fear around breast reduction

I have always had large breasts. I HATE them... honestly they are annoying and unattractive on me. They sit naturally low on my chest and weight loss has done nothing to improve the D's which used to be DD's or a bit bigger.

Now I think I am going to try to pay for my own breast reduction and accompanied lift to a B size. I might ask my GP if insurance could cover it but I highly doubt it. It's a distressing time for me because I've been wanting to do this for 1.5 years and now I'm actually going to have the time and money to do it.

Has anyone here, if you're comfortable talking about it, had a reduction and/or lift? Was it extremely tough to get through? How was scarring? I feel very scared about this but know it must be done for me to ever have a normal, happy and healthy life, especially as an athlete. I'm going to be close to 19 when it's performed.

Thanks.

You might still get support and accounts of relevant experiences, although considering how unusual the situation is, you might need to wait for a while for that. The issue with inability to use your breasts functionally as intended remains, whether or not you feel that weight loss has destroyed their subjective appearance.

plus, 99 per cent of people only see us dressed anyway, so bras that lift and contain solve most problems. That leaves us with nude beaches and sexual partners. For those, yeah, a lift would be nice but how about those ugly scars? So a reduction just is not a perfect solution for many reasons, incl. Scarring, loss of function, loss of erotic sensitivity. All nontrivial concerns.

asp1079 - you are old enough to make the choice for yourself, obviously you should consider if you plan to have children at any time because pregnancy can have a big effect on breasts, so if you reduce and then have a child, you may lose those results.

Yes, I am old enough and know this already... I was just asking for opinions on how the surgery went in terms of recovery and scarring. I guess it was completely wrong of me to ask this kind of question. Sorry I posted it.

It is not wrong to post - it is just that you selected a wrong audience. This is a general audience forum and general questions, such as why someone feels horny when ovulating, get responses. Your situation is not general but highly unusual, so you should seek a specialized forum where women undergoing reduction congregate.

Hamster, I politely beg to disagree.. I think this forum, the women's support forum on PC, is a great place for her to start this thread. I don't think this should be the only place she looks for answers to her questions, but I think this is a great place to start. As a general audience, it wouldn't be unlikely for at least someone here to have some sort of experience with breast reduction. This issue also relates to self-esteem, and that something many women deal with on a daily basis.

asp, I can't directly relate to your question, as I've always had a small bosom. Personally, I find that even mine get in the way at times, and can't imagine having them any larger, and being athletic on top of it! I did have a friend in college though that had a breast reduction done. Her's was done out of health necessity as she was getting terrible back pain from hers. She also still had large breasts after the reduction (I want to say she was still a D after all is said and done). She also enjoyed going around to people, "Want to see my scars?! <FLASH>" but I really don't remember much scarring. I do remember that she had numbness in her nipple for awhile, but I believe that eventually went away. Again, this is all hearsay from a few years ago. But she was very happy with the results. There's also creams you can use to lessen the appearance of scars.

I would talk to a doctor about all the details. They will have better answers than most here at PC. But remember, this is YOUR body, and you should do what YOU like with it. You have to live with the results of whether or not you get surgery, no one else. So, do what's right for you. You don't need the approval of anyone here at PC, or really anyone else in your life. I suppose, if you were in a serious, long term relationship, your significant other would like some say in the matter, but even then, the decision is ultimately yours.

Just keeping doing your research, and feel free to continue posting here. It's perfectly normal to be scared about this.

Good luck, keep us updated!

Probably try belly dancing classes. They require a really strong core, so they clearly are athletic, but every body shape is accepted and welcomed, unlike in running/sprinting that gratifies lean bodies only.

I'm sorry, this is not how intended for the post to sound. There was a lot more to it that got edited out.

There is NOTHING at all wrong with asking this question on this forum.

When I was slightly older than you (like 22ish) I started dreaming of a breast reduction. I have not been able to afford it yet, but wish you luck if you are able to pursue it.

You know, it's not like Photoshop, it's real flesh and blood. mIstakes can be made. Unless you're badly lopsided or have physical pain, I wouldn't rush into it. A minimizer bra will take you down a little. It sounds like you just lost weight? I understand it takes at least 6 months after you stop losing until you end up at your final shape, because you lose weight from the top down (why your face will look skinny fast) but you redistribute from the bottom up - why my legs take so long to slim! Also I would try to work this out in therapy. It is a big deal in our society and horrible not to be happy with our given attributes, whatever they are. Cuz sometimes you can't change things.

What a great point about plastic surgery and photoshop not being exactly one thing!

I had a cousin who had the surgery. She did it because they were DD and she is very short and it was also causing her back pain. Her nipple had to be re-positioned so there was some scarring but over all she is happy with the results. My youngest daughter also is very short, like 5 ft and she has bigger then DD and now in her early 20's we are talking about a surgery. This would only be to the back pain she experiences. All surgery is risky , it would depend on your motives behind it and if they were worth the risk.

yesterday I saw a woman with your body. Not for the first time, no, I have known her for two years, but yesterdaay I noticed that she fits your description. Kathy, my yoga teacher. A beautiful woman who must be in her early fiftiess. Tall, with lean, elongated limbs and large, heavy, somewhat saggy breasts. An absolutely wondrous body. She dyes her hair blonde and wears black long sleeved tunics and black pants that further elongate her silhouette. The contrast between black and blonde looks classy on her. Would she still be beautiful after a reduction? Yes, she would, but she would become standard, one of oh so many women who have long limbs and medium-sized breassts. Industry standard appearance. As is, she has a non-standard, unusually attractive body.

Thanks for giving me a real life experience - what I had requested to begin with to ease some fears about it.

I think for me it is definitely worth the risk. I hate what I have now and would prefer to look differently even if some scarring is involved, since my skin heals pretty well and I would be very meticulous in keeping scars minimal with scar away treatments. I'm glad your cousin was overall happy with her results. For my surgery, there would probably be more lift than reduction, but still a small reduction, maybe a cup size and a half but that would be a big positive difference for me as an athlete especially.

Ok... I am not mad love, I am sorry if I came across that way, just frustrated and worried I was. It's no big deal. And thank you, I hope I will be able to have one in the next 6-11 months.

Thank you for the supportive and kind answer and for making me feel way less awkward and weirded out about posting this question.

I think everything you said here makes sense. The part about the flashing from your story gave me a bit of a good laugh! If only I'd ever have the courage and gutsy humor to do that after my surgery.

I think overall more research is required for me to find a good doctor. I feel that having the surgery is definitely the right thing for me... and like you said it doesn't require anyone's approval for me to do it. I honestly don't even care if I have some scarring, since I plan on using scar treatments and really taking care of the wounds when they are healing, and there is always scar revision if it isn't to my liking. But overall, not doing this will always haunt me... I am plagued by constant low self-esteem and I know something must be done to fix it.

Yes, I am actually going to talk to a counselor. But the overall shape of my chest should be fixed, not even just the size alone, and I find nothing wrong with this... but the self-esteem issues I'm going to counseling for.

No personal experience, but number of women in my office had reductions. They were telling me how their (different) plastic surgeons worked very hard to talk them out of going smaller than a C. I guess that is the industry standard or something. I think they all went with C's (but not sure).

I wanted to throw that out there so you are prepared for that answer and are clear on how you will respond.

Good luck!
EJ

C is the US industry standard for tthe opposite surgery as well.

Everyone I know who had a reduction said this is the best choice they ever made. They thought they would feel more proportional and maybe better looking, even if the real reason was back pain. But when they came out the other side they said the best thing was increased mobility, they could run, jump and exercise. And everything was light, their body was light. And the back pain they wanted gone they didn't know exactly how much they wanted it gone until it was gone, and then they thought wow what a difference, no more pain!

I should also say those people had no complications. They have some scars depending on how it was done. But at the end they came out agile and happy. So it does slow people down a lot having a big chest area, some more than others.

I had a breast reduction at age 16. Since I was younger, and still "growing", my scars were stretched. And I also put on weight down the road, which can affect your scars and shape as well. Have thought this out for several years? The surgery will likely prevent you from breastfeeding, especially if they have to re-position the nipple. As well as decrease or possibly remove a lot of the surface skin/nerve feeling along where the incisions are made. Which makes sexual relationships uncomfortable/odd. I am not sure if they have improved the surgery since I had mine. But the scars would prevent me from wearing a skimpier type of bathing suit. And as far as recovery time. I was on bed rest for a few days, to stay on my back/minimal arm use. It may have changed by now though.

Overall, it has both the pros and cons. I still would have had mine done, though may have waited a few more years. It's a personal decision, based on what you think will be best in the long run for you.

to pose another possibility, to test before breast reduction. both my friend and i have experienced boob issues, pain and the like. She is a 32 HH in english sizing, which i think is about a 32 H in American? not really sure, a quick google told me that there are two sizing methods. anyway theyre big. myself, a 30 E or an american 30 DD i think.

Ive also found that for years we have been wearing the wrong shape and size bra. if theyre getting in the way and hurting your back i would recommend really questioning whether its the bra? the measurement around the band actually to most people is the actual measurement of their chest wall, none of this add four inches rubbish. also, if you go down a band size you need to go up a cup size. also you can be larger on top or larger on the bottom, affecting the fit of a bra. i vote measure your underbust/band size, go to the shop that does for large busts, pulling out all of them in your chest size in varying cups. pull out some bigger than your cup size and some in a smaller chest size. i remember the day i went from an english 32 DD to a 30 E. suddenly everything was amazing.

a brand i swear by, which is actually european is Freya. they do bras in much wider
sizes.

just something to think beforehand, because bras are cheaper than augmentation. if that doesn't work, it was worth a try.

Dear asp79,
I've never had a breast reduction but my stepsister had one. If that's what you want then go for it. Just make sure that you have someone who can care for you once your home from the hospital. My Step sister had to have my Mom over a lot to help her with things around the house as she was way too sore from surgery to do it herself.
Good luck to you