AN ADMIN worker has revealed she feels like a different person after undergoing surgery to reduce her 30K boobs.
Emma Glen spent years suffering from crippling pain, unwanted attention from men and even being let go from jobs due to her large cleavage.
The 26-year-old, from Bathgate, West Lothian, found herself wearing a 30K bra at the age of 18, forking out up to £50 for lingerie that would fit.
She faced severe back and neck pain, restricted movement, and painful skin conditions.
And she admits that she’s struggled to hold down a job because of her boobs and the agony they can cause.
“I had a condition that caused boils and sores under my breasts,” she said.
“At one point, I was on two courses of antibiotics within six months just to manage the infections.
“I’ve been sacked from jobs because I’ve had so many absences because of back pain or I’ve phoned in sick.
“It would go through phases where it won’t be too bad for a while, then when I’d have a flare up it would go really hard at the top of my back and then the pain’s just unbearable. So that obviously led to absences.”
But on top of the pain, Emma admits it was her appearance that she struggled with the most.
She told Fabulous: “I just felt so abnormal. Whenever I would look at myself I would wonder why I didn’t look like everyone else. I just felt so alien.
“When I looked at pictures from nights out I would just feel like I looked massive. My clothes size was the same as my friends, like a size 10 or 12, but I was having to buy a size 20 top.
“I couldn’t wear a dress or anything because it just didn’t look right.
“The back pain is something that I just learned to live with but the one thing that I could never cope with was clothes.”
She added: “I’ve still got clothes in my wardrobe from 2016 that still have the tags on because I would order so many different sizes and then I just wouldn’t send them back because I just got so stressed over it because I couldn’t wear it anyway.
“I never felt comfortable in anything that I was wearing because I just felt like no matter what I wore, they made me look so much bigger than I actually was.
“They made my arms look bigger, and my waist looked bigger because it was being covered and it just made me feel horrendous.
“Every time I would go out I would hate getting pictures or I had to be standing a certain way to feel happy in a picture and I just felt awful.”
In a bid to reduce her boobs, Emma started hitting the gym and eating healthier – and lost 4st.
But she was left with a painful reality – nothing changed her breast size, and the NHS waiting lists for reduction surgery were at a standstill.
“I literally lost weight everywhere apart from my boobs, everything got smaller apart from my boobs”, she said.
“I knew surgery was my only real option but I just kind of gave up all hope that I would ever have one [boob reduction] done.
“I was desperate. I’d even thought about going to Turkey. I did a TikTok about it all and the video blew up with over three million views.”
And she was left overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who flooded her with supportive comments on her page (@emmaaglen).
She added: “People started messaging me, and a few had suggested that I set up a GoFundMe, which is what I ended up doing.
“I’m still shocked to this day. It just doesn’t feel real at all that it’s happened or the way it happened. I’m just still shocked.”
Emma’s videos were spotted by TV presenter Michael Barrymore, and Molly Mae Hague’s sister Zoe even donated £1,000 to her surgery crowdfunder.
In total, she raised £7,000 of the £8,500 needed thanks to the generosity of strangers and loved ones.
But it was the support of Scotland’s leading private hospital group, Cosmedicare, whose founder Gill Baird reached out after seeing Emma’s story online that proved life-changing.
“That message changed everything,” Emma said.
She was swiftly booked in for a consultation and surgery with Cosmedicare.
But despite her excitement, anxiety nearly stopped Emma in her tracks.
On the day of her op, she experienced a two-hour panic attack.
She recalled: “I was so overwhelmed. But the team at Cosmedicare were incredible. They didn’t rush me. They supported me through every step.”
Her breast reduction surgery on September 16 lasted three hours, removing 1kg of tissue from each breast and taking her from a 30K to a 30D.
“For the first time in a decade, I can walk tall without pain – and I can finally breathe,” Emma said.
“My mental health was in pieces for so long. This surgery hasn’t just changed my body – it’s given me a fresh start. I feel like me again.
“I don’t want to speak too soon because it’s only three weeks but so far it’s been an absolute breeze.”
And she’s already making exciting plans to celebrate her new figure.
She said: “I’ve got a couple of things coming up. My birthday’s on November 1 so I’ve planned three birthday nights out and I’ve got three different outfits with tops that I’d never wear before.
“I just feel so excited to go out and enjoy myself without that cloud over me.
“I’m also looking forward to going on holiday and just buying a £5 Shein bikini instead of a £70 one.
“I feel like a different person every time I look in the mirror.”
What the experts say
A Cosmedicare breast uplift is in the region of £8,500 however, nipple grafting, histology and the patient’s medical history impacts on the scale of the surgery required.
Mr Hilal Bahia, Consultant Plastic & Aesthetic Surgeon MD, FRCS (Plast), was responsible for leading Emma’s surgery.
He said: “Emma had put a lot of effort into losing weight, which makes the surgery a lot safer in terms of recovery and healing as patients with a high BMI can end up with many complications when it comes to surgical procedures.
“The first time Emma came in for the surgery, she experienced a panic attack due to her nervousness around medical procedures. This is common, we often see patients who are understandably nervous around surgery.
“However, she was one of the worst I’ve seen. In the end, we took the decision to defer surgery until she was more comfortable. Emma returned a few weeks later, having had time to reflect and prepare for what resulted in a positive experience.
“This was a straightforward breast reduction despite the size of her breasts. We removed a kilo from each side, which equates to around the weight of two bags of sugar.
“Patients often suffer from boils and rashes underneath larger breasts, as Emma did. The fact that she no longer has these overhanging breasts will certainly help to reduce the chance of this returning.
“She also experienced pain and extreme discomfort with her neck, back and posture due to the weight of her breasts, and these are now resolved, which is life-changing for her.
“It’s still early days in terms of results but having seen her in the clinic, everything is exactly as we’d expect.”
For more information or enquiries, visit Cosmedicare’s website here.
