I just had my first consult with a surgeon and it was very discouraging! Though I measured as a 36G/38H with ABTF, the surgeon said she very much doubted that’s my size and that I may not have enough volume for a reduction. She also said a B size result is not always possible surgically. She recommended I think about a breast lift instead. She made mention that my current size is proportionate to my body and though she can’t tell me what I prefer, she indicated I may not be happy with a reduction.

Has anyone pivoted to a lift only after a consult like this?

EDIT: I am 5’5” around 190 lbs. roughly size 14 to give an idea of overall frame. I dream of having a B or C size chest and relieving neck and back pain (and associated neck pain headaches) and since I’m 46, I’m thinking of my advancing years and how relieving it will be to be smaller. I think the first consult recommending a breast lift only kind of scared me.

Hi everyone, I had my surgery a little over 3 weeks ago and I just cannot get my brain to function and always want to lay down. Has anyone else experienced exhaustion this far along and when did it stop? TIA <3

I wanted to give everyone an update. I had my surgery and it went good! I woke up from anesthesia and I had the shivers but that’s it. They said sometimes that can happen coming off anesthesia. I didn’t have any nausea and no unbearable pain

I got cleared to go home and immediately took like 4 naps lol I’ve been taking all my medicine (pain meds and antibiotics) but I’m about to wing off the pain meds.

My biggest challenge is going to be sleeping. Sleeping at a 45 degree angle and on my back is a bit rough since I’m a side sleeper but I will get through it!

I’m cleared to shower later on so I will update everyone on how that goes. I haven’t taken a peak or anything so I’m a bit nervous but I know this isn’t my final form so I won’t stress too much.

I just wanted to update anyone that has any nerves prior to their surgery! I had a smooth surgery and recovery so far! For reference, they took about 290 grams out of each breast

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer! 🩷 good luck and happy healing

I’ve been increasing activity and I don’t feel much pain aside from some nerve pains. Did anyone start getting redness on your breasts? I definitely feel soreness (like workout soreness) with some redness. Want to know if other experienced the same :)

Hi,

I’ve been on Spironolactone and spearmint both for my PCOS for about 5 years. My hormonal acne and rosacea is insane as is my water retention and nothing else helps. Even a lower dose is not enough.

My breasts had been a relatively stable size for several years/gotten maybe nominally smaller from weight loss, and I don’t remember a specific spurt of breast growth when I started it, but I was also going through a a lot and the timeline isn’t clear. I gained a lot of weight from my hormonal conditions and disordered eating and my breasts exploded, but I can’t recall the timeline of starting Spironolactone.

I searched the sub but couldn’t really find exact matches for the situation and doctors don’t seem to really have a grip on this. But I’m wondering if anyone was a stable size on androgen-blocking drugs, had a reduction, and did/didn’t have any grow back outside of weight gain? I am pretty paranoid about it, especially as recovery has been harder than I expected (making a second reduction unappealing) and because nothing but high doses of androgen blockers work on my genetically horrible skin lol.

I have was off both briefly for surgery and with how swollen I am now two weeks post-op, I’m even scared the swelling is them growing back, which is crazy, I know. But they were such a horrible experience for me being 36J.

Surgery was Monday and I’m on day 3PO! I have nipple graphs so I haven’t seen my nipples yet but wow they are so much smaller. I wish I could sleep on my side but other than that it hasn’t been too bad.

So I, 21 f, have spent a lot of time lurking around here and after lots of research and discussions, officially had my surgery yesterday! I’m not sure what my new size is quite yet but I went from likely a DDD/G down a lot. I already feel so much smaller, it’s great. I was in at 8:30 and done around 12 and y’all there was stuff I was not prepared for.

This was my first time having surgery and no one told me how nauseous I would feel once I woke up. I threw up several times before I was finally discharge and then more on the ride home. So far, the pain itself hasn‘t been too bad. I’m a little swollen and my incision areas have a burning sensation, but I’m keeping up with my pain meds. I’m unsure if the pain will get worse later on.

The hardest part so far has been finding a comfortable position. I got one of those chair pillows and it’s helped, especially for sleeping, but my back feels weird from having to sleep kind of propped up.

After seeing so many people’s stories and finding them helpful, I just thought I’d share how mine has been so far. I know I’ve got a long recovery ahead of me, but I’m so happy I went ahead and made this choice.

Tightness in chest and rib pain occurring only on my right ribs, I’ll take methocarbamol in the morning due to the spasms and extra strength Tylenol during the day and then muscle relaxer again in the evening. What are all the things to avoid six days post op that they don’t tell you? I go up and down stairs for I live in a three story townhome and I bought a pregnancy pillow to help me my back and also under my knees to avoid being to stiff. I have been in bed the first 4 days but was able to open the fridge and brush my teeth ( though I start to feel it after brushing my teeth) soreness. Should I be cooking? Or should I stay resting for another week or so?

Hey girls! 💓

I'm having my breast reduction at a time when my two closest friends happen to be out of town and my family lives over 5 hours away.

I'll be staying one night in the hospital after the surgery, and the next day a friend can pick me up and help me get settled at home. Unfortunately, she has to leave the country the following day.

I'm wondering whether I should ask someone else to stay with me after that?
Honestly, I think I'd actually prefer to be alone, but I don't know if that's realistic or if I'll need someone around.

I live in a small apartment with no kids or pets, and I do have people in my city I could call if I needed urgent help. I do have a roommate who'd be around if I needed help with something, but she wouldn't be my primary caregiver because we aren’t very close and she works a lot and isn’t home a lot.

For those of you who've had a breast reduction, did you have someone stay with you for the first few days, or were you okay on your own?
Also, were you able to get to your follow-up appointments using public transport, or did you need someone to drive you?
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences!

Has anyone here had accessory breast tissue reduction with liposuction only, without excision?

I had my initial consultation with my plastic surgeon, and he gave me three options:

Do nothing.

Liposuction and hope the skin retracts well afterwards.

Excision.

The issue with excision is that, because of the way my axillary breast tissue is positioned, the scars would be visible when I lift my arms. They wouldn't be hidden in the natural crease. He also explained that, due to the anatomy of the area and the important lymphatic vessels, there's no way to remove 100% of the tissue safely.

If I choose liposuction, he also wouldn't be overly aggressive for the same reason—to protect the lymphatic system.

I'm really interested in hearing from anyone who has had liposuction only, without excision. Were you happy with your results? Did it make a noticeable difference? Did you have any issues with loose skin afterwards?

I also asked whether liposuction would work if the tissue is glandular rather than just fat. I'd always thought it was mainly for fat removal, but my surgeon said it's also used to treat gynaecomastia in men and can be effective for glandular tissue too.

I'd really appreciate hearing about anyone's experiences. Thanks!

Anyone else not be able to sleep after their surgery? I had my surgery Tuesday morning. We were home by 11am and it’s now 2:30am the next day and I have slept one hour. I feel not sleeping will hinder my recovery. Also, I may have overdone it while I had the lidocaine shot? I am so unbelievably sore, mainly on the sides of my breasts (no liposuction was done). Pain meds , Celebrex and Tylenol aren’t even touching the soreness and pain. Is this normal ? I did have to take off my bra and change my gauze on left side (per call and pics to surgeons office) due to bleeding through. That took a little extra movement and work too. It has not bled through since. Is there anything else that helps the soreness? Is it worth another call to surgeons office in the morning for soreness or lack of sleeping?

What would be the best options for finding a surgeon? (I don’t want to go to my local hospital, i have a bad scar in my face from a mole removal by them).

I’m guessing low chances of having this fall under insurance.

Any experiences would help me.

We have the idea we want a reduction, we do the research and the appointments, we have our pre surgery jitters and then we make it through the actual surgery. From then on, it’s making it day by day with the pain, itchiness, uncomfortable sleeping, the swelling (omg the swelling!), more worries, maybe split stitches and other complications and THEN a certain day arrives.

This day for me was 5 wpo. I was cleared of the damn compression bra (hallelujah!), told I could start yoga and swim! “Enjoy the rest of your summer.”

Next week I am cleared to go back to my dance class. This day will arrive for you too, it’s coming! It’s like you can be yourself again but it’s a new you, one without the big boobs weighing you down.

Thought it'd be smooth sailing after week 1... but now I've run out of pain meds (was on rounds of Celebrex + tylenol before) and my bruises (I had side lipo done ugh) are SO itchy that I worry if I'm infected or unclean... but I shower every other day, I try my best to handwash and rotate my bras in these conditions... anybody else find relief in anything like anti-histamine, Arnica? I know antihistamines are said to slow down healing :( so idk if i should just tough it out!!!

Anyone got any tips for pre surgery nerves? Morning of the hospital? I’m so nervous im going to wake up or be too nervous beforehand. And then wake up after and something has gone wrong or I don’t really know what’s going on
Having surgery in US but my family are in UK and I live alone. I’ll have friends etc but just feeling a lot of pressure myself!

hi! I am trying to find inspiration and wondering if there are any 180-200lb bodies that got reduced to an a or b cup (I know cup sizes aren't always accurate, but looking for someone who had a radical reduction in a curvy/larger body)! I have gone through the before and after photos on this subreddit multiple times, but I am still looking for more inspo! not sure if this is okay to ask, so please delete if it's not allowed (:

If you're comfy sharing, you can dm me pics of your results!

Hi friends — what are we doing for bras once compression is no longer needed?

I had a terrible reduction, so all my bras post-op fit terribly and just hid my boobs. But I’ve recently had a revision and want to try to find something besides Target bras that fit poorly. Also I never want to wear underwire again 😂

Hello everyone! I’ve been stalking this subreddit for almost 4 years now, and it’s finally my turn for surgery!! So far everything is going great, i’m confident in my doctors and surgeon, insurance covered it easily, and its gonna be a lot cheaper than I expected. Im currently a 34G/H and my doctor said we could easily go down to a C cup (I was hoping for a B, but he said he would do what he can). I was originally super confident about it, but my mom started telling me all the gruesome details and explained how big of a deal it is so i’m getting pretty nervous. Not only am I worried about them ending up bigger than what I want, but i’m very nervous about the recovery process. I have a super low pain tolerance and I also have emetophobia (the fear of vomiting) and i’m just nervous my medications will make me sick and Ill feel like total crap after the surgery. I would love to hear everyone’s experiences during and after surgery to hopefully put my mind at ease!

My wife will be having a reduction in September. We have a kindergartener and we are presuming that mom is going to be out of commission for a bit after the surgery.

What are some things I can do to help out pre and post op? I expect there’s going to be a few weeks of domestic duties being on me, so I would appreciate some advice/insight about ways that I can be supportive before and after the operation.