Breast Reduction?

[lucasr]

I don't know if anyone has had this issue before, it's a bit... Complicated, perhaps?

Well, I'm ftm but I don't realistically think in my lifetime I would ever come out and live as a male.
I'd be happy just to not be so obviously female looking.
My biggest source of misery aside from monthly things is my breasts.
They're rather on the large side, to the point where binding is never fully effective no matter how tight I do it.
And I can't bind anyway because it hurts my ribs something awful, no matter how loosely I do it.
(I have some un-diagnosed thing where my nerves go haywire and every slight bit of pain gets intensified horribly...)

I don't even want them gone, I just want them less noticeable, and easy to hide when I want to feel more manly, you know?

I've been thinking a long time about getting a breast reduction, or at least trying to get one funded by the NHS
(I really couldn't afford to pay for it myself but I don't think I can live like this for much longer)
Advantages of this are being able to breast feed still as I want children, and also I won't have to out myself since I can tell friends and family I just want to reduce the awful back pain that they cause me.

But my question is to do with getting it NHS funded.
Does anyone have experience with this?
My GP does not know that I'm trans. Would I have more chance of it being funded if I said I was ftm, or less chance?
It would be certainly easier to explain the daily trauma they cause me and why I feel like I absolutely need this operation asap
But would they try to push me towards full chest surgery?
I don't know

I just want to make it as easy for myself as possible, and with the most chance of getting it funded
I really haven't got any money to do this but I can't live like this anymore 

[Jayr]

I'm Canadian so I might be saying something totally wrong here but

From what I understand if you tell the NHS you're male well
they'll allow/expect you to have keyhole or DI.

If you tell them you're male and ask for just a reduction,
they might think that's fishy and/or you're trying to pass a fast one on them.

I don't know. That's just my understanding of things.
Might be completely wrong. Delicate situation if you ask me.

Also; Some guys in the US tried getting a reduction covered by insurance but it was refused because they were over weight.
Might be something to think about before asking the NHS to pay for your surgery.

Until you can get surgery, healthy eating and exercise can do wonders. Seriously.
If you're already healthy and fit and still got a huge chest, I don't know what to tell you

[AdamMLP]

I would say don't tell them that you're male.  I don't know how often it happens but I've heard of people struggling to get metoidioplasty because some people high up in the NHS have decided that people aren't satisfied with that and end up getting phalloplasty later, and that's more of the taxpayers money spent on one person on controversial procedures.

Personally if I wanted to just have a reduction then I would get it before coming out as male to my GP, but I'd suggest considering exactly what you'll want in 5 or 10 years so you don't have to go under the knife twice.  Children can always be bottle fed.

I'll mention that I have a relatively small chest, probably a B or something, and also a small build, but it's clear to see that I don't have a flat chest in T-shirts (not binding), so don't necessarily expect to pass without full top surgery in just a T-shirt, but I can in hoodies or with more layers.

[lucasr]

Yeah, that's what I thought, it might seem strange to say "Yeah I'm a dude, but the boobs are ok really!" 
I think I'll just not mention it and try to get a reduction based on the sheer physical pain they cause me...

And no, I'm not the slimmest I've ever been but I'm not overweight.
I starved myself trying to get them smaller when I was much younger. At a rather delicate 6 1/2 stone I was only down to a C.
So they're just unavoidably big, nothing I can really do about it, short of surgery.

I think you're right about being healthy playing in my favour though.
I get about an hour walking every week day, but I might start doing some pushups or something as well.
I already eat pretty healthy, cut cut down on snacks a bit but my blood pressure is perfect and I get all my nutrition, so I think I should be ok health wise.

Thanks a lot for your input, it was helpful.

And @ AlexanderC, that's a good point about what I'd want in 5 or 10 years. I really do think I'll be happy enough with them just reduced though. Even just being able to bind, well I haven't been able to bind and get away with it since I was 12. I'd love to just have the option, you know? I don't mind looking feminine sometimes, I even embrace it occasionally, but I'd really like to have the ability to look masculine if I wanted, even just a tiny bit.   

[Daniel006]

One thing to keep in mind is that with a reduction, there is no guarantee that you will be able to breast feed a child.  The milk ducts may or may not be severed during the operation.  It varies from person to person.

[Nygeel]

I don't know how NHS works, so I can't say much about if this will work, but it can work occasionally in the US.

If you're looking for surgical options for reduction it would "help" build a case if you have a history of back problems that could be linked to chest size. So, if you have back pain and see a doctor for it, then a specialist and try to fix back pain and it doesn't work surgery would be considered a good option. Now, if you don't have back pain or shoulder pain this probably won't work.

One thing that might help outside of surgical intervention is building up your upper arm, shoulder, and back muscles. This can help make your chest appear smaller by making everything else bigger. Also, by building up your shoulder muscles you can get better posture which can help make your chest look smaller.

Depending on how large your chest is, there might be a few options in terms of compression that might be able to help you out. If you have a large frame and a large chest, enell makes a really good sports bra. It won't be as binding as an underworks binder but will certainly strap you down and be fairly comfortable.

[spacerace]

If you have a large frame and a large chest, enell makes a really good sports bra. It won't be as binding as an underworks binder but will certainly strap you down and be fairly comfortable.

I wear an enell sports bra under a binder most of the time. They are definitely comfortable, but I would never wear one without the binder because they lift your chest up and out. It's like a 1950s bra, so beware if that it would bother you. It bothers me, and I hate to see my chest in just that bra. It is disgusting to me.

However, it does hold the chest in very well in tandem with the binder.

[aleon515]

If you are really having back pain from them, in the US, at least, most doctors would probably code this for insurance purposes. I have no idea re: Canada though. Maybe the bar is up as it is quite on the elective side (at least in many people's minds that is).

--Jay