The things we do to eliminate race weight...

So... many of you Challenge-goers are familiar with just how bad a driver I am. I'm a tubby a little thing, and after lightening the GTX as much as possible, I went the next logical reduction: Me! So I had a breast reduction. The doc knocked almost two pounds off this driver's weight!

Okay, okay, I'm kidding about WHY I did it. And you guys are probably wondering why the heck I'm posting this in a public forum on a car magazine website.

Two reasons:

1) Next Challenge, when you're staring at my chest (what? you thought you were being subtle??) wondering what's changed, you'll know. You are welcome to compliment me on what a great job the surgeon did. ;) You are NOT welcome to ask for pictures or cop a feel. Yes, they are awesome breasts, but they are MY awesome breasts...go get your own.

2) More importantly, a lot of you have partners, family or friends who may have mentioned this surgery. I love you guys, and I want to help you say the right thing to these (hopefully wonderful) women in your life.

If your partner/family member/friend says they're thinking about a breast reduction, do not brush it off with a "But you look great," or "It would be a crime to reduce them!," or a "I love you just the way you are." Those are all very sweet, but not encouraging. Instead, try something like, "I love you the way you are, honey, but this is a health issue. Let's talk about why you want this and how I can help you get through it." Help them research the risks, and interview surgeons. Don't just brush it off; open a discussion and take it seriously.

You can even tell them, "I know a woman who did it, and she'll be happy to talk to you about it." Then you can PM me, I'll give you my phone number, and seriously, I will gladly talk to your spouse/mother/friend for awhile about my experience if it helps them make a decision. I spoke to several women who had reductions in their mid-fifties, and all of them said, "I wish I had done this 20 years ago!" I realized that if I kept being afraid of it, I would be one of those women, too.

If you know someone who is having this surgery, offer to help out. The first week post-surgery is super tough...as a single woman, I could not have done this without my friends. They brought me food, took time off from work to get me to my surgery and subsequent doctor's appointments, called now and then to see what I needed. I am extremely grateful to have had the help.

For the record, it is in fact the most painful experience I've ever had. Now, I've never given birth, but I have had kidney stones, and this was far worse. I'll leave it up to women who've given birth and had kidney stones to decide where this may fall in the pain scale. :D

Was it worth it? YES. My back and neck are already much happier (I'm about 2 weeks post-op). It is the best thing I've ever done for myself.

Okay, I'll take my girly hormones to my own garage now and let you guys get back to being guys. :D

That was quite awkward.

Im proud to say I now know more about breast reduction...?

Wow, that wasn't about cars at all.

I wish you all the best in your recovery.

not only was it a 2 pound a piece reduction, but it was up high so it lowers your centre of gravity

Seriously, congratulations on your successful surgery

Joshua wrote: That was quite awkward.

Why? I thought it was quite straightforward and helpful

Good luck with your continued recovery!

My sister looked at doing this about 10 years ago. She was rather um, well endowed and shall we say healthy. Instead of surgery she startedloosing body fat weight and mild weight training. The body fat was lost in more than just her ass. Her endowment reduced also. She was able to fulfill a goal of hers to be back on the road as a cop.

porksboy wrote: My sister looked at doing this about 10 years ago. She was rather um, well endowed and shall we say healthy. Instead of surgery she startedloosing body fat weight and mild weight training. The body fat was lost in more than just her ass. Her endowment reduced also. She was able to fulfill a goal of hers to be back on the road as a cop. I might add she is still quite busty and had to have her vest tailored.

Dollraves, did insurance cover any of this? I dont know anyone looking to reduce but the reason my sister went weight reduction was insurance wouldnt cover anything.

Some insurance policies will cover it. About 80% of the policies i work on WILL cover it with sufficient documentation.

I see djhives is speaking from much professional experience throughout his long and illustrious life.

In reply to djhives:

Are you berkleying serious?

To dollraves:

Good for you! It's good to make decision, follow through with them, and share in the results. My wife has thought of this as she is skinny but sports DD's. Hell if my Moobs get any bigger, I'll need it! But seriously, good for you and don't the trolls take you down.

Congrats and good luck on a speedy recovery. There's some specialty gel packs to help with scarring on the wound sites - if your surgeon hasn't already told you about it - drop me a pm. Also if there's any pain at the surgery sites more than 3 mo. past skip the PT and go for a myo-fascial release (sometimes the surgeons put you in awkward positions for a long period of time in surgery. Leads to weird pulling/pain sensations. Anyway - glad you're happy with the results.

djhives wrote:....

Whenever I think I've already read the most idiotic post on the Internet, someone comes along and proves me wrong.

Being more comfortable & keeping a cute set of curves ftw! ;)

stuart in mn wrote:

djhives wrote:....

Whenever I think I've already read the most idiotic post on the Internet, someone comes along and proves me wrong.

I'm starting to form a theory about djhives, but this thread is not the place to go into it.

Thanks, guys!

Let me make this clear: this had nothing to do with self-esteem. This had everything to do with the fact that my back and neck ache so much that I've been seeing a chiropractor 1-2 times a week for the last five years just to keep walking straight. The fact that I will look awesome afterwards is simply a perk. Anyone who's interacted with me at a Challenge knows first hand just how high my self esteem is. ;)

In my case, insurance did cover it. I had already lost 30 pounds, but nothing from the chest. Seriously, the cup size went UP because I lost inches from the rib area but nothing from the breast itself. It took them less than a week to approve it based on the letters of my family doctor and chiropractors, and the photographs sent in by my surgeon. My out-of-pocket expense should be under $2k when it's all said and done.

Regardless, even if it is about self-esteem for some folks, breast reduction or augmentation is in my mind no worse than a tattoo. If you want it and you're willing to suffer for it, it's your body. Do as you please.

oldtin, sending you a PM about the gelpacks...I scar badly, so I'm eager to hear about these! The surgeon did give me Arnica to mitigate bruising, which worked very well, I'm pleased to say.

Thanks for the support guys. I really appreciate it.

My wife considered this many years ago because of back pain. She ended up deciding against it, and it hasn't bothered her in a long time. I'm glad it's working out for you. Good luck with the rest of your recovery.

Happy to hear that things went well and that you're happy with the choice. Win-win!

As for the troll, the comments in this thread warrant the ban hammer.

dyintorace wrote: Happy to hear that things went well and that you're happy with the choice. Win-win! As for the troll, the comments in this thread warrant the ban hammer.

And not just the comments.

In reply to djhives:

Lets put some hooters on you and see how your back feels.

Congratulations. It must have been a tough decision, but surely it's better for you in the longrun. We all wish you luck and a speedy recovery. Hopefully the lude comments don't happen in real life, although I imagine you might get a few odd glances.

This is something my wife considers from time to time. She's pretty top heavy, and her back bothers her quite a bit because of it. She's working on losing weight, and this is the next step for her. Thanks for being open about it!

Even though I said it was awkward I am happy for you! Congratulations!

.... and I thought the post title would mean drilling the centers out of bolts. congrats doll

Thumbs up and all my support for a great person and great challenge competitor.

Thanks for being so open with us and I hope your recovery goes well.

FWIW my dad likes to relay the story about when he was in recovery in the hospital from passing stones and there was a woman there who had also just passed stones and he asked if she had kids and how it compared.

She said giving birth is nothing compared to passing kidney stones.

I hope you are well and btw YOU ROCK!