Fairly niche topic, I know, but I'm writing it out specifically for someone who has googled "breast reduction surgery" and wants to know details. I have a couple of ideas for new posts, but none of them are ready to go, so I was looking through my drafts folder and found this, which has been sitting there for years now. I have no idea why I didn't publish it at the time.
Four years ago, I had breast reduction surgery. I would 100% do it again. The last time I mentioned this, it had only been about six weeks and I was still in recovery mode. I had twinges of pain for months afterward, especially around the scars, but now I've been pain-free for a long time. My clothes fit better, exercise is more comfortable, and I am way happier with my appearance. If you're on the fence about getting it done, I highly recommend it.
For the sake of total honesty, though, here are the downsides. The immediate recovery was more painful than I expected. It was six weeks before I felt like I could move comfortably, and probably six months before I was pain-free. Also I worried for along time (probably unnecessarily) that I would reopen the incisions.
Then, appearance-wise. Honestly, I don't really care about the appearance of the scars, or even the appearance of my breasts, because I'm old and the only person besides me who ever sees them seems happy enough with how they look. But if I was 35 and had an active dating life, I might not be all that happy. There are minor lumpy spots on the scars, and the ends of the scars are still a bit puffy. Also, my breasts are a bit uneven--oddly, before the surgery, my left breast was larger; now the right one is a little larger. It's not enough to be noticeable when I have clothes on. And like I said, I don't really care, and I certainly don't care enough to wish I hadn't had it done. And I confess there have been a few moments when I've missed the larger size during sex, but only rarely, and again--not nearly enough for me to wish I hadn't done it.
Also, I got a call-back for my mammogram for the first time
ever when I had the first one done post-surgery. The problem turned out to be scar tissue masquerading as pre-cancerous
cells. That wasn't fun-- the whole thing took a couple of weeks and of course it is pretty stressful to not know if the spot on your scan is cancer.
My neck and shoulders are better, but it took a surprisingly long time. At the six month mark, I thought that it hadn't made any difference at all. But I guess it just takes your body a long time to realize that something is different, because now I can definitely tell a difference. I have better range of motion in my shoulders, and I can carry my grandkids around for far longer with fewer after-effects than I would have been able to a year ago. Unfortunately, the surgery has not had much effect on my migraines, which I was really hoping for.
So overall, definite improvement. I've only very rarely had surgery (c-section, endometrioma(?) removed), so going in for the surgery was scary. Sometimes I still can't believe I was brave enough to do it, because bravery isn't something I'm known for. But I'm glad I did it. Happy to answer questions if you want, my email address is in my profile.
Ha. Now that I'm about to publish this, I remember why I didn't publish it the first time. I'm a pretty private person, and this feels like way too much personal information. But I guess it makes sense as a public service. We're heading east to spend a week with my spouse's family, so I almost for sure won't post next week. Hope you have a good one.
