My Breast Reduction

Hello!
I got a major breast reduction in May, and now that it's been a few months I'd like to share my experience. Here's a little background...
I've always been chesty, When I went through puberty I went from nothing to a C cup within a week. By the time I was a senior in high school I was a full DD. I liked being curvy, always have, but then I had some major health problems come up and I ended up on hormone replacement therapy and Thyroid replacement medications. These medications made me gain some weight, but also made my breasts increase in size, and they have been growing about a cup size a year ever since. This started nine years ago. Let that sink in. It got to the point where I had serious back issue and I had to order my bras from Europe, I was now a 36 K. I decided I was done with that nonsense.
During my yearly checkup with my Gynecologist I talked to him about a breast reduction and he was 100% on board. He wrote me a recommendation letter for my insurance and the surgeon. The next step was finding a surgeon that would work with my insurance, and was close enough for me to work with. I Googled Breast reduction Utah, and the first pop up ended up being who I went with! I called and set up a consultation appointment with the University of Utah Breast reduction specialist Dr. Alvin Kwok, he is amazing btw.

Link to Dr. Kwok's profile
I went in, they had me change into one of those hospital gowns, they did a lot of measuring, and talked to me about my concerns and expectations. Because of my size and other health problems I was having, they decided it was medically necessary for me to have the reduction. Dr. Kwok sent in his and my Gynecologists recommendation letters to the insurance, and I was approved for the surgery and insurance would pay 90%!
It was now time to get ready. Because I live in Idaho and the nearest Surgeon was in the Salt Lake area I needed to make post-op arrangements with my family who lives nearby. Traveling right after a breast reduction is NOT a good idea, and I needed to be in the area for the follow up appointments over the following month. So my parents agreed to let me live with them for a whole month and help me with all the post-op help I needed. How amazing is that? I have the best family. Anyways, after a breast reduction you are pretty immobile for the first week at least. You can't lift anything, you aren't allowed to lift your hands over your head, you are on some hardcore pain meds, and moving your upper body at all honestly hurts, so you move as little as possible. So, for comfort and living at my parents for a month I needed a few things:

• Button up shirts & yoga pants- you can't lift your arms, so button ups are the only way to go. Find some comfy loose button ups, it doesn't matter if they are cute or not, you will be stuck in bed anyways. Yoga pants are also easy to pull up after using the bathroom and wont hurt if you are careful.
• Lots of Pillows- Since you are in bed, you need to be able to sit up to read, or craft, or eat, whatever, and lots of pillows are the best way to do that. I also recommend either one of those giant U shaped pregnancy pillows or 2 body pillows to keep you propped up and sleeping on your back so you don't roll over and smoosh the incisions in your sleep. 
• Laptop and books- You are going to get bored stuck in bed, so this would be a great time to catch up on your reading! or if you don't want to read, a subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime videos, or Hulu will be a life-saver. Find a good light hearted series that you can binge watch. I recommend Parks & Rec, New Girl, Friends, Father brown, Dr. Who, White Collar, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. 
• Car Pillow- BRING A FLUFFY PILLOW FOR THE CAR RIDE AFTER YOUR SURGERY. you will want it as a barrier between you and the seatbelt on the drive home. and you will want it for the next month at least.

After doing all the prep I could, it was time. My husband and I drove down to my parents house and spent the night, the next day I had my surgery. My husband and my mom came with so one could sit in the back of the car with me on the drive home. I went into the surgery center and checked in, I went back to the private recovery room where I'd be when I woke up, I changed into my gown and laid in the bed where they hooked me up to the IV, and they talked to me about the surgery. They also did measuring and drew on my chest with a surgical marker so they would have a map of what to do.

We were there for about an hour getting ready. My husband and my mom were great and kept me calm and happy, getting a reduction is a big change and can be kind of scary. It was time to go back to surgery so they wheeled me back, I transfered onto the surgical table, and they strapped my arms to the table, which honestly kind of freaked me out, I wish they had waited until I was asleep to do that part, and they put the sleepy meds into the IV and I remember as I was passing out, " okay, I'm scared now, seriously guys, I'm scared now." and then 3 1/2 hours later I woke up in the recovery room. It's hard to wake up from anesthesia, the first thing I said was," Where's my Robby and my Mommy?" lol! The nurse said I needed to wake up a little more before she would go get them so I put my hands by my eyes to keep them open and said, " I'M UP! I'M UP!" so she laughed and went and got them, and we took a little bit to get me to wake up all the way and get me dressed and ready to leave. The surgeon came in and said they removed three pounds from one breast and 2 1/2 from the other, I went from a K cup to a D cup! Yay!!

They wheeled me out to the Van, and we drove home. Use the car pillow I talked about earlier. Your welcome. Robby helped me upstairs to bed, got me all settled, but then he had to go back to Idaho for work, man I missed him during that time. 

 

After the surgery I was pretty out of it and just settled into my temporary room. My brother brought a TV up there for me to use, which was super nice, and I had lots of company from my sweet siblings and parents. Occasionally I would forget that I wasn't supposed to lift anything or use my arms much and I would pull muscles that had been operated on or near and it would hurt a ton. If I was careful though, I was fine and comfortable. After a week I could shower, as long as I didn't let the water hit the incisions directly. It was painful to shower because you have to lift your arms to wash your hair, so if you take pain meds right before, you will feel a little better. Also, side note, use the surgical bra they give you as long as possible. It really does help a lot. 

I did have a few minor complications, I had a small infection and rash near the incision lines, but that was cleared up with antibiotics pretty quickly. The staff at this surgery center were amazing and I could reach them any time of the day if I needed to. Five stars. I had four post-op appointments one a few days after surgery, one a little over a week after surgery, and then again at the two week mark, and at the 4 week mark. after a couple weeks I did have a spot where the incision split, but it didn't need stitches I just needed to keep Neosporin and gauze on the area. 

Recovery has been great. I got sized at Victoria's Secret a couple months ago, and I am a DD-DDD now! Perfect. Right after surgery your chest is still adjusting a lot and settling into its new shape. It takes a little time to know what size you will be. Be patient with your body and let it heal, follow the surgeons instructions. Occasionally you will get a random nerve pain shooting through your chest, and it's just because everything is reattaching and healing. 

I feel so good. I feel like this is the size I was always supposed to be, and I fit into my body now. I have confidence and feel sassy. I had a few days of questioning if this was the right decision before my surgery because I felt like maybe I was being ungrateful or something. So many people want curves, and have surgeries to increase them. Was I doing the right thing? YES. It was medically necessary for me to have the procedure, and I had wanted it for a while. The only reason I felt weird is because some people think that your chest size decides how attractive you are, and that somehow your chest belongs to everyone because it's visible, and that it's selfish to have cosmetic surgery. Here's the thing though, if you had any other organ that was significantly oversized, doctors would freak out and get you right into surgery. What makes this any different? Because people like boobs I'm not allowed to have surgery, and live a healthier and happier life? That's crazy. I'm so happy with my decision, and that I made this change. Man I feel GREAT! 

If you are considering this operation and have questions for me, please, leave them below! I'd be happy to answer as best I can. Good luck, you got this, and YOU are in charge of your body, if a change is needed, then do it. 

Talk to you again soon!

-Amanda