Single or double mastectomy

@Belgrave14 The only reason I kept one side was because hubby was very pro me keeping one.

Well if I had any residual doubts you guys have definitely squashed them. Hopefully I will be flat and fabulous too. Will keep you posted after I see my surgeon on Friday. 

One flat (? well, bumpy ugly flat) side and one hanging her head in shame - not a good look here either !  As @BlackWidow said, it does not matter how tight the bra is, the real boob pulls the fake one across a bit.  Each year when time for the mammogram I decide that if there is any change at all I will not hesitate in saying to just chop it off.  I am hoping that at the time they can make the first mx look a bit better.  In the past my aim was to have a DIEP but for many reasons that is not going to be possible so 'flat and fabulous' I will be.   :)

I feel a bit like you @TonyaM  I've had one off and did ask about whether it was a good idea to take the other at the same time.  I was assured that it didn't need to be done.  Since then, my surgeon has said that if anxiety is too much then he would take the other when I have reconstruction.  However, I am completely on the fence about reconstruction (and the skin is still too tight, anyway) as the idea of having major surgery is way too hard.  But I hate the bras I have to wear now and in summer, the clothes - so many things that I have picked up only to reject because the neckline is too low and I'm not talking major cleavage here. The surgeon has actually left me with a little bit of cleavage but there seems to be nothing on the market to take advantage of that.  Even most bathers seem to be what grandmas used to wear when I was a kid.  While I care what I look like dressed, I think the chest of the naked me just looks odd.  It's lost any interest or appeal for me at all, no matter which side I'm looking at.  

Hi Belgrave14, I had a single mastectomy in 2010 so I’ve been lopsided since.To tell the truth,I’m sick of it.I’m compelled to wear a prosthesis which restricts clothing choices in summer eg.can’t wear halter necks,strapless or thin strap singlet tops or low necklines of any description. But I’m stuck with being unable to decide between taking the remaining one off,reconstruct one side or both. Because of previous radiation,I can’t have implants and could only have Diep where they construct boobs from your belly fat- HUGE surgery.My surgeon says I’m getting to an age where I only have a few more years to decide on such big surgery
(I’m 64 next month).She also said that each year brings a slight increase to bc occurring in the remaining breast- I’m not sure if she meant the general aging population or just us poor bc buggers.My bc wasn’t aggressive just hormone +ve. I think every bc decision is awful and also very personal.Intimacywise,I have one breast with feeling which is something to consider but then I don’t do naked in bed because of my embarrassment of lopsidedness.YES,even infront of my husband of 40yrs! Would I also be like that with no breasts? Don’t know.So there you go- my personal take on the lopsided life. Ultimately,go with your gut and know that any bc decision is an awful one!

Like @BlackWidow I only had one off but my real boob pulls everything on to it’s side and I constantly have to readjust.

Hi @Belgrave14
Both off for me too. That was back in 2006 and I had to interview 4 surgeons before I found one who'd do them both at once. It was not a 'thing' in regional Victoria at the time (too stressful, apparently) so I had to go to Melbourne. I had immediate implant reconstructions since they were offered--if I'd been able to get the surgery I'd wanted up here, I'd probably not have bothered with the retreads but once they were on the table, so to speak, I thought it would be a good idea. I was 43..
As it turned out, the 'good' boob was also corrupt so I'm glad I did it. Even if it hadn't have been evil, I still didn't want it there--my breasts were no longer my friends. Weirdly, I felt that one lonely tit sitting on my chest would be so sad i couldn't contemplate it.
Everyone's relationship with their breasts is different. I had chemo before mastectomy and by the time my surgery arrived I thought of them as toxic lumps of fat and have never regretted getting rid of them.
It's a big decision. Follow your gut. Mxx

Thanks youngdogmum. I am not doing reconstruction so the hope is to only have surgery once which is one of the reasons I am so keen on doing the double. It is interesting that most people have/intend to remove the second even if they start with a single.

Hi @Belgrave14; not in the exact situation but I too asked for both to be removed and was told the same re: risk. 
I will be pursuing the other one removed when I have reconstruction. My remaining boob is so lumpy I honestly don’t remember what’s normal anymore for that breast. Yes the research says the risk is minimal to have cancer in both breasts, but I think a lot of us just want that peace of mind. 

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories, they really help x