46 Years Old, One Grow Child, Constant Back Pain - North Dartmouth, MA

My breasts have always been large and I have been self conscious about them since they sprouted and rapidly grew as a teenager. I am 5'2" and when they were D's when I was in my late teens, early twenties. To everyone else I may have had lovely proportions but they never worked for me. After having and raising my child, gaining weight and losing weight they became very pendulous with my nipples down around my belly button. Before the procedure I was a size 42DD. Not excessively large, but I finally reached the "I can't take the back pain anymore," point. When I went in for a consultation the doctor talked about them ending up around a D cup. I told him I would rather end up around a C cup. I then got approval from the health insurance and met with the doctor again for a pre-op. I again re-iterated my desire to be a C cup.

This doctor does not use drains and I was scheduled for a follow-up the day after surgery where he and the nurse changed my dressings which amounted to a little gauze and a large elastic bandage. There wasn't yet very much drainage and not a lot of swelling. I still had anesthesia in my system and had started vicodin so I was feeling pretty good. All my stitches are internal and the incisions had been covered with surgical glue. I haven't had any problems with my incisions at all. They have been healing very well.

Later that night after my post op appointment is when my breast really began to swell. I wished that I had drains to let it out as in the next day or two I could feel the fluid swishing around under the skin. Really weird. I also felt like some of the drainage went down into my abdomen as I was quite bloated and puffy and some of the bruising moved down the front. I had a lot of bruising on my sides under my arms where the liposuction was.

About the fifth or sixth day I couldn't take just the elastic bandage. I really felt that I needed more support and didn't understand why the doc didn't send me home in a bra. I had to go out and buy a bra and I ended up doing all my own research to figure out what to get. I couldn't find any post op instructions in my paperwork. When I told the nurse at my one week appointment that I had not gotten any post op instructions she maintained that I had and that it had been all verbal and didn't I remember this and that. What the heck! I was on Vicodin, who knows what I could or could not remember but apparently they told me everything I needed to know. Somehow, I just don't believe that. Thank God for the internet and this site.

I went to my two week appointment where my ps was quite pleased with my progress and the results of his work. That made me kind of happy but I did tell him that I felt that I was still too big and that my back still hurt, that the pain had just shifted up higher in my back. I asked him if once all the swelling had gone down and I still thought they were too big what to do next. His first suggestion was losing weight which is a no brainer as I have about forty pounds to lose. We'll see. I am also not entirely excited about the shape that they are currently. They look kind of boxy but from what I've read they should settle into a better shape over time. I am hoping so, because it they don't I am not going to be a happy camper.

I am writing all of this as of my 20th day out and my emotions have been up and down from day to day. Yesterday and the past few days I have been feeling pretty great. I think I did too much yesterday and today I am kind of sore and my mood is definitely way down. I will take a nap and hope to cheer myself up.