In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

3707 days of not waking up with intrascapular pain

tigtog

A bit over 10 years ago I had breast reduction surgery after thinking about it for years and finally deciding that the constant pain between my shoulderblades (due to the weight on the front of my chest distorting my spinal alignment) was no longer bearable. That my breasts would be more in proportion with the rest of average-sized me instead of looking more like they belonged to some gigantic fertility goddess was definitely a factor in me thinking about it for years beforehand, but it took the chronic and increasing pain to finally push me to book the surgery.

This weekend I’m nursing somebody else through their recovery from the same reduction mammoplasty procedure (performed by the same surgeon). She was only just starting to get the intrascapular pain and decided to not wait for it to get worse like it had for me. I still rank the surgical alleviation of my symptomatic macromastia as one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself, and although she’s still woozy and ouchy she’s also thrilled to have had it done.

I’ve blogged about the experience a couple of times on Hoyden About Town, and even converted my original HTML web diary from 2004 to a blog format here. Feel free to ask me all about it.

20 thoughts on 3707 days of not waking up with intrascapular pain

  1. I had breast reduction surgery when I was 23. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made – totally life changing.
    This year, at 30, I finally went to physio to deal with the neck, shoulder, and back problems that came about after more than a decade of hunching over to try to hide my breasts.

    1. Oh yes, the hiding of the breasts. I avoided clothes that actually fit the rest of my body for years, because by comparison they made my breasts look even larger and that meant stares and assumptions about my intelligence and promiscuity. It was easier to wear loose fitting clothes that made the rest of my body look larger than to deal with the ogling and sneering.

    2. A close family friend had this done about 16 or 17 years ago. I think she had something like M breasts, if that’s a size. Most of her life she wore very loose fitting shirts or dresses. And her bras left welts and indentations on her shoulders. Even though she is about 5’6″ and 120 lbs, it gave the appearance of being a lot heavier.

      Then one day at a picnic I noticed there was something different about her. At first I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then I realized that she was wearing a tight, form fitting shirt. I said to her sister, “Has …. lost a lot of weight?”. She laughed and said, ” Only from her chest.” Then I took a second look. It’s ironic that most guys didn’t notice that she went to to a mid C or something like that. Almost all the women figured it out immediately.

      She’s very happy now.

  2. Sadly, you hear more about woman having breast enhancement than breast reduction. At least one of the actresses on Modern Family did it and it was very obvious on a recent swimming themed episode as her implants made her boobs float. I really hope she isn’t in pain like you were, tigtog.

    1. Wow, tigtog, I am so happy for you that this situation resolved and that you no longer have to deal with it. Experiences like yours make me wonder about the depth of mindless cruelty among some of our species.

      1. Experiences like yours make me wonder about the depth of mindless cruelty among some of our species.

        I’m not quite following you on the “depth of mindless cruelty” part.

        1. I think it is a reference to how you and debbie talked about wanting to hide your breasts, and how if you didn’t, you were subjected to stares, speculations on your intelligence and sexual activity, etc. Those kinds of things seem very cruel and unnecessary.

          Many years ago, I had a young coworker who had just had that done. At the time, I had never heard of it, being just in my 20s myself. It sounded sort of strange at first but made sense when I thought about it. I’m glad you were able to resolve it and I hope your friend is recovering well.

    2. LF, I don’t want this thread to devolve into kneejerk criticism of implants, and I think you ought to know that large boobs float whether they have implants to get that way or not. (edited to add: how much large boobs float depends on how much coverage/support/restraint the swimsuit provides)

    3. A large proportion of breast tissue is fat and fat floats. Implants would actually make breasts a little less buoyant since they’re filled with either saline or silicone which is more dense than water. Either way, reduce or enhance it’s an individual decision for someone to make themselves.

  3. Oh wow. I have fantasized about having breast reduction surgery, but for 100% aesthetic reasons. I don’t think I would actually do it sans physical pain (which is not to say that it’s bad to do it for aesthetic reasons! surgery is just scary to me, so I’d need a big push to actually do it).

    But, man, the amount of times I wished that people made clothes that fit bodies shaped like mine. I feel like there is a razor-thin line between being perceived as frumpy and being perceived as too sexy, and the amount of angst I’ve had trying to walk that line in my professional life…

  4. I would love to have a breast reduction. I’ve had chronic neck and shoulder pain for years. (Not to mention an almost impossible time finding bras.) Until very recently, I’ve been uninsured. Now I have insurance and was looking forward to finally being able to do something…. but my insurance, and no other insurance that i saw, would pay for “breast augmentations” or breast reductions. I thought if is something caused chronic pain that it would be covered, but as far as I can tell I’m out of luck. I live in US and am 27. If anyone has any advice or tips I’m all ears. Thanks.

    1. Since most insurance doesn’t cover it, you might want to contact some doctors directly and see what they have in terms of discounts or payment plans for the procedure. It might not be as expensive as you are imagining. And if nothing else, it would give you an idea of what amount you need to save up to get the procedure.

    2. Lynne, I can’t speak to how it works in the US, but here in Australia they classify various procedures that make up the operation differently for the purposes of healthcare claims.

      I did get both a Medicare (national health system) and private health insurance rebate for the portion of the operation that was just about removing 2kg of breast tissue to alleviate my pain.

      However, the portion of the operation to reshape the breast to a normal profile once that tissue had been removed, and especially the procedure whereby the nipple’s nerve-pedicle was kept intact (and lifted to a position that looked more “natural” with my reshaped breast profile) so that I still had sensation (and even potentially milk duct function), were both classified as cosmetic procedures, and therefore weren’t covered. Since these cosmetic procedures take most of the time in the operating theatre (literally hundreds of stitches between different layers of breast tissue), they made up about 85% of the total cost of the operation, and that cosmetic portion was not eligible for any sort of rebate.

      I know of a few women who’ve had the operation done without the procedure to keep the nipple nerve-pedicle (essentially their nipple has been severed and sewn back on in a higher position with blood supply but no more nerve supply), but I don’t know anybody who’s had it done without wanting the remaining tissue reshaped to look like a “normal” breast, and insurance companies just won’t pay for that.

    3. Sorry – I’m no help on that. Mine was 100% covered by provincial health insurance.

  5. I am counting the days until I can finally have this done in February. I waited until after breastfeeding two children – and then have to wait a whole year to make sure I’m completely dried up. I CAN. NOT. WAIT.

  6. For the past year or so, I’ve been having pain between my shoulder blades and I mentioned it to a doctor and she said that I should stretch more or something. No amount of stretching has helped. My breasts are not that large (DD to DDD), so when I asked if my pain could be caused by them, both my gyno and a physical therapist told me that it was unlikely. I don’t know if I should pursue it more or what else to do.

    1. I’m a lapsed physiotherapist myself, so I’d agree with your medical professionals that your breast size is not the first cause I’d be looking at (although it may end up being one of those times that the less probable explanation could be the correct one, other possibilities need to be excluded first).

      As for stretches, they need to be the correct stretches or they won’t help. If your pain is caused by spasming muscles, then it’s those exact muscles that need to be stretched to break the spasm. If your pain is caused by joint problems, then stretching will not be the answer at all.

      Sounds like you need a better differential diagnosis to identify the underlying problem in order to determine the best treatment. Your physical therapist is more of an orthopaedic expert than your gyno or other general physician, but you may need to see an orthopaedic surgeon to order the tests you need to see what is actually happening to your upper thoracic spinal area. Ask your PT what orthopods xe knows who are rigorous on the diagnosis stage before they break out the scalpels, and then see if you can get a referral to one of them.

    2. I don’t know if I should pursue it more or what else to do.

      Just wanted to emphasise – in any case of chronic pain you should pursue a diagnosis to the limits of the health care available to you. Settling for enduring ongoing pain because you don’t know what’s causing it is a really bad idea.

    3. Have you ever been checked for scoliosis? I have a mild case that wasn’t identified until my early 20s that contributes significantly to my back pain.

      1. Thanks y’all! I have a doc appt next week so I’ll definitely discuss it. I’ve put that pain on the back burner because of the constant, horrific lower back and pelvic pain from endometriosis.

Comments are currently closed.