Tell me about Breast Reduction

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, here’s my situation. Pretty much my whole adult life I’ve wanted to get a reduction…even when I was skinny 115 lbs me, I felt my breasts were too big. And now that I’m older (31) and have put on (too many) pounds, I want the reduction more than ever, for the following reasons:

1.) Chronic upper back pain
2.) Skin irritation “underneath”
3.) I spend a small fortune on bras, and can only shop in a few places
4.) I find it really, really hard to find clothes that fit approprately, or that don’t make me look promiscuous.
5.) I think my breasts make me look a lot heavier than I actually am.
6.) They make it harder to work out…running is painful!

I’ve put off the operation for all these years because I wanted to wait until after I’d had children, due to the whole breastfeeding issue, plus the havoc simply being pregnant can do to the breasts. Why have the operation just to have it all undone again? So it’s always been a “someday in the future” sort of thing.

I’m still not ready to actually have the procedure done, since my husband and I still want to have one more child, but I’m at the point now where I can actually pinpoint a possible timeframe. We’re thinking we’ll start trying for Child Number Two next summer, so give two years for pregnancy/breastfeeding and it looks like the absolute earliest I might be able to get the procedure is only three years away.

Still lots of time, right? (And it might be even longer if I have trouble getting pregnant this time.) But I’m wondering if I need to start building up a medical history of back pain complaints now, for insurance purposes. I’ve never talked to either of my doctors about this, because I didn’t see the point–I knew what was causing my pain, and knew there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Also, which doctor should I talk to about it? My GP or my OB-Gyn? Or both?

So anybody who could chime in on that issue, I’d appreciate it. I’d also love to hear from anybody who’s had the procedure done. Anything you have to contribute…why did you have it done, any regrets, any advice, what was your experience in general? I’d especially love to hear about scarring issues…my hubby is majorly a boob man, and even though he won’t say it and is totally supportive, I know that issue concerns him.

Thanks in advance!

2

I had a breast reduction in 2001, and I’m extremely glad I did so. The back pain virtually disappeared. The scarring, while not pretty, obviously, isn’t as bad as I had feared. I still have sensitivity in my breasts, which is nice. For about the first year after the surgery, I could actually go braless–I didn’t very often, but it was still nice that I could–and everything was nice and perky. The effects of the lift wore off gradually, of course. Gravity still wins out.

Do plan on building a history of back complaints. That’s what got my insurance company to pay for it. I’d gone to the doctor repeatedly about back pain, and even went through a course of physical therapy. So when I finally made the decision to have the reduction done, there was a documented history of back issues. It seems like I went in January for the first consultation with the plastic surgeon, and it was approved by my insurance company in March. I had the surgery in April.

The surgery was incredibly painful, more so, IMO, than my hysterectomy. I was off work for 6 weeks, and needed it. And even after that it took a while before I felt like I was 100%. You’ll need help around the house for a while, and with your kids, because you definitely will not be able to lift anything at all.

3

I’m very interested in this topic, too, but not for me, for my daughter. At 19, she is wearing 32F bras and complaining of back pain, so I really think this would be great for her.

N. Sane, how old were you when you had the procedure? Do you feel like you should have done it sooner or was the time right for you?

4

I had mine in 1998. I was 22. It was totally worth it. Fighting the insurance company was horrible, though, so you definitely want to get lots of hard evidence of back problems and whatnot. You’d think they’d go with the judgement of multiple docs who had said I was a good candidate, but they like to think of reductions as cosmetic so they don’t have to pay.

There are a few techniques, and who knows what will be the more common one in a couple of more years, but I had the one with the “classic” anchor incisions. At this point, the scars have faded to not much at all, though the ones underneath the curve are more noticeable. But you have to be pretty up close and personal to notice them, and anybody who cared about them that much wouldn’t get that opportunity. With luck, any reservations your husband has will go away when he realizes how much more comfy and happy you are afterwards.

Mine wasn’t horribly painful; the first few days were fairly awful (do not try stopping the Good Drugs a couple of days too soon…owwwww!) but I was feeling much more myself in a couple of weeks. But I still had to be careful with stuff like lifting for quite a while. It’s major surgery, so it takes time to recover. As far as energy levels and stuff, YMMV.

Gravity has yet to wreak havoc, though they’re not quite as perky as they were the first couple of years. However, they’re still perkier than they’d been since I was about thirteen.

I’ve got some mild sensitivity issues, but really they never were all that sensitive so it’s not been a big deal.

Any specifics you want to know?

5

Thanks for the responses so far!

Sensitivity isn’t really an issue for me, since, unfortunately, I’ve never had any sensitivity in my breasts anyway. So nothing to lose there.

If you don’t mind my asking, N. Sane and Whiterabbit (and anyone else who responds) were you overweight/normal weight? Did the reduction affect this any? (Make it easier to lose, for example?) No specifics needed, obviously, and if you’d rather not respond I understand.

For me, I feel like I could lose twenty pounds just by reducing the size of my chest!

6

My wife had hers about a year and half ago. She was 29. Best thing she ever did.
She even asked me if I had any concerns and was suprised when I told her I never really liked them since I met her 6 years previous.
She doesn’t hunch anymore, she doesn’t spend a fortune on bras anymore, it inspired her to lose weight, she doesn’t complain anymore after coming home from work “get this bra off me, it’s killing me!”, they are way more attractive (they can reduce areola size), she can actually buy normal bathing suits, she doesn’t have those back fat rolls, etc. etc.
Her only complaint that I’ve heard also from everyone that’s had the procedure: “Why didn’t I do this sooner.”

7

Coincidentally, BBC America (BBCA) has been broadcasting a show called “My Big Breasts and Me” about just this issue. You probably get BBCA on your cable system. I suspect they’ll broadcast the show again if you look for it.

J.

8

Guys don’t like big aureolae?

9

I was in my late 30s when I had mine done, and I wished then that I’d had it done a lot earlier. I was (and still am) quite a bit overweight, and it didn’t make any difference as to making it easier or more difficult to lose weight. It did make moving more easy, though. I had about 5 pounds of breast tissue removed.

And FreudianSlit, man–I can’t speak for anyone else, but my breasts were so huge that the aureolae stretched out and were just really gross looking.

10

My concern with my daughter is the possibility that it will interfere with breast feeding if she ever has children. That and the cost. I wasn’t even aware that there was a possibility of insurance covering it; I’ll have to look into that. She would jump at any chance to get them reduced.

11

I wasn’t overweight, except in the boobs. I have heard of surgeons making people try to lose weight before the surgery. It wouldn’t have helped me because mine were, and are, very dense. If you have a lot of fat in there if you lose weight they might get smaller.

I wasn’t worried about breastfeeding; for other reasons, actually birthing a kid is something I don’t want to attempt. Also I figure that if it were to be an issue, I would feel no guilt about going straight to formula; the tradeoff seemed worthwhile. And I have heard that some women can still breastfeed, at least some, afterwards. If they have to actually remove the nipple to move it then that’s impossible, but otherwise there’s a chance.

Insurance companies will cover it if you can convince them it’s necessary for more than just looks. But it’s almost always a fight. It’s a winnable fight, though!

12

This one doesn’t. I have no real preference for breast size, but large aureolae just aren’t aesthetically pleasing to me.

13

I do, although bigger nips are more preferable, and their “responsiveness” is most preferable.

14

Bookmark this site: Breasthealthonline.com. You will find answers to every single question you can think of there. It is well moderated, has RN contributors, surgeons, everything. The site covers how to pick a surgeon, how to set yourself up to heal well, scarring, different techniques, how to deal with husbands and family members, everything. I had two reductions because my first plastic surgeon was… well… is incompetent too strong? I would NOT have had to do it all over again (with a different surgeon) if I’d known of Breasthealthonline. That’s the strongest recommendation I can give you. Seriously. Be informed.

This site is a really, really good resource for insurance questions, too.

I mentioned weird shocky feelings in my back to my GP and she sent me to a plastic surgeon who pretty much handled all the paperwork for me to get approved by my insurance company. I’d start with your GP.

You don’t have to go itty-bitty if you don’t want to. Surgeons are trained to reduce you to a size compatible with your body, and it all depends on the situation once you’re on the table, but you should find a surgeon with whom you have good communication. If you want to relieve your pain but still be buxom, you should find a surgeon who can help you meet that goal. If you want to go from a 38DDD to a 38C like I did, that can be done by a competent surgeon. You may not have to have a full nipple graft, which essentially means you get to keep your nipple complex and so should be able to breast feed.

When it was all said and done, I had 10 pounds removed! Ten pounds of mostly heavy breast tissue. Yay!!!

15

Wow, thanks, niblet_head! That is a great site!

But wow…I’ve only been browsing it for about 15 minutes, and I’m already wondering if maybe I should consider doing this before having another child. Because it sounds like the recovery process is going to be a bigger ordeal than I was thinking. No lifting anything for several weeks? How in the world am I going to pull that off with two small children, much less one? I mean, I do have a great family support system here in town, but that’s a lot to ask. A few days? No sweat. A few weeks? I dunno. My husband couldn’t possibly take that much time off, and I don’t want to wait all those years until the kids are big enough to not need to be picked up.

And if I could breastfeed after the operation anyway…

Full disclosure…I tried desperately to breastfeed my little girl, but we only made it about three weeks because she never learned how to latch on properly, and my production was low. It was an extremely stressful time for me and even though all the lactation consultants swore up and down it didn’t make a difference, I felt like the large size of my breasts was a major factor in her inability to latch on. So it’s very, very tempting to me to say “Screw it, I’m not going to be able to breastfeed, anyway.”

But I don’t want to deprive my second baby of the chance to at least try.

Ack, I’m torn. I guess I just need to research breastfeeding after reduction more deeply. Maybe even go ahead and take the step of consulting with a plastic surgeon.

16

I think you should. Then you would know. My understanding is it has to do with your notch-to-nipple measurement, so you should find that out first and then go from there.

I’d also at least take a look at your insurance policy to see if it’s covered. Or, more to the point, specifically not covered. If it’s not specifically an exclusion, you have an argument that they need to cover it for medical purposes.

17

My sister nursed after her first reduction (she had two - they grew back).

When I linked her to this thread, she said “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I did!”

18

I’m bringing up this old topic because I am going in for this procedure myself on Friday.

My question is, what was the post-operative period like for everyone? I have the entire next week off from school and work. I am trying to find out approximately how many days I will be “out of commission,” etc.

19

I had mine in 2000 and it was the best thing I ever did. I had the classic back pain, rash under my breasts, my arms going numb (because the underwire on my bra was pushing into the inside of my arms), and until I had my surgery, I wasn’t even aware of the neck pain I was having (which went away after my surgery). Yes, insurance paid for it.

I don’t remember too much about after the surgery (it’s been awhile), so I can’t help you there, except that they were very perky, which I loved. (However, gravity has taken it’s toll and they’re not so much now.)

I had the “anchor” shape incision–a circle around the aureola (made smaller), straight down from there, then under the breasts. My scars now are almost invisible (the only ones still visible are the ones under the breasts). My nipples, which were really not sensitive at all prior surgery, are now very sensitive, so that was a surprise.

I did have two regrets. One, that I’d waited so long and two, that I didn’t go smaller. After the surgery, I was full C cup (and I gained some weight, so now they’re a D cup. Before the surgery they were easily F cups–I stopped buying a DD and refused to buy a bra any bigger and the DD cups were too small). I wish I’d gone with a full B cup. Might have been a bit small for my frame, but after all those years of dealing with huge, ugly breasts, I was ready for nearly NO breasts, and I think the gravity issue would have been less. Plus, I just hate wearing a bra, regardless of how big my breasts are or aren’t.

20

Only a week, Tehanu? I would plan for at least two. Maybe more. I bounced back (no pun intended) pretty quickly, but there was no way I’d have been ready to get back to everything after only a week.

Oh, and good luck! The immediate aftermath wasn’t too bad for me; stay on top of the pain meds and don’t overdo it.

I will repeat: Best. Surgery. Ever.