After giving cesarean birth to a healthy 11lb baby boy, my body was never the same. Years trying to maintain my weight and strengthen my muscles by exercising 5 to 6 days per week allowed me to become physically strong but my abdominal wall was not budging. At 45 years old I came to realize that a more toned body would required the help of a plastic surgeon.
I have always had breasts that were on the larger side, then I gained weight and got older! My girls were heavy, dense and full. I finally made the decision based on the constant tension in my neck and shoulders, the shifting of the girls to position them correctly in the bra I was stuffed into, the under wires, and so on. Mainly it was for comfort. I was so apprehensive about my choice as in the end it is elective surgery...what if something went wrong during surgery? and so many other things that went around in my mind, scaring, complications from surgery etc. I am 5 days post op and am very glad I made the decision to go forward with my surgery. I had complete faith in my surgeon who came highly recommended which was one of the reasons I had the courage to go forward. The nursing care at the hospital I went to was superb and they were all so supportive! I am recovering with discomfort that has been easily been controlled by non narcotic medication and rest! I'm bruised, steri stripped, an in a post surgical bra that can beat the band! I am so happy. My breasts look beautiful. I went from huge to a large C cup! My message is, get recommendations from women, meet with the surgeon, get a feel for the care you will get and the skill you will receive. I went from scared to happy, having tension in my neck and shoulders to complete comfort and ease of motion. I'm free!! Updated on 24 Nov 2014: I am following the surgeons advice and keeping on my post op surgical bra, mostly night and day. I shower in the morning, gently pat dry incisions. I am actually not touching as gingerly and doing a little bit of massage to my breasts. Doc says to put bacitracin to incision line daily, which I do after my shower. I am placing 4x4 gauze to incision line at t junction and where my nipple meets the junction from the T incision. There is a small scabbed area that I do not want to become bigger or infected. So far, so good. I have not returned to work, I have to much running around and I feel that my incisions are fragile and precious. I am happy with how things are coming along! I am so grateful for the skill of my surgeon and the help and support of my family. I am so glad I had this surgery! Updated on 26 Nov 2014: I went shopping for shirts today. I just wanted to tell all the sales associates that I had breast reduction surgery! I was so happy about how my body looked in shirts. I finally got to try on form fitting shirts, they looked great. It was such a different experience then picking the biggest, darkest shirt that's only purpose was to cover up my huge breasts. I can't believe the slimming effect that having this surgery had on me! It was great! As for my breasts, they are healing. I am getting what feels like nerve pain as it radiates across the area and feels kind of like pins and needles or electrical firing. the incisions are healing. I'm glad that that I have another week and a half off from work. I want to keep it simple, try to let these delicate incisions do their thing and heal! Updated on 3 Dec 2014: Well, things are coming along for sure. The incisions are doing great. I guess I am a good healer, I have no complaints and that was quite a concern of mine. Around my nipples are doing wonderful, I don't lift my breast to view that incision, I'm really not going to see it much so why keep looking now that I am past the assessment for acute incisional infection. I do note that I have a lot of the feelings of being suddenly stabbed or an electrical current in my breasts. That happened yesterday. I did go to a concert over the weekend and even though I wasn't dancing about (much) I was careful, I guess it was enough to have this happen. It has subsided now and I did read on my post op instruction that this was normal. I even wore my surgical bra provided to me by the doc post op! I still have to try and stop showing them to people. I can not get over the art form involved with my surgeons skill. I love them. I have to say it is still an adjustment looking at them. Although I would never go back to the large breasts that I had, it is still somewhat of an adjustment to see them. Here are theses breasts on my body that some how seem a bit foreign to me. Not sure how long this will last. On the plus side, I haven't enjoyed shopping for tops this much since my early thirties. Everything fits... and looks great! All in all, me and the girls are learning to love each other. Here's to our mental, physical and psychological health ladies. Bravo to us that stepped out of our fears and into a newly shaped world!! Updated on 15 May 2015: Well, it appears as if I will end up with a DD...not a stuffed into my bra DD!! It is a huge improvement over my previous size for sure. I've been through a lot of emotional changes in relation to my surgery. At first I wondered if I had done the right thing. I searched high and low on this site for someone who might be feeling like me. I kept wondering if I had done the right thing. My breasts were so different. I felt odd having such high sitting, firm breasts. I was so used to the way they were. My surgeon said to give it time. She said I had been looking at my breasts in the prior shape for so long and she explained it as an adjustment period. There were so many women saying /expressing nothing but glee at their new shape. I had a hard time coming to terms with mine. I loved that the weight was off that was for sure though. That relief was almost immediate. Now,, here I am loving the new shape, size, and feel of my breasts. My surgeon made them beautifully proportioned to my size. I thought they were to small when I first had my surgery! Imagine, a DD to small! Ha! Time definitely heals. I am now one of the many women saying I would do it over again in a heart beat!
