I recently wrote an article on #BigBoobProbs where I talked about the struggles every big-breasted girl faces every day. The article briefly touched on my breast reduction surgery but I felt as if I should go into more depth about it just in case anyone is curious, or is looking to get this surgery, as well. So here it is:
Electing to get a breast reduction sure as hell wasn't easy. I didn't just wake up one day and say, "You know what? I think I want to get smaller boobs!" I had to do a lot of soul searching and research before I decided to go under the knife, especially considering this was my first major surgery and it meant sacrificing most of my summer between going through the actual surgery and the recovery process. Not to mention I'd be in a lot of pain for a few weeks. The first thing I had to figure out though was who I would be doing this for. Would it be for my mom? My friends? The jerks I went to high school with? Or was it for me?
I started developing breasts at the young age of 9. Yes, you read that right, nine. And from then on it only got worse. I was a DD by freshman year of high school and a DDD by sophomore year. Of course being super skinny didn’t help either. By then I was more than sick of them. I was also sick of my mom commenting on them and telling me to pull my shirt up and getting dress coded at school because my shirts fell off the shoulder or showed too much cleavage. As if I could control that! Also, I was sick of the snide comments, rumors, and overall input from my peers. I briefly considered getting a breast reduction then, but I thought maybe things would get better. Obviously they didn't or I wouldn't be writing about it for you guys!
The reason behind my getting a breast reduction was more of an emotional than physical reason. Don’t get me wrong, the back pain was hell. So was not being able to run or work out. Mainly though, I felt like I had become an object. At school, I was known as the girl with big tits, not for my stellar personality or for being smart or anything. When people look at my yearbook photo ten years from now, they’re just going to remember that I had a huge rack. Guys only liked me for my body and it got to the point where I just assumed they wanted to hook up and that was all I knew, until I actually fell for someone who I thought was different and let my guard down. I later found out after two years of being together that he was only there for my boobs, and that was completely heartbreaking. All of that just didn’t sit right with me.
What really caused me to make my decision though was on Christmas Day, four months into my senior year of high school. I had just gotten back from a party and was changing out of my dress in front of my full-length mirror in my room. For the first time in my life, I’d noticed that I had stretch marks on my boobs and in tears I ran to show my mom. I’d never seen stretch marks on my body ever! Calming me down, she told me she’d done some research and that if a breast reduction was what I wanted, then insurance could cover it.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate my boobs or think I was less attractive because of them. I was pretty confident about my body and knew I was going to be attractive, surgery or no surgery. This surgery was for me.
Finally I could be free! Free from the jealous girls at my school who had nothing better to do than to talk crap, free from the guys who treated me like I was nothing more than a slam piece and would inevitably ask me what bra size I wore as if I would hand that info out to just anyone, free from the unwanted stares from literally EVERYONE when I wore a bikini or tight outfit. Yes, I know I’m tiny, and yes, I know my boobs aren’t.
Upon hearing the great news I dove into researching the procedure so I’d know what to expect. Youtube was probably the most informative for me so I’ll link my favorite videos down below. Now I knew that with this surgery would come a lot of criticism. I am very well aware that I had a body most girls would kill for and that now I’d have to work twice as hard to get guys to notice me. But that was the whole point. I wanted a guy to like me for me, not some superficial jock who would just stare at my boobs all day. I wanted to be able to wear whatever I wanted without risking a nip-slip or getting looks of disapproval from conservative mothers. Was me wanting to feel normal too hard to believe?
After two appointments with my surgeon and months of waiting, it was time to kiss those huge tits goodbye and head to the operating room. I’ll admit he was pretty skeptical about operating on me since I was still 17 years old but luckily he agreed to go through with the procedure. I barely slept at all the night before worrying about how the surgery was going to go and thinking that there’s still time to back out if I wanted to. Pre-surgery jitters that’s all. One thing to keep in mind though is you can’t eat or drink anything past midnight the night before the surgery. So me being the little rebel that I am was eating at approximately 11:59. Then that morning, things were about to get real.
The first thing they had me do before the procedure was take a pregnancy test. This was just a precautionary measure because they can’t perform the surgery if I’m expecting. Then I had to take my shirt and bra off and put on a gown and they checked my breathing. My surgeon came in and took one last picture of my breasts for medical purposes and started drawing on them. Finally I was taken into the operating room which I remember was super warm and the table I was in was super comfy. The last thing I remember was that I was talking to the nurse and anesthesiologist while they put me to sleep then I woke up on the couch at home confused.
I was definitely groggy and when I looked down, I was wrapped in a bandage with gauze in it, which was all the proof I needed that the surgery actually happened. The first few days of recovery, my mom had to help me with everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. From eating, to going to the bathroom, my mom slept on the couch with me to make sure I didn’t roll over in my sleep and that I was taking my pain meds on time. I had to take an anti nausea pill and then the medicine so I wouldn’t get sick but luckily the pain wasn’t so bad so I only had to take the strong stuff the first two days. I couldn’t lift my arms past my shoulders or get up which sucked because I like my independence, so having my mom help me with everything was a little uncomfortable. I remember going to the bathroom the first night then looking in the mirror and upon seeing my breasts wrapped in the bandage feeling like I was either going to throw up or pass out. From then on, my mom prohibited me from looking at the mirror for fear of hurting myself. That was probably a smart decision since the thought of seeing my new and improved boobs scared me.
The day after the surgery, I had to go back to see my doctor to see how I was doing. I loved going to his office because the nurses there are super sweet and I always leave in a better mood. They helped me change into a front closing sports bra that I got at Walmart and told me that my new breasts look like I got implants. They looked perfect! My doctor told me he had to do a nipple graft which is basically the cutting around the nipple and sewing it back on in a more logical spot, so I had to return in a few days to get my first set of stitches taken out. He’d sewn some type of sponge around them I’m assuming to apply pressure and the idea of getting those stitches taken out, especially because it was such a sensitive area, terrified me.
It wasn’t that bad surprisingly, until I looked down at what my nipples looked like. I knew there was going to be bruising after the surgery but I still felt myself getting light headed. Luckily, it was over before I knew it. Oh and I forgot to mention that you don’t have feeling in your nipples for a few months.
The one thing I hated the most was being itchy all the time! I knew that meant my wounds were healing but it sucked being that uncomfortable. The rest of my stitches were taken out a week at a time. First the ones under my boobs thank God! Those were the most uncomfortable considering one of the knots kept digging into my skin. Then the following week I got the ones around my nipple area taken out and the ones going through the center of my boobs. Think anchor shape.
I think my total healing process took around three weeks and by the time you read this it’ll be almost two months since my procedure and I’ve never been happier. I’m blessed to have had the support from my family and my friends who came to visit me; if you’re reading this, I love you guys so so much and I’m thankful that you’re in my life. I honestly have no idea what size I am now, I’m guessing a C cup but the swelling takes around six months to a year to fully go down so who knows! Either way, I definitely feel more confident about my body, scars and all, than I ever have. I can wear crop tops without feeling self-conscious, wear a strapless bikini without worrying that I’m spilling, and most importantly, I can look in the mirror and feel happy about myself. I haven’t tried working out again yet, but I’m sure it’ll be easier.
I remember talking to one of my best friends after my surgery and she told me she respects my decision to go through with it, but honestly she hates having small boobs and would’ve kept hers that big if she were me. She said she felt insecure about them and felt like less than a woman because they weren’t big enough. That people had told her that she should get implants.
You know what I told her? Having been blessed with the experience of having big boobs and smaller boobs, I pick smaller boobs no questions asked. Yeah, I felt sexy before, and I definitely feel sexy now, if not sexier than before. People are going to talk no matter what, and you are never going to be able to please everyone. The most important opinion about your body is yours. And you should never get a reconstructive surgery unless you know in your heart you are doing this for you.
I hope I answered any questions you may have had and if not feel free to tweet me and I’ll make sure to answer to the best of my ability!
Here are the most helpful Youtube videos I recommend:
My Breast Reduction Experience
