We’ve had breast reductions. Ask us anything.

[Bigtitsbetty]

Following on from our epic first thread I had a breast reduction

We are a group of ladies who have breast reductions for a number of reasons and are all at different stages of recovery.

You might already have answered that question, but do you loose nipple sensitivity with the surgery?

The two women i know who had that done did. But they had it done more than 20/years ago so things might have changed.

I think it depends on your surgeon. I’m still fine, but to be honest I wouldn’t give a fuck even if I did. The results outweigh that! 😀

No nipple sensitivity change here either.

I had it done on the NHS and was told my BMI had to be 25-27.

I'm going the NHS route too, I think they might be more concerned about BMI than if you go private. My letter says BMI of "26/27 or lower" which is not very helpful so I'm aiming for 26. It's a useful incentive for me to lose weight!

My nipples are fine .. but similarly that was a risk I was prepared to take.
BMI criteria are a key part of the NHS assessment. Privately it’s much more relaxed but varies between surgeons. From a practical point of view it makes sense to shift the weight if you can, easier to recover/ less likely to affect the result.
@LilyGlobe don’t stress - my right boob was way more painful from the get go & the scars looks a bit ‘bunched’ in places early doors … that’s gone now. But absolutely - take pics & send, it’s what I did 👍

Rightie took longer @LilyGlobe so don’t worry too much. The last bit of unhealed tissue took about 7-8 weeks at the t junction. My scarring is also worst at side of leftie as that was a bit slower. I think it’s normal and it all evens out.

Hi all, I have a call tomorrow morning with the surgeon, please could I ask for your advice on what do I need to ask/know? It's been a while since I saw her with it being NHS.
Reading all your posts (which I am very grateful for), I'm a bit concerned that I'm going to itch like hell from all the tape, I can cope with hypo allergenic stuff for a short while but I even react to that so will need to come up with a way to stop that driving me insane.

Maybe just antihistamine

I would ask about how much time you need off work, how many appointments you have afterwards and if you’re going to spend the night in hospital. I also asked mine about drains and he most confused and said he very rarely used drains

Just checked my notes, here are all the questions I had for my NHS appt 😊
Will I see surgeon again? How does he know how much to take off / what size to go to?
How long is op?
Who is other surgeon? Will I meet her before?
What are surgeons’ specialties? (I had two surgeons, one on each side.) What other surgeries do they do? Any private work?
Have there ever been any problems during or after surgery?
Have there ever been any issues with px being unhappy?
Have there ever been any complaints?
How is their work reviewed?
Can I take my levo the morning of my op?
Do I need to stop any of my meds?
What size will I likely be?
What pain relief will I need after?
Recovery time? Will I need support at home?
Anything to avoid doing? Sleeping upright?
Driving?
Showering?
Exercising?
How much time off work? Do they provide a sick note? Or GP?
Do they provide a post-op bra?
What do I need for afterwards? Sports bra?
What size?
Anything I need to apply or take for scars?
Follow up appts?

Also @RedWineIsFine I always have a reaction to the tape they put on after you have blood taken, but I had no issues with the dressings used for my wounds. I had some tape for the drains, but that was only on for a few days and tbh I didn’t really notice it.

@user80 @Madagascary thank you both so much, I wouldn't have thought of all those questions.

Hey everyone, so glad I found this thread. I'm having my surgery on Monday.
Was booked for January but they called last week to see if I wanted this cancellation spot! I was prepared to wait as I only want to use this particular surgeon, but now it's all happening very quickly.
Dreading the recovery although the surgeon assures me it'll be a walk in the park compared to the full hysterectomy I had a few years back.
I've been reading all your experiences and it's so helpful.

How exciting @Weatherwax13 ! I hope it all goes well today.
The recovery is fine pain-wise. It’s one of the least painful operations apparently. It’s more about being careful with them for quite a while.
Let us know how it goes. And don’t forget to take pictures before!

Agree with @Heartfullofcheese it really is like sunburn pain rather than pain pain if that makes sense. Go as smaller than you think, I was upset to have nothing after my surgery but they have fluffed up and actually even though they are perky they are bigger than I would like.

Finally feel brave enough to say this. I actively dislike my surgeon. She has absolutely no warmth, no people skills and she has disregarded me as a human being from the first meeting and throughout the process.

She does not allow questions, and acts grumpy about clerical stuff I have no control over at all. She is abrupt and offers no advice whatsoever.

She has done a wonderful job of my surgery which is obviously what I was paying for, and the follow up nursing care has been superb.

But fucking hell, she could hire herself out to scare kids at halloween. What a ghoul. I'll be so glad when she signs me off and I never have to see her sour face again.

Why couldn't I have a surgeon like that hilarious, hot guy on Geordie Hospital? Bah.

@MorrisZapp that's awful 😖 Obviously the end result of the surgery is the most important thing as you said, but bloody hell her attitude must be hard to take. Do you know how many more times you'll have to see her?
Makes me very grateful that my surgeon is so kind and polite. I had surgery with him previously so he was my obvious choice for this.
@Heartfullofcheese my surgery is next Monday 23rd. Very encouraging to hear that the pain levels shouldn't be too bad during recovery!

Thanks so much for the reassuring messages. I’ve changed the tape again tonight and feel much better, the scars on the left side are looking better. I have a pocket of swelling on the right that I’m massaging using the technique I was shown, if that hasn’t improved by tomorrow then I’ll call the clinic.

2 weeks post surgery today and I’ve not taken any painkillers! I’m very tender but my period arrived yesterday so probably something to do with that! Nipples extremely sensitive to the cold too!

I feel good though, happy with the size and where they’re sitting!

2 more weeks of tape - this is the worst part so far for me…removing the tape! It’s like removing the stickiest plaster ever and I wince a bit. I’ve not had any itching from it though and my skin is quite sensitive.

Agree with all of that go SMALL. And yes sunburn. Not agony.

lipo hurts more. More bruised

How’s things @LilyGlobe

Hello, so had the call with the surgeon and pre op. Turns out I can't have the op till 7 weeks post covid (which was last week) so looks like it'll be a Christmas present this year. Only thing that I think is an unknown is the after size, she said she can't say for definite but it can be a third to a half she can reduce by, I'm sure at my very first appointment she suggested that it would be a DD/E size (currently 34H and a bit!), has anyone any experience or thoughts on that?

Hope everyone is OK today.

Yes, this is one of the main things they can’t tell you what size it’s going to be because I think probably of the nipple and stuff like that.

I went down from a 34F to a 34D which suits me fine and this in proportion with my body.

But as I’ve said before and I think the others will agree it’s not necessary the size, it’s the perkiness it’s just so brilliant

So what @Madagascary said about size. If you want a functioning nipple (bearing in mind they can’t guarantee that) then the surgeon has to keep a pedicle/ stalk of tissue with the nipple attached at the end. They will be monitoring the blood flow to the nipple during the op as they remove tissue. So whilst you will have discussed ‘size’ they will be judging how much they can remove before that is compromised, whilst keeping shape/ symmetry etc. Nipple loss is more likely with big/ dramatic reductions.
I was squeezed into 32G bras pre op so probably more like an H cup. I’ve bought 2 ‘sized’ bras so far. One is a 32E the other a 34DD. However I’m less than 3 months post op & they are still changing so am sticking mostly with soft crop tops until they settle. Like @Martinisarebetterdirty i probably ideally would be smaller but … I was clear I didn’t want a free nipple graft & the lift is something else 😀

Don’t forget the perk

Love your replies, thank you both. Do I get the perk with the free NHS job, I can't help thinking I'll get what I'm given, but it will be fun to see a waist!