Breast Reduction: Stories

Hi everybody! i am 18 years old(19 in nov.), and i have 36ddd breasts-maybe bigger- and would like to be a c cup. i am about to start the process of getting a breast reduction. i have wanted this since i was about 14 and i think now is a good time to go through with it. im tired of the back pain, sore shoulders, shoulder grooving, difficulty picking out clothes, poor posture, and feeling awkward! but the thing is.. even though i know that is something that i definitely want and that my shoulders are aching as im typing this.. theres still a little voice in the back of my head wondering if i should do it. im nervous! (which really isnt anything new, i worry about all decisions i make!) i guess they have been so big all my life i dont know what i would look without them. i have a pretty small fame so i know i will be more proportionate once i downsize. i guess im worried about small things like will my stomach stick out farther than my breasts after i eat haha? im also worried about other complications too. but i just want to gather up my strength so i can do this before i talk myself out of it! well, i have tricare so the first step is to to call tomorrow to make an appointment with my pcm to talk about a reduction and hopefully i can get a referral to a ps.

Finally today an appointment has been made to see my pcm, the appointment is set for thursday at 1. im so glad i was able to get in this week. im a little worried though! i want to make sure when i talk to him/her i say all the right things and dont forget anything important. hopefully everything will go smoothly and i will be able to get a referral.

i went to see my pcm i believe the week before last.. and i was able to get my referral to see a plastic surgeon. so today was my appointment and it went so well! the doctor was great and i felt so comfortable with him and i really believe this is who i want to do my surgery. this was a big step for me it seems like it took so long to get to this point, so now i need to really start making some things happen. the main issue now is going to be my insurance. i know how insurance can be but hopefully the process wont be too difficult.

Looks like im pretty much starting back at square one! why does having tricare have to be so difficult! due to some things that i and my mom were unaware of until trying to move along with this procedure, i have been seeing the wrong pcm. so now i have to go see the pcm that i should have been seeing all along thats on base. my appointment for that is this upcoming tuesday. i have to explain myself all over again to a new doctor to get the referral i need to see a plastic surgeon. and now i feel like the doctor on base is going to give me a harder time to get the referral. if any of you ladies have any experience with dealing with tricare i would love to hear what you have to say!

Good news! I got the referral i needed at my appointment that i had on tuesday. it felt a little bit like i was being interrogated lol but getting the referral is all that matters! it was approved on thursday and i made an appointment with a plastic surgeon for January 3! a little less than 3 weeks away and i cant wait. :D

my appointment was today and everything was fantastic!! the staff was extremely friendly, probably the friendliest staff that ive ever met in a medical office. the process was very quick . i talked with the surgeon, they took the pictures and will be preparing whatever they need to send off to my insurance. so now all i have to do is wait. i have a good feeling about it so i hope i get approved! this is all i am going to be able to think about for the next few weeks or however long it takes for them to reach a decision.

words cant even explain how happy i am right now! my surgery was approved and it only took 4 days!!!!!!!! omg! im going to call tomorrow to start making the arrangements!

okay so my surgery is on march 8 and i have to be there at 5:30am which of course i dont mind because im ready to get this done and i want to be the first surgery of the day so he can be wide awake lol. for those of you ladies who have already had the surgery, what do i need to buy?? i want to make sure i have any and everything i may possibly need!

omg only two week left! time is just flying by! i started getting some of the things i needed. first i went to target and i bought two sets of pajamas that button up in the front. im glad i was able to find cute ones and they were on sale for $18 . i also got one post op bra. then i went to sears and i bought two bras the close in the front with no underwire. and i also bought one big long pillow to put behind my back and one of those pillows that looks like they have arms.the last thing was a reallyyy cute bathing suit! of course it doesnt fit right up top now, but im hoping it will aafter surgery because i dont want to take it back. after i go to my pre op appointment next week and talk to my ps, ill go out and get any other things i might need.

So far the only people who knows that I'm having surgery is my mom and dad. Im a very secretive person anyway, so its not any different in this situation. Im still thinking about telling a few other people, but im leaning more towards not telling them. its not because im ashamed of what im doing, its just that ive wanted to do this for so long and now that the time is almost here, i dont want even the slightest bit of negativity,unwanted opinions, or questioning my decision to get in my way of my big day. but even if i dont say anything before the surgery, what am i going to say afterwards? will they(friends and family) be upset or have hurt feelings because i didnt say anything? i know that it will definitely be something that they notice. so i keep thinking, if they ask about it should i tell them, or attribute it to the gym ive been going to or just let their minds wander about it which i think would be pretty funny lol. i dont even know if that would work. i still have a little while to decide what im going to do. what did you ladies do? did you tell everyone you possibly could or did you keep it somewhat of a secret?

my pre-op appointment was yesterday and i feel so much more at ease. i have to say it again, this place has the friendliest staff you will ever meet! i love them! the doctor came in and we talked for a while and he answered all of my questions. we are definitely on the same page as far as what im looking for. then we went and talked to someone else and she went over some more things, i had to sign some papers, she gave me my prescriptions and some papers to take home. so im def. going to look over those things a few more times because i want to follow all the instructions perfectly. this appointment gave me some reassurance and put me more at ease!

Feeling good today :) I wish i could just filter all of the negative thoughts out of my head and only think about the good things, but i cant help it and its driving me crazy lol. this surgery is seriously the only i can think about all day. friday needs to hurry up and get here! i guess my two biggest fears are what the pain is going to be like, and being left feeling worse about my boobs than i already do.. even though pretty much anything thats less than what i have now will be better. i have been standing in the mirror for like 15 minutes eveyday just looking at them and thinking.. is that weird?? does anybody else do this lol? well i need to find something to do so i can relax!

wow. i never thought id be sitting here writing a review on the other side of the fence. this week has been very emotional for me, ive cried everyday and im crying as im typing right now lol.i just cant believe that its done.and that i will never look like how i used to in my pictures! i guess ill start on the day of the surgery.a lot happened so im going to try to sum it all up! i only got about two hours of sleep before it was time to get up and start getting ready to go. we got there about 5:30 am. we checked, signed papers, i changed clothes and waited in this little room until they moved me into the pre op waiting room. waited there for a while and then met with the anesthesiologist, and some other people. my dr came in and marked me up. they put the iv in( didnt really hurt) i waited there some more with my mom then i fell asleep because the next thing i know i woke up and they were telling me to say bye to my mom. they wheeled me into the operating and the last thing i remember is the anesthesiologist putting a mask over me and telling me to count down from 100.. i think i made it to 81 and i was out. surgery's over and i wake up in i guess the post op waiting room. i was turning and mumbling, i was in quite a bit of pain but after she gave me the medicine i was ok. the wheeled me to another room and we picked up my mom on the way. i was there for a while but i went home after some hours. since ive been home i havent been in much pain really, on a scale of 0- 10 id say its been between 0 and 3 which surprised me. the main thing for me is the swelling, they've been feeling like theyre about to pop and it gets worse when i lay back. ive been putting ice(in a bag) on them. sleeping has kind of been rough. i hardly ever sleep on my back so i really miss sleeping on my side! but this long pillow has been a big help. you really have to move around and find a spot to be comfortable in. my back and shoulders have been hurting because i keep walking hunched over, i dont know i guess im scared if i stand too straight im going to rip my stitches or something lol, so i need to work on that. but i do feel lighter.** i know im all over the place but theres so much to tell so bare with me!!** lets see... i took my first shower two days later which went well. but for some reason my second shower was awful! i thought i was going to pass out! i was a mess. but ive had my third and fourth shower now and everything went just fine. i will come back on later today or later in the week and add to what ive already said because i know theres things i left out. but if you guys have any questions just ask!

hello everyone! everything is going good. Im feeling good and I was able to return to my classes this week, Im so glad that last week was spring break and I was able to plan my surgery around that.Im loving my new boobs, this recovery process needss to hurry up! But i am wondering about the swelling.. I'm not really sure if my left breast is swollen, but I know the left one is. When i touch it, it kind of has a weird feeling to it (on the inside not the outside) but the right one doesnt. I think i said this before but sometimes when the swelling increases it feels like they might pop. is this what the swelling is supposed to be like??????

im 2 weeks post op and im feeling great. i did end up going back the ps office so they could take a look at the swelling, everything was fine! they are just so sweet there. i feel much better about it and i have calmed down now that ive been reassured that im okay. ive been moisturizing them twice a day with aloe lotion, which has helped with the itching. and im in no pain except for a pinch feeling throughout the day. oh and i dont know if i mentioned this before, but i do have sensation in both of my nipples.

so ill be four weeks post op on friday but im posting my three week post op pics because i forgot to last week. im still doing great. i started using the mepiform stuff for scars and i hope it works good.. it was $103 for 5, 4x7 sheets. only 5! im still using the aloe lotion. and of course now that im using the mepiform, no more pads and gauze. im still unfortunately sleeping on my back. i dont know how much more i can take of that because i dont sleep as good as when im on my side. so i hope it wont be too much longer. my other post op appointment is next week on the 11th. this is gonna sound weird but i cant wait to go back i missed it there!

Everything is going great! Im using my bio-oil now.. I love the way the scars are healing. I stopped wearing my mepiform but Im going to start back tomorrow, I just got lazy:( I want to start wearing regular bras now so I plan in going to Victorias Secret tomorrow and Im very excited!