A years review – Blog part two!
8 frequently asked questions to me:
1. Question: do you have any regrets?
Answer: No, I would do the surgery again in a flash. It was scary, painful, and an emotional rollercoaster for me, and people around me – but it has changed my life, and I think that anyone even considering getting it done should book an initial appt with a surgeon, and have a chat.
2. Question: Will the scars ever go away completely? What did you use to help reduce the scars?
Answer: I think my scars will go away completely, however I’m a bit worried about the purple scars on the outsides near my armpits. They don’t seem to be fading as quickly, and are a bit thicker. My surgeon did tell me that this may happen because I had some extra weight around there, also I lifted some things I shouldn’t have – shortly after my surgery. I can’t remember why. Oops! – and as for what I’ve been using, I’ve had a couple of different things. The best has been Dermatix silicone gel cream. I’ve also used bio oil, and some spray scar reduction stuff. I found Dermatix was the best at reducing the scars, I could actually see the difference with it. And also soothed the itching after I had the tape reaction, and any other itching. The only issue with it was that the oil in it stained a couple of light coloured shirts when I wasn’t wearing a bra.
3. Question: How did you choose your surgeon?
Answer: I got a referral back in 2005 to a surgeon, and he sort of scared me away. Because I was only 15 at the time. He was very honest and I decided not to go through. Then last year when I pinched a nerve in my back, I went back to a doctor and we decided it was time to get another referral. When I did it happened to be to the same surgeon. Complete coincidence, it was so weird! Obviously I was meant to go to this surgeon. I then did some research on him, and found out he was one of the best in Queensland. After the first appointment I felt comfortable with him and didn’t search around for any other surgeon. I do suggest to all the ladies out there though, that they do a lot of research, and ask their GP for a referral to a surgeon they know about, that has had positive results.
4. Question: The sharp pains after the reduction that the doctor warned about, how long did they take to stop?
Answer: I still get them every now and then. Back at the start of the healing process they were happening every couple of hours and would make me cry. This is just the nerves reconnecting inside your breast. So I’m assuming it could happen for quite a while. But it is a good thing it’s happening, so I just deal with it. It’s only about once a fortnight now though.
5. Question: Have you had any noticeable relief in back pain? Are you able to do more physical activity already?
Answer: Yes and Yes! My back doesn’t cramp nearly as much. Of course it will still happen every now and then, as with anyone. But I have found heaps of relief. I have read that this varies from person to person though. As for physical activity, I found after 3 months I could do a lot more than I could before I had the reduction. I’ve recently started Karate classes, and it seems to be quite fun.
6. Question: How did you get comfortable to sleep post-surgery? These drains are driving me nutty!
Answer: I slept in many different ways. I found that sleeping on the couch was about a billion times more comfortable than the bed. I just sat up with heaps of pillows behind me on a slight recline. I also attached the drainage bottle things to my top so I didn’t have to carry them around and they wouldn’t pull.
7. Question: How did your friends react when you told them about your reduction?
Answer: As I was quite open with the whole thing, most of them knew about it for about a year, many thought I’d never actually go through with it though. They were all very supportive and were extremely happy when they saw how much more confident I was afterwards. I’ve posted another blog with people’s reactions just below. You should check it out.
8. Question: Did writing this blog help you in any way, or is it just helping us?
Answer: Of course it helped me, it helped me express how I was feeling and be honest with myself when I was worried about something. It made me feel like I had someone to talk to about all my issues, without actually having to talk to someone. It also made me feel better knowing that people were getting information from me and that people were getting less and less worried about getting their reductions.
My Breast Reduction blog 