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Tomorrow I'm getting breast reduction/lift surgery, hoping to go from about a 36-38DDD to B-C cup. Other stats: first time with plastic surgery, over 50yrs old, just under 5'2", approx 160lbs, planning to lose about 30lbs in the future-- maybe will lose 5lbs from the surgery?
Feeling surprisingly calm, what happens will happen, got a very highly qualified surgeon (happy to find a female surgeon) who requires procedure take place at hospital with overnight stay for observation.
I know there's another "big boobs are a pain" thread here but wanted to start my own. Anyone else go thru this procedure recently? Positive & negative outcomes? Any advise for me? what you wished you had known beforehand? I'm a little worried about scarring because I usually don't heal well but thrilled about getting "lifted" & firm for the first time since I was 12 yrs old!
Yes, you heard that right, after being the only girl in my 4th grade with C-cup boobs (probably equivalent to 34C bra size at that time), I kept growing & increasing to a D cup by 12yrs old!!! So by 7th grade, my boobs were already sagging with numerous stretch marks. From my adult perspective, it seems that the damage to my body by age 13 was similar to what adult women experience from numerous bouts of pregnancy/breast feeding, years of weight gain/loss, or from aging-- seems like my body was already "worn-out" by 13yrs old. Instead of looking like a cute young teenager, my body more resembled that of many women in their 40s or older: damaged & covered with stretch marks, often caused by being pregnant. Even now, in my early 50s, my body looks like it's been thru 10 pregnancies, but I've NEVER been pregnant & don't have any kids.
Very depressing when I remember that at the age when other girls were eagerly waiting for their breasts to develop, I was already stretched out of shape, couldn't wear cute summer tops or swimsuits with spaghetti straps because of how thick my bra straps were--had to wear ugly matronly bras (this was decades ago before better bra designs.)
In addition, my whole childhood I was always overweight, but probably not really that much from ages 10 - 12 because I had an early "growth spurt" from 4th - 5th grade. Was already 5ft tall in 4th grade-- taller than most of my classmates, considered to be one of the "tall" girls at that time. But then I reached my full adult height of only 5'2" after gaining 2 inches between 6th & 7th grade, so went back to being one of the short ones. (Talk about an "Alice in Wonderland" type of transformation!) And I've been short, top-heavy (busty, buxomy, etc) & out of proportion ever since then.
No matter how much weight I've lost in the past, from the 180s down to my all-time adult low of 115lbs (for about a week in Nov of 2001!), my breasts were always saggy & too big & heavy for my frame. So now I'm looking forward to finally being smaller & firm on top for the first time in my adult life. Hey, guess I needed to vent about all this the day before my breat reduction surgery. I think I have realistic expectations & hoping for the best. Wish me luck!
Welcome to the breast reduction crowd!! I had mine December 1st and I'm SO happy I did it. I have not been without complications, though, and I will say that it was more painful (for me) than I expected. Both the people I knew who had had it done had no pain (other than expected surgical pain) and were back to normal in days. So that's what I was expecting. For some reason, probably because I was too active early on, I developed a hematoma in my left breast. The hematoma (basically a collection of blood below the surface of the skin) caused swelling which in turn caused lots of pain. About 10 days ago, it began draining, first with a flood and now twice a day with a little bit. That's not painful at all (where it's emerging is basically numb) and the real pain ended when the draining started. So while the draining is a pain in the butt, it has helped with the pain. I think somewhere between 5 and 10% of people get hematomas.
Please plan to be very inactive for at least a week or even two. No lifting your arms above shoulder height, no picking up things off the floor (ie bending over,) no lifting anything over 8-10 pounds. It helps if you can sleep with your head elevated with pillows on either side of your arm so you don't turn onto your sides when you sleep. I just began being able to sleep on my side two nights ago and I'm SOOOOOOOO happy!! Also expect certain areas to continue to oozing for quite a while. Even after 27 days, where the incisions meet in a T below each breast hasn't closed up yet. It's getting there. It's a long recovery period. But OH SO WORTH IT!!!!!
You sound a lot like me -- way too developed early in life, stopped growing taller at a young age, 50 years old, no kids but boobs look like I'd nursed at least 4 or 5, struggle with weight all my life starting in childhood.
Things to be prepared for: ribs and sides under your armpits hurting more than you would think, oozing for a long time, get some mini pads to protect bras from the oozing, wait until after surgery to buy new bras because you don't know what size you'll be, prepare to be swelled and to wear a larger band size than you normally wear (ie if you're a 38 now, you may temporarily be a 42,) you might want to get some maxi pads to pad your bra beneath the band (I no longer need that,) prepare to have your boobs look different everyday for several months, and prepare for very perky boobs!!
i am due to go into surgery next week. i was lucky enough to get a phone call someone had cancelled and they called me. i did not expect to go in this soon, i was told to wait at least 3 years on the public system. its only been 6 months.im am very scared of the pain, everyone says its worth it.Does anyone know how long the tubes stay in for
i am due to go into surgery next week. i was lucky enough to get a phone call someone had cancelled and they called me. i did not expect to go in this soon, i was told to wait at least 3 years on the public system. its only been 6 months.im am very scared of the pain, everyone says its worth it.Does anyone know how long the tubes stay in for
Mine stayed for about 2 days, I think. It was back in 2000, so it has been a while. I had to have a home health nurse assigned to me and she came out and took care of the daily care and removal.
Good luck with it all.... The lipo hurt more than anything they did..
So by 7th grade, my boobs were already sagging with numerous stretch marks. From my adult perspective, it seems that the damage to my body by age 13 was similar to what adult women experience from numerous bouts of pregnancy/breast feeding, years of weight gain/loss, or from aging-- seems like my body was already "worn-out" by 13yrs old. Instead of looking like a cute young teenager, my body more resembled that of many women in their 40s or older: damaged & covered with stretch marks, often caused by being pregnant. Even now, in my early 50s, my body looks like it's been thru 10 pregnancies, but I've NEVER been pregnant & don't have any kids.
Most likely, the problems that you experienced were due to poorly fitting bras. Many, many women do not have bras fitted and do not even know what their correct size is. Because of this the bra cannot give you adequate support.
I am large breasted myself (38F (which is pretty much like a DDD), and I have been that way since I was very young also. For many years I wore an ill-fitting bra which did not provide the support I needed. Thank goodness as I got older my mother took me to a woman whose speciality was fitting bras and I finally got the bra I needed! What an amazing difference.
Even though I am 50 something my breasts still look pretty good compared to many women my age (and younger). Of course, being childfree helps, but I am pretty confident about the way I look.
I urge any parent who has a daughter with large breasts to PLEASE, PLEASE take them to someone who can fit them properly. I am confident that the OP would not have had the emotional trauma that she has experienced these years if her breasts had been properly cared for to begin with.
I am 22 years old and I had a breast reduction done on Nov. 19 and It is so worth it. I had to special order my bras my entire life because of the size i was. I even went to specialty stores and was professionally measured and I never received any extra support from bras that cost me sometimes close to 40 dollars a piece. I was a D by the time i was 11 years old and I was a skinny child. My bra size in 5th grade was a 34D and i kept growing. When i turned 13 I was a 34 DD and only weighed 135 lbs. I know i am short at 5 2 but i had the surgery and am now a C cup and i enjoy not being an F anymore. I forget what i even wore when i had my daughter. I decided I was not doing that again because i could never find anything to fit me. I had to wear mens clothes my entire pregnancy because there was nothing that would fit my breasts while i was pregnant and not swallow me alive.
I'm 16 years old, 34 DD, 5' 4", 130lbs. I am active in sports, soccer, basketball and golf and I run for fun in the off season. During sports I have to wear two sports bras or get ones that are like a normal bra with an underwire and adjustable back and my boobs still bounce up and down when I run. I am sick of not being able to wear cute shirts or swim suits because my boobs hang out. I'm really self councious about them and always wear t-shirts because I don't want my strech marks to show. My back kills me and I have really poor posture, I have tried everything, even gone to physical therapy to strengthen my core and back muscles and orthodics in my shoes to try and help my posture. I am seriously considering a breast reduction and my mom is totally okay with it but is it a smart thing to do at the age of 16?
At 16, your bones are just about done growing; you might have another spurt of height/bone length between now and 18. Growth of bones includes the ribcage and breastbone in density and overall size. The change might not occur, and if it does occur, will probably not be significant (a half inch, maybe?). But it can affect the healing process.
For that reason, I'd recommend you speak with an OB/GYN first, and get a referral from her/him to a surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction. You have typical problems related to heavy, fast-growing breasts at a young age; they could get worse, or you could physically grow out of the problems. This is definitely the right time to find out, even if it turns out not to be the right time to have the surgery done.
Meanwhile, take the advice of Branson and make SURE you are wearing a properly-fitting AND properly-supporting bra. Big cup sizes don't necessarily mean heavy breasts, and brassiere manufacturers don't always take density into consideration when they design bras. A good bra for someone like you might mean rigid, non-stretch construction with gentle padding or thick lining, and the back and sides constructed of the same material old-fashioned girdles were made out of (rather than thin, stretchy, unsupportive spandex).
They take some getting used to but if that's all it takes to fix the problem, imagine how good you'll feel, NOT having to endure surgery, being ABLE to enjoy being buxom, without back pain or orthopedics. If it isn't what it takes, you'll be out an extra $50-100 - which is no big deal compared to the entire new wardrobe you'll have to spend after surgery
Two weeks ago today I had mine done! The drains were taken out at my first post-op appointment. I was a 40 f and now am a beautiful 38C. I fortunately had lost 34 lbs before the surgery so saggy boobs won't be a problem for me for a number of years. I am happier with my body at 53 3/4 than at any other time in my life! I have given birth to 5 children and breast fed 4 of them. I had a constant brining pain in my neck which is totally gone, as for the other back pain, because I am still spending most of my time in bed, only time willt tell! I was told at my last appointment, that I needed to sleep on my back, blah, blah for another week.. tonight I am going to attempt to sleep on my side. The worst of my pain has been at the end of the incision under the arm. Actually my left side is significantly more sore. All the way around that breast I would swear was done by a different surgeon... But I would do it again n a heart beat..
Last edited by 53andproudofit!; 02-16-2012 at 04:41 PM..
Reason: Just getting used to my iPad .. My typing sucks!
Two weeks ago today I had mine done! The drains were taken out at my first post-op appointment. I was a 40 f and now am a beautiful 38C. I fortunately had lost 34 lbs before the surgery so saggy boobs won't be a problem for me for a number of years. I am happier with my body at 53 3/4 than at any other time in my life! I have given birth to 5 children and breast fed 4 of them. I had a constant brining pain in my neck which is totally gone, as for the other back pain, because I am still spending most of my time in bed, only time willt tell! I was told at my last appointment, that I needed to sleep on my back, blah, blah for another week.. tonight I am going to attempt to sleep on my side. The worst of my pain has been at the end of the incision under the arm. Actually my left side is significantly more sore. All the way around that breast I would swear was done by a different surgeon... But I would do it again n a heart beat..
I am curious. How are you today? I just got a reduction 2 weeks ago. I am now into my 3rd week of recovery. I have some bleeding but tomorrow I go back to the PS for a follow up. I just wanted to put one bit of information out there that my PS told me and I found the best I've ever had. She told me to go out and buy panty lines. I bought the long ones because they can be cut to small sizes or you can use them uncut. The best thing about them is that they stick to the bra and not your skin. They are sanitary and allow you to change them as often as you may like with out spending a ton of money on bandages.
My PS also told me when possible to all the "Girls" to air out. Now for me that ment I got some of those then cloth towels that Wal-Mart sells. (They look like they were made from the old diaper cloth) anyway, they are very thin and cover all the front. You take a thin lace and two pins and make yourself a backless tank top. Let the "girls" air for a few hours it does worlds of good.
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(probably equivalent to 34C bra size at that time), I kept growing & increasing to a D cup by 12yrs old!
!! So by 7th grade, my boobs were already sagging with numerous stretch marks. From my adult perspective, it seems that the damage to my body by age 13 was similar to what adult women experience from numerous bouts of pregnancy/breast feeding, years of weight gain/loss, or from aging-- seems like my body was already "worn-out" by 13yrs old. Instead of looking like a cute young teenager, my body more resembled that of many women in their 40s or older: damaged & covered with stretch marks, often caused by being pregnant. Even now, in my early 50s, my body looks like it's been thru 10 pregnancies, but I've NEVER been pregnant & don't have any kids.
Reduction status
