Hey everyone!

 

So, Friday April 3rd marked the 2nd anniversary of my breast reduction.  I still consider it one of the best things that I've ever done for myself.  Nothing really new to report.  I'm still a C-cup and I still have occasional pangs and itchies.  They're mildly annoying and they're becoming more and more infrequent.  Just a part of my life now but I'm sure eventually, I won't experience them at all. 

 

 

On April 19th of this year, I will be attending a St. Baldrick's event (www.stbaldricks.org).  St. Baldrick's is a charitable organization which raises money for pediatric cancer research.  They raise money by hosting events where individuals get pledges for shaving their heads in honor of pediatric cancer patients.  My mother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and has lost her hair.  I wanted to shave my head in solidarity.  When I learned about St. Baldrick's, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone.  If you would like to learn more or donate to the cause, here's my link...

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Thea

 

 

Between months 3 and 12 Post-Op there were few changes but my body still liked to remind me that I had had major surgery.  My shape did change a little.  My breasts rounded out and were less triangular and the areolas dropped to a more natural position.  One thing I do regret is not taking more pictures at various intervals, having more documentation of the changes.  Throughout at period I still had plenty of booby pains.  Not zingers but throbby aches.  This could be quite uncomfortable and often stun you a little because they are not gradual, they come out of nowhere and catch you off guard.  I still get these after a year and a half post-op but they are very infrequent and much less intense.  But even the worst of these of aches and pains don't even come close to the discomfort of carrying around DDD all day long.  So I ain't complainin', I'm just explainin'!

 

During this time I also developed these strange little itchy spots.  They look and feel just like mosquito bites (I still get these also, but only occasionally).  I would feel a spot get a little itchy, then it would raise up like a bump, itch more intensely and then after a few minutes go away.  These usually popped up along the incision sites either under the breasts or along the areola. When I had my 1 year post-op evaluation, I mentioned these to my plastic surgeon.  He said that it was most likely my body's reaction to lingering pieces of internal stitches.  My body was probably attacking them causing mild reactions on the surface.  They're annoying but nothing to be alarmed about.  My surgeon also said that my scars looked great (he said I barely had any).  I rarely used scar cream because I didn't like the way they felt (kind of greasy) however, I always sure to moisturize with regular lotion. 

 

So right now, after a year and a half I am a C cup, still have minor itchies and pains and my right areola is a little smaller and sits just a tad higher than my left one, but hell, who's perfect?!  And I wouldn't trade these ta ta's for the world!

 

Peace Everybody

Thea

I've been away too long.  Here is a 3-month (wow!!) booby update.  Just to back track a little, I had my 6 week post-op check up back on May 17th.  My plastic surgeon (PS) told me that everything looked great and that I could resume all regular activity as long as I did not feel pain.  If something did give me pain, then I should just not do it as yet and give myself a little more time before doing that particular activity.  He also said that I would not need another check up for another whole year.  That surprised me a little, but I know those decisions are made at the discretion of the PS and since I presented with no problems, I guess he felt that timeline was sufficient. 

So since then I've been living normally.  I can wear bras with underwires, I don't have to sleep with a bra anymore, although I still find that more comfortable because I have mild discomfort in the morning if I've been laying in a way that made my breasts pull on the incision sites.  I've been a C now for the last couple of months (started out a D because of swelling) and I even had to buy one bra in a B cup, it was cut rather full.  My mother was with me and when I tried on the C, I told her, through the door, that it didn't fit and that I needed a B cup.  She didn't respond right away, so I covered myself and opened the door to see what was wrong.  She was just standing there staring at me with her mouth hanging open. I guess a B did seem a little unbelievable when considering where I had come from. I've also started excercises again, and let me tell you, it's like another world!!  Oh, the joy of not slapping yourself in the face with your own tits!  It's a beautiful thing!

 

As far as physical feelings...  I don't really have zingers anymore (although I did have a rather random one about a week ago, hadn't had one in a while).  But when the zingers (which felt alot like electrical stimuli) stopped, I started having these sharp pinprick pains, like the booby gnome was back, but instead of sticking me with a cattle prod, he was sticking me with a hat pin.  I really wish those would stop, they don't hurt THAT much, but they are very uncomfortable and they come out of NOWHERE.  I instinctively grab the spot when those happen, so unfortunately I still sometimes look like a crazy lady who grabs her tits.

 

Lastly, I got copies of my "before" photos from my PS.  They made me cry.  I couldn't believe how big I was, especially seeing them naked.  I looked like I had elephantitis.  Then I cried even harder when I realized just how quickly I had forgotten because 3 months is not a long time at all.  I'm debating whether to post more "revealing" before and after photos, but doing it in a way where viewers would only see them if they wanted to.  But I'm sill not sure how I feel about that.  Maybe, maybe not.

 

Lata y'all,

 

Thea

 

 

 

because she keeps pointing out that she has not yet seen the new "girls".  I think she's feeling a little jealous especially since some people have already seen them naked!  So I took some pictures.  Amazingly, I had on no bra.  Take a look at the "before" pic with me in the blue terry wrap, no bra on in that pic.  The difference is just a little ridiculous.  I went from having 72 year old boobs to having 28 year old boobs.

 

Here's a video! 

 

 

So I've run a couple of times recently (had to wait til I was good and healed before I could exert myself) , not a jog or an exercise run, but you know, running a little to catch a bus or to get across the street before the light changes.   Good Lord!  The bouncelessness was AMAZING!!!! No movement... none.  Unbelievable!!!

Before, jogging 5 steps felt like an eternity and I used to fear being slapped in the face.  Wow!!  I think all I can really say is Wow!!

Bouncelessness is definitely going to become a new and often used word in my vocabulary.  I don't care if it ain't in Websters. 

 

about the long absence.  The last few days of my recovery time in Baltimore were very eventful. (Just a reminder or maybe I never said, I had my reduction done at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore even though I live in Brooklyn, NY. My mother works there, recovery with her was prefered.)  After my first post-op appointment.  I took a shower (my mother finally let me, since they told her it was ok) and next day my incision sites were ridiculously itchy. This was around the 12th/13th of April.  I was actually dancing like I had ants in my pants, just to get relief.  I e-mailed the nurse practitioner for some suggestions (she gave me a couple) and assured me that itching was a good thing, a sign of healing.  Later that day, I realized that my thighs were also itchy, but figured it was just dry skin, since I hadn't showered in a while and didn't moisturize that well afterwards.  By that Friday night when a few of my Hoodie friends visited, my chest had broken out, figured it was due to not using my usual acne products on my shoulders and chest.  We all went out to dinner, and at the restaurant my chest and back and upper arms starting itching.  When we all got home it looked as if I was breaking out in a rash.  Mind you, I had been on a very large dose of a broad spectrum antibiotic.  So naturally, we assumed that it was an allergic reaction.  Ma called the Plastic Surgeon on call and he suggested benedryl.  That didn't work and by 5pm Saturday that rash had spread all down my back, my butt, my thighs, my upper arms, my ears and the sides of face.  I was so itchy I would just drop my pants right in the middle of conversations and start scratchin', I didn't care who I mooned.  And unbeknowst to me, my friends and mother noticed that it was starting to spread around my mouth (but they just whispered about that behind my back so I wouldn't get freaked out). Finally the time had come for the emergency room, it took us a while to come to this decision because we were waiting for the numerous doses of benedryl to kick in and on Saturday the rash spread extremely fast.  So I say goodbye to my Hoodie girls and Ma and I head to the Johns Hopkins ER.  During triage, I make sure to mention that I had JUST had surgery there and that I had redness around the incision.  I elaborated a little, but I wanted to get seen fast, and I figured that would put a fire under their ass especially since crap like that looks bad when it happens to their own patients.  After a couple of hours, I saw one of the plastic surgery docs (the ER called them down to check me out), and he told me that the incisions looked fine, they weren't infected or anything and the rash was not affecting them.  Another ER doc comes in finally and takes one look at me and says "Oh Honey, that yeast!".  Apparently (I never knew this, wish someone had told me) that antiobiotics lower your body's pH, making you more susceptible to yeast.  While I had taken those antibiotics, I had not eaten any yogurt and I had not drank any coffee or juice or other acidic things, because I was trying to stay hydrated with water.  If I had eaten some of those things it would have helped. Well, it would seem that when I finally showered (lowered my outer body's pH, by making it clean) and got my body warm and wet, the yeast spread all over like the plague.  The itching started under the boobs cuz that had been a somewhat warm and moist area because of the surgical pads.  I had to take Diflucan (that one time yeast infection pill) and I spent $80, if not more on Lotrimin cream, because I went through one tube a day (and that stuff in expensive) putting it all my body.  I didn't write here because I was so miserable, it took about 5 days to clear up completely.  I even had to delay my return to work because I looked like a walking STD.  I couldn't be around children looking like that.  The the past week I've been putting the finishing touches on my thesis. 

 

Well now that the yeast has cleared up I feel much better (that may have been worse than my first two days post-op, maybe even worse than the constipation).  The boobs look better but still not great.  About 90% of my glue is gone (having that fall off was actually kind of nasty, a crusty mixture of glue and scab) and I don't see any scar around the areola area.  Yay!  They're still itchy, normal itchy though and sore.  They're very tender and they throb when I get moving and my circulation gets more blood pumping to that area.  The worse part right now is nipple sensitivity.  I'm still wearing gauze pads over them because I can't stand the rubbing. There are even some jackets I had to stop wearing because the rubbing and the weight from the jacket was too uncomfortable.  I'm more used to them now, I'm not constantly looking at my chest anymore.  Three people (who didn't know I was doing this procedure) have commented that I was losing weight because I looked thinner.  Ha Ha, fooled them didn't I?

 

Woo, that's alot!  I'll update more soon.

Got my pathology report today. All breast tissue and skin removed was benign (well I figured that but it's good to hear it officially and all breast tissue removed is always checked) and I found out that... ok here we go... that 709.2 grams were removed from my right breast and 564.3 grams were removed from my left breast.  One pound is roughly 450grams... you do the math.  Ok, so I had my first post-op appointment today.  It went well.  The nurse practitioner said that everything looked great (even though they look real funny still).  I can shower now, where a regular bra (just can't have an underwire and must have good support) and do most activity as long as it doesn't involve heavy lifting, pulling or pushing. 

I received some interesting information about my procedure.  It would seem that I did not have some kind of new fangled magic y-inicision procedure but had a pedicle technique (when the nipple stays attached to the tissues and nerve endings as opposed to when you're really big and a free nipple graft is done when the nipple and areola complex is completely removed sustained in some kind of saline solution and then reattached).  This http://www.smartbreastreduction.com/breastreduction.html#BP illustrates a pedicle well.

Also, I have no external stitches or staples just loads of internal stitches which will dissolve and some kind of wound superglue which will eventually come off as well. 

So far everything is going well and as expected, but I will so say this,  reports that I've read have not done the zingers justice.  Those damn things are no joke!!  I don't like feeling that I have a boob gnome sticking me with a cattle prod every so often.  Not fun... yet oddly interesting. 

 

Lata eveybody!

Thea

 

Feelin' pretty good.  My body feels much better, everything is flowing as it should be.  The wound sites, especially the ones that run underneath each breast still feel really tight sometimes and being so tightly strapped in this compression bra makes the whole breast itchy. And the zingers pack a punch from time to time.  One of the hardest parts now is sleeping.  I'm tired of having to sleep on my back so lately I've been waking up in the middle of the night and it takes me some time to get comfortable and fall asleep again.  Also lately, I've had to walk around the house to get my circulation going before I go to sleep.  Now I know why other women have suggested valium or PM pain meds because sleeping eventually gets difficult.  I may have to resort to some Tylenol PM or some sleepy time tea. 

Now my right breast is starting to look more like a normal boob, it's rounder now, not quite as swollen (frozen vegetables under the armpits really do help).   The left one still feels a little hard and it's got a pointy almost triangular look above the nipple.  I'll be real happy when that one starts to look normal.  I know I'll have to wait about 6 months before they really start to take their final shape and size but it's nice to see some improvement now.  Helps me keep things in perspective. 

 

I'll probably update again on Wednesday after my first post-op appointment. 

 

Thanks for reading, everybody.

 

Thea

Not feeling as good today.  My stitches are itching like crazy (this is a good thing though).  I'm also constipated (I know, TMI, but it goes with the territory).  I think the antibiotics I'm on are affecting my digestion,  I'm not moving around as much and the position I have to sleep in is keeping me from really moving food through.  I felt so clogged that I have terrible headaches and mild nausea.  Last night and this morning may have been the worst I've felt since I've come home.  I guess sometimes you go a little backwards to go forwards.  I had really been enjoying eating, my Ma cooks really well and my appetite had not been affected but today I haven't felt like eating... I just want to POOP!! 

I went out last night to K-mart with Ma.  I was ready to leave the house (was getting pretty bored) but my head was hurting so bad I didn't enjoy it.  Maybe this weekend I feel up to excursion again. 

 

No other changes to report right now. 

 

Thanks for reading!!

Oh and I just say that momintraining^2 gave birth to 1-month old baby (Aidan Michael is huge!! and unwrinkled!! and real cute!)

 

I haven't showered yet and my face feels like it's been slathered in bacon grease.   Also, my hair is a rat's nest, my mother definitely has to brush it tonight.  I really wanted to see if I could get someone to give me some braids (corn rows), but I never got around to it.

 

I haven't taken any Roxicet (the heavy duty painkiller) yet.  I don't know if this is because my cuts aren't as bad as some other women's or if I have a high pain tolerance.  I have however, twice given in to the temptation of tylenol. 

 

My wound sites are still sore but they don't feel as bad as the first couple of days.  I think some of my swelling has gone down.  Put some frozen broccoli and frozen peas under my arm pits today which helped with the soreness.  I also kept waking up with swelling on my right side, I realized that my medical bra strap on that side felt really tight. Ma agreed when she looked at it and loosened it.  Something to look out for.  We thought, what a pisser it would be if I came out of this fine with two perfect boobs but ended up loosing my arm cuz of the damn medical bra.  I know totally not funny.

 

I'm not taking the Roxicet because those were as needed but I am taking these horsepill antibiotics.  OMG!!  These things suck!! Three pills four times a day!  And they put me to sleep sometimes.  I also think they're making me a bit constipated and I'm retaining water as my belly is very bloated and my face appears a little swollen.  So actually it's the side effects of having gone through surgery and needing to take pills, etc. that is more uncomfortable than the boobs themselves.  I'm taking a shower and getting my dressings changed tonight.  We'll see how that goes.  It may lead to a different outlook. 

 

This experience ain't terrible, but any woman who wants it better REALLY want it, cuz it ain't no walk in the park either.

So I've been home for about 24 hours now.  Everything went really well.  I don't even have drainage tubes which makes a big difference in terms of comfort level.  However, these wound sites still hurt like a son of a bitch.  Was given Roxicet for the pain, but I haven't given in to those (I've taken tylenol though) because I was tired of that groggy, muddle headed feeling. My surgeon told my mother that when he sat me up when he was done, I looked like a full C.  Woo Hoo! 

I had my first zinger today (WTF), that really hurt.  However it's a good sign that my nerves are jumpin' around already trying to regenerate.  It was right behind the nipple so I figured that was a good sign too.  Most women claim to get zingers a few days after surgery, so I guess I'm ahead of schedule.

 

Well that's all for now.  Typing is starting to hurt a little.  Catch everyone later!!

 

Ma took some post-op pictures of me all passed out.  I'll post those soon.

 

Oh and I took my pink bingo troll with me for luck.  I took a picture with her in the waiting room (for all my Hoodie girls)!!!