Breast Reduction

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maysflower
maysflower Posts: 180
in Health and Weight Loss
My breast reduction surgery is creeping up fast, and I am getting a little nervous. I would love if some women who have had this surgery share their experience. I'd like a better idea of what will happen, especially in the recovery stage.
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Replies

  • mssweetjay
    mssweetjay Posts: 142
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    I had my breast reduction about 5 yrs ago. I stayed at the hospital over night. I had some discomfort when they took the stitches out. Overall I have no regrets except when I gain my weight back I gain some back in my bust which my doctor warn me of that since I am naturally busty. If you have any other questions let me know and good luck!!:smile::smile:
  • ukyo999
    ukyo999 Posts: 26
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    I had this surgery in 2001. It was my first and only surgery. I wish I had done it sooner. The pain was tough when I woke up but they immediately gave me pain meds and I was ok. The hardest part was not being able to do as much so as not to aggravate my sutures. I wish I had done it sooner. Just focus on the awesome bra shopping. It will be much cheaper and a lot more variety. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or add me as a friend.
  • dbra58
    dbra58 Posts: 15 Member
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    I had reduction surgery 13 years ago, and the only regret I have is not doing it years earlier. I'd had enough back and neck problems that insurance deemed it medically necessary, and they paid for it. I went from a 36DDDD to a 36C. No regrets there!
    It was done on an outpatient basis. I remember being in some pain the first day; we lived an hour from the office so they gave me a shot of something for the trip home. The next day I had a reaction to the Lortabs, and just switched to Tylenol, and it was enough. I could not sleep on the waterbed the first few nights, had to camp out on the couch. I was able to take it easy for several days; I remember sleeping a lot. Kind of freaked out when it came time to change the dressings, but that turned out okay too.

    The first time I looked in the mirror after the surgery (dressed) was major. My whole body image was different, and it took some getting used to. After all, I had always been known as the girl with the big boobs! We lived in a small town, and everywhere I went for awhile people actually stopped and stared at me. One man wanted to know if my back felt better yet, as he stared at my chest. Good excuse to check out a woman's boobs, I guess.

    I do have some scars, but that is to be expected. I cannot wear an underwire bra anymore because of the scars underneath my breasts, but since I'm not huge anymore that's OK. And now I can buy pretty bras! This surgery made me feel better physically and mentally. I was unable to do much lifting for awhile, I honestly don't remember how much or how long, but I do know it really didn't interfere with my life. The pain was manageable. I think it is normal to be nervous. As much as I wanted it done I almost backed out, am sooooo glad I didn't.

    Good luck, and please keep us posted. When is the surgery?
  • loki3981
    loki3981 Posts: 249 Member
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    I had this surgery in 2003 and went from a 44H to a 44D. I asked to keep some since I didn't want to loose them all. Looking back I wish I went smaller.
    I was outpatient and the only thing I really remember from the actual procedure was throwing up on the PACU nurses coming out of anesthesia. The surgeon will most likely use something called a Jackson-Pratt drain for each breast. These are drains that are stitched in place so that as you heal, the fluids that need to drain can. You will most likely go home with them, but your nurses should teach you how to empty them and measure the fluids. Honestly, its not a big deal. Those will come out at an office visit about a week after surgery.
    I also had a reaction to the pain meds that I was given, but I was fine on Advil as long as I kept up with taking them regularly. This is my big thing. KEEP TAKING YOUR PAIN MED OF CHOICE EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU ARE HAVING A FINE TIME FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST WEEK!!! I can't stress this enough. I waited too long to take something once and had trouble getting comfortable for hours. Just keep on a med schedule and you'll be fine.
    I have some scarring, but I don't really even notice it anymore. It was one of the best things I've ever done for myself.
  • YRBOO
    YRBOO Posts: 1 Member
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    I had reduction surgery in 2006, I went from a size 40DDD to a nice small 36C. I had a great result, the scars healed great. I was felling fine after 2 days and the bandages came off. I lost weight and went down to a 34B. Pain after the surgery was minimal, the drains were the worst part. I made the mistake of eating chinese food after the surgery and the salt had me swollen twice as bad as the surgery itself. All in all I love the results. even today they are still perfect, nipples point to the sky not the ground. :bigsmile:
  • alhoward8
    alhoward8 Posts: 65
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    I had my reduction 3 1/2 years ago (I was only 27) and haven't looked back since! I went from spilling out of a DD to a full C.

    My surgery was outpatient and I was more nervous about getting the IV in than I was the surgery itself (I hate needles). Before the surgery my biggest problem was that you can't eat/drink anything after midnight and my surgery kept getting pushed back so I was dying to get some water!

    I when I woke up I was in some pain and got sick from the anesthesia (sp?) but they gave med anti-nausea and pain meds and I went back to sleep. LOL I stayed overnight and woke up several times to go to the bathroom because the IV fluids were flushing out my body. I did take one pain pill at some time in the night. The biggest "issue" for me is that a nurse came in overnight and made me do a breathing test to test my lung function to make sure I didn't get pnumonia (rolling eyes). They did it at 3:00 in the morning and wouldn't let me refuse the treatment... Sure enough I had an extra $100 on my statement for the nurse's time and the equipment.

    I have a medium to low pain tolerance, but other than the pain pill in the middle of the night I did not take anything stronger than advil (and to be honest, that was more for my TOM cramping than the pain from surgery). I even took a walk with my Mom around the neighborhood that evening!

    Some random things that you may not have heard before... Caring for the stitches is pretty easy, but gets old. Make sure you have cheap sports bras because you will "seep" fluids for a few days. Immediately post surgery you will be "smaller" than you will end up being. Everything is pulled tight so your cup size is smaller. As you heal your shape will become more normal. As your nerves reconnect you can actually feel them! It feels like a quick bee sting and it will travel up the nerve and then be gone quickly. Doesn't really hurt but it can startle you.

    They said to take 2 weeks off for recovery. If you have a desk job where you don't lift you can probably go back after one week as long as there are no complications.

    Don't stress! If you have any questions feel free to ask!
  • robyng1986
    robyng1986 Posts: 139 Member
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    i am thinking of doing this also... my question is... i want to have kids, will a reduction affect my ability to breastfeed??
  • alhoward8
    alhoward8 Posts: 65
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    i am thinking of doing this also... my question is... i want to have kids, will a reduction affect my ability to breastfeed??

    It depends. They were able to to move my nipples with everything intact, but that doesn't guarantee anything. If you have an extreme case they may have to detact the nipple which means you absolutely can't breastfeed because the connections aren't there any more (which also means no sensation). Nothing iis guaranteed in life, even without the surgery you may not be able to breast feed.

    I struggled with this too... But I finally got tired of the back pain, the weight and not being able to wear a button up shirt. I might have waited if children seemed to be in the immediate future, but since they weren't I decided to have the surgery. Since I'm still not married I'm glad I didn't wait. :)
  • jennajosephine
    jennajosephine Posts: 85 Member
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    I had a breast surgery, and tomorrow is my 6 monthiversary for it! I was all amped before my surgey, and then the week before I was so nervous I almost canceled.
    I am forever grateful I decided to keep my appt and go through with it. it changed my life! not to mention how great my boobs are!

    I was in the hospital for a total of 6 hours. 1 hour pre-op, 2 hours for the actual procedure, and 3 hours in recovery. Went home that day, had kind of a rough night, but i think that's mainly due to the fact that I didn't take the pain meds they wrote me. (I refuse to take anything other than advil). I didn't have draining tubes, or anything like that. it was pretty simple.

    I was out of work for about 3 days, no lifting over 5 pounds or stenous activity for a week.

    And the sutures and embedded, so they disolve after about 6 months!

    All in all, very happy with the surgery, and would recommend it to everyoneeeeee.
  • jennajosephine
    jennajosephine Posts: 85 Member
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    Also, my surgeon informed me it would be nearly impossible for me to ever breast feed. nothing to do with the nipples, more to do with them messing with the glands.
  • lnadeau66
    lnadeau66 Posts: 135 Member
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    Congratulations and try to relax. I had this done at the end of August. I am beyond thrilled with the results, and if I was told that I had to do it all over again to maintain the results, I would do so again tomorrow. I spent 2 nights in the hospital (due to the distance from my home), otherwise it would have been one night. The initial pain was much less than I expected, but the recovery took longer than I planned. When I woke up, they felt like they were on fire, but they immediately gave me some morphine and I was fine. I was walking around on my own within a few hours of the surgery. The next day I was sore but the pain meds worked fine. I was out of work for 3 weeks. If you message me directly, I will share more details. Best of Luck to You! Lynn

    PS: I was told that I would be able to breast feed if I wanted...given that I am 45, and adopted my 2 children, I laughed and said "thanks, but no thanks".
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    I don't have really anything to add to the conversation other than to say that I am jealous...cause my surgery (not planned yet) is to give me boobs since I didn't have much before losing weight, but they are going away fast anyway. :ohwell:
  • nboot1
    nboot1 Posts: 41 Member
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    I had a reduction after my first son, I was about 125lbs and a D cup, I was very happy with the results. I did not think I wanted anymore kids so I was not concerned with being able to brestfeed. However I had 2 more boys in the last 5 years. I did not produce enough milk to feed them and I was very sad about it :( the good news is I still have great perky boobs after 2 pregnancys thanks to the reduction.
  • Nettille
    Nettille Posts: 2
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    Best thing I ever did. Went from a 38H to a 38 (big) C. (I'm back up to a DD from weight gain) The only problem I had was the doctor placed my nipples too high. When my breast reshaped after a couple months, they dropped a little but my nipples DIDNT! It is the worst! Have to be very conscious of the shirts I wear. Other than that, I've never regretted it.
  • dlyeates
    dlyeates Posts: 875 Member
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    I can't wait to have mine. I'm 5'4" and a 38/40 DDD. When I was nursing I was an I or J. When I get down to the weight I want to be and can maintain for a bit I'm soooo having it done. Will also try to get it covered by insurance due to back pain and the need to see a chiropractor for the problems they cause me.

    Totally jealous of all you who have had it done already!!!
  • lnadeau66
    lnadeau66 Posts: 135 Member
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    My insurance covered it (most do), plus I was able to claim it on this short term disability insurance that I've had, so I actually walked away with extra money...not the reason I did it, but talk about win, win, win!
  • Misiaxcore
    Misiaxcore Posts: 659 Member
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    I just had mine done this past February. So not too too long ago! Best decision of my life. I have no regrets at all as of yet. The first month was the worst, but I was able to put my heavy backpack on for school in about 2 weeks. The worst part was the pain from the lift they also do. I was back to swimming in June, although it took awhile for the muscle tissues to get used to that movement again, but it wasn't too too bad. They're still a little sensitive/numb, but I have sensation in the one... the other one not so much. I'm hoping it will slowly return (it appears to be at least). Even the scars aren't too bad. They heal better the younger you are. Even with the negatives, I do not regret this. Wish I got it done sooner. It actually motivated me to lose weight! But even if I was still at my heaviest weight, just having my smaller twins feels soo much better for my back and neck and my self-esteem in general.

    I will also mention that I was so freaked out about getting it done that I cried all the way to the operating table...

    Feel free to message me if you want any more info :) I wrote this kind of fast so it might only make sense to me lol.

    Edit to add: I went home the day of my surgery. I opted to sit in my bed, for the rest of the afternoon, but the next day I was walking around the house and my bf and friend came over to watch movies with me :P I didn't want to move my shoulders around too much because of the pain in my chest muscles, but otherwise I was fine.

    And I'm able to wear wired bras!
  • lbehm
    lbehm Posts: 21 Member
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    Sorry that's not actually true if they remove your nipples it does not mean you cannot breastfeed. I had the surgery about 15 years ago and they did remove them and I have breastfed both my kids. It depends on how well they connect the ducts and how long after your surgery you breastfed (because the tissue, etc grows back). now I do have a lot of problems with blocked ducts and mastitis which I believe is due to that but no one has confirmed that
  • starwhisperer
    starwhisperer Posts: 367
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    I love mine. I didn't have t o stay overnight, and I don't remember the pain being that bad (though I did happily take the meds they gave me... legal high yippee!) Now I can buy bras where ever I want which I never could before.
  • amanda6262005
    amanda6262005 Posts: 10
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    Best thing I ever did! Outpatient surgery and bra shopping less then 2 weeks later! Drain tubes a pain but soooo worth it!

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