Breast Reduction: Stories

Hello all you wonderful ladies out there!

I am 27 years old, I am 5'4 tall (163cm) & I weigh 167 pounds (76kg), my bra size is 34G. I have thought about a breast reduction since I was 18 years old and I have finally made up my mind. I have spent all these years having a breakdown every 4 months or so when I have cried over my breasts being too big.

I started growing breasts when I was 9 years old and I had a C cup by the time I was 12 years old, after that they have just been growing and growing. They were an E-F cup when I was about 18 years old and for the past 5-6 years or so I have been a cup size 34G.

The problems I have from my breasts are: back, neck & shoulder pain, rashes underneath breasts & sore wounds from bra underwires digging in (even though I go to get measured & get well-fitting bras every 6-8 months!), not being able to wear well-fitting tops, bikini tops, bathing suits, dresses and just feeling like they are constantly in the way.

My dream size is a C cup.

I don’t have children yet (I do want to have children at some point in my life, but definitely not in the next 4-5 years or so), and I did think about waiting until I had had children & was done with breast feeding, but I just cant take it anymore. It won’t be worth it waiting all that time (and then maybe I wont even be able to breast feed!), I will be OK with not breast feeding if that’s what it will come to.

I have done extensive research of well-respected surgeons in the area where I live and I have narrowed it down to a list of surgeons.

I had my first consultation with a surgeon on 4th Jan 2013 at private hospital located about 1h 15min drive from where I live. It went really well, the surgeon explained in detail what would happen during surgery and all the potential risks. He said that he would use the anchor incision, he would use insoluble stitches & he would use drains and have them removed 24 hours after the surgery. He recommended me to stay 1-2 nights in hospital afterwards. The consultation was very through, he examined my breasts & said that he expected to remove approx 500-600 gram (1.1-1.3 pounds) of tissue from each breast. He said for me to expect to be a D cup afterwards, potentially a DD cup, he wouldn’t be able to tell. He said he could definitely not go any smaller than a D cup.

I was happy with my consultation and I really liked the surgeon, so I went ahead and booked my pre-op appointment for 5 April. I have also booked the surgery in for Friday the 17th May. This fits well with my work schedule, otherwise I would do it sooner.

I decided to have a second consultation just to make sure I was fully informed. I had my second consultation today (21 January) with a surgeon who is located very close to where I live (10min drive). He was also nice, but I felt like he was a bit rushed. I explained that I wanted to have a breast reduction, and he asked if I had considered a breast lift instead. I had explained to him that I wanted to be a C cup and that I was ready to go small, I don’t want or need to have large breasts anymore. The surgeon said that if I would have a breast lift, he could get me down to a D cup and if I had a breast reduction he could get me down to a C cup. I asked him what he thought would best suit my body and he said he couldn’t tell me his personal preference, and that I had to make the decision. I understand that this is because he wants me to make the decision based on what I want, but he just confused me so much with the breast lift.

I have always wanted to be considerably smaller, not just lifted. The surgeon also said that if I do have the breast reduction, he would only remove 100-200grams from each breast. This is so much less than what the first surgeon said, which makes me really puzzled.

How is it that the first surgeon said he would remove 500-600 gram per breast & it would leave me with a D or a DD cup and the second surgeon says he will not remove more than 100-200 gram per breast and that will leave me with a C cup??!!

The second surgeon said that he thought that I needed to think long and hard if I really wanted to have a reduction when he thought a lift could take me down to a D cup. He was saying that some girls don’t realise how small they get. The thing is that I really, really doesn’t want to be big breasted and I have dreams at night about having really small breasts. Am I kidding myself? Am I going to regret it? I just have a feeling that I won’t care about the size, I can always wear a push up bra if I need to get bigger.

I really don’t know which surgeon to go for. The first surgeon was the one that made me feel the best, but the second surgeon has better credentials and would also be closer to where I live. I will get to see pictures at the pre-op for the first surgeon, as he didn’t have any available for the first appointment. I did see photos from the second surgeon and they all looked fantastic. So that makes me also think that he might be the best option. The second surgeon's procedure is the same as the first one, except that the second surgeon doesnt use drains.

I have booked a third consultation on Wednesday 23 January with a third surgeon, just to see what he says and see if I can get some clarity in how much would be suitable to remove and what size he would predict for me.

Any advice / tips / suggestions, would be greatly appreciated! Drains for 24h (first surgeon) or no drains (second surgeon)?

All of you on here has already helped me so much more than you know, just by reading your reviews I have become more and more certain that I want to go ahead with the surgery & it comforts me to know that there will be more people going through the same thing as me at the same time. I look forward to sharing the experience with you!

Happy healing to all of you that have just had the surgery & all the best to all of those of us who are still waiting xx

Hello again! Sorry for my LONG monologue in my first post, it was so nice to finally be able to share it with someone who's going through the same thing / thinking about going through the same thing!

Since my last post I have had a third consultation with a surgeon just a few days ago. I am SO thankful that I did. He was just lovely and I got a very professional, great impression of him. His recommendation of how much to take out is just about in the middle of the two previous surgeons I have seen and I think his recommendation seems to suit my needs. He says he will use drains, he will use insoluble stitches (except for the stitches around the areola - apparently because that gives you nicer looking scars) and he thinks he will be able to get me down to a C cup.

When I left the surgeon's office, I felt so relieved and so happy, I knew straight away that I have now found MY surgeon! I am also very very lucky in that the hospital it will be performed at is a 10min drive from my house! (and I didnt even know that when I picked him! couldnt be better.)

At the moment, i am just waiting to hear about back to confirm the surgery date, but at the moment we're looking at 20th May. It feels so far away and at the moment I just want to do it NOW!

I have also spoken to my manager and told her about the operation (GULP! I was so nervous) but she was very supportive and although I dont think she quite understood my need to have the surgery, she said that she thought I was brave & that she was happy for me if this is what I wanted. She's granted my 2 weeks off - would you guys say that 2 weeks is normally enough time off (for a desk job) after the surgery?

The surgeon I have chosen uses a microfoam gauze /bandage bra type thing to wear non-stop (no peeking) for a week after the surgery & after that I just have to get my own sports bra to wear for 6 weeks. I will have a good look at the forum to see what type of bras that have been recommended to wear just a week after. I dont know if I should get a proper surgical bra or if a soft, stretchy'genie' type bra will be sufficient? Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

That's it for now really. I just cant wait to have the surgery date confirmed and start counting down the days.
Will update when I have more news.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!

My surgery date has now been confirmed for the 20th May! I have paid the confirmation fee and have recieved all the info in the post from the hospital. It says on my information that 2 nights in hospital is included, if I need it, which feels good. The hospital is only 10min away and I am so so happy that I choose the surgeon that I did and that I did see three surgeons in the end.

The surgery still feels ages away, but I am sure these 3 months will go very fast and it will be here before I know it.

I have weird dreams at night where people are telling me not to have the surgery. I feel like the big thing for me is the justification of having this surgery. I keep looking at other people who has even bigger breasts than me and that has worse problems than me and thinking that 'I dont have it so bad' and I keep forgetting all the bad stuff, I push it to the back of my mind and somehow I dont think I am quite worthy of it. Its weird that it affects me so much, I keep thinking that it shouldnt be such a big deal.. but it does messes with your mind a little bit.

And all of this even though I have told my closest friends and they have all been very supportive. Out of the friends that I have told, one of my best friends who lives overseas had the absolute best reaction. I was chatting to her over Skype and I saw her face expression on the laptop screen and it just made my day. Because she is one of the few people that I have told about my problems with my breasts in detail - she knew how much I have wanted it and how much it means to me.

I did order the genie bras online, and although they were comfy, I wasnt sure about the size and what size I will be afterwards, so I decided to send them back and instead just order them in a couple of sizes right before the surgery and then I will just send the ones back that doesnt fit.

20 May... It really is happening!!!! I was so obsessed with it a few weeks ago and literally couldnt think of anything else, now I have been almost forgetting about it and then it comes back and I realises that it.will.happen and i just cant believe it!!!!

My mind really is playing tricks on me, one moment I am not sure I am worthy of this and the second moment I am so glad and so proud of myself for FINALLY taking this step.

Happy healing to all you wonderful women out there in recovery and patient waiting to all of us that are still waiting, waiting, waiting.... xx

At the moment I am waiting for my pre-op appointment which is on the 24th April. I am going to prepare a list of final questions to ask the surgeon. I keep having weird dreams.. I think its just down to stress. I have had nightmares about not being able to breast feed and I worry that I will regret it later - but it all comes back to the this - I have already thought of this for 10 years, its not something I have not considered and thought about in detail and made my mind up about for once and for all. But the stress is making me question decisions I made, even though I know deep down that I am 100% sure. What a silly mind one gets hey?! Oh well, counting down the days until my pre-op appointment in exactly 22 days!!!

My pre-op appointment with the doctor was today and it went well. I don't really know what I was expecting, but we just had a chat about everything. I am feeling very confident about my choice of surgeon and the team around him.

My surgeon advised me to get the Macom surgical bra, and I have just ordered it online. I had a quick look at it at the surgeon's office and it looked like it was small in size, so I ordered a large one and will see how it fits, if its too big ill go for a smaller size.
https://www.macom-medical.com/products-40-breast_augmentation_surgical_|_lifting_bra.html

I asked the surgeon wether or not he recommended me to take Arnica Montana tablets before (which helps with healing), but he said he would prefer me to not take anything - so I will hold off.

Other than that, I feel like right now is just a waiting game and am yet to tell my colleagues which is actually the one thing that stresses me out the most at the moment of everything! Silly..

Less than a month to go.... eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!! :)

It's now only 12 days left to wait and the waiting is getting more and more difficult. I keep struggling with the thought that lots of people have it worse than me and I feel like a lot of people's reaction have been 'oh, why would you need to have it done' which is making me feel a bit blue. I know I've always said I wanted to do this for ME and no one else - so why am I suddenly letting everyone else's thoughts play with my mind?! So silly!!!!

Anyways, will have a good friend visiting a few days before my surgery and I am thinking that will actually be good as it will take my mind off it. Have started on a shopping list for things to get for after surgery and my boyfriend has a week of working from home so he can help me out if I need him, which will be good. SO hard to imagine what it will be like afterwards!

Feeling quite blue about it all at the moment but hope its just nerves playing up.

Hope everyone's doing well - per and post op! Happy healing and happy waiting x

Ps, also told my colleagues and they were fine but quite a few of them couldn't really see why it was necessary. At least I don't have to tell anyone else now :)

I cannot believe how fast this has come now.. and my surgery is actually tomorrow! I have to be at the hospital for 7am, and luckily I am only 15min drive from the hospital.
I thought id be feeling even more nervous than I am at the moment, but its OK, its been worse in the weeks leading up to it. Today I have done lots of washing, cleaning and shopping for food. I basically went to the shops to get every single green vegetable I could find as Ive heard its good to eat leafy greens after surgery. Im going to wash with the antibacterial soap later and just try to focus on relaxing & resting. I will update here as soon as I can afterwards. Wish me luck!!!!