Getting Rid of Back Pain - now post-op! - Anchorage, AK

I've had back problems for a couple years - I get muscle spasms in my back that are debilitating. At its worst, I have a hard time doing simple movements like turning my head or moving my arms. And over time, it's been taking less and less to set my back off into a spasm - I used to get a bad one every six months tops, but over the past year or so I've pretty much been constantly juggling ice, pain killers, and muscle relaxers trying to keep the pain manageable.

Visually, I don't think they're bad looking. I still have fullness in my upper chest and my nipples point forward still (kind of down and forward, but you can still see regular skin well under my areola). I think part of the problem is that they're so full and dense - they're fricken heavy! If I lean forward and lift one in my hand, it feels like it's several pounds.

I hadn't really seriously considered breast reduction surgery until last year, when an impatient male doctor told me "the only thing that's going to fix your back is cutting those things off". I didn't appreciate his comment at all, but it did get me thinking. And thinking... and thinking some more.

I finally bit the bullet and set up a couple of consults. I'm one of those people who once I make a decision I want to go through with it as quickly as possible, so I'm likely to go with whichever doctor has the shortest wait time (well, and can work with my insurance company). Not that there are a lot of options in my area to begin with. Here's to hoping I have new boobies for summer :)

I'm also going to be renewing my efforts to lose some more weight. Ideally, I'll be under a BMI of 30 for my consults.

So I'm back to trying to lose weight (down two pounds already since my last post). It's just frustrating because I'll have a really good day and the next day I'll be in so much pain that all I can do is lay down and focus on breathing. And that's on meds - I'm on two pain meds and a muscle relaxer and I still had to cancel my date last night because I was in too much pain to go see a movie.

My doctor gave me a referral to a physical therapist but they don't have any openings until June - like that's going to do me any good now? So I went out of network and made a chiropractor appointment for Monday afternoon. Hopefully they'll be able to do something for me since my usual methods (ice, heat, massage, stretching, and medication) aren't working. My back has been in spasm for over a week now and the constant pain is just about driving me insane.

I'm pretty set on surgery at this point because I just don't want to have to deal with this kind of pain ever again. Making appointments and getting insurance approval take time though so hopefully the chiro can give me some relief in the meantime.

I went to my initial consult this morning. I'd been having doubts and second thoughts about going - what if I'm not a good candidate? What if I have to pay for an appointment and it's all for nothing because my breasts are too small, etc. etc. It all turned out to be goofy thinking since the doctor walked in and there was obviously no question in her mind that I would be a good candidate for surgery - I'm young, healthy, don't smoke, and have clearly disproportionate breasts. Like, duh.

No, really, she was very professional and was willing to answer any of my questions - I didn't really have any that she didn't answer as part of her standard spiel - she uses the anchor incision, uses drains that are removed 2-3 days post op, I'd go home the same day as the surgery, I could go back to office work after about ten days, but should refrain from military training for more like 6 weeks. She showed me a five hundred cc implant and said that that's the approximate amount of tissue that insurance usually requires to be removed, and we both agreed that I had that to spare, easy. She also confirmed what I suspected - that I have very dense, heavy breast tissue, and am not just overloaded with fat in my top half. She also said I have very nice skin and should heal very well.

I looked at a bunch of her before and after photos, and they all looked like boobs to me, and not frankentitties, so I'm pretty comfortable going forward. Now it's just a matter of the office forwarding the necessary paperwork and photos to the insurance company, and waiting to see if I'm approved. They said that usually takes four to six weeks, so back to waiting I go.

In the meantime I'm working with a chiropractor and a personal trainer, so lets see if I can get myself in the best possible shape - whether for surgery, or for life in general if the insurance company decides I should do without it.