Breast Reduction: Stories

Hello ladies! I have been lurking on this community board for far too long and finally got the courage to make my own post. So unlike most of the stories I have read, I have been a 34C/36B for most of my life. Although my weight has fluctuated, my breast size had remained the same until nearly 3 years ago when I got on birth control for the first time. I first started on Yaz around March 2010 and gained a few pounds but nothing too bad. I later switched to Loestrin 24 around September 2010 and since then I have gone up 15-20lbs and 3 cup sizes!

Not sure if I was in denial or not, but I only recently began to notice bras becoming way too tight, not covering anything, spilling out of every tank top, not being able to button-up any shirts, etc. I've spent around $400+ on new bras every few months because they kept growing! I am currently a 36 DD/DDD! I have since stopped taking any form of birth control and feel much better. I've also been working out 6 days a week for the past 4-5 months and the girls remain huge but I'm still determined to lose some more lbs!!

I hadn't ever thought I would get approved for breast reduction until I was also diagnosed with degenerative disk disease and started experiencing severe headaches. I had my first consultation appointment this past August and two weeks later found out I had been approved!! My surgery is scheduled for October 25 and I have all my labwork/testing scheduled for this coming monday October 1. I also forgot to mention, I am 26 years old and weigh about 160lbs. I'm hoping to go down to 145/150lbs and go back to a small C/large B. Thank you in advance for all of your support! :)

Just got back from my pre-testing appointment and everything went well, did the necessary bloodwork and got my prescriptions for both pre and post-op. I do have a question though, for people who have had drains placed, how long do they usually wait to take them out?? I understand it varies but my first follow-up appointment isn't until 5 days post-surgery and that's when they said they would be removed. I'm a bit anxious and nervous about having the drains in for so long and not being seen 24 hours following surgery. Any suggestions?!?

Hello lovely ladies! So just a quick update - did all of my pre-op testing on Oct 1 and everything is normal yay! I've had a hard time finding cheap yet sturdy post-op bras, can anyone make any recommendations?? Less than 2 weeks away!! Eeeekk!! :)

Hello Hello! Only 4 more days to go!! So I had yet another question...I will have JP drains in place for up to 4 days post-op and have read contradicting things about showering with drains. Has anyone had any experience attempting to shower with drains or any advice they can offer? Please let me know! Thank you for all of your support again! :)

Done & Done! Today is my 1st day post-op, had the surgery yesterday at 7:30AM. Here's a little timeline of how everything went:

5:00AM - Wakeup & shower
5:30AM - Arrival at the hospital, changed into a gown, put on compression sleeves on my legs and took Emend (pill for anti-nausea), nurse also placed a patch behind my ear for nausea as well
7:00AM - Got into the pre-op room where I met with the anesthesiologist, got my IV placed, met with my PS who marked me up and made sure I was clear with post-op instructions
7:30AM - The anesthesiologist gave me some medication to relax and i started to get wheeled off to the operating room and I was out like a light, don't remember much else at all
11:00AM - I wasn't fully awake but I could hear nurses asking if I was in pain or feeling nauseas, I would just nod my head and fell back asleep
1:00PM - Didn't fully wake up until now, I was out of the recovery room and in the post-op day unit. I still felt a bit nauseas so they gave me more meds. Slept on & off and still feeing a bit sedated, not much pain though. I was all bandaged up with a compression bra on and a JP drain per side. They had hooked the drains to my bra which has been so great for comfort and mobility.
4:00PM - Feeling good and decided it was time to head home. I was a bit unsteady walking at first but got my balance quickly and I was able to get a wheelchair to bring me to the front of the hospital and took a cab with my boyfriend home (we literally live 4 blocks away)

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and surprisingly not in much pain (didn't even take all of my pain meds). I feel more uncomfortable than anything else. Sometimes I'll feel tingling where I think my nipples are? Nothing unmanageable at all. I was told by my PS that I could shower 24 hours post-op but I'm a bit hesitant to do so with the drains in place. She said to shower with my back to the water as a precaution, anyone else go through something similar? Advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for all of your support! I still haven't seen the girls yet but I will post pictures soon! :)

So it is day 4 post-op and I'm an definitely having cabin fever! To make matters worse, I can't even take a walk outside because of Hurricane Sandy arriving today/tomorrow. Additionally, my first follow-up appointment originally scheduled for Wednesday got moved to Thursday because my plastic surgeon's flight was cancelled while at a conference this weekend. Blahhhhh!!!

Funny enough I'm not actually in much pain but mostly uncomfortable with the JP drains. I've been cleaning the incisions with saline solution and changing gauze pads on a daily basis but still feeling gross because I haven't been able to shower. I'm also feeling itchy everywhere!! Trying to resist the urge to scratch!! I hope everyone else is doing well!

Sorry I've taken so long to update! So yesterday I had my first post-op visit and FINALLY got my drains out, hallelujahhhhhhh! I actually couldn't even feel them come out, no pain or strange sensations at all. I was finally able to take a shower but funny enough I felt very unsteady during it. After feeling so uneasy just standing in the shower I decided it would be best to get a haircut & blowdry at the salon and did that this afternoon, felt so great afterwards!

I've been in a little bit more discomfort since even having the procedure and this morning I woke up feeling like I had 2 (albeit smaller) balls on my chest, it felt heavy and very sore. I'm still very swollen and tender but tylenol seems to be doing the trick in relieving any pain. The scabs have been coming off when I clean the incisions and I have my 2nd post-op appointment this Monday. Hope everyone is doing well!

Hello all! I have to admit I've been MIA but for good reason, completely swamped at work! I went back to work on November 5th (had my 2nd post-op appt that same morning before work) and I must admit I've been completely exhausted ever since! I'm on my feet for some parts in the day and by 5pm all I want to do is curl-up on the couch and watch tv. It feels like forever ago that I had the surgery and to be honest, not sure how I functioned before. I feel so lightweight and comfortable in my own skin now, what a great feeling. I think my increase in confidence is quite noticeable because I've gotten so many compliments from people saying I look so great (both who knew and didn't know I was getting surgery).

In terms of healing, my incisions are doing well. I got a bit concerned the first week back at work because I started to notice a small amount (dime sized) of yellow-ish discharge coming from both breasts, the right breast at the bottom connecting incision and the left just below the nipple. I contacted my PS right away and she let me know that it is most likely my body reacting to the stitches and is quite normal. It didn't smell bad and I didn't have a fever so no worries. That was about a week ago and I'm proud to announce that it seems they are basically all healed! Hopefully now I can start some scar treatments, does anyone have any recommendations?? Please let me know!

Also, I found that the most frustrating thing about the life post-op was finding a comfy bra. Immediately after my drains were removed I wore a front-closure sports bra which was so uncomfortable and it rubbed-up against my incisions, yuck! I then used just a regular ace bandage for 2 days but found that to be tedious and annoying. FINALLY, i went to Macy's and found the Bali Comfort Revolution Wirefree with Smart Size (style #3484) - by far the most comfortable and amazing bra ever! I got 4 of them for $60 and have been wearing them for a week and a half now. Only tricky part is the due to my swelling and tenderness, I went up a size from "S" to "M" for more comfort. The straps are wide but not overly-so and non-adjustable which I love. Just thought I'd share!

I have my 3rd post-op follow-up this coming Monday and I'm so looking forward to being able to workout and be more active! I hope everyone else is doing well! Please don't mind the strange indents on my boobs in the new pictures, I was wearing gauze just in case I had more drainage and they left strange markings.

So today marks exactly 1 month post-op and I couldn't be happier! I had my 3rd follow-up on Nov. 19th and it went very well, I can start working out next week woohoo! Not much else new to report - sleeping is still sometimes difficult to find a comfortable position and turning on my side can still be bothersome. I'm going to start using scar-zone this week, I've heard some positive reviews so we'll see! I hope everyone else is doing well! xo