Patient Perspectives: Gina’s Blog
July 17th, 2009
Hello. My name is Gina.
I am a personal trainer and instructor in Minneapolis. I am coming up on my 40th birthday in October. I have been struggling with a fibrocystic breast for the past 7 years. The fibroids are painful when I work out (which is 2-3hrs/day) and they have caused my left breast to become noticeably larger than my right one. As a trainer, symmetry is very important to me, so I set out on a quest to remedy this problem.
I consulted several doctors about a solution and the most common answers were #1-Quit all stimulants, such as caffeine, chocolate, wine, etc. for 6 months and #2-Be happy with my body just the way it is. I am willing to try anything as long as I get my desired end result, so I quit stimulants and gave up my dark chocolate and my white wine for the 6 months. Let’s just say that my husband did not find me pleasurable to around for the first month of this experiment! It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, but I thought it would be worth it. Well, it wasn’t. Nothing changed. The fibroids didn’t dissipate, which means I still had one large, painful breast. Needless to say, I am once again enjoying my caffeine!
With the first suggestion checked off of the list, I was left with #2. For the most part, I’m pretty happy with my body and how it looks and also, how it performs on an athletic level. All in all, I’m pretty satisfied. Although, I’m also of the mindset that if you can change something and better yourself physically and mentally, than why not!? Accept what you can’t change and change what you can. So three years ago, I saw Dr. Bashioum for liposuction on my left breast, in hopes that if we took the size down with that procedure, it wouldn’t be so heavy and, therefore, not as painful. Not to mention, the size would maybe match better! It was one of the possible treatments and that approach worked for some time. However, over the past few years, the fibroids have gotten bigger and are pretty much making up almost all of my breast tissue on the affected side. At this point, I am considering additional surgery to correct my asymmetry. I’ll tell you more after my consultation with Dr. Bashioum about my decision whether or not to have a reduction on my left breast.
Patient Perspectives:
July 13th, 2009
It is such a personal decision to have cosmetic surgery and I thought it was only something for glamorous people in movies or television. I never even considered cosmetic surgery until my body changed after four pregnancies. I was always known in the small town I grew up in as having a nice chest. There weren’t many augmentations in the eighties when I graduated from college, so my rather ample cleavage stood out. I felt proud of my figure. But the toll of running 6 days a week with athletic bras of questionable quality and nursing three children finally caught up with me. I felt sad about my new shape.
I started to look into the possibility of a breast lift or other corrective surgery. I brought up my concerns to my husband. He didn’t think it was necessary, but understood how it bothered me. I’d have to tuck my breasts carefully into bras or they would droop terribly. The cute running bras were out of the question. I’d joke to my sister that if I’d lie down on my back, they’d fall into my armpits! I decided to set up a consultation. I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little nervous, but very excited too. Dr. Bashioum was very easy to talk to and I felt comfortable asking him questions. After leaving the consultation, I was even more excited and very well informed! It turns out that I was a wonderful candidate for elective surgery. I set up a surgery date for a short while later. I then started counting the days until surgery. I’d dream of having my pre-baby body again.
When I arrived the day of surgery, I felt like a princess. It sounds strange, but I really did feel special. Everyone was taking such great care of me. When I woke up, I felt a lot of pressure on my chest. I don’t remember too much other than my nurse giving me ice. I went home, had lunch, watched TV and iced. I received a call that night from Dr Bashioum to check on me. I was doing great and I didn’t have much discomfort. The next day, I took a shower as instructed and looked at my new breasts. The swelling made my chest look kind of strange. I thought, “Oh, what did I do?†A few weeks later the swelling went down and my new shape took form. I really love my new breasts. I can wear nice bras and workout tops now. The hardest thing for me during recovery was to take it easy. I couldn’t wait to start my work outs again. I’d do this surgery again in a minute. I just wish I would have done it a few years earlier. Now I feel much better about myself.
Patient name withheld upon their request.
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