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A Year After the Cut

 


It has been over a year since I got my breast reduction surgery, and I still could hardly be happier with the results. Of course, many other facets of my life have grown and shifted over the last year, beyond simply healing from my chest reduction surgery. For example, the reason I chose to get the surgery when I did was partially to feel more happy and confident on my wedding day to be fully healed when the day came on Saturday, August 7th, 2021. 


The wedding went well and the photographers, Mitchell Cottew and Lacy Perkins of Latch Photography, did a fantastic job capturing the feels of our wedding day. But if you are here to know specifically how my breasts are feeling one year after having surgery to make them smaller, I am happy to tell you how that is going for me. 




I feel no undue pain in my breasts. In fact, as it sits right now, I hardly have any feeling in my breasts at all. I can tell the feeling is returning, but as it does, it is not the same as it was before. The feeling returns slowly and feels kind of like pins and needles before it regains full feeling. I cannot feel anything on my nipples - not pressure, temperature, nothing. This is a common side-effect of breast reduction surgery since the nerves and tissue is rearranged so much during the procedure. A chest surgery can also affect a person's ability to lactate after pregnancy, but I am not pregnant and am not overly concerned about my ability to breast feed. The benefit of having smaller breasts outweighed my desire to breast feed or have sensation in my chest/nipples. If you are here because you are considering having chest augmentation of some kind, these are all factors to consider before going under the knife. 

The scars are healing very well and blend right in to my chest; I honestly feel like they are rather difficult to notice.

The procedure was deemed medically necessary for me because of the amount of pain I was in due to their overwhelming size. Because of this, the amount I paid out of pocket for the surgery itself was about $1200. My back still hurts sometimes, but I am much more capable of adjusting to make my back feel better by finding a different bra/support/etc. 



It is taking me some time to fully realize how much smaller they are. Even now, I often find myself leaning towards shirt and dress choices I would have worn pre-surgery only to find that they are too big for me. Conversely, I will look at a top and think it will be way to small on me and be surprised to find that it fits me perfectly. That has been one of the most fun parts of the journey. That, and, of course, finding bras that not only fit me without costing an arm and a leg, but FUN bras that fit me!



I know I made the right decision for me by getting my chest reduced. Not every person who gets a chest reduction surgery will experience healing in the same way. I personally healed fast and with very few complications. Yet, even friends I have who did experience greater complications than me are still glad they decided to have a breast reduction surgery. Beyond anything this surgery has done for my physical health, I am so happy with what it has done for my confidence. I feel capable of taking on the world and I feel comfortable in my own skin. I am so proud of myself for going through with this procedure and I hope you have enjoyed hearing my journey through it!

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