56 Years Old, 5'10", 165 Lbs., 2 Grown Children, 36G to ???

Good morning to everyone!! Just found out that my insurance approved my surgery and it's scheduled for September 6th!! I'm so excited!!! I turned in a time off notice at work yesterday that I'll be out for 'surgery' for at least a week and a half. Although my boss knows about the surgery, I don't think I'm up for announcing it to the whole office (which is heavily weighted with men). I'm going to need documentation from my surgeon to turn in to HR. Sigh. Which worries me slightly as I know the HR gal will try to figure out what I'm having done. :)

My journey to this point: Like many of you, I've always been the girl with 'the boobs.' I was very active in high school and college (swimmer) and trying to rein in and hide 'the girls' was impossible. As I've gotten older, the associated aches and pains have worsened. Shoulder pain and grooving, neck pain and the associated headaches, and now, a herniated thoracic disk right where my bra connects in the back. I joke with my small busted friends that they don't understand the issues with laying in bed and pulling the girls up and out of my armpits when I read at night!

I talked to my husband and few months back and he said that if we needed to pay for a reduction we would. I first went to a well known doctor in the area, and the quote was $19,000.00. And no, that's not a typo! I practically fell on the floor, but beloved hubby knows how important this is to me, and said, 'just do it.' When a gal from the first doctor's office called me a couple of days later and asked about my insurance, the lights went on in my head. I never realized that insurance might cover the cost of a reduction!! (Yes, silly me). Doc #1's office told me that with my history of back pain, etc. that my insurance might cover it, although I knew right away that with our HMO, it was unlikely that they'd cover surgery specifically with Doc #1. So I made an appointment with my primary care doctor (PCP), and he agreed that yes, I have great insurance, with a zero surgical copay, and that I was a great candidate for a reduction. I had to stay 'in network' and my PCP heartily recommended one specific doctor and raved about his work. I've never had a bad referral from my PCP (I've been his patient for 29 years), so I patiently waited about a week for the referral to see Doc #2. I received my referral in the mail and got a phone call from Doc #2's office almost the same day. Here comes the bad news; I am not a patient gal, and the wait for the consult was two and a half months!! But, I settled in for the wait.

Fast forward; had the consult, loved Dr. E and his staff, and waited patiently for my PCP and Dr. E to submit everything to my insurance. I was told it would be about three weeks. More waiting. Sigh...Imagine my surprise when I got a call from Dr. E's office telling me that the surgery was approved and they wanted to schedule surgery!

Surgery's in 6 1/2 weeks and I can't wait! Lots to do before then. Already had a routine mammogram in February, need to get blood work, and a couple more visits / consults with Dr. E and his awesome staff.

Stay tuned!

Thought I'd add in a few more pictures to more fully document (for myself!) my pre-surgery shape and size...

Had a horrible dream the other night. I dreamt that the doctor called me to tell me they 'made a mistake' and that my surgery wasn't approved after all. I was so upset in my dream that when I woke up my eyes were teary and my heart was racing!!

Today though, I had an appt at my primary care doctor's office to get my pre-op blood work and EKG done. I didn't realize I'd need an EKG. Is that standard? Because of my age maybe? I already had a mammogram in February, so thank goodness I don't need to get that done again! Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at my PS's office to watch an 'interactive video' on the procedure. No idea what that will be like! Hoping it's not too graphic? Then next week I meet again with the PS. I think the last appt is to discuss size, shape, my expectations? I'm so ready for this I can hardly wait! I think I need to take some more pre-op pics for myself. How I look in some of my clothing vs how I'll look after surgery. I'll update after my appt tomorrow...