Most Awesome Decision Ever: Possibly - Tulsa, OK

I'm five feet tall and weigh almost 120 pounds, and have always been petite except for my boobs. They have never been considered small, though they weren't quite as large before having two babies. Those babies are now 10 and 7 years old, and my bra size had gone up to a 32F (or 32DDD). Almost ALL of my breast tissue is dense (90-95% of it), with very, very little fatty tissue involved. I lost 20 pounds and didn't lose an ounce of boob size. A recent mammogram showed some possible problems, but the sheer amount of dense tissue made it very difficult for radiologists to see.

My mom had breast cancer at an early age, so this just reinforced to me that it was time for a reduction. Physically, I was just done with carrying them around. I would have up to four migraines a week brought on by neck and shoulder pain, and I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I was also tired of trying to find shirts that fit my small frame but didn't look crass on my huge breasts.

I interviewed several doctors before finding one that I loved. Through this process I learned how important it is to keep having consultations until you find a doctor that you trust implicitly, and who you feels respects and values you. The surgeon that I chose is out of network for my insurance, but it was really important to me to use him, so I did. Insurance may or may not choose to cover the surgery, but I have no regrets.

I'm now 11 days out from surgery, and feeling pretty great. The first two days were rough, mostly because I am terrible about actually taking pain medications (I hate how they make me feel), so my pain wasn't managed as well as it should have been. My doctor includes armpit lipo in the surgery, and so those sites were REALLY sore for the first two days, and then they mellowed out. I slept a lot for the first few days. Like, really a lot. So much that I was almost embarrassed, but it was exactly what my body needed. I felt light-headed some days, as if perhaps I was anemic (oh, my period started two days after surgery...awesome timing!), so I started taking iron supplements and making sure that I had tons of protein, and that really has helped. Now I'm just swollen, bruised, and getting those painful zaps as the nerves regenerate.

I seem to have full sensation in both nipples, for which I'm hugely grateful. My hope was to go from 32F/DDD to a 32B, but most likely I'll end up a C cup due to blood supply restrictions. This is absolutely fine with me, as I have complete confidence in whatever my doctor needed to do that way. I can't possibly recommend this surgery enough - I haven't had a single headache, let alone migraine, in the 11 days since surgery, which is pretty much a miracle. I have no neck or shoulder pain and just feel so much lighter and more energetic. I no longer feel frumpy or matronly in my clothes, and I can't wait until the swelling goes down to see the finished product.

You'll see in my photos that I started out with my right breast being significantly bigger (and lower, hee!) than my left. Surprisingly, my right breast is healing the fastest and with the least bruising/swelling. Ol' lefty is still super swollen and bruised, but I'm holding out hope. For the first week after surgery I was in thick white tape over the incisions (no gauze) and a soft surgical bra that did not compress at all. Now for the next five weeks I'm in this thin tape that you'll see in the photos, and sports/compression type bras. It's been really interesting to me how different doctors are in terms of their post op instructions, so I just wanted to note mine.

Three weeks out as of yesterday, and I'm still completely thrilled with my decision to have this done.

I will admit that I have had days of feeling down or frustrated that the healing process doesn't happen overnight, and I was surprised by how tired I felt for the first two weeks. Even now, I'm wiped out by the end of my work day, and my job is hardly considered strenuous. I think that it's a combination of the anesthesia and other meds leaving my body, and a lot of energy going towards the healing process.

At my one week post-op appointment, my surgeon put thin tape on all of my scars, and said to leave it on for five weeks, or as long as it lasts. That was only two weeks ago, and the tape is coming up in a lot of areas, so not sure how much longer it will last. I'm also in sports bras until my six week post-op appointment. That's been kind of a pain in the ass under work clothes, but again, it's worth it.

I read and read and read reviews and forums and blogs all over the Internet for years before finally deciding to do this, and for those who are reading and still in the decision making process, let me just say: DO IT. Really, just have the surgery as soon as you're able.

I feel lighter, happier, have no neck or shoulder pain, haven't had a single migraine (I used to have to carry my prescription around with me, that's how frequently I had them), and people keep noticing the difference. At least twice a day people at work will say, "wow, you look really great. Did you lose weight?", and because I lost five pounds, I smile and say, "yep".

I'm really eager to be further down the road in terms of healing. I want to see what's under the tape! And I want to be done with the swelling and bruising. But I would do it all over again for how great I feel.

I'll post new photos soon. My husband is crashed out on the sofa, so my photographer is unavailable right now. :)

Back again. Yesterday was four weeks from the date of surgery, and I can finally say that I feel all the way back to normal in terms of energy level, being able to sleep however I want, etc. I feel really, truly great.

I still have just a little bit of bruising on lefty, and it's still very firm, but righty has dropped and looks about like it is going to. I really need to take new photos, because they've changed/improved a lot over the past week.

I'm still in sports bras and tape through the end of January (which will be six weeks from the time of surgery), and I've got to say, it's going to be hard to convince me to get back into real bras! Sports bras look awful under my clothes, but I've gotten used to them and they are so comfy. I can't imagine ever going back to underwire bras.

One thing that I haven't mentioned yet is that I felt so huge and bloated for the few days/week after surgery, but then I promptly dropped five pounds. I felt like I was burning through food, especially protein. So for those of you about to head into surgery, make sure that you've got tons of high protein meals and snack available. I kept eating very small meals, but I ate them frequently.

Next update will have photos. No, really.