Hi all-

Question: when would be the appropriate time to go for a breast reduction consultation? I was banded 11/2/07 and have lost about 60 pounds, with approximately 60 more to go. I imagine that the right time would be when I reach goal, but I can't help thinking how nice it would be to have them reduced now so that exercise would be so much easier! I want to run! I really can't do so for fear of black eyes (or concussions) for myself and those near me! I'd need a cast-Iron sports bra to stop the bounce. I am a 40DDD now.

Anyhoo... if I had the BR surgery before I hit goal, would they shrink and be too small/deflated?? What do you all think??

Thanks in advance,

Robin

Jack,

Thanks for your reply. Who'd have thunk the only person to reply to this would be a guy?!

Thanks again and have a great day,

Robin

I agree with Jack. I guess it depends how big you are. I'm having a breast lift and augmentation next week. The last 15 pounds made the augmentation more imperative. I lost a lot of breast tissue with the last of my weight. I guess it just depends if you're willing to get a tune-up when you get to goal. I think that exercise is extremely important in the weight loss process and in getting healthy. Good luck!

Karey,

Thanks for responding!

Robin

i had my breast red before i am getting band i hope i dnt sag to much actually i had it in 2000 i love my breast red. lots of preasure off my back now i am a 40 c hope the 40 part goes dwn after i get banned

Robin

Talk to a PS but I would agree if you do it now you are more likely to need it again later. I know it is a hard wait but my PS wouldn't do it until I was at goal for awhile. They also need to know that you are stable. PM me if you have questions, I am getting a TT and BR in a few months and went through all the stuff!

I had a reduction in 2004 after losing 45 pounds. Never once during the weightloss did I lose breast size. If you have alot of fatty tissue the I'd say wait but if it's glandular tissue it won't go away. Problem is how do you know what you have?? I went from 44H to 44B I love'em..:thumbup:

Thanks to all of you, for your input!!

Robin

Were you ever a "normal" weight? As if so how big were they then? Most likely they'd be the same but older and droopier depending on your age.

I guess it also depends on how big you'd like them to be once you're at goal weight.

You can find VERY supportive sports bras. Try some catalogs like "just my size" I think they have them. They are even labled for different levels of activity. do some online searches.

Hi all-

Question: when would be the appropriate time to go for a breast reduction consultation? I was banded 11/2/07 and have lost about 60 pounds, with approximately 60 more to go. I imagine that the right time would be when I reach goal, but I can't help thinking how nice it would be to have them reduced now so that exercise would be so much easier! I want to run! I really can't do so for fear of black eyes (or concussions) for myself and those near me! I'd need a cast-Iron sports bra to stop the bounce. I am a 40DDD now.

Anyhoo... if I had the BR surgery before I hit goal, would they shrink and be too small/deflated?? What do you all think??

Thanks in advance,

Robin

Dear Robin:

I know you don't want to hear this, :tongue: but wait til you get to your goal. Inthe mean time, try the Enell bra for exercise (trust me- I am a 42 G-I know all about the bounce factor!!!). :cheers2:

I work with surgeons on a daily basis, and I know how they think.:huggie: One thing they do not like to do is have to cut across scar lines because the vasculature has been altered, and the healing will be less optimal. You do NOT want to have a revised scar under your bra line that never heals, not to mention around your areolas!!!!

Keep me posted on your progress, because I am headed for a lift and BR the minute I reach my goal-which is probably still a year away.

PS: Now that I am banded, I can joke about the irony of going to the PS for a BR and being told (very diplomatically, of course) that I was too fat for fat surgery.:w00t:

I had my breast reduction 6 years ago, long before I was banded.

As one poster said, it totally depends on whether you have a lot of fatty tissue in your breasts or not. Before my surgery, my breasts got larger whether I lost or gained weight. After the surgery my surgeon confirmed that there was almost no fat tissue in my breasts, and they never would have gotten smaller. I never regretted having the reduction when I did. It made exercise a possibility for me again. I started out a 38H (that was my last fitting about a year prior to surgery, my cup size was probably a little larger than that by then) and ended up a 38C, and now I'm a 34D.

No one can help you make this decision better than a PS. Truly, they know breasts, and can tell you if YOU would do best having the BR after being at goal or if you should have it before. Like you said, it makes exercising so much easier, and therefore makes it easier/more possible to GET to goal. You will see a PS at some point anyway, so you may as well have the consult now. If you have to wait to have surgery, you'll already have your records started there and it will be pretty quick and easy to move forward.

Since losing 52 lbs, I am sad to learn that in the 6+ years since having my breast reduction, some fat did end up forming in my breast (damn aging!) and my breasts are a tad deflated now. Not a lot, but I suspect by the time I reach goal I might be looking to have them fixed a bit. Still, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing except maybe having the BR a year or two before I did. My life since the BR improved SO much, I don't even care if I have to have them lifted again when I reach goal. I can't even tell you how great it is to be able to run and be active. Also not having people stare at my chest constantly is great--it still happens, but not like I'm a circus freak anymore. :thumbup:

It goes without saying that you should research a PS a lot first, but when you do make sure your surgeon is very good at BR, not just breast surgery in general (i.e. BA). A lot of BRs are over-reduced and look a little strange. I am very pleased with the job my surgeon did. He left me exactly as he planned to--as a "full C". The only reason I ended up in a D was that my band size got smaller but my breasts stayed essentially the same.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks, again, everyone for your thoughts on the matter. I've been wishing for reduction surgery for a long time. In my research I, of course, came across the factor that was pretty much universal : surgery won't be done/covered if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose; the rationale being that you will lose breast size also. In college I lost 100 pounds and my cup size went from DDD to DD. That's it. I guess I am willing to wait until I am at goal, but it's just such a nice thought to be rid of them to HELP with the weight loss (i.e. ease of exercise). Perhaps I will make an appt. with a PS to just get the ball rolling. For now I guess it's "cast-Iron sports bra, here I come"! Thanks again!

Robin :biggrin:

I look forward to one day having a breast lift. In addition to waiting until you show stability at goal weight, isn't it recommended that I wait if there's any hope of a pregnancy?

Is it better to get two regions (breasts and tummy) done at the same time? The thought of the recovery scares the heck out of me.

Robinbird, did you hear that from YOUR insurance? Because mine covered my surgery, even though at the time I was probably about 50-60 lbs overweight. It all depended on what the surgeon submitted to the insurance company, and my PS knew very well whether a BR would be covered or not based on his physical exam of the patient. Just wondering, don't want you to lose hope if you haven't heard that from YOUR insurance yet. If the PS thinks you should wait, then of course that would be best. If there is a lot of fatty tissue there, you'll be happier with your result if you wait, but if not it could be just as good a result to do it before reaching goal.

And about waiting for pregnancy, my PS told me not to get pregnant within a year of surgery. He told a friend of mine on whom he also did a BR that breast feeding might be possible, but that it would impair the cosmetic result. That was for BR, not BL, so breastfeeding is probably less impacted by that surgery (since there is less folding of the glandular tissue) but still would probably impair your final result. Of course, the PS is the one to ask that question of.

But other than that, pregnancy should be fine after the time period they request for complete healing. With BR, you always have to weigh the two sides: is it better to have the improved quality of life from the BR early on, or wait until after you are done with child bearing? Most people wish they had done it sooner after they have it done. But with BL, I don't know. I think it probably doesn't affect your quality of life quite as much, but since I haven't been there I could just be talking out of my ar$e. LOL.

HTH.

Gwen,

I have not spoken with anyone from my insurance company. I imagine my best bet is to make an appt. for a consultation with a PS. Thanks for the info.

Robin