Almost two months ago I had undergone a surgery that has since changed my life in such a positive way imaginable! What may you ask did I have done? Well going by my title for this post and if you're guess right...
Yes, I said GOODBYE TO MY BOOBIES!
This has been one of the best life changing experiences I have made since deciding to go the healthy rout in life (cutting out all the yucky garbage in my food and going Paleo (thanks to Miss Ashley Vos) and gluten free).
Let’s face it, my entire young adult life I have always been … well-endowed. By age 13 (well into puberty at this point) I was in a size DD and the older I got well … the bigger they got. Growing up I was never really a chubby kid, I was just all boobs. After being sick for a while, my mum passing away when I was 19, on top of being a brand new mom at 20 I put on a lot of stress weight, and my weight went everywhere but my butt, (the only place in the world I WISH I had fat in LOL)! Adding even more pounds to my chest. By the time I was 22 I had two babies, a size G bra and 40 pounds added to my small frame. So for the last three years I have yo-yo dieted, which has sucked. But somehow I managed to lose a lot of the weight and keep a steady 175 (which doesn’t look bad for my height since I’ve got long legs and a semi short torso)pounds, but I was still lugging around ginormous tata’s every day. Which made me super self-conscious. I seriously avoided the gym and running for fear of being knocked out or facing a black eye from being whacked in the face by my own boobs...
For the last year and a half I was a
three-times-a-week chiropractic patient just to relieve the pain and pressure
off my back from the girls. Bras never fit right, I was always secretly tucking
my boobs back into my bra and those super sexy lace bras (you know the ones I’ve
been drooling over from Modcloth) I kissed those goodbye years ago because they
were ALWAYS out of the question for me. I was stuck with vanilla wide strap
bras that cost way too much considering they are just two large triangles with
straps.
So after months of chiropractic care and not seeing
any relief, I finally called my insurance (which I am SO very thankful to have
a wonderful insurance company that was so easy to work with during this
process) to get names and numbers of Doctors who would do a medical breast
reduction. The
list was extremely short. Like only three doctors short. Which is crazy
since I’m about 30 minutes from Knoxville Tennessee and there are SO many
plastic surgeons there. Only one out
of the three was still doing medically needed breast reductions. ONLY ONE and
HE was a male. Which to be honest, I’m really weird about having male doctors
they never seem to have any good bedside manors and they just can’t relate to a
woman like a female doctor can.
So on top of that I was super nervous and very awkward when it was time to go for
my appointment (plus I was about 20 minutes late because of down town Knoxville
traffic and UT hospital is HUGE! I had to ask for directions twice, inside of the building)!
The first initial appointment is like any other “first
time seeing the doctor” appointment. They measure you, take your weight, the
nurse asks if you have had any family history of breast cancer or tumors, past
surgeries etc. etc. you dress out of your street clothes and into a surgical
gown. Seriously, it’s just like any other typical doctor visit.
They give you a little time to get undressed, gown
on and get comfortable. Both the doctor and his nursing assistant walk into the
room, introduce themselves and then begin working. He took more measurements
and then examined my chest tells the nurse and she jots them down in your chart.
The one things I was extremely worried about was my right breast. Some of the
tissue was missing due to a lumpectomy that was done three years ago which
unfortunately left a giant hole the size of two fingers and a huge indention.
I have always been told that when meeting with a new
doctor for the first time about a specific procedure always, ALWAYS ask questions. Never leave
anything unturned or left unspoken because the more information you get from
them the better you will be and feel about your procedure. Never go into a major
surgery with no information given or concerns/questions answered!
Let me tell you, I had a HUGE list of questions to ask
too! He answered every question that I had with genuine concern and he was so
honest with me. Which is pretty admirable considering. No wonder all the women
in the lobby ooh’ed and ahh’ed over him when I asked about their experience
with him.
Now let me give you some advice on this process if
you are entertaining the thought of a medically needed breast reduction. It is
also good to seek out other options before you resort to this if you are having
back problems or pain due to the enormous pressure and pull that is cause by
your large breasts. This major surgery really is looked at as your FINAL and LAST RESORT.
Here are some other options you can look into to
find some relief: a great chiropractor, massage therapist, or physical
therapist. All these options I have done, but the relief I experienced wasn’t long
lasting.
1. Have existing problems that are fully
documented in detail from other doctors. It is also good to have at least two
doctor recommendations such as your primary care doctor, chiropractor or
physical therapist. Insurance will not accept the procedure if you don’t.
2. Have
a good insurance company. Call and talk with one of their health advisors about
this first. They will be the first to give you information on it, your coverage
and recommend doctors.
3. Research
the doctors from the list that they give you. I always want to know who I’m seeing,
what they have done in the past, if they have any (good or bad) reviews from
previous patients, and check out their work. Most plastic surgeons have a
website that you can look at to gather this information or you can google
search them.
4. Make
your first initial appointment for the doctor you choose from the list they
gave you. This first appointment is free of charge and you or your insurance
will not be billed. Be sure to bring the following with you to your appointment:
·
your list of questions and concerns
·
insurance card and information
·
recommendations from two other doctors
5. If
you feel comfortable with the doctor, make the appointment for your surgery and
wait. The surgeon will fax all the needed information to your insurance
company. It is now up to them if you are eligible for the procedure.
It took my insurance company a while to review all the
information my surgeon had faxed them. To be really honest, I prayed long and
hard on this and my prayers were answered. My surgery was accepted by my
insurance company a week before my surgery!
When I received the news from the ladies at my surgeon’s
office, I was over joyed! I seriously cried my eyes out long and hard. I even
had the staff crying over the phone with me! This was something I had been
praying about for quite some time and now it was finally being answered! I even
called and texted everyone on my little contact list. My best friend, which I
still laugh out loud about this, said over the phone “Wow I’ve never heard
someone so excited to get her boobies chopped off!” But it was true, I was so
happy! Years and years of dealing with the pain and pull and my spine being so
out of alignment was finally over, I would be more comfortable and confident
and now I felt like I could really shed those baby and stress weight pounds
off.
Surgery day came quicker than I imagined and I was a
nervous wreck. Which if you read my blog post about the tumor I had removed
from my back and leg a few years ago, I always get crazy pre-surgery jitters. It’s
really bad, to the point where I rewrite my will just-in-case. Which seems
silly because I’ve had SO many surgeries, more than I can count on both hands.
Anyway surgery day, I get prepped and marked. My
chest seriously looked like my three year old took a marker to me. There were
marks all over the place! These marks tell my doctor where he needs to go and
what he needs to cut and where he needs to place what where. So I looked like
an art project for a few hours.
Three hours and FOUR pounds removed from my chest
later, I was out of surgery and feeling great! The staff was amazing and took
great care of me and not to mention they gave me a super sexy surgical bra to
wear (really, it’s not bad for a surgical bra). ;-)
Recovery lasted three weeks, which I highly enjoyed
being waiting on hand and foot not having to lift a single finger. Really. I
didn’t lift anything. For three weeks. I slept in, watched moves, and got a lot
of my early summer reading done! I was able to shower on my forth day. The only
things that was really bothersome was the drainage tubes and bulbs you had to
empty every nine hours and record.
I was released for normal exercise and routine in
June and since I now run the local outdoor track, joined a gym, and have lost
15 more pounds! I am finally feeling good about myself. I’ve dropped down to
seeing the Chiropractor only when I really need it. Over all I just feel really
good about myself and my body and I am so glad I had this done. I went from a G
to a small B and I could not be any happier with the outcome!
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