23 February 2004
I went to see my regular doctor after having had several episodes of intense, screaming, back and breast pain. We're talking curled up on the couch, holding my breasts up with my hands, trying not to cry it hurts so bad. She refers me to Dr. Janitch, a plastic surgeon, for a consultation for a bilateral reduction mamoplasty. In layman's terms, a breast reduction. For the pain, she prescribes me a medication frequently used for arthritis.

Less than a week later ...
I wind up at the emergency room in terrible pain - again. The arthritis medication has done nothing but give me all its possible side effects including headache, nauseau, and dizziness. The ER doctor prescribes me Darvacet, a mild narcotic. Later, my internist will refill this for me twice, another ER doctor once. Eventually I wind up with Flexerol, Bextra, and some leftover Darvacet.

1 April 2004
April Fool's Day would up having its joke on me. This was supposed to be the date of my consultation with the plastic surgeon. His office called me about a week earlier to tell me my appointment was going to have to be postponed. I wanted to cry! The new date was set for 22 April.

22 April 2004
FINALLY! My consultation with the surgeon!

The surgeon I'm going to have is a man, so I had his nurse in the room with me the entire time. My Mom came to the appointment with me as well. I put on the "hospital gown" with the opening to the front for the first time! Before the doctor even looked at me, he explained how the surgery is done and what the complications include.

The procedure was explained to me like this:

Here's where we start.	They cut the first layer of skin around the areola (the area around the nipple). There's also a hole cut higher up on the breast where the nipple will be moved to.	Being cut this way, the nipple is still attached to the nerve. It is moved under your skin and will pop out through the new hole.
A line is cut from the bottom of the nipple down the the bottom of the existing breast.	Wedges are cut from the sides and tissue removed.	The incisions are sewn up and voila! The new breast.

Complications specific to this surgery can include: loss of sensitivity in one or both nipples, numbness, the inability to breastfeed, and losing your nipples. I was also asked if my significant other would harm or kill me if any of these happened! (Yes, that really took me by surprise). If the answer would have been yes, the doctor would not do the surgery.

Another complication comes from being a smoker. Smoking affects your circulation, and that will affect how you heal from the surgery. If you smoked before the surgery or while you're healing, you risk losing your nipples from lack of blood flow.

I was measured from the collarbone to the nipple and from the nipple down to the bottom of my breast. We discussed what size I wanted to go down to, as at the time of the appointment, I was a G. He also took pictures to send to the insurance company. They're just from shoulder to waist, so my head isn't in them at all. This is actually how I had my Mom take the pictures for this site as well.

This is my "before" picture, taken 14 August 2004. In case you're curious, the other scars you see are from having my gallbladder removed in 2002.

April 2004-July 2004
I have to look up the dates, but insert here my frustration in trying to get my insurance company to approve the surgery! After my consult, I received a cc'ed letter from the insurance company asking for more information. They wanted to know I'd sought "conservation treatment options" for at least six months. That's gotta mean physical therapy, medication or chiroptractic care. Tell me how any of those three are going to get rid of the grooves my bra straps have dug into my shoulders! ARGH! I had to get my records from the chiropractor I saw a couple of years ago and have those sent in. Dr. Janitch sent in more information. Finally got my approval letter and was able to schedule the surgery.

30 June 2004
This is the date on the Holy Grail - my letter from the insurance company. It reads, in part, "In response to your request for a predetermination of medical necessity for a breast reduction, our rerview find that the proposed service is medically necessary as defined by the plan".

My boyfriend was a little shit when the letter arrived! He'd gotten the mail first and opened it. He told me that we'd just gotten bills and something from my insurance company. No big deal I'm thinking as I take the paper out of the envelope ... and oh my god! I was speechless reading the letter. I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life. I must've hugged Steve a million times, almost crying with joy.

The next thing I did was call the doctor's office to schedule the surgery. The soonest I could get in was 20 August 2004. So I took it. The six week countdown begins!

And trust me ... I counted every single week!

1 August 2004
I smoked my last cigarette - quitting before the surgery! I'd quit twice before, but let me tell you that this is the easiest it ever was to quit. Every time I even thought about having a cig, I thought "You want to lose your nipples over this?" That's a no brainer!

Three weeks to go!