On October 12, 2023, exactly one year ago, I had my breast reduction surgery. Yesterday, I had my one year post-op appointment and it made me reflect on my recovery and the improvements my life has gained after going through this process.
Surgery day
We had to be at the hospital at 6
. The anxiety was so high that I wanted to make it there earlier. We got there at around 6am.
Check-in commenced and they gave me the hospital gown, hospital cap and shoes to change into. When I went to the bathroom to change, that’s when it really kicked in that I was actually doing this. There were many things going through my head at the moment. This was my first major surgery and had no idea of what to expect. Going under general anesthesia was probably what worried me the most.
Once I changed, I went to one of the beds so the nurse could set up my line. This is when I had to say goodbye to Juan and they told him he would be notified via phone or text message about my surgery progress.
A while later, the anesthesiologist came in and explained the process, then proceeded to wheel me to the entrance of the operating room. Once I was in the operating room, I remember when the anesthesiologist was administering the anesthesia. I felt a little sting, and then… I remember nothing.
Waking up after the surgery
While I was waking up, I could hear murmurs that I couldn’t make out. After a while, I could hear the nurses talking about how my blood pressure was low. Apparently, I took longer to wake up than normal because of this.
Once I woke up, the nurses gave me a Sprite and something with sugar and helped me get dressed. I felt like a stone and could barely move. Everything from my torso, shoulders and neck felt super tight and it was very difficult to move my arms particularly.
The nurses got me into a wheelchair and we went to the hospital wing where Juan was waiting for me so they could take me to the car. All the hospital staff took great care of me and I’m really grateful because I was still so out of it due to the anesthesia.
Left: Before I was reunited with Juan | Right: Getting into the car… It was a process.
Recovery
The recovery was smooth (in my case it was 6 weeks). I would say the hardest period of time was the first week, particularly because I had drains and I absolutely hated them. I was in a lot of pain (and I refused to take narcotics for the pain), very bloated and movement was difficult. After the first week, everything felt more manageable, and recovery felt faster and more easy-going. It definitely went much better than what I imagined it would be.
I spent most of my recovery in a reclining chair because I needed to have some elevation, and was accompanied by my Jasmine plushie which I could hug or rest on when I needed it.
I used my recovery time to catch up on TV shows, video games and rest.
Physical improvements
My back and neck pain has subsided completely, other than sporadic stress pain. The pain I had before the surgery was debilitating, and it makes me so happy that the pain has gone away.
My posture has greatly improved as well. I used to have a hump on my back from being slouched due to the weight of my breasts.
My confidence has grown exponentially and I’m now able to wear clothing I didn’t think would be possible. I was very limited in my clothing choices due to the size of my breasts. Now, I can buy pretty much anything I want as long as they have it in my size. One thing to note is that I lost a considerable amount of weight (50 pounds) to get ready for the surgery. So that’s something that definitely helped with recovery and clothing options as well.
Physical activity is now much easier. I couldn’t even walk without feeling pain before the surgery. We’ve been able to go on walks, and use exercise equipment I wasn’t able to before.
For physical activity, I’ve been doing rowing on a regular basis (we bought a rowing machine for our home gym). I’m also preparing myself for running, to nudge me in that direction, I will be participating in a 5K race this December. I’m also looking into a 5K and 10K race in California next summer.
One of my best decisions
Overall, I would say that having a breast reduction surgery is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It has improved my life in all aspects. My mental and physical health are much better because of it. I’m looking forward into doing and experiencing so many things I shied away from or couldn’t be able to do before my surgery.
Have any questions? Please reach out!
On my Instagram profile, I made my surgery process public in hopes of helping other women that might be thinking of going through a breast reduction surgery to have some insight and see the process I went through.
If this is something you may be considering and have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help and offer any information I can related to my process.
