A mum has shared her joy after having a breast reduction which she has hailed as "life-changing".
Kylie Perkins, 24, went from a US size 38DDD (an E cup in the UK) to a 36B and couldn't be happier, as her huge breasts had been causing her intense pain and impacting her mental health.
The social media manager, from Alaska, US, lives with her husband, Ryan and their two children, aged four and two and says that she first began to struggle with her body image after having kids.
She claims to have felt "trapped" in a body that wasn't hers and would go to bed crying at night due to the strain her boobs were causing her - it was a real nightmare.
Kylie was in intense pain in her back and neck and suffered a lot of discomfort if she wasn't wearing the right bra.
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She said: "My breasts have impacted me in so many different ways, but the biggest impact I had every day was my self-image.
"I struggled really hard mentally with my body image and I can't fully explain it, but I haven't felt like myself for a long time.
"I felt trapped in a body that wasn't mine.
"I'm a pretty small person and my breasts took up most of my body, so they made me look and feel a lot larger than I was.
"I would have to buy size XL shirts, when my body fits a small or medium.
"I was living off ibuprofen most of the time [due to the pain] and working out was so uncomfortable, as finding a sports bra which held them in strong enough made it hard to breathe.
"If they weren't held in enough, they would flop and fly everywhere, which caused a lot of discomfort."
Kylie booked herself in for breast reduction surgery and underwent the procedure in June, the costs were all covered by her insurance.
She now has a 36B cup and hasn't had any back or neck pain following the operation.
The mum says her confidence has returned and she cried "happy tears" when she first saw her new breasts.
"I can see the actual shape of my body and I have cried happy tears at how life-changing this surgery really was for me," she admits.
"I am still healing and will be for a few months, as I'm still sore and taped – but I have seen them already and can't believe how amazing they look.
"I actually tried to get a reduction in November 2021, but the cost was a lot for me to think about, so I held off.
"I started wearing real bras again because I wanted to pull them up, so I could look more like myself, but once I made that switch, my back pain got worse.
"I made an appointment with my primary care provider and he asked me questions about my pain and if I had rashes.
"I told him yes to all of those and he believed I was a good candidate for a breast reduction [on insurance].
"He referred me to a plastic surgeon and they got me in fairly quickly – I think it was a few weeks."
Kylie decided to share her transformation on social media, where she has since gone viral, racking up over 200,000 views and 20,000 likes.
In a video on TikTok, she shows off before and after photos of herself wearing different tops, as she compares her breasts pre and post-surgery.
Many people were quick to comment on how much happier she now appears, with one writing: "Everything about the after pics, the smile, the body language, you know you made the right decision." [sic]
Someone else said: "Your smile says it all."
"Wow you are beaming, happiness is contagious," commented a third.
A different user posted: "You look so much more comfortable!! Love this."
Kylie added: "I would encourage every person with back or neck pain from their breasts to try and get insurance to cover it.
"It's a pricey surgery, so it's worth the steps.
"Since sharing my story on social media, I have talked to so many women struggling like I was, but are too afraid to get one.
"I can't say I wasn't scared that it may go wrong, but I also made sure the surgeon I had, I trusted.
"My biggest piece of advice is to research and trust your surgeon.
"Life is too short to be uncomfortable in our own bodies and if I would have known getting a breast reduction would make me feel like myself again, I would have done this years ago."
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