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.

@Cinnamonandcoal yes with nipples. All ok. But it’s a risk.

id go smaller than an E if your surgeon can purely because how cheap bras are! The only regrets I’ve read are people who wish they had done. Plus menopause is not kind to boobs.

@Cinnamonandcoal my nipples never lost any sensitivity but like @Madagascary says it’s definitely a risk to be conscious of. I also agree that I’d consider going smaller than an E/F. It’s a life changing surgery and boobs of that size can still be quite a hindrance.

I can’t feel my nipples at all, but I did lose a kilo on either side (and still a busty D) and tbh I don’t really care! Wish I’d gone the whole hog and told him to just take them off and reposition them so that I could have gone smaller.

Maybe. A huge difference between an E and a JJ though. They would definitely not feel big to me and I don't particularly want small boobs, I just don't want them as big as this.

They've finally taken payment! Thank you to the lovely young man who sorted it out.

I've now perused the 'inpatient menu' and wondering if I can have egg mayo on granary AND chips with a massive cup of tea when I wake up 😂

I never got my meal due to having my surgery so late … only got the breakfast dammit, shoulda asked for a refund 😂 🤦🏼‍♀️my stroke of genius was taking a smoothie in a flask as that was all I could stomach post op.

Size, size, size …. Everyone gets so hung up on it. But cup size is completely different depending on band size, most people are wearing the ‘wrong’ size bra anyhow, as @Bigtitsbetty has said, breast root size plays a huge part in your cup size & proportionality does matter. It seems to be a thing that everyone says ‘make me a C cup’ but actually for a lot of people that would literally mean pancake boobs 😂

Oh nipples yes, mine seem to be working …but they certainly don’t have all of the sensitivity yet.

I took photos of my post op meals
I think I also had a bacon sandwich in the morning

My nipples are so weird…they still go pointy if they get cold or touched, but I don’t have any sensation of them doing it!

Im a 34 back and do a lot of sports that are traditionally done by the less well endowed, so a c would have been perfect for my lifestyle and my choice but it’s not happened - though some more weight loss will help. However it’s been interesting reading people talking about breast width, and on reflection mine are quite wide and wide set, so it would indeed have been difficult to make them smaller without looking a bit odd. It has slightly reconciled me to the size that they have turned out. This thread has been so helpful!

@Notooserious yes me too with the ‘getting in the way of sports’ thing … yoga inversions while being smothered by your boobs anyone 😂

I’m a 32 band and if I ended up being a C cup - pretty unlikely - that would be the equivalent to 34B or 36A in terms of volume which is frigging tiny!

@Singletrackmind ballet and ice skating…there’s a reason I don’t jump in either!!!!!!

Im just going to focus on losing the weight that I know I have to (two stone overweight so it’s gotta come off) and seeing where they end up!

Mackies ice cream and a cold can of Diet Coke? Truly the revival treat of dreams 😋

I'll take a big water bottle and a couple of snacks in my bag too. I bought a hopelessly impractical pair of pyjamas of the softest pure white cotton, a bacon roll would be asking for trouble 😂

Bloody brilliant!🙌😂

Oooo, I’m very glad to find this thread as have huge ones - lol. Have had my last baby now so will shortly have finished feeding.

my family have a fairly high breast cancer risk, has anyone had a voluntary mastectomy and rebuild to a smaller size or considered it?

I’m not sure if that is crazy but I need a reduction now as bras are hard to find etc and it feels a bit like helping remove/reduce my lifetime cancer risk.

Presumably it would reduce the risk if there's less tissue there. I'd be interested to know from an expert.

Forgive my ignorance but are you saying that if you're breasts are bigger because you've put on weight then they're not willing to operate?

I’d had at least two cysts drained by aspiration previously, and when he removed all the tissue, he said there were loads and loads of tiny system there. Nothing worrying about the cyst at all, just my age, but I’ve persuaded myself that this is an additional benefit.

My surgeon mentioned this. He said that there is no data that says that it reduces the breast cancer risk, even though it seems intuitively likely that it would.

Yes exactly that.
A breast reduction is to remove breast tissue and will also augment/reshape them. The more overweight you are, the more fat you have, so the results of surgery are poorer so most surgeons won’t do it.

I am now at 4 weeks. Do you think I can vacuum now? I’ve been relying on the roomba but the stairs need a vac.
Mine are definitely settling shape/size wise. Feels like they are slightly different every time I look right now!
For the person who asked- I can feel my nipples pretty much BUT I do have big areas of numbness around the incisions which can be disconcerting.

Why would you

get your husband to until 6 weeks

Ah he has other things to do - lots going on.
I guess not then 😂

Well you could but what @Madagascary said ... get him to do it, I'm perfectly capable but am ignoring all the housework !!! Lols.

Yeah 4 weeks yesterday and I agree, things are settling and changing as the days go by. I'm happier looking at them now so my brain must be adjusting.

For the people who were asking about reduction and cancer risk etc .. I did look at this pre-op. The general view as suggested is that less breast tissue means reduced risk, but reductions/ uplifts don't remove all breast tissue so there is still statistically the same cancer risk that you would have had pre-surgery. That said, there are some studies that have found a reduced risk post reduction that is statically more significant for older women .. 50s and over who have reductions. If you really dig into it though the findings are pretty equivocal so I wouldn't personally use it [cancer risk reduction] as a key factor in your decision making.

If your motivation was cancer risk then you would need to have a total mastectomy/ removal of all breast tissue and then rebuild - which is generally only something women with the BRCA1 gene would consider .. see Angelina Jolie famously.

I agree that the brain adjusting is a big thing

I was really not regretting, but it’s really hard to explain…, a bit askance at my new profile, especially after my son said oh my God Mum, you look so different. I did worry if I had done the wrong thing.

I spoke to my oncologist about the reduced risk, he said not unless a full mastectomy as mentioned above, which is pretty drastic. Also be mindful that the extra scarring can make mammograms harder to read in future.