Two and a half years post-op

Looking back trying to remember when I first thought about having a breast reduction I cannot pinpoint it exactly, certainly the thought has been popping up regularly for the last 10 years, but somehow I never thought I'd be able to have it done. In Norway where I live you can get the operation covered by the national health, but I never thought I'd qualify. I guess I didn't identify with the ladies I know who had had it done. Well, I only knew the one. My mum's cousin. And she was so large in every possible way I thought that well, if that's what it takes then I'll never qualify, and I just resigned myself to living with the boobs I had.

For most of my adult life I've used the wrong bra size. I suspected as much, and last year I went to a lingerie store in Oslo called Change Lingerie and had a bra fitting. Turns out I'm a EU size 70H or UK size 32FF/G, depending on brand, and not a 36 DD/E as I thought. This explained things. Such as recurring neck and shoulder pains. I changed all my bras, hoping this would sort my sore shoulders and neck, but although it made it slightly better, it didn't fix the problem, so in March this year I decided I'd just wear bras for special occasions and see if it would improve matters. All this time I was regularly seeing a manual therapist to deal with the muscle tensions and pains.

The neck and shoulders feel better, but not OK, and the pains flare up within 3 hours of putting on a bra, so I ditched the bras altogether. And then came the rash... Tiny red dots emerging between the breasts and underneath. And they started itching. At this time I also had a fractured humerus to deal with, so the whole boob itch rash thing took a lower priority until it became so bad I just had to deal with it. I kept the area clean and as dry as possible, but let's face it, at 40 years old and at a 32G size there is sagging, and hard to keep dry. So finally I inspected the area properly. Dear lord, the entire area under the breasts were red, sore and slightly swollen.

This ladies, was when the straw finally broke the camels back. I had just had enough, so I called my GP and had an appointment scheduled. He's a busy man, so he couldn't see me until 2 weeks later. These 2 weeks I tried every thrush and rash cream I could lay my hands on. Some of the itch improved, the worst of the redness subsided, but the rash persisted. The doctor gave me some more ointment and spray for the breasts, and referred me to a private hospital in Oslo called Aleris for a breast reduction consultation.

The consultation is scheduled for December 4th, and at the moment I feel like a bundle of nerves. I've come to realise that this operation is so very important to me, and although rationally I know that I should qualify, I'm just really scared the surgeon will refuse me.

I've also given a lot of thought to what size I would like to be after surgery, and I think a c cup would do nicely, if he can manage it.

I'll add pictures later.