55, 44H Ready for Less Shoulder Problems. Salt Lake City, UT

I saw the Dr Reuben today for my pre-op visit. My insurance says he has to remove 600 gms from each breast which Dr R feels won't be a problem. He had an implant that was about the size of the 600 gms. While I can see why he isn't concerned about removing at least that much it was kind of a shock to see a visual. I feel very comfortable with my choice of plastic surgeons.

Dr R said my goal of a C is reasonable - depending, of course, on what he finds during surgery. My large breasts are a common thing in my maternal grandmother's family and it seems like those with large breasts keep getting larger as they get older :sigh: so it seems wise to start on the small side.

I should be able to go home from the hospital the same day though my insurance has already approved a single night in the hospital. It is nice to know that if Dr R isn't comfortable with sending me home no one will have to argue with the insurance company.

My surgery is September 3, not September 4 and I now have an appointment for September 8 to have the drains taken out.

I am allergic to lots of adhesives and steri-strips are an absolute no-no. It was a relief to find out I didn't need to argue with the doctor about not using them. Dr R says he does't use any tape, he uses a surgical glue that is a sterile equivalent to crazy glue. Since I respond badly to lots of adhesives I will be doing a skin test with regular crazy glue so we can avoid problems if I am one of the few who do react to the surgical glue. Dr R says he has had 1 or 2 patients who have reacted to the glue in 6 years. It was nice to know how low the reaction rate is for his patients and to have him take my adhesive allergies seriously.

My favorite hobbies are spinning, knitting and weaving. I showed Dr R the arm motions required for hand knitting, wheel spinning and weaving. He said spinning and knitting are okay immediately as long as it doesn't increase pain level and that after 2 weeks I try weaving. With all I need to try a bit and see how I feel later before slowly adding more time when it doesn't hurt to do a little.

I didn't even ask about spindle spinning because my default spinning keeps my hands around chest level. I also didn't even ask about the knitting machines - the motions to machine knit are similar to weaving but require more muscle effort and involve shoulder muscles more than weaving. I will have plenty to keep my hands busy between knitting and wheel spinning.

Dr R says I can drive as soon as I don't need narcotic pain meds.

When I saw Dr R before deciding to have the breast reduction he said 1 week before I could return to work. I expressed concern that 1 week might be too soon and he said 1 week is the minimum and if I need more time he will fill out the necessary paperwork. I am really lucky with the short term disability insurance work provides. I have worked for the company long enough I will get 100% of my normal pay after a 5 day waiting period. It is nice to know I don't have to push and go back to work too soon.

Early last year nerve pain in my left shoulder when I wore a bra had reached the point I switched to only wear the leisure bra that would stay up with just the right shoulder strap. The right shoulder was uncomfortable with the pressure but nothing like the left side. It wasn't the totally comfortable since the strap was tight on my armpit but it was so much better than the nerve pain. I go into work later that my colleagues and would take the bra off as soon I was the only person left at work. On days I didn't work and left home the bra came off shortly after I got back home.

Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend last year. I was wearing a snug cotton knit camisole for modesty reasons under a shirt with low armholes. When I took off my bra I left both the the camisole and shirt on and noticed the camisole was comfy. I bought a few more camisoles that weekend and hoped that a break from wearing a bra would help the nerve heal.

In December I finally went to see my primary care doctor thinking she would look at the shoulder and either have a solution or send me to another provider who would have a solution. After asking if I had considered breast reduction surgery she prescribed some lidocaine patches to see if that helped, cautioning me to wearing them for no longer than 12 hours. I bought the only bra in my size at a 'real' bra shop that fit me but it had under-wires and I couldn't stand to wear it for very long. In January I went back to the bra shop to see if I was wearing the bra wrong (I wasn't) and then visited the other location that had wire-free 2 bras that fit well and felt reasonable. I quickly discovered that with the lidocaine patches I could still only handle wearing a bra occasionally, the lidocaine is great at numbing the nerve pain but didn't fix the pressure of bra straps.

I saw a plastic surgeon in February and was seriously unable to make a decision when I realized that I should see at least 1 more doctor. I saw 3 more in late March and early April - my impression of 1 doc was ABSOLUTELY NOT. The other 2 were good options. I continued to waffle first with yes/no and then with which doctor. When I finally had both decisions made the doctor's office took a week to submit to my insurance company.

I learned the insurance had authorized the surgery the middle of July but couldn't schedule surgery I knew more about some work deadlines.