurance company called and said I'd been APPROVED for my procedure.

I nearly fainted.

So that's where I'm at. I haven't told my husband about it yet. I really really want to do this. The tentative date for surgery is April 10.