At my appointment last week the surgeon said that I could go back to life the way it was pre-surgery. Other than wearing underwired bra for another week or so I could do anything! I can't believe how quickly I got here. Healed and back at life as though nothing has happened. It has been a really interesting time. Since I am all healed up there is no point in keeping this journal going. The only thing that will change over the next year is the shape and form of my breasts. so, i figure before I stop updating this I could just leave you with a few final thoughts.
- If you are thinking about a breast reduction surgery and you have stumbled on this page, I am glad that you are doing research and I would encourage you to keep doing this. Research is what helps the most in making a decision.
- I picked Dr. Sean Rice and would recommend him to anyone. Make sure you see more than just one surgeon so you can make a decision based on who you are most comfortable with.
- Have realistic expectations. Smaller breasts has not made me a different person, I don't even look THAT different - People (including myself) are already forgetting what I used to look like and know that the way I look now looks like the way I am supposed to look, I look proportional. If anything aim to look proportional. I would have loved to be a size B or a C but ultimately they would not have looked as natural and proportional as they do now (they're a DD / E depending on the bra).
- When you are having your surgery make sure that you have someone to take care of you the first three days at least. You will be at your weakest then; five days would be even better.
- I can now see the scars on my breasts. I am being honest when I say they are not bad at all. I can barely see the scars around my nipples just the ones going down in a vertical line from the nipples to the bottom of the breast. They are red right now and I am positive they will fade away but even if they don't it's not a big deal because they're quite subtle to begin with (more subtle than I thought they'd be).
- If you have any questions about my experience leave me a comment (I get email notifications) and I will reply back :).
It has been a great experience, one of the best decisions I have made so far. If you are even considering a breast reduction go talk to your general physician or doctor, they really help out quite a bit too.
That is it then! To my friends: ladies, thanks for the encouragement, thanks for visiting me and bringing me large stuffed breasts :), for watching movies with me, lending my magazines and giving me company. To my mom and my sister, I would not have been able to do it without you guys taking such amazing care of me. Love you!
Goodbye everyone.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
happy one month girls!
The girls are a month old today. WOOHOOO!
I am feeling real good about them. The swelling has gone down quite a bit, the size and form is starting to settle in and there is no pain (except for some random shooting pains every now and then which are quite bearable). The stitches have dissolved for the most part, although not so much around the nipple. I can see the scarring now and it doesn't look bad, although it is quite obvious. I am researching Vitamin E for that. I've heard that it's good but someone else said that it's not really. So I am going to ask Dr. Rice on Monday.
They look so good. So proportional to the rest of my body. :). I like it. And my neck and shoulders feel better already! It's awesome.
Two more weeks till I can start wearing normal bras. I can't wait to go bra shopping! I also can't wait to start running again. I just want to be able to do what I want again - which will be after April 4, 2008, exactly six weeks from my surgery. I might be doing a run for cancer on April 5th, although I'm not so sure if I should start off like that.
I bought another $25 gift card for Joe Fresh with my PC Points. YAY! Can't wait to get my hands on some hot spring fashion items.
I am feeling real good about them. The swelling has gone down quite a bit, the size and form is starting to settle in and there is no pain (except for some random shooting pains every now and then which are quite bearable). The stitches have dissolved for the most part, although not so much around the nipple. I can see the scarring now and it doesn't look bad, although it is quite obvious. I am researching Vitamin E for that. I've heard that it's good but someone else said that it's not really. So I am going to ask Dr. Rice on Monday.
They look so good. So proportional to the rest of my body. :). I like it. And my neck and shoulders feel better already! It's awesome.
Two more weeks till I can start wearing normal bras. I can't wait to go bra shopping! I also can't wait to start running again. I just want to be able to do what I want again - which will be after April 4, 2008, exactly six weeks from my surgery. I might be doing a run for cancer on April 5th, although I'm not so sure if I should start off like that.
I bought another $25 gift card for Joe Fresh with my PC Points. YAY! Can't wait to get my hands on some hot spring fashion items.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
hypersensitive
Ok, so you know how excited I was about getting the feeling back in my nipples again? I actually thing that they are HYPERSENSITIVE. Turns out that while some women experience numbness in their nipples after breast reduction surgery a much less common side-effect is hypersensitivity. This, like numbness, also wears out in 6-12 weeks so that's kind of reassuring. It's my right nipple that's mostly hypersensitive, my left one feels okay.
They are starting to look less "uglier". I'm glad I didn't have to deal with any bruising and stuff...yet. I don't think I'll have to at this point. I am looking forward to being able to resume normal activities like running, picking up heavier things (and being able to do groceries on my own, although it's nice to have a friend help out with that, I totally appreciate it).
Also, I don't remember if I mentioned this already. I don't think that I am a C cup - I'm pretty sure that I am a D cup - which I am learning to accept. They look fine and very proportional to my body which is what I wanted. I feel very comfortable in my own skin now, way more than I did before! So thank goodness for that.
I'm forgetting what it was like before. That feels good.
They are starting to look less "uglier". I'm glad I didn't have to deal with any bruising and stuff...yet. I don't think I'll have to at this point. I am looking forward to being able to resume normal activities like running, picking up heavier things (and being able to do groceries on my own, although it's nice to have a friend help out with that, I totally appreciate it).
Also, I don't remember if I mentioned this already. I don't think that I am a C cup - I'm pretty sure that I am a D cup - which I am learning to accept. They look fine and very proportional to my body which is what I wanted. I feel very comfortable in my own skin now, way more than I did before! So thank goodness for that.
I'm forgetting what it was like before. That feels good.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
2 weeks
Tomorrow it will be two weeks since the surgery. Wow. My healing process has been so great - my breasts are starting to take some decent, "normal" form and shape, I've gotten all feeling back in my nipples already, my stitches are dissolving, I've been sleeping on my side and best of all I can now have a drink or two :). I've been taking pictures to keep track of the process, it will be really neat to see the progress over the next few months.
I didn't take enough before pictures, I wish I did but that's okay. I'm definitely forgetting what it was like to be a 32H. It's strange, but very good. I feel like this is so right. This is how it SHOULD be and now it finally is. It's been such a great experience so far, I'm so glad I made this decision.
On a side note, I am getting tired of wearing the surgical bra, I just want to start wearing the fun bras already! But all in good time. I'm so happy to be where I am today. Just this past summer this was nothing but a vague idea and now it's all done and over with, for the most part anyway. It's been just over four months since I made up my mind about this. That's a pretty short time now that I think about it. But when you know it's time it just is. Things worked out so well and God was definitely moving things along flawlessly. It's amazing when you know that you're being taken care of and I've definitely been feeling that way. This is would be such a hard thing if there had been complications or issues and there have been ZERO. None, whatsoever. I am so thankful for that.
I didn't take enough before pictures, I wish I did but that's okay. I'm definitely forgetting what it was like to be a 32H. It's strange, but very good. I feel like this is so right. This is how it SHOULD be and now it finally is. It's been such a great experience so far, I'm so glad I made this decision.
On a side note, I am getting tired of wearing the surgical bra, I just want to start wearing the fun bras already! But all in good time. I'm so happy to be where I am today. Just this past summer this was nothing but a vague idea and now it's all done and over with, for the most part anyway. It's been just over four months since I made up my mind about this. That's a pretty short time now that I think about it. But when you know it's time it just is. Things worked out so well and God was definitely moving things along flawlessly. It's amazing when you know that you're being taken care of and I've definitely been feeling that way. This is would be such a hard thing if there had been complications or issues and there have been ZERO. None, whatsoever. I am so thankful for that.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
love it
OK. so the last post i accidentally posted on my "real" blog. It's not the latest blog site I've been using but people still visit it i guess because someone had commented on it. I always contemplated using firefox for my normal blog and IE for this one but I figured I was too cautious to mess up. BLAH!! And obviously the day I mess up someone actually reads my blog. And a boy at that. A boy from church. Great. Got some damage control to do. Or maybe I should just totally ignore it ever happened. I am too embarrassed. Whatever. I'm glad I had a panic attack only 24 hours later and removed it before another pair of innocent eyes had to read about how my nipples are doing after surgery.
Speaking of my nipples....I CAN FEEL THEM! I just realized this a few minutes ago. Not just from the inside but when I touch them! Wow. Wasn't expecting this for a few more weeks! This is such good news. I'm happy the healing is going so well!
The post-op appointment went well. Doc said I could sleep on my side and also have a drink ;). Everything is going well he said. ALTHOUGH, he did have to do some "draining" today. Apparently I had some fluid collect on the sides on my breasts and and he had to use this syringe to take it out. It looked big but I hardly looked to see what it was, I was too nervous. I could hardly feel anything when he drained out my right breast but the left one hurt. It's a necessary evil, I suppose.
Anyway. It seems the healing is all going as predicted. Doc said he got my pathology back today and that it was normal - I have no clue what that means but it sounds good.
Speaking of my nipples....I CAN FEEL THEM! I just realized this a few minutes ago. Not just from the inside but when I touch them! Wow. Wasn't expecting this for a few more weeks! This is such good news. I'm happy the healing is going so well!
The post-op appointment went well. Doc said I could sleep on my side and also have a drink ;). Everything is going well he said. ALTHOUGH, he did have to do some "draining" today. Apparently I had some fluid collect on the sides on my breasts and and he had to use this syringe to take it out. It looked big but I hardly looked to see what it was, I was too nervous. I could hardly feel anything when he drained out my right breast but the left one hurt. It's a necessary evil, I suppose.
Anyway. It seems the healing is all going as predicted. Doc said he got my pathology back today and that it was normal - I have no clue what that means but it sounds good.
Ok. So I am definitely liking my breasts more and more everyday. They are also starting to look bigger and bigger to me everyday. That's probably because they're starting to take shape and form now. They look different than when I first saw them.
My bye-bye-boobies buddy and I went shopping on Sunday for a bit. And we tried on a few clothes. I was upset for a bit because I tried to wear this tube top and my breasts were too big for the medium. What. the. heck. Which is what makes me think that maybe I'm not flat-chested after all. In fact, I'm still well endowed. But I like them. I'm starting to love them and it feels good to feel good about them :). Wearing clothes and not having to worry about cleavage anymore. People have said that my posture is already much better! I feel lighter. It's great.
The scars are also doing ok. Apparently the stitches I have are dissolvable so that makes things easier! One of the things I was nervous about was the fact that I might lose feeling in my nipples. But I don't think that is going to happen to me. I get spurts of feeling in my nipples - but they're from the inside (it's hard to explain). I don't feel them when I touch them, but I get feeling in them. Probably the nerves or something. And they also react when I'm cold, which is an excellent sign of good healing I think.
I have my second post-op appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping to ask the doc if I can start sleeping on my side; I've been sleeping on my back for DAYS! The last time was the day before my surgery. I've stopped sleeping elevated as of yesterday and I feel fine. But anyway, more to come after tomorrow!
My bye-bye-boobies buddy and I went shopping on Sunday for a bit. And we tried on a few clothes. I was upset for a bit because I tried to wear this tube top and my breasts were too big for the medium. What. the. heck. Which is what makes me think that maybe I'm not flat-chested after all. In fact, I'm still well endowed. But I like them. I'm starting to love them and it feels good to feel good about them :). Wearing clothes and not having to worry about cleavage anymore. People have said that my posture is already much better! I feel lighter. It's great.
The scars are also doing ok. Apparently the stitches I have are dissolvable so that makes things easier! One of the things I was nervous about was the fact that I might lose feeling in my nipples. But I don't think that is going to happen to me. I get spurts of feeling in my nipples - but they're from the inside (it's hard to explain). I don't feel them when I touch them, but I get feeling in them. Probably the nerves or something. And they also react when I'm cold, which is an excellent sign of good healing I think.
I have my second post-op appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping to ask the doc if I can start sleeping on my side; I've been sleeping on my back for DAYS! The last time was the day before my surgery. I've stopped sleeping elevated as of yesterday and I feel fine. But anyway, more to come after tomorrow!
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