Breast reduction 26yo: from 36GG to 36B

The surgery is just a few days away and I couldn’t be more excited!! I’ll finally feel good in my own body :3

I’ve always resented my boobs for being too large for my frame. As a teen I developed eating disorders and later I was told those derived from my breast complex. But no matter how skinny I got the breasts would never be proportionate to my frame. I’ve always compressed my breasts as much as possible. Wore large clothes and tried desperately to pass unnoticed. I remember using a bikini under sports bras to make them look smaller and ending up with red burn marks on my skin because of how tight it was around my neck. The awful back pain that came with it. The fact that I couldn’t wear nice clothes like all my friends or that I stopped going to the beach that was my fave thing to do in the whole world. My lack of self-esteem, anxiety, depression and self-loath come from growing up with this part of me that doesn’t feel right. That brings unwanted attention, that makes other women resenting my 13yo self because of something that I can’t control. That makes much older men look at me like I’m a pervert. Or men my age to objectify me or literally reducing me to this part of my body. And I know they’re trash and they’re the ones in need of change. I know all that but I still struggle to undress in front of a mirror. The only reason I managed to take the pre-op photos is because I know they’ll be smaller soon and this is my last goodbye to them. I’m not angry at my boobs I don’t hate them anymore. I appreciate that they’re healthy and functional and all that jazz. I’m grateful I can improve them. I’m truly so happy :’)

Just uploaded pics of me with my everyday 32GG bra. It will be interesting to see the after pictures with it x)
It’s the day before the surgery and the doc told me to eat light food until midnight. To carefully shave my legs and wash with an anti-septic lotion, that I’m supposed to use in tomorrow’s morning shower as well. Mainly on the chest area. Tomorrow morning I’m supposed to have breakfast until 8am and after that I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything before the surgery. I’m supposed to take a robe to the hospital as well.
I’m so excited! Already picked comfy clothes to go to the hospital tomorrow and I just can’t wait! I’ve waited for this for so long that I don’t even know what to do on these last few hours. All I can think about it waking up after the surgery. Like that’s the one bit making me anxious but I know that I’ll get over it anyway and I can always ask the nurses and docs for assistance. I was never under general anesthesia and I’ve read some your stories that got me slightly worried but just like many of you wrote, the effects go away and you start to feel like yourself again.
I’ll keep you updated. Wish me luck!

Guys, I did it!!! I’m shook I’m so shook. I can’t believe I did it I spent so much time wanting and fearing this that I didn’t think I could do it. I’m so proud of myself and so grateful that I finally got the chance.
Ok. So bear in mind this was my very ever first surgery or medical procedure. I had never been through something even remotely similar. The day of surgery started with an early breakfast at 8am because the doctor explicitly told me not to eat or drink from 8am until the surgery.. that was around 3pm. I spent the whole morning cool, getting ready and preparing my post-op hospital bag. I already knew I had to spend the night at the hospital and would only come home the afternoon after the op.
In my op bag I included:
- a loose fitting pajamas with buttons on the front for easy access;
- clean panties,
- clean socks,
- a black bra the doctor asked me to buy specially for this, from Triumph, the model triaction that also opens in the front (can also be seen in the pics)
- toothbrush
- toilet wet wipes to get extra clean when needing to pee or poop
I arrived to the hospital at 12:30pm with my mum. They told me to go with someone and leave their emergency contact. Once we got there we waited for the surgeon who looked at all my previous exams and said everything was fine that I could do the op. After paying for the surgery (a total cost of 4600€ - yikes!) a nice nurse came get us at the reception and took us to the 3rd floor where I was showed the room where I was going to sleep in. I shared it with an older lady who had a column surgery and poor thing was really in pain. So after barely having time to settle in I was asked to change into the hospital surgery clothes, that consisted in this paper-y texture night gown and panties and slippers and hair net. Then the nurses told me to get into bed and they covered me with the blankets while a man wheeled the bed to the lift because the surgery was 3 levels underneath. This was slightly scary because I had no idea what the procedure was and because they asked me to leave my glasses in my room. And I can’t see [RS bleep] without my glasses which scares me but at the same time can be a blessing I guess because I couldn’t see the cutting tools in the op room. The doctor who is responsible about the anesthesia came talk to me and my mum upstairs and the nurse registered my weight so he knew how much to give me to sleep. After wheeling me downstairs they put the IV thingy in my arm. I waited like 20 minutes until the surgeon came down stairs and asked me to stand up. She is so nice I’m really happy I picked her because she always made sure I felt comfortable mainly after I told her that I was a bit anxious about the whole thing. She and her medical assistant wrote on my chest with a purple marker and used a measuring tape. I wanted to laugh the whole time because I am ticklish as hell and because they looked like they were measuring the windows for new curtains or something. They were moving so fast around me. After measurements the doctor said I had asymmetrical breasts and shoulders probably because of the breasts as well. After that was done I was put into bed again and wheeled until the op room. My heart was beating fast by then. They asked me to change beds into a smaller and harder one but still with the hospital night gown. Last thing I remember was moving beds and taking 2 breaths.
WAKING UP
So this is still fuzzy in my head but as soon as I woke up I didn’t fully realize what was going on but I didn’t really care that much either because I was still half asleep from anesthesia. I know they took me to a recovering room with nurses that look after you until you’re completely out of the general anesthesia so they can send you to your room. It was only me in that room and the nurses. I couldn’t see [RS bleep] (because no glasses) but I could hear them very well. The first thing I remember is the nurse speaking to me loudly because I was probably in the middle of waking up from the anesthesia. She said with a cheerful tone “It’s done already, it’s all done. It went very well you just need to rest now.” After that I heard them talking to other nurses explaining what I had done and what was happening. She said the surgeon removed 390 grams (in Kgs) from my right breast and 200-and-something from my left one. That it all went according to plan but I had threw up the general anesthesia after the op. Which is fine but that’s when I realized I had a weird taste in my mouth. I asked them to drink water or clean my mouth because the taste of the anesthesia was disgusting. She said I couldn’t drink until 11pm and it was only 8pm. But she brought a little cup of water and used this spongy thingy to water my lips and tongue and I swear to god that helped so much. I know realize I was there for like 3 hours because they were slowly giving me pain meds through the IV with nauseous meds and they needed to give me it slowly so I wouldn’t vomit again. Looking back, that was the only annoying thing. Because I was clearly in pain but still not fully aware of how much because I was till sleepy from the general anesthesia. Before I knew it I started to feel warmth and a state of calm spreading throughout my body and that’s when I realize the drugs were kicking in. I fell asleep again but noticed they wheeled me back to my room because apparently I was much better. I arrived to my room at 9:30 approximately and the nurses put a control remote in my hand so if there was anything I needed I should call them. I asked for water like 3 times until they allowed me to drink a hot tea with sugar around 11:30pm. That tea tasted amazing and I drank the whole thing and felt much better because I hadn’t eat or drunk anything since 8am and had threw up the anesthesia so I was really craving some sort of nutrients. Although I should point out they gave me an IV bag that probably helped make me feel 140% better.
Things I wasn’t expecting but were surprisingly easy:
-having to pee laying down with the help of the nurse in a tiny metal box thingie that I think it’s called a bedpan. I peed like 5 or 6 times while I was in bed but it all went smoothly. I always asked the nurse to pee and they very calmly and friendly brought the bedpan thingy that they helped put under my butt and told me to open my legs slightly. The blankets over my knees so I felt like I had privacy and was in control of the process. She handed me tissues and I managed to clean myself surprised that I had the mobility.
- I wasn’t expecting to wake up feeling worst about the anesthesia than the surgery. I was expecting to have some breast pain while waking up but I guess my body got used to the soreness in that part very fast because I was more bothered by the nauseous. I quickly realized I couldn’t use my arms for hold or to pull me up from the bed. And the nurses told me I had to use my legs and abs to move around and could only stay facing up with torso 35° from the bed. That’s how I’ve been sleeping since the surgery. With a bunch of pillows to create the 35° angle on my back.
- slept nearly all night and felt much better each second. I was feeling more and more like myself. The nauseous went completely away after breakfast the day after. Hot tea and toast with butter. And by lunch I was already craving food. The nurses told me I was looking better and better, she said I was very pale when they brought me from recovering room but that now I had nice colors showing.
The doctor came to see me that morning and told everything went just fine and she changed the breast dressing. I hadn’t even realized I was wearing the drains. She and the nurse put the post-op bra on me and I felt immediately better. It turns out it helps having a slightly compressed chest.
The nurses helped me getting up after lunch and clean myself in the toilet. I was lowkey scared I would faint at first because they say the first time you get up after anesthesia is complicated. The nurse helped me though and I took deep breaths and did everything incredibly slowly but efficiently. Even brushed my teeth with my electrical toothbrush. They told me I couldn’t fold my torso forward. I had to use legs muscle to sit and lay down and the abs. It was easy but older women probably struggle a bit more to do everyday chores because you really have to activate your other muscles so that the ones behind your breasts don’t.