28 year old breast reduction - couldn’t be happier! 34F to 34C

Hey there. 12 days post up and still feeling good. Just a few shooting pains here and there which I’m happy to have because that means the nerves are waking up and reconnecting. Sleeping is getting much better, I can kind of sleep on my side without putting pressure on my side boob but my body is adjusting well to sleeping on my back so I don’t need to sleep on my side at all really - I swear by this pregnancy body pillow (the U shape one!). I drove 1 week post op and it was fine, I just didn’t move my hands above the lower half of the steering wheel and to be honest it was less movement than I’ve been doing around the house and in general so I don’t think it’s a huge deal but I know different Doctors have different opinions of this. Still getting used to the changes of my breasts.. some times I walk by the mirror and have to do a double take bc I can’t believe that’s me, I look so much smaller! Then other days (like today) I question if you can notice a difference. You can for sure, it’s just really hard going from having a massive chest to something smaller.. it takes time to get used to it! They still feel quite swollen so hoping that goes down soon!

I am a 28 year old female from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. I underwent breast reduction surgery 8 days ago on November 28th. Went from a 34F to a 34C. My surgeon was amazing (dr John stein)!! He seriously did such a fantastic job I couldn’t be more impressed.
PRE-OP
I was very hesitant throughout this process. I was scared that I’d miss my old boobs, worried I wouldn’t be able to breast feed, worried I’d regret changing myself, nervous that something would go wrong in the OR, that recovery wouldn’t be worth it and would mess me up. Pretty much everything you could think of I had thought about and stressed over. I spent the past several months watching every YouTube video I could find on this subject and Let me just say that I’m only 1 week post op and this has by far been the best decision I could have ever made for myself. To finally not have to worry about carrying around a heavy chest all day, having back pain that keeps you up at night or hurts you during the day, being limited from your regular activities and sports, or things you do for exercise that make you happy, and especially (I think my number 1 thing) wearing tops, bras, dresses without worrying if it will fit you or if it will make you look like a frumpy sack of potatoes. I am so much more confident and happy already and I haven’t even been able to try on some of my clothes yet.
SURGERY
I got my surgery on a Thursday (4 hours, 1 four in recovery), I stayed overnight which was extremely helpful, if you can request this, do it, it’s nice to have someone monitor your vitals for 24 hrs after a big surgery, keeps your mind at ease so you can rest.
RECOVERY/ AT HOME CARE
My recovery has been going extremely well. There were 2 factors that went into this I believe. Going into surgery I had a really positive outlook on this, I knew it was going to change my life and make things so much easier. I was so excited to not have back pain and to wear clothes I’ve always wanted to wear but never could. I also had a really good support system. My boyfriend who I live with, my parents who are both retired, my brother who has been through multiple surgeries and dealt with hard recoveries, and all my amazing friends, as well as supportive company / job that allowed me to take time off needed.
After my night at the hospital I went to stay with my parents for the first 4 nights (also recommend staying with your parents if you can, or someone who can really take care of you and has the time off work. You will need someone to reach for anything you need, shower you, change and dress you, help you in the bathroom if needed, and make food for you. Because my boyfriend would have only been able to take off a couple days, I thought it made more sense for me to stay with my parents who are both retired and have an extra bedroom for me to sleep in my own bed without potentially being rolled on or hitting my side or anything like that. I also have really crappy sleeps in the bed I share with my bf (it is super old) and leading up the surgery, sleeping was something I was worried about and knew it was going to be an issue because I am a side sleeper. It’s also nice to have your mom around in general for something like this - especially when it comes to cooking :D
The first 2 days I had quite a bit of energy and felt good. I walked around the house a bit and mostly laid and watched tv or had friends over to visit. Day 3 was the worst for me, not bc of breast pain but because I had really bad headaches that whole day off and on. I did have a stool movement in the morning so I believe the headaches were related to then anesthesia coming out of my system, that or my body wasn’t responding well to the dilaudid. Either way, I decided to come off the dilaudid cold turkey on day 3 and ween myself off the Tylenol. I pretty much came off all pain meds on day 4. On day 5 I went back to my apartment and unfortunately my boyfriend hurt his back so we were both limited but luckily I was feeling pretty good and have been moving well since. I’ve been fairly self sufficient and I’m not in any pain when I try and reach for things, just a bit of awkwardness bc you can feel the stitches. Day 6 I got my hair done, then my mom took me to get our groceries And cook some food for us since my bf couldn’t walk (seriously, I was in better condition then him and helping him lol) and then I went to the movies in the evening, day 7 got my nails done and just chilled and cleaned around the house. Today is day 8 and I went for a walk outside and did some Christmas shopping. It was about 3-4 hours in total and by 3 pm was pretty tired so came home and chilled.
SLEEPING
The first 4 nights I slept upright with some pillows behind my back and neck in a comfortable position, pillows on my side and another pillow underneath my knees. I felt this to be quite comfortable given how much I dread sleeping on my back. Once I came back to our apartment and now that we are sharing a bed I switched it up and started sleeping with a big pregnancy body contour pillow (U shape) and have been sleeping with that since. It also protects my sides just Incase anything happens throughout the evening.
PAIN:
I’ve been really surprised with this part of recovery because I expected it to be really bad. The pain has been about a 1 or 2 out of 10. I have barely been in any pain pretty much since I came out of surgery. I felt a bit of burning at first (when I got out of the OR) but it went away quickly after the meds. Ever since then it’s just a weird tight feeling because of the stitches underneath so feels a little weird or uncomfortable, then sometimes I get a mild shooting pain. Very mild.
SENSATION:
Right now I have sensation in both nipples, a little more in my right. And I would say they are both heightened compared to my sensation before. Underneath my breast is numb and a bit on the side going towards the armpit, but today I noticed a bit more sensation so I think over time that will get better. Honestly I would be OK if I never had feelings in my boobs again if it meant keeping these, I am THAT happy with this change. I do not miss my old boobs at all. They served me well but hey, I still have nice full boobs but now they are perky, proportionate to my body, and don’t hurt me!!! Yay!