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.

Happy tit day!

Oh my God, the thread matriarch speaks. This is when like a celebrity talks to you 😂😂 xx

Happy titversary @Madagascary !

Mine is 3 weeks today, actual nerves have mostly gone, I'm more horrified how fat I've got now I'm suddenly looking under the boobs and upset I'm going to have nothing to hide it! Oh well, too late to change that now 😬

Like I haven’t spoken to you a million times before!

I’ve been absent a while because I’ve had a really shitty chest infection. On the brightside I have shown my tits to plenty of medical staff over the past few weeks.

Just brilliant 😂not the infection obv .. hope you are feeling better!

Ugh hope you’re on the mend @Bigtitsbetty 💐

Well I'm 5 weeks post op now. Haven't looked at the thread for a while as it's been a bit of a nightmare. Finally turned the corner over the weekend after a second aspiration procedure for all the excess fluid that keeps building up on one side.
Question for everyone please! How much did your boobs drop after the first few weeks? (If they did). I'm a little concerned. Particularly the right side.
I know they're not meant to be identical but after my initial euphoria at the size I cannot believe that I'm starting to feel slightly disappointed. It also dips in around the areola when I lay down flat.
Has anyone else found this??

Welcome back! I’m sorry you’ve had a tough time with the fluid and stuff like this.

I remember thinking that my right one was slightly rectangular, but really they change so much. I wouldn’t know about the actual nipple though, maybe best to phone the surgeon

Hey @Weatherwax13 … glad you’ve popped back & sorry to hear it’s been tough. So, honestly, I really struggled for about the first 8 weeks or more fretting about shape/ size etc. One boob was higher than the other for a while… not massively but enough for me to notice. In terms of drop that was not huge for me & they are still very lifted but have softened/ are less Barbie than they were. I guess the key thing to say is that they change a lot & keep changing … I’m at nearly 4 months now & they are much more settled but still changing… If you are worried at all chat to your surgeon … I did at 5 weeks because it was worried but also don’t panic as it’s very early days.

@Weatherwax13 I can relate! My right one is at least a cup size bigger than the left and whilst I can easily go without a bra I feel it’s not as perky as I might like. A bra definitely lifts them now, whereas it didn’t seem to make a difference at the start. The left one was a completely different shape and it looks as though the internal stitching is pulling my nipple in. I did see my guy and he said to massage massage massage to break down the scar tissue and the left one is now much softer than it was and more rounded (it was a bit like a Madonna cone!). So in summary, if it feels hard massage it, and go and see your surgeon. I’m back again in a couple of weeks to see if top up surgery is needed / wanted.
Hope you’re much better @Bigtitsbetty !

Continuing to find this thread useful as the mother of someone considering a breast reduction - thank you all and congratulation on the recent anniversaries:) - @Weatherwax13 I hope your recovery continues well and your boobs continue to settle down. Sending healing and balancing thoughts

My daughter (and I) have a (first) appointment this week with a surgeon who has been recommended to me - The aim of the appointment is to help my daughter (and me) consider what would be involved, the pros and the cons of doing something now/soon vs waiting (she's only 16..); the risks and the likely recovery time if she was to go ahead now or in the future.

If I'm honest I hope that knowing a reduction is an option in the future, and having an understanding of the steps early, will help my daughter cope with the struggles of living with her body in the meantime but I don't want to waste the appointment by failing to ask all the key questions or discounting the option that she has the operation sooner if that is recommended and she is keen..

Otherwise my questions so far... (tell me what else should I be asking?)
1/ Can you talk through the steps from here if we decided to go ahead (costs; timings; healing time; other considerations)
2/ What are the risks of the operation (including percentages) - e.g. common risks; rare complications, how to assess an individuals risk?
3/ What age do breasts stop growing following puberty, how can we tell if DD has stopped growing? (e.g. 'x number of years post start of menstruation'?)
4/ What is impact(s) if have surgery before stopped growing?
5/ How much will be removed - what is likely bra size post surgery?
6/ Does surgery affect the body beyond the breasts? (if so in what ways?)
7/ Psychological impact of surgery? How to prepare/ things to consider?
8/ Expected impact on breastfeeding (percentage mothers who are able to breast feed following surgery compared to 'normal population')
9/ Sensitivity/ loss of sensitivity (e.g. impact to nipple area/ around scars)
10/ Scars and healing - key considerations
11/ From medical perspective What are the pros and cons of having surgery now / at 21 / post child birth/ in the future?

Finally - this appointment is costing £250 so I'm conscious that we're not going to be able to afford to meet different surgeons before making a decision on who to go with if/when she did want to go ahead - so final question is how do you choose a surgeon?? How do I know if I have a good one vs a convincing one/ one who is 'good enough'??

@DeliahSampson I found mine in the Tatler Cosmetic Surgery guide. I know that sounds faintly ridiculous BUT I have a history of breast cancer and saw someone about 10 years ago (Adam Searle - sadly now retired) who I found in there and my oncologist said it was a great place to start and seen as very prestigious amongst cosmetic surgeons. So this time I took the same approach, I looked over the past few years, read in to the breast specialism each had and took a short list to my oncologist who said one of the names before I pulled my list out. I was going to visit my short list of two but the other one didn’t get back to me and to be honest my surgeon’s credentials were so good I stopped looking, I really liked him and he has a great team. It hasn’t been plain sailing and he is incredibly expensive, but that being said I’d probably pick him again. That’s because of my histology. If I were taking my daughter I’d go and see him too, even if only for the advice. Good luck.

Thanks @Martinisarebetterdirty FWIW the consultant I have been recommended and we are going to see is Neil Bulstrode (incase anyone knows him?)

I only went to one surgeon because he had had done a nose operation on my son. Where are you?

@Singletrackmind @Martinisarebetterdirty
Thankyou so much for sharing your experiences. Really helpful. I'm feeling more positive today.
The way I wrote yesterday you'd think it was a disaster! It's just a lot to take in I guess. And you're so right: it's very early days.
I'm having some LED sessions, starting today. It's supposed to help healing, reduce scarring but the main reason I'm going is that it's antiflammatory. So in theory will help prevent another fluid build up. I think that's part of my problem - boobs looked so different after the big pockets of fluid around the side were drained away.
I'll let you know what I think of ot. I have ten sessions booked.

@DeliahSampson I originally pursued this via my GP, who was very supportive, but on the assumption that the funding would never be approved. However, through that, I got a referral to the NHS consultant, who specialises in breast surgery rather than a general cosmetic surgeon.

Just something to consider.

@Weatherwax13 you are very welcome, it’s actually a huge thing to do in so many ways & it really does take time. Glad you are feeling more positive. Also what @Martinisarebetterdirty said about massage, once you are allowed, as it really does help. I’m only doing it in the eve and not for long but can feel the difference.

@DeliahSampson that’s a good list. I would also want to see before and after pics. It’s an odd thing - but you really do need to get your eye in as to what pre/ post surgery breasts look like. Re. Surgeons I’ve mentioned it before but do join the two UK Facebook breast reduction groups. There’s a lot of info there & you can search by name/ see if anyone has experience with yours. I only went to two consults … and chose the second one as I wanted to be close to home.

Thanks #singletrackmind - (realise I had found/joined the general 'breast reduction group' on Facebook which was almost all US contributors so eye opening but not helpful in this way- found the UK one now 👍. )

We have the appointment with the consultant today and feeling a bit at sea/ emotional (as is daughter - although she's also excited) - Most of the few friends I've mentioned this to seem to think I'm crazy. I find its very difficult to find good people to talk to about this who actually have opinions based on first hand experience (and I include myself in group - I can't consult my own experience - never really had to think about my boobs one way of the other) - but that doesn't stop everyone having a visceral reaction and a strong opinion. Her dad has been great though - empathetic but holding space for the fact that he doesn't know just wants to support her to know she has choices - grateful for that.
(The blow by blow accounts of managing post surgery on the US site have freaked me out totally too)

#thelonghaul - good point will remember to ask consultant what proportion of their work is specifically breast reduction (although as believe next to none (?) now done on the NHS assume if considerable will be via their private practice?)

Out of interest - Did anyones medical insurance cover them for the surgery, or any part of treatment? It was a flat no from our insurance company and no circumstances it would be included but notice significant portion of experiences of people in the US have the surgery covered by insurance..

@DeliahSampson … let us know how you go! Ignore/ stay away from the US stuff … it’s bonkers & the ‘getting it done on insurance’ is entirely stateside … here it’s NHS if you are lucky or you pay. Regardless of the very real health issues people face it’s still considered to be ‘cosmetic’ surgery. It’s very hard to relate if you haven’t had a lifetime of physical and mental hurt but you seem to be doing a very good job 👍
I didn’t tell people at all … that way you don’t have to deal with their reactions or opinions. It’s an entirely personal thing that for me was on a totally ‘need to know’ basis … so effectively my DH and 3 other people 😂

Hi all, it’s very quiet on here. Is anybody got surgery booked that we can support and stuff?

@Madagascary mine was meant to be this weds but it's been cancelled. It's NHS so I can't grumble, but I was mentally prepared so just feel a bit flat now, even if the boobs aren't.

Ha ha!
Oh that must be hard. Any idea when ?

I’m interested, there are so many on the NHS, I had never even considered trying.

I suspect postcode lottery will apply. My case was well supported by my GPs and met all NHS criteria but the funding application was rejected (3 times!).

Oh that’s such a blow @RedWineIsFine ! How disappointing for you. Any idea when it might be rescheduled?

I had mine on the NHS, it went so fast and so smoothly I think I actually went into shock and didn’t believe it had happened until a few months later 😆