27 Years Old, F-G Cup to B-C (I Hope!) - Edmonton, AB

I always thought I wanted to be "voluptuous." Then it happened all of a sudden when I was about 15, and I realized it comes at a cost! For 10+ years now my neck, shoulders, and back have been under constant strain that's caused pain, unpleasant tingling and numbness, and abnormal curvature in my spine/neck. Especially in the summer, the skin between my breasts and underneath them also gets irritated and itchy. Plus I have to wear two bras every day - one underwire/full coverage one for basic support, and another sports-type one to keep them from bouncing around everywhere and causing pain and/or unwanted attention. Currently I wear a 32G or 34F depending on the manufacturer. I'm only about 5'2", so I feel like my bust overwhelms my body, and it's HEAVY. The welts in my shoulders from my bra can attest to that! Exercise is also painful. Even trying to do something like yoga is hard, because the weight of my breasts makes it hard to breathe in so many of the poses.

My main reasons for getting a breast reduction is to reduce my back and skin problems, which is why it's covered by my health care, but I'm also hoping this will be good for my emotional health. My bust size makes me feel very self-conscious. It's hard for me to find clothes I feel comfortable in - either things just don't fit because my proportions are weird, or they show an awkward amount of cleavage, or they look bulky and unflattering because the size that fits my chest is way too big for everything else. I've developed a formula of loose, stretchy dress + big scarf that I feel okay in, but it's hard to find anything outside that "uniform" that works, and summer is always hard.

I finally asked my doctor about my back pain, and whether a breast reduction might help, a little over a year ago. He agreed that it would take the strain off my back and referred me to a plastic surgeon, and I had my consultation with my surgeon a few months later. The surgeon agreed that my breasts are too large and heavy for my body, and estimated that he could remove about 3 lbs altogether. I was initially going to have my surgery in August, but since Dr. Schembri operates on a lot of patients with active breast cancer it got bumped to October to accommodate women who needed help more urgently. I finally go in for my procedure tomorrow.

I'm hoping that they can reduce me to a full B/small C cup, or in other words make my breasts about half the size they are now, but we'll see how much of a reduction is realistic once they get in there. Even a D would be better than what I have now! Overall, as long as I feel physically more comfortable I'll be happy, but I'm also really looking forward to feeling more at ease with my body and having more flexibility in what I can wear... and also being able to find bras that aren't $100 each.

I feel great! I've had almost no pain, my drains are out, and I feel about a hundred times lighter. I held my old bra up to my chest and couldn't believe the difference.

The only less-than-pleasant thing is that everything is very itchy, but I can live with that. I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can get them transferred to my computer.

I find they even look a little bigger in the photos than they do in person... so excited to go pretty bra shopping once they heal up!