>>574330>>579003Hi nonas! I had a breast reduction three years ago and it is the best thing I ever did for myself. I started at approximately a 32F, my breasts were fairly saggy and concealed my figure. I don't wear bras anymore, just bralettes, and post-reduction breasts don't measure quite like a natural breast, so it's hard to say exactly what size I am now, but I'm much smaller and the shape has changed dramatically. I tried on an old bra for fun and was a bit baggy but almost fit, but because there was no need to lift them anymore it was superfluous. I'd guess I'm around a 32B or C now.
Recovery was pretty painful for a couple of weeks, it helps if you have someone around to help you with physical tasks. I had my GF stay with me for a few weeks, she did things like help me get dressed and chores that required lifting anything heavy. I'd honestly say the most difficult part was sleeping. I'm a side sleeper and you can only sleep on your back during recovery. I probably slept on my back for about five weeks. A mastectomy pillow was my best friend. I had no drains, I just had steritape and had to wait for it to peel off.
Scarring on the breast itself is not really visible unless you look quite closely, you can see a bit of a line under the breast but it is camouflaged into the fold of skin/slight overhang. One of my nipples did heal with a little lopsidedness and my surgeon fixed it for free in-office under local anesthetic, looks great now. My only truly visible scarring is along the sides of my body; because I had so much tissue removed the scarring had to extend to my sides. It's pretty faint, though, and frankly my quality of life is so improved I just don't care. If I were more consistent with scar tape maybe they'd be even more subtle but I'm just not that concerned with it. YMMV with regards to your personal preferences.
As far as expectations, advocate for yourself fiercely and you'll probably get something quite close to what you want. If you have the luxury of picking a surgeon, look closely at their results on Realself or their website. I was personally very concerned with the nipples sitting strangely, in a lot of breast reduction post-op photos you can see they're often unnaturally high and centered on the breast. I brought in photos of other women's results
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