27 in NYC - Wonderful Life Changing Experience! - New York, NY

I finally joined realself to post my experiences and be part of the community! Reading everyone's experiences here has really helped me in my decision making process and kept me mindful to manage my expectations of the surgery and healing process.

I'm currently a 34F/G (I think) squeezing in to a 34DDD because I will NOT buy another bra until after the surgery. I've always been the girl with the big ol' [RS bleep]. I thought about a reduction when I was younger, but never thought it was something I'd actually do. My large breasts actually have nice shape, not too saggy and nipples that look somewhat at attention. I sucked it up and lived as the busty girl through high school, college, and entering the real world, though I was never satisfied with how large and limiting my breasts were.

I grew a cup size or two within the past few years, and those extra letters have begun to take a huge toll on my physical comfort and health. My neck muscles are always pulling and achy, I can't stand up straight, and my shoulders KILL after a day of doing anything. But most bothersome were the breathing issues. I developed some difficulty taking a satisfying deep breath and started yawning a lot, which is the body's effort to bring in more oxygen. I visited my PCP and urgent care centers, had them listen to my lung sounds and take X-rays, but there was no apparent reason for my breathing troubles. I started researching and all of a sudden things just came together with all my symptoms, and I knew a breast reduction would benefit me immensely.

I have terrible insurance, basically only useful to keep me alive if I get hit by a car or fall on the subway tracks. To have a reduction covered by insurance, I would have to go to 6+ weeks of physical therapy (at a high copay or my own cost) then submit my info for insurance approval. Then they wouldn't even pay out until after my surgery, at which point they could change their mind, which would leave me with the bill anyway. I decided to take the less stressful route and pay out of pocket for the procedure, saving time and potentially money. I now have a surgery date scheduled instead of going to PT and I'm on the road to surgery with happy vibes instead of stressing about insurance.

I had my pre-op appointment today, where the Dr. took photos and explained drain maintenance to me. He's planning to use a short scar/lollipop technique with drains. I hope to get down to a large B/small C when all is said and done, but I will be happy with most anything to get this weight off my chest (ha!).

I went for my pre-surgery blood testing this morning. I haven't had a great history of remaining conscious during needle stuff, but I played it cool and made it through without incident! I scheduled the appointment at Quest Diagnostics on West 14th and it was definitely a good experience (as positive as a blood draw can be). After that we went to Guitar Center and the BF got some music mixing things, then we went to our storage unit in Hell's Kitchen to pick up some extra pillows to prop me up in bed. I've read other reviews where people rent recliners and that sounds like a brilliant idea, but 1) we live in 330 sq feet and 2) we live on the 4th floor of a walk up. So we will prop the hell out of me with pillows.

There are a few links I'd like to share. The first is a write up of postoperative emotions that will become my mantra in the weeks to come: http://www.breastreduction4you.com/breast-reduction-recovery/postopemotions_print.htm. The site is a little hokey, but that list will be a great resource for me to keep myself in check and not get buried in all the normal emotions that might overwhelm me. It's like a written post-op contract with myself. I also gave the link to my BF so he can help me if I veer off track of maintaining a positive attitude (i.e. if/when I become a raging [RS bleep] post-op).

The second link is for scar healing. I figure it can't hurt to use a little extra effort to help the scars fade. I was researching the other day and found this link, on a FTM trans surgery site of all places: http://transguys.com/features/scar-care#preopmassage. The research and hard work put into this article is tremendous and would benefit anyone interested in diminishing the appearance of scars. Based on this, and a little further research to verify some information, I plan on using a combination of rose hip seed oil and tamanu oil once I am given to OK by my Dr. to begin massaging the incision sites. I've read that these oils are somewhat magical elixirs and are commonly used in beauty regimens. So maybe I will pamper the rest of my body, not only my scars, and I will glide through this experience and emerge a beautiful glowing dewy butterfly!

I promise to post before photos soon! The big boobies will only be around for a little over a week now. It I'll be sure to get those pics up.

I finally had a day where I wasn't so exhausted after coming home from work! This heat and humidity has been a drain on my energy lately. It's supposed to storm for the next few days, so maybe it'll be a nice dry heat by my surgery day (Monday!!????)

Long awaited, here are the girls in all their glory! My left is larger than my right, I'm not sure by how much. I joke that I named them Pinky and The Brain, because they're trying to take over the world!

These were not taken in a mirror, so for reference the tummy tattoo is on my right side and the arm tattoo is on my left.