breast reduction swelling

[franticalities.livejournal.com]

Hi all,
xposted this to the breast reduction community.

I am 18 days post- breast reduction. I went from a 30G to a 30DD ( i know you're not supposed to get fitted right away, but i needed to buy some wireless bras, and that is the size i was fitted as). Anyway, before the surgery, my surgeon told me I would be a full C or small D, so I'm kind of bummed about the DD. It isn't that I'm hung up on the letter/ number, either, but more that I feel I still look big. However, everyone is telling me that I'm still swollen. Am I? I don't think i LOOK swollen, and I don't see any bruising. I am hella itchy, and had the lollipop scar style reduction.


Is it a given that you boobs get smaller over time, or is it likely that the size i have now will be the size i am in a few months? How do I know if I'm swollen???

Thanks :)

Comments

[archangelbeth]

I haven't googled this, and the breast reduction community will probably give you better answers, but I wouldn't rule swelling out at all -- you've got traumatized tissues inside your breasts, basically. Stuff came in and took tissue away and there's probably lymph and other associated "WTF HAPPENED??" biological stuff going on in the area. (Itching probably means healing? With a side-order of possible surface yeast infection, so you may want to double-check with the doctor who performed the procedure?)

So I'd give yourself at least a couple months for your body to finish repairing and stop sending lymph to the internal "wound."

Good luck! I hope you settle to a size that makes you happy!

[master.livejournal.com]

oh yeah, you're going to have swelling. mine didn't settle until a little under 6 months after i got my reduction, and i was really bummed because it looked like i barely had anything done at all until then. at first it looked like i went from a D/DD to only a C, but now i buy bras that are around a B.

from my experience, i recommend you give it some more time before getting yourself properly sized. don't worry too much about it until a good handful of months have passed by.

also, i suggest regular lotion for your itchy boobs! mine didn't itch until a few weeks in. then i was scratching the hell out of them and that made it even worse, haha.

[galaxy-soup.livejournal.com]

I went from a 30G to a 30B about two years ago, and I would definitely say I was still swollen 18 days after surgery. I found that being 'swollen' wasn't so much about size but rather squishiness- mine felt like they just sat on my chest like a barbie doll's until maybe a month or more after surgery. Even after the incisions had healed it took a few weeks for my breasts to be as soft and malleable as they are now.

It'll definitely be a couple months before things settle out and you can really tell what cup size you are. I wouldn't worry about it! :)

[franticalities.livejournal.com]

i would have loved to be a B, but my surgeon said he could only realistically take me down to a full c or D... wtf! Mine don't feel particularly hard or anything, either....eeps! How long after your reduction did your boobs feel " normal" ? And if you don't mind my asking, did you have the anchor incision, or the vertical lollipop one?

[galaxy-soup.livejournal.com]

I had the anchor incision, with no drains or anything. I was told the lollipop incision would result in less scarring but allow less tissue to be removed, so I picked the anchor, and I honestly see no drawbacks in the scarring from it. My doctor used glue that peeled away naturally once the incisions healed to close them up, and two years later I barely have any scarring.

I would say it was maybe four months after surgery where they felt 'normal'- as in I would be okay with touching or squeezing them, and didn't feel any especially firm or sore spots. A year later the scarring had flattened out and I no longer had any uncomfortable sensitivity there, so I started wearing underwire bras with molding/padding again around then.

ETA: I also didn't do anything special with massaging lotions or anything into my scars, which may explain why I had some small issues with them being too sensitive for underwires :X

[franticalities.livejournal.com]

guhhhh i should have done more research beforehand, becoz if i'd known the lollipop would prevent me from going smaller, i would have chosen the anchor. alas, i was so desperate and thrilled to be getting rid of my boobs, and loved my PS' demeanour so much that i just trusted him when he said ' full c'. buh!

In any case, what i have is way better than what i had before... a G to a DD is 6 friggin cup sizes down.. but i envy you!

[kaowolfie.livejournal.com]

While breast reduction and jaw reduction are very different surgeries, I can tell you that after my face was rearranged from the cheekbones down, I had swelling that took six weeks to completely go away. My father took three months to completely lose the swelling from invasive abdominal surgery, so...

In short, swelling can take a long time to go away. It's also not always obvious as swelling - my dad just looked fatter than usual. With your doctor's approval, you can sometimes encourage it to go down faster by applying heated compresses to the appropriate lymph nodes. If nothing else, if the nodes feel swollen and uncomfortable, the heat can help reduce that feeling a little.

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of trans men who have had double incision chest reconstruction surgery, which is often performed in a similar way to breast reduction surgery, though slightly more complex. I know folks who have still had surgical drains in at 3 weeks post op! So yeahhhh I'd say it's safe to say that you still have swelling. Hang in there! It's hard to wait to see what the final results wil look like, but each day it will look more like what you want it to in terms of swelling and scars fading. :)

had the same problems..

[prettyinink8269.livejournal.com]

I had a reduction about 7 years ago and I was swollen for a few months. I went from a DD to what ended up being a B cup....just to turn around 7 yrs later to get implants...I would suggest not wearing any real bras for a few months. Try wearing sports bras along with cami's that have shelf bras built in...as for the itching, that's your skin stretching...they prob did a lift and pulled the skin in...lotion with cocoa butter is very helpful...also use maderma for the scars.....do not scratch if you don't want stretchmarks....hope this helps..

Re: had the same problems..

[franticalities.livejournal.com]

woah, no real bras? I've been wearing really soft wireless ones day and night as per my surgeon's instruction... why do you say no bras? Thanks for the scar suggestions! I've never even heard of maderma.. everyone keeps saying bio-oil

Re: had the same problems..

[prettyinink8269.livejournal.com]

Well I was told not to wear them from my PS so that the incisions would heal better...but if your PS said you could then by all means..every PS has their own preferences....also you can use Scarguard and medical tape to keep the scars flat..