I’VE HAD 3 REDUCTIONS — AND I’M STILL A DOUBLE-D
CHARLIE McMAHON, 30 (above), is an employee relocation consultant from Swindon. Her daughter, Layla, is six. WHEN I was younger I was bullied for having no boobs. Then, at 15, I went from a B to a DD in a year. The rest of my body stayed a size 10 while my breasts got bigger — I was a G aged 17 and a HH at 18.
Then the problems began. I suffered really horrific shooting pains from the base of my spine up to my neck.
My posture became bad and I got painful indents in my shoulders from my bra straps. My doctor prescribed physiotherapy on the NHS, but it wasn’t enough. I spent a fortune on extra back massages. And it wasn’t just the physical pain — men would shout and stare in the street.
Buying clothes was a problem, too. Underwear and bikinis were the worst — it was impossible to find size 10 bottoms with a size 18 top, and I ended up wearing hideous granny pants.
Enough was enough. Because of the pain, I had breast reduction surgery on the NHS in 2005, bringing my boobs down from an H-cup to a DD-cup.
To my shock — and the surgeon’s — they started growing back, so I had two more procedures (the last in April).
I’m now satisfied my 34DD boobs will stay that way. They may not be tiny, but they no longer define me — and that’s all I ever wanted.
SHEENA WILLIAMS, 29, is a part-time steward at a football ground. She lives in Liverpool.
MY BOOBS seemed to start at a D-cup — I don’t recall them ever being smaller. At 18, I was a 34E, and they’ve grown every year to an HH-cup today.
The daily strain on my back, neck and shoulders is almost unbearable. I’ve developed mild scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, on my upper back.
I used to love playing sport, but it hurts too much to run around now. I don’t leave the house if I can avoid it, as I’m so fed up of the comments and stares from men and women — even in bulky coats.
Slimming down to a size 14 didn’t make any difference; they were as big as ever.
Acupuncture is the only pain relief that works and I’ve spent hundreds of pounds on that to help me feel a bit more human.
I first saw a surgeon about getting a reduction when I was 18, but was told to wait until they’d stopped growing. Eleven years later, I’m hoping I’ve reached that stage, and I’ll be able to have the operation next year.
With smaller breasts, I hope I can go back to having a life.