I’ll be the first to say that permanently changing any part of your body is scary. It’s exciting, but you’re also used to looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing a certain image. Changing that image in any way will have certain consequences, whether positive or negative.
I got a breast reduction in May 2021 just after my nineteenth birthday, but I had been wanting to undergo the procedure for a couple of years before that. By the time I was in eighth grade, I had size 32DDD boobs. In complete honesty, I loved my boobs. But then they kept growing, and by the time I was a junior in high school, I was a size 32H. There were a lot of things that became much harder to do, namely buying clothes that fit (especially bathing suits) and exercising. It just got to a point where my boobs were more of a hindrance to my daily life than I honestly wanted to deal with. Don’t even get me started on the comments I got about them, whether from friends or even strangers (I’m looking at you, guy on the street who yelled in my face that I “got some huge titties”). So, I looked into getting a breast reduction. My parents and pediatrician recommended I wait until I was eighteen and was absolutely sure I wanted to do it. And I did. So, without further ado, these are the things I wish I’d known before getting a breast reduction:
- You may regret it at times
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Overall, I’m glad I did it and I think if I could go back, I would make the same decision. However, there are definitely times when I miss my boobs. They were a big part of me (literally) and it’s still weird to look at old photos and realize that my body will never look the same again. There might be times that you wish you had never done it. I wasn’t really prepared for that emotional consequence before I did the procedure.
- The recovery is really not that bad
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I stressed a lot about the recovery process, especially as a college student with classes and midterms, but it was really not as taxing as I thought it would be. There was not too much pain, and though my motion was slightly restricted, I was able to resume exercise after about six weeks or so. Everyone’s situation is different, though, so that’s something to keep in mind.
- The location/hospital you pick matters
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You want to be comfortable throughout the entire process, from the initial consultation to recovery. I had to stay a night in the hospital after the procedure and the nurses on shift made my experience so much better. My night nurse came into my room and just sat with me for a little and talked about her kids and showed me pictures of her dog and I literally cried when she left. It’s scary sitting in a hospital bed by yourself not being able to sleep, wondering if you made the right decision and I was really grateful that I felt comforted and supported by the nurses there (shoutout to Boston Children’s Hospital).
- You might feel extremely relieved afterward
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I’m using “might” because everyone has different experiences, but I can say that in general, I’m very happy with my decision to have a breast reduction. I can buy clothes much more easily, I can go on long walks, I can go to the gym without wearing two high-impact sports bras, and overall I feel like the parts of my day that were previously spent on thinking about anything boob-related is just filled by other things. My day-to-day life just feels a little easier now.
I really can’t tell you if a breast reduction is the right choice for you. It is completely up to you. You’re the one that’s still going to have to live in your body, so the opinions of other people should not be a factor at all. I’m glad that I did it, but emotionally, I think I’m still recovering. I still sometimes look at myself in the mirror and wish I had my boobs back, but I think that’s just a part of a change like this. Honestly, it may sound trivial and you may be thinking, “They’re just boobs. What’s the big deal?” but my fellow big titty committee members know differently. Either way, if you’re thinking about getting a breast reduction, know that there are a ton of resources that you can look to for questions, and hopefully, this article helped a little bit too.