I had my breast reduction on October 5,2011. I was so nervous in the months before. I am a 5'1 girl with 38F boobs. Way to big for my little frame, even with me weighing 160lbs. After ny reduction i wanted be around a "D" cup because while i liked my big breats, they were just to heavy and caused a lot of pain. However, from what i can tell as of right now, they look to be about a "C" cup. I am still a bit swollen but most of the swelling has gone down. I have two drains in place which i should be having taken out on tuesday. Overall, even if they are not the size i wanted, i am very happy i chose to go threw with it and the pain is worth it also. Updated on 8 Oct 2011: So, today is 4 days post-op. I think overall I am doing pretty well. I do still have a lot of pressure in my chest, which I am assuming is normal. I am starting to get the sharp jolts into my nipples which I am told means that the nerves are reattaching, so I know that's a good thing. I still have yet to see my boobs without my bra since I am not allowed to take it off until my appointment on Tuesday. I am anxious to see them but no matter what I can already tell a major difference in my back. Updated on 9 Oct 2011: So today has been a pretty good day. I have not taken any pain med's since 10:00 last night and I don't feel as if I need any. I have quite a bit of pressure still in my chest but I think that is my skin trying to readjust to the new changes. I have had very minimal drainage and it is mostly clear since two days ago. As I have said before my first doctors appointment is this coming Tuesday the 11th. I will get to see for the first time, my new boobs!!! I am so excited. Oh and I am happy to report that all the pain in my hips that I was having, is now gone. I needed to get up and walk around and after doing so it went away. Updated on 10 Oct 2011: Questions: Okay so for the last to days I have had an unbelievable amount of pressure in my chest. It feels like I have an elephant sitting on my chest and it hurts. Its making me short of breathe and it hurts to try and take a deep breath. It also feels like there may be some fluid in my lungs,and it kind of burns,is any of this normal almost a week after surgery? When I open up the surgical bra for a few minutes it seems to help the discomfort in my chest but not enough. Is there anything I can do to ease all this pressure? Other than that, I am doing pretty well. I don't have any pain and I have not taken any of my pain med's. This is the last day of my antibiotics. Updated on 11 Oct 2011: So got back from my first check up a while ago. Having the drains pulled out hurt worse than anything else I've had done to me I think. I wanted to punch the DR it hurt so bad. Its better now, sore but that's to be expected. I think overall I am happy with them. They are still pretty swollen but no bruising as far as I can tell. I wil be posting the pics later on tonight. My right boob is a bit larger than my left but not really noticeable. I'm sure after the swelling goes down they will settle and be about the same. I thought I was going to be sad about the size but they look to be a large "C" maybe even a "D" we will see in 3 weeks when I can buy my first bra! Let me know what you think after the pics are up! I'd like to hear if they look alright. Updated on 12 Oct 2011: Well it has been one week today since my surgery. Yesterday was the first day I got to see my new boobs. I am very happy with them I think. I am sure and they heal and time goes on, that I will be even more happy with them. I just can't wait to buy my first bra off the shelf! As for the healing process, I think that it is going pretty well. Yesterday the only pain or discomfort I had was where the drains were removed. This morning however, I woke up in quite a bit of pain. I had to call my PS and ask for a new prescription for pain med's because nothing was helping. I am looking forward to taking a normal shower today. I cannot believe I went a whole week with only two sponge baths. I'm sorry but for me, that is just disgusting. Let's see...so my right breast still twice as swollen as the left, not sure why that is. The pressure in my chest is almost all the way gone and my heartburn I've had for almost 5 days sad subsided but still present from time to time. My chest seems to hurt more when I try to raise my voice or cough but I'm guessing that is normal. I have a lot of tightness in the skin of my breasts, but with each day it seems to be getting less. Next Tuesday I go back for my second follow up appointment and I think get the stitches taken out. Oh, not sure if I am suppose to yet but this morning I took a nap on my side (where I almost always sleep) and it felt good to be able to do that again but now I am hurting pretty good and I think I may have pulled a stitch but not sure. Does anyone know how long I'm suppose to wait before sleeping on my side again? I heard that walking is really good for the healing process. Something about blood flow I think. I think maybe later I might take a walk around my apartments and check the mail or something. I have only been out twice since the surgery. Updated on 12 Oct 2011: Okay so question...I ended up opening up probably about two stitches today picking up my daughter and then she jumped on me while I was sitting on the bed and now I am in a lot of pain. I called my PS when I pulled the stitch(es) and he just said it will be fine and gave me more pain med's...should I maybe call him back and tell him about my daughter landing on that same boob and about how much pain its in now? On another note...when I showered earlier, I put my old bra up to my boob to see the difference and WOW is there a difference. Ill post a pic of it later. Updated on 14 Oct 2011: So today is another bad day. I am in so much pain. My boobs are so tender and I overall just feel like crap. I am starting to get a headache and pretty dizzy today which hasn't happened to me yet. I am having cold sweats a lot today also...not sure what they means. I feel like I may be running a fever also. I called my PS again and he just keeps telling me that it's all normal and he will see me Tuesday. Updated on 16 Oct 2011: Well it's been 10 days since my surgery. As of yesterday all was going well except the incision underneath the breast is hurting pretty bad. Nothing has helped to take the pain away or easy it any. If I lay on my back with the surgical bra off it seems to help but since I can't do that for very long I am stuck with the pain. I see my PS again on Tuesday to see how I am healing. Maybe he will have some ideas on what I can do. My breasts are still hyper-sensitive which is annoying and painful but I am hoping that goes away soon. Overall I would say I am healing well as far as I know. I start school back up tomorrow so I am hoping having all those clothes on isn't going to cause me anymore pain or discomfort; I guess we will see. Updated on 17 Oct 2011: Well tomorrow is my two week check up (two week mark isn't until Wednesday actually) but I will get to see my incisions for the first time. I got to see the underneath incision just a bit ago because the tape came off ( I think from showering). The wound still look fresh ( a bit concerning to me, not sure if they should look that way or not at two weeks). But I went and bough two bras today; even though I can't wear them still for a few more weeks. I am now a 38D!!!! It was so weird putting a bra that once only cover the nipple of my size 38DDDD/ 38F breasts, which now cover my whole boob. I am so excited about it but the change is defiantly something I am going to need some time to get use to. I am posting the pics of the two bras I bought. I got each of them for, get this, $2.00 each at Ross. I have NEVER in my life gotten a bra for under $50.00. I cannot wait to start wearing them in a few weeks!!!! Updated on 18 Oct 2011: Well I just got back from the drs. I am really starting not to like him very much; oh well though. Anyways, he took off all the tape and I finally got to see the wounds...umm yuck. I am posting pics right now of them. He told me to start using antibiotic ointment of them until I see him again in two weeks...the spot I ended up opening blistered. I literally feel like my boobs are on fire. They hurt soooo bad. I don't know if this is normal or not because he just says the same thing everything I bring something up, "It will go away in time." Excuse me but for me that is annoying, I would rather have a straight answer; oh well guess I will know in time. Updated on 19 Oct 2011: So today is the official two week mark. I was told by almost everyone (even people who have never had it done but knew friends who have) that at two week I would be feeling normal and back to daily life. ummm...did I do something wrong because I am in a lot of pain still. It hurts when I breathe. Feels like the wounds are going to pull open from the tightness in my chest. When I go to stand up or sit down I have to be extra careful because and sudden movements makes me want to cry. I still cannot stand up straight. Riding in the car is a nightmare. I have stopped taking all my pain meds because they aren't helping anymore. This pain just feels like an extremely deep cut (which it is). I am not sure how to explain it except to say it is painful to me. Hopefully week 3 will be better. Updated on 21 Oct 2011: Hey all! Today is 16 days post-op. I was hoping by now that I would feel much better and although I am feeling better than I have been, I am still in pain. My wounds are looking better and look like they are starting to scab over. I am putting antibiotic ointment on i multiple times a day due to the blister I had a week ago, it is now gone! I have been pretty much swollen as much as possible the last week and think maybe it is due to moving around a lot and being back at school. Now that I am no longer on pain killers but am still swelling pretty bad, is there anything I can take over the counter to help with the discomfort? Ibuprofen, maybe some Tylenol? Over all my boobs are beginning to settle and look pretty nice! I am happy with them! Updated on 26 Oct 2011: So todayis 3 weeks (21 days) post op. I am finally feeling less pain. I am actually doing pretty well. I am still super sore but everyday it seems to be getting better. I am posting a couple new pics I took today. My boobs are different still and I think pretty noticeable but, as I was blow drying my hair for the first time since surgery today I was realizing, OMG I have no back pain or hip pain at all. And I was able to blow dry my whole head of hair with out having to take a break and without getting dizzy. So all in all, even if my boobs are not the same (which they still have a lot of settling to do) I am still very happy. One is settling faster than the other but I guess that is just how my body is healing! Updated on 3 Nov 2011: Well guys this is it, it has been one month today!! Just last week at this very time I was sitting here hurting and thinking I was never going to heal; but here I am feeling amazing as can be. My incisions underneath hurt every once in awhile but that is because I am wearing a normal bra now. It only gets irritated if I have been sweating all day so other wise everything is normal! My incisions are looking really good also. They are still pink and irritated looking and I have "bubbles" of skin in the ends of the incisions that have not begun to flatten yet but other than that they look wonderful. The scars are starting to get hard so I need to invest in some scar scream to help with that a bit. I still put antibiotic ointment in them twice a day tho and probably will for another few weeks just to make sure there is no infection that can arise. I am posting a couple of pics! I have to say that at first I was a bit "ify" after the surgery for a couple of weeks but I am soo over that now. I absolutely LOVE my new boobs and how I feel. I walked around the mall the other day and could not believe that after 4 hours my back was not in any pain. My hips and my feet hurt like crazy but I didn't even stop to have a massage as I usually would. I feel so amazing and I think I look so much better than I did. I think this change in my life was what I needed to get motivate to be more healthy. Updated on 5 Nov 2011: So today is exactly one month to the day that I had surgery. Right about now I was begging for them to let me have some dinner because I was so damn hungry. I got it...the whole liquid meal. As of now, it is pretty much like nothing happened. They are still swollen but not to bad. I am posting a few pics from today to show you all the progress. My scars still still pretty red but I go most of the time without a bra so that may have something to do with it. It doesn't hurt to wear a bra or anything, I just have never been able to go without one as you all are familiar with, so now I can so I do! I can sleep in any position and it does not hurt. It may get a little uncomfortable after a while but that is an easy fix. I stopped using the antibiotic ointment this week as well. I think I am out of the woods for any infections. I have not yet bought any scar fade scream but I am going to do so at the end of this coming week. Hopefully it will help with the redness too. Updated on 14 Nov 2011: Okay so I was laying in bed a bit ago and decided to run some cream on my boobs because they were kinda sore along the incisions. As I was feeling the vertical scar on my right side I noticed a large, hard lump that was out of place that I have never noticed before. It feels like a grape was placed under the skin. It is not painful but because I freak out easily, I'm freaking out. The other side feels completely normal. I know it's not a lump due to caffeine because I haven't had any caffeine since before surgery over 5 weeks ago. It's not due to my menstral cycle because I'm not close enough to the next start and I'm fr enough off the last one. (If that made any since). Anyways, I don't know what to do. I'm scared and worried. It feels a lot different from the cysts and fibroids I have post surgery in that same boob. I'm going to call my PS in the morning and see what he says. Any one have any ideas on what it could be? So other than that, I feel great! Okay better than great! My overall health has improved dramatically and I can't tell you how good it feels to not be sick all the time. I can sleep in any position. I have not tried to run yet, still a bit scared. And I don't lift anything I feel would strain my chest muscles yet. I will post a pic at 6 weeks! Updated on 18 Nov 2011: So it's been a little over 6 weeks. Today, as I was getting ready to take a shower, I looked and noticed some scabing with white dots inside (kinda looked like a pimple). I scratched at it and one of the scans came off and puss started coming out....there are two spots like that on the right side and one of the left. They are on the verticle scars. I think it may be an infection...drs appointment on Monday so we will see. Updated on 7 Dec 2011: So today has been 2 months and 2 days since surgery. Everything is perfect! I still do not have feeling in my nipples but I don't really care. The scars underneath are still sore from time to time but all in all everything is wonderful. I've only experienced that weird shock like tingle in the boobs once. I can run, jump do anything I want like I never had surgery. If I strain to much they may swell a bit but no pain. It feels so good to not have all the pressure on my back anymore. I can express how much better this surgery has made my life. I am now a 38D and perfect! Posting pics from today! Updated on 7 Jan 2012: Sorry it's been awhile guys. As of yesterday it has been 3 months post-surgery. I am doing great. They are still sore but not that bad. I started getting the sharp jolts more often but haven't had then the last week. They are still swollen the majority of the time but I am sure that will go away over time. The scars are still very visible but it doesn't bother me one bit. My back is a million times better. I can run but I have to strap them down tightly or it hurts. My kids seem to on a daily bases jump on them so they have been going through quite a bit of trauma. lol Posting pics right now as well. Updated on 18 Apr 2012: Well, It has now been 6 1/2 months since my surgery. Everything is going great. I am able to do all normal activity. My left nipple still gets the shooting pains every once in a while and a tiny bit of sensation can be felt. My right nipple is just now starting to get the shooting pains (which hurts more than the other side does) but no sensation as of yet for that one. My right boob is also quite a bit bigger than the left one but it is probably due to all the caffeine i have been drinking lately and my hormonal fluctuations because normally they are pretty even. My next drs appointment isnt until August which is nice. I feel so much better. My scars are still very much there but i dont care in the least bit. I can breath, i dont have headaches and my upper back and shoulders dont hurt. It is amazing how much better i feel. Sometimes it is weird to think that i ever had boobs as large as i did. Updated on 5 Jul 2012: Well, it's now been 9 months since my surgery. I hardley even remember being so huge at one time, it's amazing. I am able to do so much more than i could, i can play with my children at the park or on the floor, i can find bras and shirts that fit....i cant explain how much happier it's made me. As for the scars....their still there but honestly I don't care at all. I'd rather have the scars than the big saggy boobs and aches. All I can say is that I recommend this procedure and would do it all over if i had too. My final size is between a 38D and a 38DD depending on the bra...a bit bigger than I was hoping but i think they grew some in the last couple months...its way to hard to stay away from cafiene with my schedule and stress level. I will post pics in August after my 10 month check up! Or if you all would some now just let me know and i will post a few. Updated on 6 Oct 2012: Well it has now been 1 year and 1 day since my surgery. I will make this short and sweet because all I need to say is that I absolutely 100% recommend doing this and I am happy with my results and do not for one second regret doing it. I still do not have much feeling if at all in my nipples but that doesn't bother me. They are sensitive but in an achy way which I guess is a bit annoying at times. The shape could be better but honestly I am in such better health than I was a year ago so I don't hardly think about it. They are still sore from time to time and still swell if I have done too much during the day or I am sweating a lot. I am updating pics a long with this as well so you can see. They haven't changed much but they have settled. The scars are pretty much gone to my amazement, more so on the left side but never the less they look amazing to me. Updated on 17 Oct 2012: So my scar is still painful and pretty noticeable. Its super thick and bothersome. My PS said to come back in Dec. So that is what I am waiting on. He told me at that time we can see about a revision...the shape is not what I want, they are only round if I lift my arms really high...can I have this fixed? The state of California paid for it since I am on state medical. Can i request for my PS to make them more round when he revises the scarring? Also one still larger, although not by a whole lot...and they seem to be growing again as i am in a DD and sometimes DDD which i wanted a C. Updated on 3 Dec 2012: Well it has now been 1 year and 2 months since I had my BR. I can say that I am still 100% happy with the way I look and feel and I know that it was the best choice I could have made for my health and my confidence. I am still sore, my nipples are painful when I touch then but every once in a while they will be fine for a day with no pain. They are still difference sizes which makes it a bit hard to find bras that fit both well without having one of the cups with extra room but I really dont mind honestly. The one thing that does bother me is the scar tissue, boy do I have some scar tissue. They doctor has been having me rub it non-stop for months now and there is no improvement. I have an appointment this month to go back in and have him look at it, more than likely I will be having a revision done. Hopefully, at the same time he can maybe take a little more out of the right side so it more of the same size as the left. I do wish they were rounder but hey i've never really had round boobs anyways so what I have now is an improvement over what I had. :) Okay well here are some pictures from the other day! Updated on 10 Jul 2013: Just thought that I would update this real quick. It's been almost 2 years since the surgery. While as I have previously stated that I would do it all over again is true, I do want to also say that they are not what I had hoped. There is still quite a bit of pain and numbness. My right breast is a full size bigger and has a large amount of breast tissue whereas the left side does not. The right side is round and what a boob should look like and the left side is very bothersome. There is lots of underneath scaring that is painful, there is pocketing on the ends, and I keep getting sores of some sort on it. I have called to schedule another appointment to see my Dr so hopefully he will actually listen to my concerns and do something about it since he hasnt any other time.
I have waited 4 years to have this procedure and now that I am just 4 days away I am getting nervous. I have always had large breasts but they are really getting out of control now. No matter how much I exercise they do not get smaller. I am a 44G now and my PS suggests we go to a 44C. Thank you all for sharing your stories..they are very helpful and comforting. I will update more after my procedure this week and post pictures. Updated on 8 Nov 2014: I had to be at Methodist Hospital by 6:30 am on November 5. 2014 for surgery. My husband stayed with me until they took me back to the ER. I thought I would be really nervous but surprisingly I was calm and relaxed. My PS came in an hour before surgery and marked me. He took time to answer any concerns. Surgery was scheduled for 9 am and and I went back promptly at that time. The procedure took approximately 4 hours and then I was discharged two hours later. I was given Percocet and Keflex. I had trouble sleeping the first night and woke up in pain the next morning. The pain was not in the breasts area but lower back, across the abdomen and legs. I called the PS and he changed my pain meds to Dilaudid but the pain got worse. I could not sleep for over 48 hours. Like I said, I had no pain in the breast are so this pain may or may not have been related to the procedure. I have drain tubes in and am still draining quite a bit of fluid. I see Dr. Lin on Monday to get these drains out. Hopefully I can shower after that. I have been taking sponge baths but it just is not the same. I feel so gross. I do like the fact that I have perky ta tas again though!! Here are a few pictures. I will post more after my appointment on Monday. I noticed a few posts asking about how you get insurance to cover this procedure. Here is how I did it. I had several doctors document that I needed these reductions. I showed the insurance company that I tried to resolve the issue by: Seeing a Chiropractor, getting measured to make sure I was wearing the right size bra, trying to lose weight and a therapist. I also reached out to the Insurance company and asked them to kindly approve the procedure as my breast were causing me great discomfort both mentally and physically.If they deny you be sure to appeal it! You need to be an advocate for yourself! More pics to come...
