I've been lurking on this site for the past couple of weeks; being able to read all of the other blogs and reviews has given me the courage to share thoughts and feelings that I've never expressed 'out loud' before. Quite honestly, I'm kind of mortified that I'm sharing with complete strangers but here goes....
I'm almost 54 years old and for the past 40 years have perfected the art of minimizing and concealing my breasts. It's been a love/hate relationship starting at the age of 13 - I skipped the entire training bra phase and went right into a C cup as a 7th grader. I've never had round, perky boobs but rather long and saggy ones. I distinctly recall getting a physical at the age of 14 during which the male doctor commented to my mom how unusually saggy my boobs were for a young girl - this has always stuck with me. No tube tops, sundresses, 'off the rack' bathing suits or spaghetti straps for me and forget about starring in that Girls Gone Wild video over Spring Break (probably a good thing that.I didn't do that -LOL!). Sadly I've made an Olympic sport out of changing my clothes around other people without ever fully revealing my breasts - lots of awkward moments in the locker room, girls weekends, etc. Forget about going bra less - In over 20 years of marriage, I've never walked around with my breast exposed - I can't tolerate looking at them in the mirror myself and definitely don't want to gross my husband out! My husband is an amazing person - kind, loving, supportive and has always been my number one cheerleader - he would never say anything so this is really my issue.
On the other hand, I never lacked for attention from the guys and I would be lying if I didn't say that I enjoyed it over the years and often used that to my advantage on an as needed basis. :) The girls don't look bad when strapped down and holstered in a good bra but unfortunately the weight of my breasts have been taking their toll on me to the point that not a day goes by that I'm not aware of pain in my neck and shoulders. Since going thru menopause about 3 years ago, my breasts have grown at least another cup size and no matter how much I diet and work out, they're not getting smaller. I'm spilling out of a 34DDD minimizer bra which also leaves deep grooves in my shoulders. A personal low point was the first time I started tucking little pieces of Kleenex between by boobs because my cleavage was sweating so bad in the summer that I was getting a horrible rash. I can't find a bra that keeps them separated enough, lifted and minimized all at the same time!
My turning point came during our family vacation a couple of months ago when I spent over 30 minutes in the dressing room of a South Beach bathing suit store consoling my 19 year old daughter because she couldn't fit her 34DD boobs into an XL bikini top - it broke my heart to see her so upset and just wanting to be 'normal'. It was at that moment that I decided that I needed to 'walk the walk' myself if I was going to be handing out any advice to her. I promised her that we would both get reductions and we decided to go on this journey together. I had my consult 2 weeks ago and I just learned today (while attending my daughter's consult) that I've been approved by my health insurance company to DO THIS! My daughter will hopefully get the same good news in a couple of weeks. So here we are....my surgery is booked for May 31st - I still can't believe it!!!!!
I love my/our surgeon- she has an interesting approach - she asked me to go out and buy the bra that I would LIKE to fit into and bring it with me on surgery day. I thought this was a novel approach so that we're all on the same page regarding final results. Honestly, I won't be upset if the cup size isn't quite as small as I have in mind ( a full C?) but am more interested in being more round, lifted and perky!
So sorry that I've been lurking on this site for the past couple of weeks and being able to read all of the other blogs and reviews has given me the courage to share thoughts that I've never expressed 'out loud' before. Quite honestly, I'm kind of mortified that I'm sharing my thoughts with complete strangers....I'm not ready to post any pics yet - I'm still recouping from the humiliation of baring my breasts to the surgeon and her staff and getting pictures taken for the insurance company pre-approval - ugh.......In the meantime, please send all positive thoughts, prayers and vibes our way!!!
Updated on 31 Mar 2017:
If you ever hear me say that I'm not sure if I should do this will someone please remind me to look back at these pictures! It's been years since I actually took it all off, stood in front of the mirror and looked at my breasts - they're even worse than I remember. I'm so used to wearing my 36DDD maximum minimizer bra that I'd kind of convinced myself that they're not that bad - boy was I wrong!!! ????. May 31st can't come soon enough, right?!?!
Updated on 31 May 2017:
On my way to the surgery center for a 6 a.m. Check in and 7:30 surgery! I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep (on my stomach!) last night and feel good other than being super excited, nervous and praying that I'm doing the right thing.
Updated on 31 May 2017:
Wow can't believe its over - let the healing begin! Thanks for all of the prayers ad positive energy!
So here's how it went -arrived at 6 am went thru some paperwork, vitals taken, met with the anesthesiologist and his nurse then Dr. Slekak came in and marked me up. I was led into the OR suite where everything happened very quickly - the last thing I remember is the nurse saying she was putting some happy meds in my IV....I woke up in recovery about 3 hours later as promised!
I was most concerned about going under general anesthesia however so far I have not had any of the side effects that' have been reported on this site. I followed the pre op diet instructions that I found on Breasthealth online which I believe made all of the difference. And I just requested some stool softeners just to be on the safe side -LOL!
Dr. Slezak said that everything went great and don't have drains (yaaayyyy!) I can tell that they're much smaller but won't be able to see them until she changes my bandages in the morning. Surgeons office provides me with 2 lovely post surgical bras on and I get to stay in the hospital so that's extra piece of mind regarding meds, compression socks etc ! So far the pain is very reasonable and feels mostly like sunburn around the lower incisions only. Dr. Slezak said that tomorrow morning I can even shower!
Pain med kicking in and I'm getting very sleepy- will check in again later....
Updated on 31 May 2017:
A great day of binging watching Property Brothers -LOL! Still feeling good and pain level has been low so far- took my last dose of narcotic about 4 hours ago and am trying to switch over to ES Tylenol to see how that goes. Ate my first solid meal in 36 hours around 7pm this evening along with a dose of stool softeners and sipping on lemon water - hoping to keep the plumbing in good working condition ????. I'm so impressed by the wonderful nursing staff here at GBMC - they've made everything so comfortable and easy for me!
Keep the prayers coming and will check in again tomorrow!
Updated on 1 Jun 2017:
Today was relatively easy - hubby picked me up and home by 1. Have been taking some cat naps and relaxing. The Dr checked me this morning and was very happy. She told me that she took 600 out of the R side and 660 out of the L. I just changed to my other surgical bra and saw them in the mirror for the first time.....I love them!!! They are the 'cupcakes' that I asked for and this is the first time in my life that I've ever seen my nipples pointing straight ahead! The left nipple looks slightly higher than the right one now so I'll have to be patient and see where it all settles in. The pain level has been so low and I've just been using 1000 mg ES Tylenol every 6 hours and following the post op diet recommended by breasthealth online. And the best part - drumroll - just had my first BM!! Aaahhhh now we can all relax ????. Ta ta for now!
Updated on 3 Jun 2017:
Feeling fine with just a bit of burning and tightness around the excisions. Since my hubby is gone for the weekend, my parents rescued me and took me out for dinner - we sat out on the river and it was so nice to feel the sun and the breeze! I put on one of my favorite tops and it was so nice not to have my boobs busting out of the top! My mom commented that my posture was so much better and I look 10 pounds lighter. tomorrow's goal is to ditch this surgical vest and switch to a sports bra!
Updated on 9 Jun 2017:
Today is my first post op with Dr. Slezak - I'm looking forward to hearing her thoughts because I feel like I'm doing fantastic! This has been so much easier than I had expected and I'm kicking myself for not doing this years ago! Even with all of the bruising and raw incisions, I actually enjoy walking around the bathroom naked now - before I would immediately put my robe on so that I didn't have to catch a glimpse of my long, big boobs in the mirror. I've been walking 4-6 miles per day and drinking a citrus recovery water with a high protein/dark green leafy diet and I've dropped 10 pounds since preop. I'll get some new pics up soon!
Updated on 14 Jun 2017:
Loving life! I am healing well and have been back to work for a week now. I'm noticing that I'm a little more tired at the end of the day but otherwise feeling great! I feel that my experience has thus far been very simple and straightforward - no drains or restrictions other than not lifting over 5 lbs. I continue to walk 3-5 miles per day and follow a high protein/dark green leafy diet with 50-60 ozs of citrus veggie water/bromelaine, vitamin C and A, arnica supplements / not sure if this combo is 'working' or if I am just a good healer in general! My 10 day post op visit with Dr. Slezak went very well - we chuckled over my 'before' pics - it's hard to remember that they looked like that just 2 weeks ago!
Updated on 21 Jun 2017:
Hi all - just wanted to update my status and post a few new pics (try to ignore the shiny Vitamin E that I massaged in right before taking the pics- LOL!).
On one hand it feels like it was just yesterday that I was prepping to go to the hospital yet on the other hand I feel like it never happened and life is back to same old, same old. I've been back to work for 2 weeks now and doing the elliptical at the gym for the past week - I continue to have energy droops around 4-5 pm and the incisions under my breasts are still kind of sore and stingy. I can feel the suture knots at the end of each horizontal incision - I'm gently massaging a couple of times A day with Vitamin E oil but I'm holding off on any other scar treatment or more vigorous massaging until after I see Dr. Slezak this Friday for follows up. I'm using a variety of Sports bras as well as the surgical bras that were given to me at the hospital. Dr. Slezak suggested I wait at least a full month before trying to buy any real bras.
I'm really excited to be wearing a dress to a party this Friday night that I bought a couple of years ago that I could never fit over my boobs- I am so happy with my results thus far - I can't stop looking at them! :).
Updated on 29 Jun 2017:
Wow - the time has flown! I had a follow up last week and the dr. was very happy with healing. She mentioned that the internal stitches will start dissolving at about 6-8 weeks and confirmed that I'm feeling suture knots at the end of the horizontal incisions - keep massaging!
At this point I feel great except for the feeling like I have a sunburn on the lateral lower parts of each breast. You can also see that they have a sector of redness in the pictures. Dr. Slezak said this is normal as the nerves are re- wiring and the blood supply is being re-routed and re- established.
Dr. Slezak said that I can start scar therapy any day and indicated that one treatment isn't necessarily any better than another so would love to hear what everyone else is using?!!?!
Here are some new pics!J
Updated on 26 Jul 2017:
As the title of my review suggests, it was my daughter who first inspired my own BR journey last December on a family vacation. She went thru some ups and downs with her own decision and finally decided about a month ago to go thru with it. Dr. Slezak was very pleased with how the surgery went and commented that my daughter's breast tissue is unusually dense, no wonder she was so symptomatic! We're waiting for her room to be ready for an overnight stay so Dr. Slezak can check on her in the morning. Interestingly, Dr. Slezak said that the young girls tend to have a lot more pain than us tough older gals - LOL! As we all know, the pain is temporary and I"m so happy for her. She can look forward to cute bikini tops, strapless dresses and VS bras and not have to worry about a lifetime of headaches, sore neck and shoulders, etc.....
Updated on 21 Feb 2018:
Wow it’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 9 months since my surgery. I finally did the purge of my wardrobe and bra drawer....I’ve settled into a perfect 36D and feel like things are in proportion. I can work out wearing a nice sport bra and actually breathe in deeply without feeling like I’m cinched in. I love that as I buy new clothes I don’t have to stress about how am I going to make that top or that dress work with a bra and I actually have the option of not wearing one - first time since 5th grade!! My scars are almost completely gone at this point and full sensitivity is there. If you’re reading this and may be on the fence about a breast reduction, I can’t recommend it enough - like many, I only regret that I waited so long!
Updated on 31 May 2018:
I wanted to post 1 year post op pictures so that all of you that may be on the fence regarding going forward with a breast reduction or are currently in the healing process can see what to expect at the one year mark. I have fluctuated between a 36C and a 36 D depending on my work out commitment - I absolutely love that I can purchase bras and sports bras for under $15 now! Hands down this has been one of my best decisions ever!