Should I get a reduction?

I need help deciding if I should get reduction surgery or not.. Here are the facts:

Im 5'1", 112 lbs, size 1 or 3 pants, and a LARGE 34 DD bra

Pros: reduce back and neck pain (on top of an already horrible back due to a pretty bad car accident), can go bra-less for longer than 30 seconds, will not have to special order bras or bathing suits, and feel better about myself

Cons: Lots of money, couple weeks of recovery, pain, possible complications, and a possible loss of sensation

I would love to have this done and I really think that it would help my back a lot! But, like any other surgery, there are a lot of concerns. My boyfriend is supportive of any decision that I make but I think he secretly wants me to get it because he knows I wouls be happier with myself. The general opinion of my friends and family is to get it but we all have basically the same arguments as far as the cons go. Whats your opinion?

 

I can't tell you what to do but if I were in that situation, I would definitly have it done. My best friend from when I was a kid just had it done. She was about the same as you and she had major back problems from it. The surgery went well and she heeled great. She is so happy she decieded to have it done and she also said she expected it to be alot worse than it was.

 

I can tell you from experience that it was the best thing I've ever done, so go for it! If you'd like to send me a private message, I'd be happy to go into detail about it & email you some photos. I had a small frame like yours, with a size 34G. It's well worth the pain of surgery and the money you have to put out, that's for sure!

 

Thank you so much for the advice... Im still not too sure so keep it coming!

 

it sounds like it is at the point were surgery is an option for you to improve your life and the way you live it. It sounds like your un-happy with the way they constrict your life now. Why not go for a consultation and ask the doctor questions, tell him your concerns and weigh your options. The doctor may help you over come fears. It can't hurt to go and see what can be done. Then, go home, think about it and if you still have doubt in your heart about it even after the doctor talks to you about it wait until it feels right. You need to do it for you whenever that time may be. Good luck and I hope it all works out in the end.

 

i dunno ... i'm very similar in size to you, except a 34 D instead of a DD.. and i would never even start to think of having a reduction, even if i was twice as big as i am now. i think you should do whatever you feel will make you happiest, and i bet you already know what that is

 

You forgot the MOST important con. The loss of milk ducts and the cutting of tubules which lead from your ducts to your nipple. This may have terrible consequences for any future children you have by reducing or elimiating your ability to breastfeed and nourish your children with the best thing you can put into a baby. How old are you, and have you finished having children?


I am a Lactation Consultant and have worked with a great number of mothers who had this disfiguring surgery. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM REGRETTED IT!!!! MOST of them told me at the time they had the surgery they thought they didn't want kids, or they didn't care if they breastfed or not. They changed their minds later, and were very upset that their doctors never told them the seriousness of the damage this surgery does to your ability to nourish your baby with your breasts. You may think you don't want kids now, or you might think "I can always use forumla." but you may be VERY sorry once you see your sweet baby, a decade or now from now, struggling with formula intolerance, or crying night after night because you destroyed the very reason you were given breasts to start out with.

A mother CAN still breastfeed after reduction, but the amount of work needed is an order of magnatude more than breastfeeding with healthy, undisected breasts.

My breasts become a DD plus when I am nursing. Yeah, it sucks to have huge breasts, but not feeding your baby via the breast is worse. I counsel mothers (or any womyn) to WAIT until menopause to have this surgery, if you think you stll need it. Wear supportive bras, and see a chiropractor about the back pain. A lot of womyn with large breasts are a bit overweight, so losing weight can really help, but it sounds as if you are pretty slim.

I can get you more info on the dangers of this procedure, which personally, as a Health Care Professional, specializing in the function and use of the breasts, I wouldn't recommend to anyone.



Peace, I hope you don't think I am dissing you, because I am not. I just see a LOT of breasts and breast problems, and I can't see CREATING more of them. A reduction surgery is a VERY serious procedure, which has very serious side effects.

Here are two malpractice suits you may want to read that your plastic surgeon won't tell you about. He won't tell you about the breastfeeding problems, either. Of all the patients I have treated with reduction induced milk supply problems not one had her plastic surgeon even ASK if she was considering having children and breastfeeding them. Not one.

I think anyone having any surgery needs to consider ALL the variables, not just what one plastic surgeon (who gets huge amounts of money to take out most of your milk ducts and leave you with scars) who has only his bank book to worry about.
Case where a womyn had to have almost a dozen surgeries to correct the damage done and her Nipple fell off after the second surgery

http://www.hdc.org.nz/page.php?&page=opinions&opinion=399



an other malpractice case



http://www.canadamalpractice.com/case.htm


Please investigage ALL the problems and damage this cosmetic surgery can do, as well as other ways to treat your back pain, before doing this uncorrectable decision.

 

OK. Here's how I'm seeing it: You have a 100% chance of back & neck pain (since you already are feeling this pain). What is the chance that you will have these possible complications & possible loss of sensation? Weigh those.

How severe are the possible complications?

In terms of your own pleasure, which is more of a problem -- back & neck pain or possible loss of sensation? The way I'm looking at it, if my back hurts, I'm not likely to be all that in the mood. My boobs are a major erogenous zone, but stimulation there is not necessary for me to get excited. It would suck to lose even a small percentage of the sensation there (not to mention the majority of sensation), but for me it would be worth the risk to reduce the pain.

Major con is that it costs lots of money. What do you pay for every bra you buy? For a while, I was a 32C, which you can find at a few stores (like Victoria's Secret carried ONE style in that size), but only the expensive places. I don't even want to think how much you pay a year for bras. Won't it save you money in the long run?

As for the issues Maggie Sugar raises, you have to decide for yourself whether that is important to you. It may be that every woman she has counselled has regretted getting the reduction, but consider her profession -- how many of the women who are not upset about not being able to breastfeed is she talking to? Honestly, I haven't known that many women who have had the surgery done. The couple of women I have known who did it did not regret it at all. One was a J-cup before the reduction, has had 3 kids since, & doesn't even want to think about the kind of shape she would be in (shape as in level of back pain, not her figure) if she hadn't had the surgery. I'm not trying to discourage you from considering this issue, just consider it from all sides -- if you're going to consider how many women regretted the surgery, get a representative sample of ALL women who have had the procedure, not just those who later went in to see a lactation consultant. Personally, if I were in those shoes, I would be willing to give up breast feeding (even knowing all of the benefits) in order to not be in so much pain that I have to limit the amount of time I can hold my child, go out & play with my child, etc.

And, of course, if you decide to go for it, be extremely careful in choosing your surgeon -- there are plenty out there that you really don't want to go to.

 

My mom had it done about 4 years ago, and she says it's the best decision she ever made. She's about 5'3 and was a DD (and probably then some) and is now a nice C, which is perfect for her frame. She was having a lot of back and shoulder pain, and (because of age) gravity was kicking in and she really didn't want her boobs at her waist lol anyway seriously, she looks and feels great now. The only thing, and no one warned her about this, was that they used elastoplast bandage things for her afterwards, and she's really badly allergic to elastoplast and ended up with second degree burns on her breasts. Yuck!

 

Men like perky, big boobs. I suggest just having them lifted.

 

My daughter is 4'-10" tall size 4 and 36D and at 18 I see that this is a problem. She wont do it but later I see it comming! I mean as a guy "WOW we love em!" but as a dad I say if you are in pain from it and we all know as we get older things get worse for us, you better seriously think of what is going to make you feel best! I mean its obvious you are not doing it for vanity (although ladies I believe in vanity) you are thinking of this for health, life improvement and general better for you!


A mans point of view!

 

With the breastfeeding complications you may want to wait until after having children before getting a reduction. But that's completely up to you, you may not plan to breastfeed. But it is something to consider when weighing the pros/cons of the situation.

 

Sera is right, I do see a select group of people which I talked about. The numbers who just gave up, after they had trouble making milk is larger than the numbers who actually seek help from a professional in lactation.

You might want to go to www.mothering.com or www.breastfeeding.com they have some boards there, and I am sure there are womyn there who either considered the procedure and decided against it, or who had it and can give you reports on how they feel about it.

I gotta tell you, though, almost ALL of the mothers I have worked with who had reductions and later breastfeeding problems insisted that when they HAD the procedure they were SURE they didn't want children, or thought breastfeeding wasn't
important to them. They all changed their minds. You really don't know how you will feel when you are pregnant. I have seen the most anti breastfeeding womyn suddenly turn into total breastfeeding supporters when they saw that sweet baby and got to feed the child. It is a VERY serious decision, on par with removing your uterus before menopause. You breasts are USABLE organs, and redering them unuseful or very difficult to use should not be take lightly.

 

I think you probably deducted this for yourself after reading these responses, but I'll chime in to give you this advice anyway:
go see a chiropractor and It Sucks that some of these folks are cons too only 1/2 fixing you so you have to go back for more but there are plenty out there that are legitimate and very helpful.
I am glad to see everyone here is supportive of what you want to do, and I too think whatever you do is cool, but I am always of the mind to do things the natural way and that the real problems are out of the head, not any other body part.
A lot of women with large breasts (and many with regular breasts, I don't have big breasts but I had this problem as a teen) have poor posture because of an ingrained tendency to minimize the impact of their silhouette. That is, they tend to hunch their shoulders over their chests, keep their head a little bit down and essentially curve their spine over their chest. Natural posture, making you taller, prouder, healthier and beautiful also makes you much sexier and makes other females more jealous and call you names behind your back.
After I got into theatre and chiropracty when I was a senior in High School I finally starting walking proud and straight like a human is supposed to and also started get flack from other females for "walking around like a slut" and I got a lot more people asking me if I needed a ride and crap like that walking on the street. People can be obnoxious. Please, get a reputable chiropractic exam to see if underlying posture problems are causing your back pain. Strengthen your back. Oh, and I had a friend who did this in high school, and she actually hated it (except for the less back pain) because people were paying more attention to her breasts after the surgery than before. I don't know if what other people think has any bearing on your decision, but if it does my point is: it may actually be causing some of your discomfort and surgery won't solve that problem anyway.
Peace
Becca

 

that's a hard one. I thought about having it done even though proportionatly speaking mine aren't way big but still I have to get everything tailored, they're low for 23 and ut's the first place I gain weight. I decided not to because there is a risk of total loss of sensation and sensativity and there is a chance you can't breeast feed later on because of interference with the milk ducts.

 

I might get myself into big trouble here for making such a gratuitously sexist remark, but I just can't fathom the concept of breasts ever being too large!

 

pilates might be an idea. if you develop your core body strength, then your body would find it easier to support the extra weight of your breasts.

And maggie is right on target with what she's saying about breastfeeding problems associated with reductions. Everyone knows that breastfeeding is the only way to go when nourishing an infant ( http://www.promom.org/101/ ) so, you wouldnt want to cheat any of your babies out of that birthright.

 

Okay I am a guy and think big breasts are awesome and to reduce them seems almost criminal but good lord, sure try to hang weight from small muscles and do exercise to attempt to build the strength of these muscles and I'll assure you that something is gonna give!! Thats like clipping 5 pounds to your penis and saying buck up, go exercise and it will take it! Well yes perhaps over an extreme amount of time but the pain for the year or so and the medical bills due to the injuries just does not seem to justify the results.

Damn get the boob job, feel better and as for breast feeding, there are alternatives!

What a freak! Exercise and it will be better. Hell I broke my back T8-T12 and let me tell you it took over 2 years to get back to a place where I feel better, not good but better. If they had offered surgery that assured me that I would feel better let me tell you I would have beat them to the table and started the cutting myself!

 

yeah, just leave them alone. i was once your same dimensions. it was bizarre, and you have to put up with everyone thinking they're fake, and hence that you're the "sort of woman" who "needs" fake tits. it's annoying. but fuck 'em. finding the proper bras and and doing the proper stretches and exercises (weight lifting for shoulders and back) will really cut down on the pain to your back and neck. don't buy bras with thin straps, either. leave your body alone, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. or fix it through stretching and exercise.

 

Thanks so much everyone for the input. Youve all presented a lot of important points for me to consider.

As far as exercising goes, I work out as much as possible. This is usually three or four times a week. Ive been doing this for about a year now and havent noticed much results as far as my back pain goes.

I am still young and plan on having kids later in life and, when I do, I plan on breastfeeding them (I just dont trust the chemical-filled milk and formulas in the market!!). The possibility that I may not be able to breastfeed is a BIG issue for me. However, I would make a point of talking to the doctor before the surgery and seeing what they have to say about it. If I dont like what I hear, then that would be enough to make me forget about the entire thing. I have an appointment with a chiropractor mid-feb. and Im going to wait to make my decision until after that. Who knows, my back-pain may be something completely unrealated to the size of my chest!