23 and 34E NHS Breast Reduction - London, UK

Hi everyone!

I've been looking at this website for some time now while I've gone through my breast reduction process. Its helped me a lot with my anxiety while getting my answers so i hope this review will help someone else too! This is my first time ever writing a blog/writing out the things I've been through so sorry in advance if i ramble! lol...If you just want to know about the NHS side of things feel free to scroll down to the ***** bit :D.

I just want to say I was pretty scared to write this review after seeing the sizes of some women that post ie.34GG, 36KK etc and I wish I could help them myself. Im a breast size 34E with a height of 5ft 2" and have suffered with my appearance since the age of 13. I know my boobs are not the biggest but they definitely don't belong to me. I say that because as my body has developed my personality has faded and I don't relate to the person that looks back at me in the mirror.

Since the age of 13 I have always been conscious about my weight, however I've always had a weight average of about 8 stone, this was always surprising to me as my two sisters weighed in the 9 stones but looked tiny compared to me. In school I was pretty much bullied and harassed everyday once I started developing. Girls wouldn't talk to me because they thought their boyfriends would find me more attractive, boys would poke at my chest, point at me while I walked around school, imitate me by stuffing their shirts, call me names (so you can see why girls weren't too fond of me- lol!). Anywho- that went on for high school, then came sixth form which was pretty much the same but I could hide it better as I could chose my own (baggy) clothes to wear, this had its positives as I felt I could hide myself better but then also left people outside of school thinking I was older than I was! I was about 16-18 years old in sixth form and having random guys shout at me, take the [RS bleep] out of me, follow me home from school/work was so embarrassing.

So around the age of 15 began the eating problems. I won't go into it too much but I've been on every diet out there and tried extreme measures to get my weight down. I became obsessed with slim fast for about a year which totally messed up my stomach (still having tests done to this day), started going through depression because I stopped socialising out of fear of eating and when I did finally start socialising I became bulimic. There hasn't been a day where I haven't said a bad thing about my weight to this day, even my friends are sick of hearing it but they realise that comes with the package of me lol.

SOOO..Now you know a little about my back story hopefully if you're going through the same thing you can realise you're not alone in the way you're feeling.

***************ONTO THE NHS PROCESS!!**************
Ive wanted a breast reduction since I was 15 and was told by my GP I would have to wait till I was older. Ive also had back problems since the age of 13, I was really outgoing and used to love performing, I did things like performing dances for british airways headquarters and taking tap, ballet drama classes. The backache stopped me from doing any of that - again another step in losing my personality. At the age of 16 I had physiotherapy and acupuncture on my back but that didnt help the problem go away, the physic actually told me the problem is chronic and I should look into a breast reduction. At this point I was too embarrassed to go back to my GP. Then by the age of 18 I started getting some serious psychological issues! ignored them and carried on with life which led to my downward spiral in food even more.

I finally went to my GP at the age of 22 years old again to find out if I was eligible. She sent a request off for funding to the PCT which came back as rejected- they wanted to see evidence of physio for the last 6 months. However a few weeks later I received a letter to the hospital asking me to come in for my breast reduction assessment. Super confused and excited at this point as I wasn't sure if I had actually been rejected. I saw a consultant (who wasn't the doctor specified on my letter) and he agreed that I needed the surgery so he referred me to a surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital (beautiful hospital by the way!). He made me an appointment to see him about after 3 months to see what the surgeon had said. 3 months passed and my follow up appointment was due- however, I had still not heard from Charing Cross. I went to my appointment and again saw the consultant who said he would refax the letter for me and again see him in 3 months. 3 months passed again and the same thing happened. I heard nothing but went to him asking why they are not receiving it. He said he would send it again for me and see him in 3 months, meanwhile I was having physiotherapy to cover my back with the PCT- surprise surprise I didnt hear anything again and it was time for another appointment after 3 months. I was booked to see the doctor as per usual but only ever saw her consultant, I spoke to the nurses and told them id like to see the doctor this time as my letter does not seem to reach Charing Cross Hospital.

After waiting hours to see this doctor I was shocked to find how rude and dismissive she was towards me. I sat there crying in front of her while she shot me down and kept cutting me off, she told me there was nothing she could do for me but I insisted she forward the letter for me again to Charing Cross, she said she would but she can't guarantee it (what? lol). This time I was fed up and took matters into my own hands. I made a complaint to the hospital about her (her name was Ms Shah) and I got into contact with her secretaries to push for the letter to be sent. Her secretary was very helpful and sent 2 letters and 2 faxes and kept me informed as to when they received it! FINALLY I got a letter from Charing Cross hospital giving me an appointment with the surgeon. They were super helpful but my appointment was far away. This all started in December 2012 and I saw the surgeon on the 21st of March 2014! I had major anxiety as I already suffer with depression but my partner came with me to my appointment. The surgeon said YES! and I burst into tears, now came the wait for the PCT again. THIS PARTS IMPORTANT-------I was very persistent with the plastic surgery co-ordinater, she was super super helpful! I called her everyday (lol) and she kept on top of my case too and chased the PCT! On the 12th March my funding was approved!!! I was so happy! The PCT did ask for further evidence from me (my BMI, my physio) but once they had received that they approved me! It feels like a dream and I can't believe how lucky i am- I do believe this operation should be available to anyone that needs it and not this silly long process! Now I'm just waiting for the appointment and can't wait! First time Ive smiled in such a long time!

I can't believe how long I've actually written and more so how much I actually had to say about my journey in getting to this point. I've learnt that life grants us challenges to see how bad we really want something and if you can overcome them you will get what you deserve. I know that reading long posts really helped me as it helped pass the sleepless nights but I'm sorry if I bored you!! Please feel free to ask me any questions and I will help the best I can [RS bleep]

I meant physio* not physic!

and i was confirmed by the PCT on 14th March :). Seeing the plastic surgeon was only delayed because of the first hospital and once I saw him the process was quick.

So today I was feeling excited realising it had been a week since I got funding. Seeing as everything else was going fast I thought id call the hospital to find out how long the waiting list is. The surgeon I am due to see mainly deals with cancer and reconstruction of the breast. The plastic surgery co-ordinator advised that id be waiting a while for my treatment. I then asked her if there was anybody else she could recommend and she told me the associate specialists were available and it might be possible to see them in 6-8weeks if I went with one of them!! That would mean the count down could finally begin!! ahhh so excited! The waiting list I'm currently on is 6-9months as I'm not a priority due to it being a routine operation. Anywho I told her I would give her a call on Monday and let her know my decision as I wanted to do my research on them first. Chances are I'm going to do it with an associate specialist though! Theres a lady that has special interest in breast and scar management so I think she would be the one I go with! Has anyone else had this option or had their surgery with an associate specialist rather than a consultant?