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It’s about time. Hi Real Self. I am 53 years...

It’s about time.
Hi Real Self. I am 53 years old. I don’t know what I would do without Real Self. I was a candidate for breast reduction, surgery date on 12/05/13. I have read many stories on this site for years, and inspired by them. I especially enjoyed the review by the Hawkeye Journey.

The only question I have is why did I wait so late? IDK. It is what it is, and every woman who has a problem with oversized breasts, will deal with it based on their own life situation. All I know is that it's about time.

I wanted to tell my story. Like many women, in grade school I was the only kid with juggas ([RS bleep], boobs). Don’t remember ever being flat. On top of that, I had a severe case of eczema, so I had juggas with rash. Not funny in grade school! I was locked in the ball room closet . . . that’s another story . . .
Anyhow, in my teens I wasn’t so big, but bigger. My mom was only 15 years older than me, so at age 13, she was 28. She was a perfect 32B, and I was about a 32C—people used to think we were sisters. In my late teens, I was even bigger, probably about a 34DD. My mom thought it was funny that her girls breasts were bigger than hers. Back then, I recall being fitted in those ugly heavy duty pointed bras with the thick straps. (In a school uniform, can you imagine what I looked like?) She would say where did you guys (referring to me and my sisters) get those big ol jugs from—wish I had some!—and she did everything in her power to make her itsy bitsy titsies bigger. She said the only time she had decent size titsies was when she was pregnant, and then oops, after the baby—her titsies when right back to a B (a low B at that).

In my adolescence around 12, I was the only one in 6th grader with boobs, and all the boys were like magnets. The only problem was, I didn’t like it—it was annoying, and often I cried or hid behind extra large blouses. As a young teen, none of the cute shirts fit, and I lived in smock tops. Once I spilled some paint thinner on my boobs, and thought I would lose them—it burnt like hell, through the soft tissue, and I was followed to make sure everything was okay. This was one period during m y life, where I had to look at my juggas everyday—inspect and examine. The only thing I noticed was that my skin was so light, you could see veins peeping through. I used to say to myself, these things are huge! There were women-women who probably would have dreamed of my size—but me, I tried everything to hide them, simply because they DIDN’T FIT.
Let’s fast forward. In my young adult, I was about a 34DDD. I had a small frame and was about 120—so even a blind man could see them! I LOOKED LIKE I WAS CARRYING A SHELF. I didn’t need push up bras. I was always hanging out somewhere, and flopping around at home, cause I couldn’t stand wearing those too tight bras, and wires that cut under your boobs. Mind you MY JUGGAS ARE NOT FLAT, in fact I’ve been told (back in the day), some women wouldn’t mind trading lol! Right.

Now, don’t get it twisted, my baby’s poppa didn’t mind at all, but one slap in the face you’re flat out knocked out lol!

Fast forward, four live births—juggas were so big filled with milk—OMG! They must have held a gallon each lol! On baby #3, he was a preemie—poor baby, the juggas literally covered his face, so I had to pump.
Fast forward, menopause—OMG! I think my juggas blew up some more. Can’t understand why, but it is what it is.

Fast forward, somewhere in between there. My little sister broke out one day out of the blue, and said she had a breast reduction. Mind you, she didn’t tell nobody. She lifted up her top and I was shocked. She didn’t want anyone to be worried or question her decision. I thought how chickn—sht. Oh well, to each her own. She was now about a small C. She said to me, big sis you ought to get one, I’m sure your insurance will approve it. Before the breast reduction, my sister’s boobs were long—one way longer than the other. She had lost a ton of weight, which caused her breasts to be out of proportion, and no matter how hard she tried, bras just never fit right. (She had the nerve to give me some of her left over bras LOL!.)

Story Continues: How it all started

In 2008, I met with a new physician, who was an internal medicine doctor. When she opened my gown, she sat there for a few seconds, looked down, looked up and said I’m referring you for a reduction. I said jeesh doc, were you going to ask me? What size are you, she said? I replied I don’t know. She said quite frankly, if you don’t do a breast reduction, you will have problems (I knew this, but in the past doctors had never said anything, and I never thought about asking). We guestimated my size was about a 36F or G. (YOU WILL NEVER FIND THIS SIZE ON A SHELF. I NEVER BOTHERED TO FIND OUT, I JUST DEALT WITH SQUEEZING INTO BRAS THAT I KNEW DARN WELL DIDN’T FIT. CAN YOU IMAGINE?)
Mind you, my doctor was Asian, who wore about a size of a smidgen 2, with probably a – A cup! This started on my road to jugga reduction. At my first appointment at Kaiser, I had yes—another Asian doctor—young, spry, but very professional. I took my husband with me. The doctor had me undress and stand in front of the mirror, turn to the left, right, hands up, bend down, lean back, sit up, sit back, poked, picked up the juggas, balanced and drew on them with a marker. He said there is no doubt that this has already affected your posture, including your neck, shoulders, and back. The doctor asked do you want a reduction? While my poppa sat there, he just sort of stared at the doctor, stared at me, and had no comment. He knew that I was looking for an answer from him. I said sure! He said, first I think you should lose about 30lbs first (and yes, I was about 50lbs overweight. I weighed about 190, 5’6” 8o/! ) He said if you don’t lose, then if you are reduced, you will not be happy. In the mandatory class there were women say 3 times bigger than me—wow. One woman had to sit her breasts on top of the table we were sitting at. Her problem though, was no different from mine.
My doctor supported the weight loss first. He said see me in six months. Six months later, guess what? I gained. Okay—six months later, still no loss. Six more months later, my youngest was graduating from high school, and going away for college. While there, we found out there was no Kaiser, so I had to change insurances that October. I thought to myself, so much for the reduction. Actually I had dragged it on so long, well it was my fault the reduction never happened. I said oh well, I will work on some other stuff first.
A few months later after I got the new insurance in January 2013, I found out after a ton of tests, I have hyperthyroidism—WTF! Well by this time I was full throttle in being disgusted with my weight and had tackled the Insanity program and lost about 25lbs! I was feeling overwhelmed and sorry for myself, and spent lots of time finding more about the disease. I was determined to tackle this problem and not let it consume my peace of mind, but follow all doctors orders, and at the same time try to eat right and do as much exercise that I can. Yes! Fast forward, three months ago (August – September 2013), docs took me off exercise, until I got back on board with the thyroid. The endocrinologist said basically my body already works out about three times the average heart rate of normal people, without working out—yeah right—not necessarily weight loss. (And yes, I was still overweight. Some people with hyperthyroidism do not necessarily lose weight, but their vitals are overworked. It will sometimes affect the eye muscles where they eyes pop out—this had not affected mine though, thank goodness.)
In the meantime, I had come across a female technician who was doing my yearly mammogram. She said “Honey have you ever thought about a breast reduction.” Sounded familiar. So I went back to my regular doctor at the new insurance medical group, and openly asked for a breast reduction. The nurse said yeah, I was gonna ask that—she told me stories about her sister who was an F, who had a reduction and testified how happy she was. At that moment, the nurses seemed thrilled, and broke out with a camera, and took photos. Boy they worked quick. They asked me questions about what kind of problems was I having. Ladies, give me some feedback. What other problems were you having? Here are some for starters:
1. Muscle pulling in the neck
2. Muscle pulling in the back
3. Slouching posture
4. Problem with Self esteem (for some people)
5. Forget about cute tops—they didn’t button, or if they did button, the buttons were stretched open, and the buttons did close, the top was like 2 x bigger than my size.
6. Chafing under the breasts and odor

Fast forward.

Insurance Approval

A few weeks later in October 2013 I received insurance approval. I was to have my first appointment with Dr. Elias, Riverside Medical Group, who specialized in Breast Reduction. I met her in group with several other women, for a required class. Dr. Elias was so cute and petite, obviously keen on women’s health. She said many women who undergo breast reduction while under her care, didn’t even require pain meds. (My sister said yeah right, cause she was down and out for weeks in pain.) Around that time, I met Dr. Elias for an individual consultation, and at that time, she named my juggas “puppies” and “twins.” When she lifted them, she said these are some heavy puppies. She said I know you can’t wait to get rid of these twins, they’ve been around too long! She assured me that I would feel way better with a reduction. She asked me what size would I like to be. I said without hesitation “ a small C.”

Provider Review

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
7117 Brockton Avenue, Riverside, California
Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

Dr. Elias told me early on she had been doing these type of surgeries for about 26 years. Dr. Elias is a Christian. She said she is very dedicated to women's health. She is also on the faculty from what I understand at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California. She's great, but post op I am feeling uneasy about the appearance of the BR. We will see.