I lost Three Pounds in Three Hours! Here's how . . .

HA! I thought that would get your attention. No, this isn't a commercial for a magic diet pill. I had breast reduction surgery last week. And I am one happy camper!!!!!!

I've been debating about whether to blog this or not (possible TMI!!!!), but it seems like everyone that I've talked to is really curious about it. So I thought I'd share some of my experience with you.

The first question I always get is, "Why did you do it?" I have been having upper back, neck, and shoulder pain for quite some time now. I work as an administrative assistant and sit in front of a computer all day long, and of course my jewelry making adds to the strain. Also, it had become very painful for me to run or even walk fast. Not a good thing for a mom with a 6 year old son! I decided to ask my doctor if breast reduction might be the answer, and he agreed that I might be a good candidate for it.

In order for my health insurance to approve the surgery, I had to jump through some hoops. Considering that I'm on a pretty strict HMO plan, I would imagine that these are probably the conditions that just about any health insurance plan might require.

1. BMI has to be less than 30. I had to lose about 10 pounds to meet this one. Here's a website where you can calculate your BMI.

2. Breast size - You don't have to be a particular "cup size" to qualify (I was a DDD). Instead, your breasts have to be a certain length from the collarbone to the nipple. (Mine were 40 and 43 cm; I think the minimum was 30 but I could be wrong about that.)

3. Soft tissue damage - Do you have dents in your shoulders from your bras, or other soft tissue damage due to large breasts? I didn't, but this is another point that would build a case.

4. Pain - do you experience pain in the breasts or back, shoulders, and neck due to the heaviness of your breasts? You don't have to be taking a prescription painkiller, just something like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or aspirin.

I had to go through physical therapy and have a custom bra made to see if these would help my symptoms. They didn't, and once I finished the physical therapy and lost some weight I returned to my doctor who then referred me to a plastic surgeon.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about the surgery itself & my recovery so far! If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I will respond. (Responses with spammy links will be removed. )