A 19 Year Old's Journey Through Breast Reduction - Chelmsford, MA

For as long as I can remember, i've been a busty gal. It's almost like in the elementary school (yes, elementary school) my breasts appeared overnight, and even in the third grade I was known as "the girl with big boobs". By fifth grade, I was a DD cup. I am now a nineteen year old high school graduate, and I am a 34F. Being 5'2" and 140 pounds, my body has never really been able to support the weight my breasts forced upon me. I've wanted a breast reduction for five years, but every time I brought it up to my doctor, she dismissed what I was saying because I was "too young". After four years of suffering from neck, back, and shoulder pain as well as the emotional burden I was carrying with it all, my doctor finally decided to listen to what I had to say. Not saying she completely agreed with my choice, but she told me to visit a plastic surgeon. No referral, no guidance, just "do it".

Last July, I decided to go to Leahy Clinic in Burlington, MA to see a surgeon and get his input on what I should do. Let me say, this man was entirely unprofessional and I've never felt so uncomfortable in a situation with a person that should be understanding and trusting. My mother was unable to attend the doctors visit with me because she had surgery that day, so I was in this on my own. Not only did the man refuse to measure me, but only decided to make unnecessary comments the entire time. Telling me "have a kid, then come talk to me", and "you'll never have sensation in your nipples after a surgery like that and I know how important that is to silly little teenage girls like YOU". Easy to say I was completely uncomfortable and the man had no idea how to deal with people who look to him for guidance. After that situation (July of 2014), I shoved off how awful I felt about myself until my next yearly doctors appointment in February.

Finally, my doctor noticed that my body wasn't responding well at my February appointment. I had/have no ability to sit up straight (or even remotely straight) without crying from the pain. My shoulder grooving became noticeable to the point where she could see it through my shirt. My health was going downhill because I couldn't exercise from the pain and overall embarrassment. She finally decided to send me to physical therapy for six weeks, which I failed. She then gave me a list of plastic surgeons to choose from for another consultation.

And here we are today, June 25th, 2015. I had my consultation with Dr. Jeffrey Smith today. I have never felt so comfortable with a doctor before! This man made sure I understood the procedure, risks, answered every question I had without hesitation, and made me feel like I could truly trust him. Going into my consultation today, I had my doubts. I didn't want to raise my hopes high to get brought down again with something I've so desperately wanted for so long. He reassured me that I have such a strong case there's hardly any way my insurance could turn this down. We're aiming to take out over 500 grams of fat in each breasts, bringing me down to a large B cup / small C cup. These next few weeks waiting for this letter is going to be the longest weeks of my life, but I'm hoping that it'll all be worth the wait, and I'm so excited to be happy in my own body.

Hey everyone, sorry it's taken me so long to update. We had a bit of trouble with the insurance company, but it's finally been settled! I got the news a few days ago, and I've been over the moon since!

My pre-op appointment will be September 1st, my surgery date will be September 14th, and my post-op and removing drain plugs will be the 17th. I'm so excited that this has all finally come together for me, but I need a bit of support from my breast reduction veterans.

Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to finally get the surgery I've been wanting for three+ years, but ever since I got the news, I've been in a bit of a funk. I feel anxious, in a sense. I keep thinking about what could go wrong and how bad the scarring is going to be and if they don't come out exactly how I want to. I keep thinking that if a guy see's them post-op that he'll think my scars are weird. These thoughts are all strange to me because I am HUGE on telling people that this is THEIR body and to do what THEY want to it. But maybe it's because I've been defined by my breasts for so long that it doesn't really feel like this is my body, but everybody else's too. I don't plan on not going through with the surgery because I know it'll change my life for the positive in more ways than one, but I just need a little support I suppose, because the only support I've really gotten is from this website, not the actual people in my life.

So, my questions are, ways to help scarring? Were you as anxious as I am? Has anybody send negative things about them and if so how did you cope?

I'll update this after my pre-op on the first! Until then, feel free message me or leave a comment! Thank you so much for all of the endless support, I am more grateful than you know!

Today was my pre-op appointment for my surgery! Not much happened but I figured I'd update you all (as promised), and finally get around to uploading pictures!

When I went in today, the nurse called me into the room and just asked me about my allergies and explained the whole process to me. She gave me an after care sheet for the drain plugs and also gave me a list of the side effects to anesthesia and what to do in the case of infection, as well as giving me the three prescriptions I'll need to fill before the surgery date. Short, sweet, and to the point!

Onto the pictures, I only have two. I figured that's all that's really necessary but feel free to let me know if any of you want different angles or anything. I included my breasts as they are now, as well as a picture of one breast held to the side which shows the size I will be (large B-cup, small C-cup)

I plan on updating probably on the thirteenth just to get some support before the big day! Until then feel free to inbox me, as well as email me if you'd like!