good-bye-boobies - Tumblr blog

[good-bye-boobies]

Hey, @butchknight , HMU if you need to talk - I was in a similar boat and  got my insurance to cover it but it was a fight.  

Rebagle for any peeps who can help out!  GOOD LUCK!!

Hello everybody!

That’s me and I need a breast reduction. I wear a bra size 32F, something not commonly found anyplace you can pick a bra up for less than $70. My breasts weigh me down, they are tender and painful at all times, and they give me extreme back, neck, and shoulder pain. Add all of this to the dysphoria I feel as a butch nb lesbian, and you can see why I desperately need a breast reduction.

Unfortunately, my insurance will not provide any kind of pre-approval, even to tell me for sure that they would not cover this procedure. My surgeon feels that, going by the stated guidelines for my insurance regarding these procedures, they would be very unlikely to cover the costs, and I would only find out either way after billing insurance for my surgery after the fact. If they did not accept my claim - which they likely would not - I could be left with a bill of around $50,000 in medical fees. Obviously, I can’t afford this. However, if I bill my procedure as cosmetic and pay for it myself, it would only cost $8,165.

Regardless, I don’t have the money either way. I just got hit with a huge vehicle repair bill recently which drained me of $3,000. Given another few years, I could probably get that money back and even pay for my procedure, but that would destroy my life savings ever since graduating high school in 2013. As much as I feel I need this surgery, not only to ease my physical symptoms but to calm my dysphoria, I can’t justify that extreme depletion of my savings for both school and my future in general.

I’m hoping to reach my goal this summer, by the end of August. I don’t honestly know if that’s possible, but I hate the thought of entering a new year of life as a 24 year old, stuck with the same painful chest. I can’t run, clothes that fit properly are hard to find, and every time I glance in the mirror I’m reminded of the literal burden I carry. I really can’t overstate how dysphoric my chest makes me. I can’t even wear a binder because of the disproportionate nature of my chest. I’ve tried everything I could think of to minimize my chest, from making binders myself from old shirts to trying transtape (which would probably work for someone with a more proportional chest, but again, I’m cursed so it doesn’t work for me) to just layering as much as possible. None of these are viable long term solutions, nor do they do anything to address the physical pain I endure. Please consider donating, or at least sharing with your friends! Also, forgive the deadname and vague generalizations at the link - I’m not out in every context and I want to spread this as far as I possibly can. For everyone who donates, any size donation is helpful and I appreciate you all! For everyone who shares, thank you so much for bringing visibility to my fundraiser!

https://paypal.me/pools/c/84m0lS0um3

Thank you again, everyone. I really appreciate everything and anything you can do! I love you!

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If anon is looking for a plastic surgeon, they could try calling a hospital nearest them and they should be able to give them a list of names and numbers. Then they could call them for further questioning. That's what I did and I just had a breast reduction last week.

Good suggestion!!

Hope this helps you Anon!

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The process to get a BR is so frustrating I'm having issues finding a surgeon that works with my insurance that is close enough to me that I can reasonably travel to I can't afford to fly to Florida or Cali or anything sigh Anyway so my question is have you heard of any good surgeons in the states surrounding Washington ?

I live in Ohio so I’m nowhere near Washington and can’t really help you here!  Sorry about that.  My advice would be to find top surgeons in those areas and then look to see if any of them take your insurance.  Call them - that is the best way to find out since the online or printed data can be incorrect.

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Did it hurt when you got breast reduction and if it did how bad? , also what to expect when getting breast reduction? I am planning on getting breast reduction myself but I am terrify of the pain and not knowing what to expect from the experience. Hope to hear back from you soon thanks.

If it did, I don’t remember it.  They give you a ton of painkillers - although I barely used the oxycodone at all and just used the 800mg ibuprofen because oxy makes me feel gross.  The only time I took the oxy was half a pill before bed because they knock me out.  

I was sore for the first month or so - nothing horrible - just tender and bruised.  That faded though.  The worst of it was 4 months in when my stitches started dissolving and the end of one was poking into the muscle in my side.  It wasn’t unbearable - just irritating.  Like someone is poking you with a fork tine every once in a while.

The first year also comes with twinges of shooting pain into your nipples as the nerves reconnect.  If you get cold chills or sneeze your boobs are going to ache.  None of it is actually that bad and I’m a huge baby when it comes to pain (I have two ear piercings and that’s it, I’m not sure I could handle getting a tatt and I have to put ice in my tea because it’ll burn my tongue otherwise.)

That’s about it for potential pain issues.  The best advice I had if you’re driving is to wrap a towel (dishtowel or handtowel) around your seatbelt and pin it there.  It helps a ton.  If you have someone that can drive you the first few weeks after your reduction, even better.  A lot of places have post-operation handicap passes so if you have to walk to class you can get a temporary handicap pass until your boobs aren’t so tender (because backpacks are heavy and that could be dangerous.  Just have your doctor write you a note.

Best tips I can offer are - see pre and post op photos.  Have multiple meetings with your doctor.  Make sure you’re getting what YOU want and not what the doctor thinks is best.  If they disrespect you or ignore your concerns, questions, wishes, etc - leave.  Get the surgery you want, not what the doctor thinks.  Make sure his photos show that your scars will look the best and not be massive or in weird locations. 

I think doctors who do internal stitches are the best.  I went back once to make sure everything was healing up properly and that was it.  Additionally, the scars the internal stitches leave are so much thinner and cleaner than the external ones IMO.

If you can avoid drain-tubes, do it.  I’ve only heard bad things - pain and frustration and grossness.  I didn’t have them and I didn’t need them.  A few weeks in my breasts were definitely swollen and a bit tight but within a few days they went back down and it was fine.

Speaking of which, post surgery - don’t worry too much about how big you are.  They’re going to be super swollen.  And don’t worry when they get bigger in the next month or so.  They’re healing and swelling and will go down again.

Oh, and if you wake up in the hospital after surgery and start crying apparently that’s totally normal because the drugs they use to put you under can have that effect and I wish I had known that because not knowing WHY I was crying was even more distressing but apparently it’s just something that might happen.

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

edit: ;alfdsa;sdf sorry I hit enter when I was doing the tags and it published it instead of adding a new tag TT__TT 

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same here.  like wtf.

plus the facebook group I was in shut down so I feel like I haven't really been doing much.

A rant related to the breast reduction tag

Can someone please explain to me why on the tumblr app the breast reduction tag is considered explicit material? The posts within the tag range from those sharing surgery stories, questions about the procedure from those considering having a br, people’s empowering before/after photos (some clothed, some unclothed), and some analysis of breast reduction through a feminist lens. This tag was a refuge before and after my surgery. We are discussing a medical procedure. Furthermore, many of us had or want to have reductions because our bodies were/are consistently sexualized in even the most innocuous settings—without our permission. Equating our stories with “explicit” (which can be interpreted to mean “sexual”) material is a further sexualization that i am not comfortable with.

By the way: the nose job tag isn’t perceived as “explicit” and therefore isn’t hidden. Both are medical/cosmetic procedures. Both are considered invasive. Only one is considered “explicit.”

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Hey anon, feel free to shoot me a message - if you do it off anon I can privately reply but whatever is fine.  

I am not sure how large you are but I was around a 34H (at least) and I would get chest pains constantly.  I started getting them when I hit the DD/DDD size but I know people smaller in size than me would get chest pains too so it could be that.  

Sports bras aren't entirely dissimilar to binders.  In fact, the one I used was basically a binder with just... more room and less breathability?  I wore it a lot, especially on "bad days" (when I really really really loathed my breasts) and often, by the end of the day, I would be on the receiving end of shooting pains in my chest.

So yeah, feel free to hit me up with any specific questions and I'll do what I can to help or point you to other resources if I can!

There is this one thing that has been bugging me and this seems like a place to get answers: since i don't like my chest i never wear bras just sport bras (not binding ones, my size ones) and i sometimes have chestpains, do more people experience this for similar reasons or could this be a bigger medical issue?

hmm im not sure anon!! i think as long as you’re wearing bras that fit you comfortably (not too tight, not squeezing your chest or making it difficult to breathe) it’s unlikely that that’s the cause of it. i don’t think sports bras put any more pressure on your chest than a regular bra’s band would, so long as you’re wearing one that fits correctly— they just kinda keep the business from moving around so much when you move, haha. my boobs are so small that i literally cannot find bras small enough to fit me, so i tend to wear nothing but sports bras on any day that i’m not binding, because it tends to be more comfortable. i know that if i’ve been binding for too long, i tend to feel some muscle pain/tension in the sides of my ribs, especially when i breathe in deep and especially if i’ve been really active that day.

chest pains could come from a myriad of other sources, and might be a sign that something else is up. think about what kind of pain it is— where is the pain located (deep in your lungs, in your sternum, in your pectoral muscles/breast tissue, in your ribs, etc)? does it hurt when you breathe in deep and expand your ribs? does it hurt when you bend over? are there certain movements/positions that make it occur/worsen? do you feel best when wearing a sports bra, a regular bra (that’s been properly sized), or no bra at all? does it hurt more at a particular time of day, or after exercise? maybe try out different chest-wear and see if that feels any better or worse, and see if you can talk to a doctor about it— they’d def know best, esp since chest pains could be a sign of a lot of different stuff goin’ on that might be more or less serious.

if any of my followers have any thoughts on this pls leave a comment! take care of urself anon and good luck

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I'm sorry I haven't updated this blog lately.  I'm doing really well though!

I had a bout of pain from nerves reconnecting and some of the ends of the internal stitches digging into my muscle but it passed in about a week (this was maybe a month ago?).  

If four days I'll officially 5 months post surgery!  The doctor said the stitches should be entirely dissolved after 6 months so that's pretty cool!

The only... weird thing... is I seem to have a lot of hair growth?  On my chin and eyebrows and a little bit on my upper lip.  My sideburns are growing a lot more quickly and my chest area is getting a lot more hair than it used to.  On one hand I don't really care but on the other, my regular doctor did mention there's some kind of condition dealing with some of my other medical problems that high amounts of testosterone can affect?  So I'm not sure if the sudden growth of hair is like something because of surgery or because it was always there but I didn't notice?  I'd be curious to know if any other people have experienced hair growth post surgery though.

I think the best part about this is how good I've been feeling I think.  Back pain is pretty much gone, chest pains are gone and a lot of my body-hatred is lowered too.  I still wish they were a bit smaller but I'm SO much more comfortable in my body now.  It feels... more right.  Not perfect, but a little closer to how I feel inside. Which is pretty awesome.

Anyway, maybe I'll try to get some photos soon.  I've been breaking out pretty badly so I'm a little embarrassed about that and taking photos.  But the scars are healing and I'd like to show that!

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I've always had large breast, and I'm currently between a 36DDD and a 34G. I want breast reduction surgery, but I'm not sure about how to get a recommendation from my doctor so my insurance would cover it. I can't work out like I want to and I've restricted my diet before but nothing has worked so I think it's more hormonal... What do you suggest?

Well the first step is talking to your doctor about it. Just bring it up at your appointment. If you're having health issues related to it that's a big help in terms of insurance considering it a medical necessity. Caution though, my insurance REQUIRED at least 400 grams out of each breast. My doctor, for some dumb reason, wrote 380g and I got denied. As soon as he sent in 400g they approved. So don't expect to get just a tiny reduction and be okay. That's usually considered cosmetic and won't be covered. (I ended up getting 1400g out total so I was well above their 'estimate'. )Your doctor can give you some recommendations for surgeons but I would advise looking them up online and definitely going in for consults to see their before and after photos. Don't like their work don't go to them. And if you don't like the surgeon then switch surgeons. This is your body and you shouldn't settle for anything less than exactly what you want.

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Happy 3 Months to my boobs!

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do you know what happened to the breast reduction surgery group on facebook?

As far as I know it's still there since I'm still part of it.  Please come off anon and I'll share it with you.  Because of the private nature of that group I won't give the link out on anon.

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I am going to be going through breast reduction surgery in about 6 months and this blog is an amazing resource. BLESS YOUR COTTON SOCKS.

Ahaha, no problem!  If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them!  

Good luck with surgery and best of wishes on a fast and speedy recovery!

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Hey, I am 2 days post op and both of my breasts are a little red, light red, and a tiny bit warm i think. Im praying this isn't a infection. Could it be? Also what are the signs of an infection? Ive been googling but to no avail :(

Hey!  Sorry tumblr did not let me know I had a new message!  

I hope you called your doctor!  I can't really help on that front since I was fortunate enough to avoid any infections.  Your body is healing so they're likely to be working hard at that but I would definitely run any concerns by your doctor if you're worried.  Sometimes stress alone can cause more problems!

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*-I just wanted to say to anyone thinking about a breast reduction, DO IT! It's been 3 years since I had mine and to this day I don't regret it at all (if anything I regret not going a cup smaller). I had more than 3lbs removed and have never felt more free and more like myself. There's always going to be those piggish guys and jealous girls who will try to convince you not to do it, but a breast reduction is about pleasing yourself and making a healthy choice to improve your life. Do it!

Hi! Thanks but I’ve already had my reduction! I’m running this blog as a recovery journal and as a place for people to ask questions and find answers.

If you're referring to the Facebook screenshot - that wasn't mine. I just thought it was funny!

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Wheee! 6 weeks!

I have lots of photos but I just haven't had the time to dump them and put them up.  But I'm feeling really good!

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I just had a breast reduction a few months ago. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made! Have you noticed how much easier it is to breathe when you're smaller, or are you still too bruised to inhale deeply?

I just realized that I haven't had the same 'lung/heart pain' that I used to get every week or more before I had surgery.  It would happen when I'd inhale, like a charlie horse in my heart or lungs and it was incredibly painful.  I wouldn't be able to breathe for a minute, every inhale felt like someone was taking a knife and plunging it between my ribs and twisting.

Haven't felt that at all since the reduction.  I'd definitely say breathing has improved tremendously too!

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I am so glad that you are healing so well!!

Thank you!  I am as well - I feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a great doctor and even more so that my body seems to be handling this whole procedure reasonably well.