Breast reduction surgery: two weeks later

(image caption: a cropped image of a person with large breasts wearing a black lace bra, showing only the torso, with the word 'censored' across.)

Content warning: you may find images included in this post to be offensive or disturbing. The intent is to educate and inform, and if you don't want to see breasts, this is not the blog for you.  

I couldn't tell you how many men have asked me for photos of my bare breasts. Back when I was actively dating and putting myself out there to meet people, it was a weekly, if not daily, occurrence. (However, not as regular an occurrence as random strangers sending me pictures of their penises, which seemed to coincide particularly with any time I commented on a BBC article.) I never did take any pictures, or shoot the home movie that a partner in my 20s was always wanting to make, but I decided I would take one "before" picture for the purposes of educating people on how a surgeon prepares you for the knife.

 (image caption: a large pair of breasts, covered in black marker pen, showing the lines of incision for the surgeon).

In order to avoid censorship, you will see that there are no nipples on this photo. My breasts were so large, the nipples were practically down by my waist, and were very turned out as well. 

Getting drawn on was a weird and uncomfortable experience. Of course I knew that I was going to be cut apart, with a sharp blade, but seeing exactly where the incisions were going to be made definitely gave me the urge to run out of the hospital and call off the whole thing. I asked the surgeon if anyone had ever run, and he said "not yet." 

In the two weeks since the surgery, there have continued to be ups and downs. The crippling back and neck pain, headaches, nausea and dizziness finally tailed off after about 9 days. I contracted a stomach virus, so that was an extra burden. 

My first bandage change, a week after the surgery, was unpleasant. Imagine tape being pulled off your breasts/chest for an extended period, and then imagine that everything is super sensitive and sore. I was very lucky that my mum came with me to hold my hand, and whilst I sat with my eyes shut, she assured me that everything was looking good. I decided not to take any pictures of that first set of bandages, because there was a lot of blood and pus, and I didn't want to keep a memento of that. 

I did however decide to take a picture of the new set of bandages, which show how much things have changed since before the surgery. 

(image caption: a medium sized pair of breasts, with gauze over the nipples (and heart emoji's for censorship purposes), and bandages across the underside.)

This picture was taken 10 days after surgery, and healing is well underway. The right breast continues to have a very slight bleed, but scarring is minimal, and there have been no other issues.

The shape and size of my breasts will continue to change for the next year.

At time of writing this post, it's exactly two weeks since the surgery. I'm still not feeling back to full health, and I'm completely over wearing this stupid giant surgery support bra, but I do have growing confidence that it will all be worth it in a few months time.