This is my true story of how a breast reduction changed my life.
Maybe it will be your story soon, if you are considering a breast reduction, keep reading!
Many people consider breast reduction surgery.
What you don’t know is that many people around you are unhappy with their cup sizes and breasts.
You might call it vanity but there are so many reasons for breast reduction surgery and vanity is not really the driving reason.
Not once have I looked back, other than to write this story because a breast reduction changed my life for the better!
Correcting Issues: A Breast Reduction Changed My Life
A breast reduction changed my life and became a necessary evil to correct an ever-spreading infection.
However, there are other reasons a breast reduction changed my life too!
Naturally, I am writing this article in hopes that it helps at least one person go forward and seek help!
Also, I’ll hopefully be able to share what held me back from seeking help for so long before a breast reduction changed my life.
Rather than going into surgery and recovery from a breast reduction without knowing what to expect, I hope that I set your expectations.
Perhaps I will be able to shed light at the end of the tunnel and steer you through the unknown.
TO be clear, my story of how a breast reduction changed my life is not about surviving cancer, because I did not have cancer. Rather my story is about triumphing through a hot mess of issues and finding a clear path to help me make the change!
A Breast Reduction Changed My Life! “I should have done it sooner!”
A breast reduction changed my life and I should have had this procedure years ago because it woke me back up into life!
From shopping for clothes to sleeping comfortably, I am now much better in my own body!
Without lying, it’s been a long, hard journey but I have arrived back to a better version of me, sins the big boobs!
In fact, my big breasts really took away some of my confidence and ability to function!
So what did I do first to get this breast reduction that changed my life?
Seek Out Help For The Issue Affecting Your Breasts
My baby steps towards the breast reduction that saved my life were actually unknown but revealed themselves as I went along.
Issues I was combatting before I had a breast reduction that changed my life:
- large boobs before childbirth
- bigger boobs After childbirth
- achy back pain
- infections
- self esteem issues
- clothing issues
- shopping issues
- evil people downplaying my issues
- fear of the unknown
- nursing (first baby only!)
The Unnecessarily Painful Path To Figuring Out You Need Breast Reduction
Debates, year after year, over should I get a breast reduction or not.
SO many people I knew had gotten them for various reasons, yet, I was still not ready, or was I?
I have to be honest about my breast reduction thought process.
Truly, this was a HUGE widely debated decision.
Breast reduction surgery is was a large undertaking.
Consider everything from surgery to recovery.
This is a life-altering procedure.
Exposed: Words for ‘Our Girls’ A.K.A. Breasts ~ A little fun in between the story!
The Urban Dictionary made me laugh with this song about 99 Words For Boobs, and in fact, there are so many different words, that we refer to ‘our girls’ as.
During ‘my story’ I will attempt to cover many of them. I am the same as each of you and I call them what you call them.
Before & After Child Birth: Could A Breast Reduction Changed My Life?
Long Before Kids
Pre-child birth I had larger boobs.
In fact, they were far larger than most of my friends.
How big were they? Let’s just say I could definitely wear a strapless dress and not worry about it falling off.
But, just because I could I didn’t. As ‘cool’ as it might sound, try finding a strapless bra to fit boobs the size of small watermelons.
When I did find a strapless bra, the underwire to support these 2 melons was as painful as it was uncomfortable.
Plus, the wideband support on the back showed through EVERYTHING thing including tanks with low backs!
Mirrors Are Awful When You Have Huge Boobs
When I looked in the mirror I hated looking at my boobs, as they were the biggest thing on my petite frame and super announced.
Generally, my breasts arrived before I did anywhere I went.
In fact, they were saggy before I had kids and really full, which meant big bra cups and big bands as I mentioned above.
To complicate matters, clothing shopping was a nuisance, and shirts were never cut big enough at the breast area and small enough at the waist.
So I would pop buttons on the top if I bought small for my little waistline.
Then, the tank tops that everyone else wore, to keep cool, were not something I could wear.
What I Dreamt Of But Wouldn’t Venture Out of The House With…
Of course, if I wanted to wear those little tank tops!
However, I had to wear a LARGE bra with huge straps, which ended up being larger than the silly tank so what was the use?
Thick backs, ugly closures, and BOOBS basically up to my chin. Where did these come from?
My boobs just got bigger as this story continues and it has everything to do with motherhood.
Becoming MOM & Evolving Breasts: The story of How A Breast Reduction Changed My Life Continues
While I had taken my larger cup size in stride to this point, even with all the other aforementioned issues.
Suddenly my cup size would sink me in so many more complicated ways!
Do you know how some people tell you they lost their boobs during pregnancy?
Well, not mine, in fact, my boobs took up even more residency than ever and by the time that nursing could begin, I skyrocketed from a DD to an F.
There was no going back and I don’t care that when I was done nursing they ‘kind of’ went back because they kind of resembled eggplants.
The Girls Have Grown Bigger & I need a Change Now But There’s More!
Yes, my breasts resembled long eggplants that swashed from one place on my chest and hung in a vine-like direction and turned southerly. where they almost touched my belly button, they were just out of control.
So while I lost the childbirth weight I gained bigger TaTas and let me tell you I was uncomfortable!
No matter the time of day or where I was going, I had to have a bra and sometimes a double bra on to hold my boobs up North where they belonged, it was completely insane! 
Kick-off Of How A Breast Reduction Changed My Life: Anguish and Pain
The time was right and a breast reduction became necessary when I had an infection that just would not leave.
For about 3 years, there was burning, itching, and recurrent infections under both breasts, leaving them red, sore, and sometimes with open wounds from rounds of itching.
Horribly complicated, unable to tend to, and embarrassed because the area the infection was in was not a place you want to flash at every doctor, but it was time to face my fears!
I had tried ice, Domeboro soaks, rolled cotton cloths under each, and then tucked a sports bra over the infection, and even rubbing alcohol, nothing would stop it.
Itching to the point of burning, burning to the point of itching, red, rubbed, infected, and spreading infection from side to side under my breasts was running rampant.
The Dermatologist Began The Evolution of Change
I visited the dermatologist because underneath each breast was an infection that went from armpit to armpit and now had entered into my underarms.
Honestly, this was no ordinary infection, in fact, the friction of the under-wire, the weight of the breast, the transfer of heat of the breast against the chest skin, and the fact that there was NO Treatment for it, sent me over the edge, in a good way!
My normal doctor was not there and I the chance to work with a female doctor who totally GOT what was going on and was so upset or me. She
She understood my 3 years of battling a horrid infection without help and knew that I didn’t want to show her the unsightly mess. Suddenly I mustered up the strength and showed the doctor. It was time to conquer the pain and burning.
Gaining Perspective Before A Breast Reduction Changed My Life
The burning and itching were severe at this point, and the spreading was worsening with no way to stop it. I understood it to be a yeast infection. The doctor tried antibiotics and creams, but NOTHING helped. It kept getting worse. (imagine the worse yeast infection you have had, multiply it x5 and amp it on steroids, then you understand what was going on here!)
Her help to attempt to soothe just made a huge mess! A cream! The cream had to be placed UNDER the breast. I could not go without a bra, therefore the underwire just further dug into the mess. Friction, burning, itching, and pain. I AM DONE with this!
As she explained, there’s not a pill to fight this. The issues that create this relentless cycle of a yeast infection in this area:
- Heat
- Exercise (creates heat underneath the breasts)
- weight gain (childbirth and nursing)
- Weight loss (after childbirth and exercise)
- Aging (we all go south as we age)
- The massive size of existing breasts!
The Breast Reduction Changed My Life & So Did That Dermatology Appointment
Trust me it all came tumbling down into one very emotional appointment. The Dermatologist said, “get to a breast reduction from a reliable and trustworthy surgeon NOW before it enters your blood system and does damage!”
She suggested a very particular Dr., called and spoke with the doctor’s secretary in order t get things moving along. I went home followed up with a call and an appointment and the rest is history.
Naturally, I was filled with fear, upset with everything but I advanced forward.
My surgeon was a gem, he knew my feelings before I communicated them, he met my questions with straight-on answers and his PA had been a patient and could speak candidly.
I knew I had found the right Dr. Now I had to get insurance to work with me.
My reasons were ALL valid from the infection to the size of my ‘ladies’ to the chronic back pain and the possible ‘sleep apnea’ issues created by them. The wait began, as I continued to suffer for an additional 3 months before we were able to move forward with surgery.
Me•Mom•Wife•Domestic Goddess: I had to come first just once in my life!
As a Mom, I will admit I am always last on the ‘get help’ list. Why? My world is all about my family and making sure their world is spinning right. Yes, I realize that I should come first, but I also am not a ‘Me’ person. Family first!
With active tweens and teens (involved in sports, music, and jobs) in the house, my responsibility to be ‘Mom’ came with a notion to keep things in place.
But, I couldn’t be any of these people to anyone if I did not come first this one time!
In between the time, the doctor assessed the breast reduction options and dealt with insurance for approval I considered every option.
Yet, each path ended with this notion: I could not take it anymore, and my big old boobs had to go I was sick from them and it had to end!
Don’t Deal With ‘Nay-Sayers’ About How A Breast Reduction (could change) Changed My Life…They Don’t Get It
However, the only thing going was my self-esteem and dwindling wardrobe because DD’s boobs had just taken my life over.
Trust me, when I talked to people about breast reductions, I got a ton of eye-rolls.
Some went as far as to make snotty remarks like, “You should love your boobs, and be happy you don’t have any issues with them!”
Another person told me, ‘get over it, people pay for what you have going on there!’ OH yes, because what I Have going on here is a hot mess of long, weighty breasts that fit into nothing and must be ‘bra’d up’ in order to not look like a 90-year-old woman with her stuff hanging to the ground uncontained!
There is no discussing of this topic with people that have not walked the walk.
My Tip So You Too Can Have a Story of How A Breast Reduction Changed My Life
Consider What Happened Before…Devastatingly disgusting but true: hardly can you love what is like two long swinging eggplants carried around on your chest each day, that wind you when you walk. Further, when your breasts don’t allow you to ever rest on your belly flat-faced on your pillow, and their meatiness (sorry but hard to find another word to describe) creates a very serious infection, seek help.
Breast Reduction Surgery But Where’s The Information?
It’s amazing how much information is NOT out there about breast reduction surgery, perhaps because it is still not widely accepted or discussed?
Let me assure you that there are more people than you can imagine that undergo breast surgery! To further this point, my personal doctor had 9 scheduled for a short month, right here in little old, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and we are hardly a bustling New York or West Coast LA with trends, so go figure!
I talked to so many people, it was lucky my mouth suddenly had gone into overdrive when I found out that a breast reduction was a more common procedure than once thought to be.
How A Breast Reduction Changed My Life: Plan Ahead
While recovery would not be easy, it was certainly no insurmountable.
We set our plans in our home, my husband stayed by my side and was my rock, and the kids were all managed the oldest child and my husband.
There were some odd days where we really could have used help. We did not have any help. My parents were living out of town, so it was me, Mike, and the kids. Rather than just giving up, we pushed through the chaos.
Never once, did I tell my kids coaches or the school? I wanted the kids’ lives to be as they were as I healed. Michael, just maintained all schedules for everyone and the kids stepped up a bit as well. Everyone where they needed to go. Life functioned as normally as possible for the kids. I rested when they were not home.
I did not want my kids’ lives shelved because I had to have a procedure. We worked it all out.
Life Went On In Casa Vento
Day 1 was in the hospital, which was 8 hours of surgery and tubes that had to be removed the next day.
Then, on Day 2 I was released, weak, tired, and beat up with a recovery ahead of me beyond what I understood. That said, per the doctor, I was walking around the house. I made myself a sandwich. Baby steps.
Understanding Limits: Breast Reduction Changed My Life
There were of course limits on the things that I could and could not do, but Michael committed to helping me and stayed home for 4 days.
For instance: I could not clean, do dishes or cook. However, using the bathroom, and walking around the house, I managed on my own.
No, I did not just sink in my bed, because you can get blood clots, so I kept on the move and read, and then got up, or talked on the phone, and walked while on the phone and began phone conferences again, etc.
By Day 5, Michael went back to work. I needed to nap a bit, due to the pain meds, and then I was up and moving for the remainder of the day.
Expect Pain But Know It’s Worth It~
There is no way I could have done with the pain meds either.
Yes, there is pain, and the stitching was enormously visible (at the beginning).
Stitches from my underarms, across my ribs, and below where the breasts land.
Yes, there is pain, after all it was surgery, however, ice packs helped immensely. I kept to a schedule of no late nights and went to bed on time.
When the kids got up for school so did I. Getting back on my feet and recovering was important. And after a week of pain meds, I kicked them and went to some ibuprofen!
One Unanticipated Item on How A Breast Reduction Changed My Life
The only thing I didn’t realize is that there would be bulk up under my armpits to which the surgeon stated, “you can get surgery to get rid of that but it is not covered by insurance!”
Gee thanks for not telling me that was going to be there!
But on the bright side, it’s a badge of recovery and reduction. Plus, no more surgery needed, I am self-correcting that lump under each with arm exercises.
In fact, I’ve decreased the bulk up a lot!
The only other thing I’d like to put out there is that I did one year later, develop a suspicious CYST in the armpit. It was taken out and was benign but it is possible it was a mammary gland duct that back-filled from what I’ve been told.
Yes, I went back to the same surgeon and he took care of it, but it was also unanticipated.
A Breast Reduction Changed My Life It’s The Best Gift I Gave Myself
Just this time, I stepped up for myself and gave myself a gift. Since I was so unhappy, my world was not spinning right, I was lost. My Big Old Boobs were making me insecure and totally took the ME out of me, plus the infection left which was the reason I ended up in surgery and with a reduction!
Breast reduction surgery is the best gift I have ever given myself.
I am me again, and as a bonus, I have a new version of me with perky little boobs without sag. Now I sport cleavage and my Dr. told me that was a perk and he is right.
There is no longer an infection under my breasts (girls, hooters, tatas, whatever you want to call them).
Today I enjoy wearing camisoles with shelf bras, tank tops, little dresses without big lanky, ugly bra straps, and without back pain! ~ DANA XO
