Almost 2 years

Hey everyone! I'm just shy of 2 years post-op, and am STILL super happy that I had my reduction.  I've lurked (and participated) in a few Reduction forums, so I thought I'd answer a few common questions with MY experience (your mileage may vary, naturally).

1 - Shape. Mine are a weird shape. Not just the whole boob, but around the nipples a bit too. I PERSONALLY am perfectly ok with this, as my main goal with my reduction was to get the weight gone, and it is! I'm sure if the shape or anything bothered me that badly, I could have then fixed through more surgery, but it SERIOUSLY does not bother me. Plus, I figure if they bother anyone else, that's someone who doesn't need to see me naked anyway!!

2 - Underarm Lipo. I had it. No question in my mind it was worth it. From my observations, it seems the larger reductions practically require it to make things look and feel right. I know my breast tissue went WAY back under my arms and along my sides. Now, my arms can rest down at my sides like they belong. It's nice.

3 - Scar softening. I heal pretty well, but I scar easily. My scars were HARD when they healed. It felt like wire under the skin, hard. My Plastic Surgeon (I believe in other parts of this, I just referred to him as PS?) used small injections of some sort of steroid to soften them, even around the nipples, (which I think contributed to the odd nipple shape, but maybe not). As far as fading? Mine are a bit faded, but I'm not holding my breathe on them going away. Again, your body may heal differently.

4 - Post-op bras. Right after surgery, I stayed wrapped in a light wrap-around bandage (similar to an ace bandage, but way more gauzy). After I fully healed and the swelling went down, I went and bought myself some soft cup bras. That's still what I prefer, but I have a general dislike for bras anyways.

And that's all I can think of right now. Feel free to comment or message me if you're curious or have any questions.

Still going!

 healing process is going really well. I've been seeing the chiropractor,  and my back issues are almost totally gone. I really feel like I received a life reset now. I can breathe easily. I can stand, walk, and move so much easier than I could pre-op. I thought I'd share a few new pics showing how my scars are healing!

This is my right side. The red dot towards the bottom is where my drain was.

Left side. Scars on this side are fading pretty well.

Left nipple.  

Scarring in the middle. These are fading and softening up quite well.

This is the right nipple. This is the one that had all the damage and extra healing. The scar along it is kinda hard, but getting better.

Back issues, etc.

Had another appt with my PS last week, and he put more stuff in my scars to soften a few places some more (did I mention he did that a couple months ago? He did... and most of the scars softened AMAZINGLY well). Not a lot to report in that area of my recovery. At this point, all wounds are fully healed, scars are softer or in the process of becoming so. They still itch at times, especially around my sides. Despite the lingering issues with my back, I have NO regrets about doing this surgery. There were times during my recovery, I'm not gonna lie, where I thought "What in the hell is wrong with me? WHY did I do this to myself?" and I was miserable, hating life, and feeling mildly psychotic. Not sure how much of that was the pain, the medications, feeling helpless, etc, but yeah... I was plenty miserable for a bit there. Now, I can get up, move around, BREATHE, and I'm feeling SO much better. My best friend got me to try some stuff called Thrive(vitamin/mineral supplement), and I'm starting that today and feeling excited about it (I'll be running a separate blog on that covering how I feel, link to be added here for anyone interested.) Tomorrow I have my third Chiropractic appt. My first was this Monday, my second was yesterday. My lower back and hips are out of whack, and he's been working on adjusting me. I'm also supposed to be icing (iceing? IDK) my back for 20 minutes every hour. I hate being cold though. I know it's necessary, but UGH. Not sure if I'm feeling any improvements yet, but it's not supposed to be an overnight thing anyway. The shooting pains seem to have let up. It felt like sharp pinches, or being stabbed with a needle, at random. Then again, they weren't super common anyway.

That's it for today! Leave a comment if you have anything to ask or add! No pics, as nothing has visually changed in awhile :)

Update! With pics

I'm doing good, and am happy with my healing process. My boobs have softened back down to a more natural feeling, instead of rock hard. At my last appt, my PS put some sort of steroid into my scars to soften them. It made a HUGE difference.  They are softer and more elastic than they were, and don't stick out as mich either. My right areola/nipple area has some heavy scarring.  The only thing that's really bothering me? All the damned stretch marks that popped back out! Ah well, genetic lottery loss, I guess lol.  I can now stand in lines,  stand up and cook a whole meal, and other stuff I couldn't before because my back hurt so badly after just a few minutes.  My back still has issues from the surgery,  but it is so much better, and I think it will continue to get better on its own. Not sure if I should see a chiropractor or physical therapist about it. I'll ask my PS at my next follow up.

Healing

I am healing quite well. I still have some numbness in my lower back, but that's lessening. My boobs are looking fantastic, and I can't begin to describe how amazing it is, being able to BREATHE properly. To take a deep breath, and not feel as if I have a tire on my chest. A good portion of my scars were very hard and standing out at my last appointment. My Dr didn't like that, didn't like the way they looked or felt. He injected them with some type of steroid used for that purpose, and even though it's only been a week, I can ABSOLUTELY tell the difference. Scars are softer, smoother (some are almost flat, even), and when I raise my arms, I don't feel them pull like I was before. I'd assumed that the scars were going to be something I'd have to make peace with, as they were. Sure, I know about scar reduction treatments, etc, but I'd just assumed that those treatments were something I'd have to pursue on my own, and wouldn't be able to afford. A friend of mine has more experience in the world of plastic surgery than I do, and was impressed my Dr took the initiative to treat the scars. There is definitely something to be said for a surgeon who takes pride in his work.

I have pictures to share, but they're on my tablet and I'm not, so that'll have to wait for another day. I know I haven't updated much, and I'm sure at some point, I'll stop completely. As always, if you have any questions (or anything to add!) please feel free!

Nipple pt 3

I haven't posted about my right nipple in a while.  It's healing quite well. At my last PS appt, he used some silver nitrate to burn off some excessive flesh growth (didn't hurt or anything), and its already looking wayyyy better.

I haven't posted much lately because,  to be honest,  I have been horribly whiney and pathetic and moody. I keep hearing I wasn't on the Tramadol long enough to "really" be physically addicted.  My body and attitude tell my logical side otherwise.  Plus, my foot has been really bothering me, so I saw my normal physician (an APN) and she had it xrayed... not broken,  but I "probably have a touch of arthritis in it". Um, no. I tripped, my foot statted to hurt immediately afterwards.  That's an injury,  not arthritis.  I'm not a total moron. I'm already cranky, so that aggravated me a bit. And, on top of all that, I'm pmsy as all get out this week.  Cramps are horrible, seriously.  If I were an animal,  I'd have been put out of my misery by now, lol. Ok, so it's not quite that bad, but it has been rough on me.

On the plus side, I've lost around 40lbs since just before my reduction,  so I have that going for me. Don't ask how,  cuz I can only account for about half of it.

Rambling

Another sleepless night. This time, though,  it's my foot hurting that kept me awake, plus my digestive system being a bitch. I broke and took a Tramadol for my foot. I had no idea how much pain was being blocked there until I stopped the Tramadol. Wow. In case I haven't said it before,  I hurt my foot about 3 weeks ago, tripping over a litter box. In my defense,  we don't normally have a litter box in the hallway, but the kittens were much smaller then. (And it's not in the hall any longer either, lol) Plus, I was still taking a pretty heavy dosage of Tramadol then too, and wasn't walking very well. I would call and make myself an appointment with my regular doctor today, but it's a holiday. As much as I genuinely want off the Tramadol,  I'm not a masochist, so quitting it can wait a few more days.

I've had the same bathing suit for a couple years now... a black one piece. Growing up,  I always preferred a bikini, mostly because a one piece crawled up my butt. At a certain point, though,  I had to admit that even a tankini wasn't covering my old boobs, so I got the one piece. Now that I have smaller boobs again,  I kinda want to get a bikini. Now, however,  the fun part would be finding one to cover my butt. I fully admit that I am horribly overweight. I don't like it, I am not one of those "I'm not fat, I'm curvy" types, and I'm not the most confident person on my best days, but if I found a bikini I liked,  that fit me, I would wear it in public and go swimming,  opinions of others be damned. It's strange reaching that point in my thinking,  because I used to care too much about what others thought of me, and I was much skinnier and friendlier then. Right now, my focuses are raising my kids, getting a handle on my health, and supporting my husband.

I know this is a lot of random. Can't get back to sleep right now. Brain won't shut up. I'd like a little input from readers for a future blog post,  though. What are some things you dislike about your breasts? Is there anything specific you want to know about having very large ones? Other large chested women, what are a couple things you think others might be interested in knowing,  good or bad? Guys, feel free to ask questions too! You can post them here, anonymously if you want, or on FB if you have me. I'm trying to do a post on what it's like to be very large breasted, but don't know where to start.