28-year-old, First Timer...LONG Overdue - Martinez, CA

Hi,

Wow! I did not know such a community existed but boy am I glad I found it. Since middle school, I have been wanting a smaller chest. Here we are, 15 years later, and my day is finally approaching. I cannot believe this is happening! Eeek!!

A little back story... In 2011, I became more vocal with my physician about ongoing back pain. His first suggestion was to stretch before and after exercising, something I'd been doing for years. I brought it up again in 2012 and was given the same advice, then referred to a chiropractor. I knew my size 38F was the underlying reason but my physician did not seem open to the idea of a breast reduction. Fast forward to 2014. In January, during my annual woman's exam, the OB/GYN asked ME if I'd ever considered having the surgery to help with back & should pain and improve posture on my 5'4" frame. To me, it was an answered prayer. He put in a referral to plastics on 1/3/2014 and I was at my consultation appointment on Feb 18th (less than a month ago). It took no time for the surgeon to recommend me for the surgery. Because of his booked schedule, I wouldn't be scheduled for the procedure until early summer. I was a little sadden because I wanted it done STAT but I was still happy just knowing it was going to happen.

Last week, 3 weeks and 1 days after my consultation, I received a call from the Physician's Assistant and she informed that they had a last minute opening in OR for the NEXT week, 3/20/2014. Without giving it a second thought, I immediately accepted the date. Luckily, I decided to take online classes for grad school this session, so I did not have to get time off work/school approved. What I did not factor in was childcare for my 5-year-old [LOL...don't judge me] or help for myself during the first week. Thankfully, he has amazing grandparents. PawPaw will be caring for him upstairs and granny, who is an RN, will be the driver and helping me downstairs.

My pre-op was the day after I got "the call" (3/13/2014). Everything went well. Now, I am impatiently waiting on Thursday, March 20th. I have to be at the hospital at 0700 and the surgery is scheduled for 0800. Everything is happening so fast...but I am honestly okay with it. I'll admit, I am nervous. This will be my first time "going under", so the butterflies are there. I'm hoping she stays gone but I do believe "Mother Nature" will show up either the day before or the day of. I've done my own research on recovery tips and just trying to learn as much as I can on my own about the surgery and aftercare.

FOUR DAYS LEFT!!!! Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated...

[I will do an update at least two more times, providing before pictures, before "the day".]

Guess what day it is? My last day walking around with a 38F chest on my 5'4" frame! I'm so excited about tomorrow's procedure...but deathly terrified at the same time.

I just received my "courtesy reminder" call and asked final questions about what I should do to be prepared for tomorrow. Now, I'm simply counting down the hours... This time tomorrow, I will likely be in terrible pain but on the road to being FREE of back/shoulder/neck pain.

As promised, I added my "before" pics. Sorry about the closeup shots. I had to take the photos myself. Somewhat insecure about the way they look now but knowing this is the last day offers some comfort. As soon as I am authorized to take off the dressings, I will post "After" photos.

WISH ME LUCK!! :-)

Good morning, all! Yesterday was a surgery day and boy was a TERRIFIED! I'll try to give a quick recap...

7AM - I checked in at the hospital. The RN met with my driver and within twenty minutes, I was in the back, undressed, getting my IV started.

7:45AM - Met with my surgeon (and everyone else on the team) and did a recap of my consultation. We discussed size, recovery, etc. I was re-measured and marked, photos were taken.

8:15AM - I entered Operating Room 1. I laid on the bed, got all of those wires untangled, and....I HAVEN'T THE SLIGHTEST CLUE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

1PM - I woke up in Recovery. I didn't remember falling asleep, being wheeled out of the OR, or anything. As soon as I woke up, I started to feel pain (although minimal at the time). I was told the surgery took roughly 3 hours and they removed FIVE POUNDS of "boobage"; 2.5lbs from each breast. My heart rate was a bit elevated, so I stayed in Recovery a little longer than normal. I was given morphine for the pain...it did NOT help. After so long, I was ready to go.

2:30PM - I exited the hospital.

Yesteday afternoon/evening was pretty rough. The pain did not subside until after dark, when I took my third dosage of pain meds. I did not receive a surgical bra (something the RN said I would get over the phone days before). I do; however, have the binder, so everything is snug fitted right now. I also did not get the drains but did have some bleeding on each side, which the binder caught. My right breast had/has more swelling than the left. I have yet to take off the binder but I did peep down inside and saw nipples...in the proper place! My stitches will dissolve on their own, so I don't have to worry about getitng those taken out. As for food, I had vegetable soup for a late lunch and homemade potato soup for dinner. I even had a small scoop of mashed potatoes and a little piece of steak. I did not sleep as well as I thought I would last night. I dozed off a million times but woke right back up soon after. I was told it is just the anesthesia wearing off. It's supposed to rain today and rainy weather always relaxes me. Hopefully it'll be just what I need to get some rest. Umm...I'm sure I'm missing something but that's an overall recap of yesterday.

TODAY - I was supposed to take my pain meds at 3AM but waited until 5AM when it was time for my son's dad to get up for work. I've only had some yogurt and a few crackers to eat. Not because I can't hold anything down, I'm just not very hungry. I've been thirsty more than anything. My pain level is about a 2, so I'm doing well. I keep having these sharp pains (feels like around my areola) every so often. IT SUCKS! I've had a little itching but nothing too crazy. On the positive side, I have NO back pain. It was instant relief. All in all, I'm very happy with my decision thus far and I highly doubt that will change. First follow up appt is next Wednesday.

When I take the binder off today, I will upload a few pics. In the mean time, if anyone has recovery tips/advice she'd like to share, I'd gladly accept it.