I was born a “c” cup, which would have been fine except my breasts didn’t stop growing. I became very self conscious in high school. For my seventeenth birthday my friends gave me a gag gift, an electric milker. After I had my daughter, I really started to feel uncomfortable. Even the best support bra could not hold my girls into place. Besides the self-consciousness, there were the bra straps digging into my shoulders leaving red marks on my body, causing rashes, and the back pain. The worst thing was the back pain. I was carrying around eight extra pounds on my chest. It wasn’t four pounds on each breast either, but three pounds on one side and five pounds on the other. The unevenness in breast size made my shirts fit funny. There would always be a flap of my shirt open between the buttons exposing my skin. Needless to say, it was embarrassing.
I had considered getting a breast reduction but couldn’t afford it. After a routine mammogram, it was discovered that I had a benign nodule in my left breast. So my primary physician sent me to a surgeon. I anxiously went to the surgeon’s office for a consult to have the nodule removed. The surgeon could see my embarrassment as I opened my blouse for the exam. It was at this time that the doctor asked me if I would be interested in a breast reduction. Yes, I said. The doctor referred me to a plastic surgeon. I went in for the consult. The surgeon showed me the before and after pictures of other patients. Then the surgeon took measurements of my breasts, and explained that due to the size of my breasts my nipples would have removed and skin grafted back onto my breasts otherwise they would die. The downside to this was the loss of feeling in the nipples. I decided I could live with that. At the same time the nodule would be removed and all tissue would be sent to pathology for testing. After two months on a waiting list I got the call.
The day of the surgery the doctor took measurements again and marked my skin. I left his office and went to the hospital. Of course, I was anxious but I let the anesthesiologist know this and I was given something for anxiety. I also let them know that I didn’t want to be nauseous after the surgery, so they gave me medication for that too. It wasn’t long before I was wheeled into surgery, and before I knew it I was in recovery. I wasn’t in a lot of pain. I just felt a slight burning in my chest. Later, I was transferred to a private room. After several hours they removed the drains on each side of my breast. There wasn’t even enough blood to measure. I didn’t sleep that night but it wasn’t because of pain. It was the excitement. I couldn’t wait to see my new, smaller breasts. The next morning the doctor looked under the padding and I got a peak too. I had the boobs of a teenager. After the doctor checked the surgery I was released from the hospital.
I went home and I can honestly say there wasn’t really any pain, just some soreness. Mostly it was a matter of feeling uncomfortable because I could not sleep on my stomach. Fortunately, I had a nice comfy recliner that I could sleep in a couple of days. The bruising gradually went away and the scars faded. I got out of the house the second day after the surgery. When I left the house that day, I did not have to worry that everyone was staring at my breasts.
