Virginal Breast Hypertrophy – How Large Can Breasts Grow?
Virginal breast hypertrophy (VBH) is a rare medical condition which causes excessive growth of the breasts during puberty. The presence of excessively large breasts (hypertrophy) in teenagers is caused by over-sensitivity to the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. VBH starts at puberty soon after the girl’s first menstrual period and can overwhelm a young girl’s life.
Alternate/Historical Names:
- Juvenile hypertrophy
- Juvenile gigantomastia
- Juvenile mammary gigantism
- Juvenile macromastia
- Pubertal hypertrophy
- Pubertal gigantomastia
- Pubertal macromastia
- Pubertal mammary gigantism
- Teenage hypertrophy
- Teenage gigantomastia
- Teenage mammary gigantism
- Teenage macromastia
Hypertrophy means the increase in the size of an organ or body part.
Macromastia (macro=large, mastia=breast)
The degree of virginal breast hypertrophy varies from woman to woman. In severe cases it is possible for a young women to have breasts that weigh well in excess of 20 lb. each.
“One medial investigation reported breasts as heavy as 50 lbs a piece in an American girl just 15 years of age.”
With VBH, teenage girls experience enlargement of the nipples and their areola’s may change in color as they grow to cover the ever expanding breast. In very severe cases of VBH, hypertrophy of the clitoris can occur because of the increase of estrogen and progesterone in the young woman’s body.
Warning Signs:
- The breasts start to grow quickly at the time of the first period
- The breasts are large and out of proportion to rest of the body
- The breasts give the appearance that they are engored with milk from pregnancy
- The nipple and areolar area may stretch and become pale or lose pigment
- The veins of the breast may be large and full
In some medical cases the VBH breast growth is not constant and comes in growth spurts. Young women with VBH may have minimal or no breast growth and then experience a growth spurt where the breasts grow very rapidly in a short period of time (often an entire cup size per week). These growth spurts can cause physical discomfort and sometimes a general ache is felt as the breasts expand and grow.
Early and excessive breast growth may also be the result of a disorder known as Precocious Puberty. Precocious Puberty is the premature release of the luteinizing hormone LHRH by the hypothalamus that triggers secretion of pituitary gonadotropin. As a consequence, the gonads function at an inappropriately early age and can result in the appearance of unwanted sexual characteristics.
“In females, the breasts start to develop before age 8 and menstruation occurs before age 10.”
Diagnosis is made through a combination of clinical exams, blood tests for levels of hormones described above, and bone x-rays to determine bone age and development.
Young girls with Precocious Puberty may develop large breasts, grow pubic and underarm hair, menstruate and may ovulate. Afflicted individuals may encounter psychological problems due to their accelerated growth and may feel alienated from their peers. Parents will feel helpless and psychological counseling for the family is recommended.
These girls may exhibit increased aggressiveness and hyperactivity due to the rise in gonad functionality and can display an increase in sexual desire and sexual curiosity. Precocious Puberty in young girls can even lead to excessive masturbation. They are often found pleasuring themselves for hours as their focus on daily tasks deteriorates.
VBH and Precocious Puberty are not to be confused with “just” having large breasts. Millions of girls grow large breasts at an early age. VBH and Precocious Puberty are excessive and extreme. Consult your doctor should you notice any of the above warning signs.
A large number young girls have been emailing Hiddenfeet recently about a website called TooSoon. The website features plenty of useful information about Central Precocious Puberty (CPP) along with colorful stories and childrens coloring books.
Central precocious puberty is a condition in which puberty starts too soon in children. This occurs in one child of every 5,000 to 10,000 children and is more common in girls.
While we applaud some of the information provided by this site, TooSoon’s primary motivation is the sale of a drug know as Lupron Depot-PED. Lupron Depot-PED works in children by stopping the production of gonadotropin-releasing hormones. Stopping the production of these hormones delays the onset of their puberty. A child’s development of secondary sex characteristics, such as facial hair in boys or breast development in girls, will slow or stop.
Many visitors of Hiddenfeet are angry that the website TooSoon is preying on the insecurities of girls at an early age for the sake of selling the drug Lupron Depot-PED.
Quote from the TooSoon website:
“Another effect of CPP is social. Children with CPP are often embarrassed and confused by their early development, which can lead to social difficulties.”
Our current medical consultant Lisa Elton is investigating this drug and the companies that produce it. We would like to hear from other doctors and parents who know children taking injections of Lupron Depot-PED. As with all drugs, Hiddenfeet urges parents to seek multiple medical opinions and research products as thoroughly as possible.
Disclaimer: Portions of this site include links to other sites. These links are provided for the convenience of our readers. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by Hiddenfeet or any of its affiliates. Hiddenfeet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
I knew a girl in grade school who developed VBH and was never able to overcome its effects. Everything was difficult for her.
Students wouldn’t pair up with her in groups because she was freakish in size. The women teachers would ignore her requests for help because they thought she was stupid and never gave her a chance prove herself intellectually. Male teachers would put her in the back of choir groups so that the audience wouldn’t laugh and giggle during performances.
I lost track of her over the years, but looking back on it, I truely hope she had a strong support system at home. Sadly most homes these days lack the mother, father guidance they need.
Great article. I learned a lot.
Technically, the word hypertrophy by itself means the increase in the size of an organ or body part. There are lots of different variations of breast hypertrophy and since the surveyed women were measured for their BMI, we can assume that the D-cup and DD-cup women are large chested for their figures.
Thank you for the link to the study Libbey!
Teens Before Their Time
Found this info that can help shed more light on how and why girls are growing up so fast.
Burden of Breast Hypertrophy
Also found this article on some case studies. The link will load a small PDF file. It is quite interesting to read.
Libbey, those studies were interesting. It did squash the myth that an increase in breast size meant an increasing health burden. Symptoms of an increase in breast size were a more important health burden that just the change in physical breast size.
The authors were trying to discover why some women with large breasts were more symptomatic than others. One explanation is the effect of reporting bias, in which those subjects may have overemphasized their symptoms. Each woman handles the mental stress of large breasts differently.
Like the article says, patients who seek surgical care, might feel an incentive that a more strongly expressed symptom severity could determine their access to surgery.
Good survey and analysis but the sample of 486 women, with 291 presenting for surgical consultation and 195 control subjects is still too small imo to be of much worth. Part of this problem arises from the fact that large breasted women tend to be very reclusive.
Looking at the charts and reading the requirements, those women surveyed didn’t seem all that large chested. Reported bra-cup size D or larger? That’s considered a candidate for breast hypertrophy?
I read another article that mentioned the enlargement of the nipples for girls that develop VBH but it didn’t say if this was because the breast underneath was growing and stretching the nipples or if they were growing on their own. Either way, VBH is a scary medical condition that I hope my daughters never develop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAzx7dAFuJc
Isabelle Lanthier developed macromastia during pregnancy. This is an old Montel Williams clip posted on Youtube.
Is this ok to share Sara?
Me again.
Earlier I had said that I went to school with a girl who developed VBH. Guess what? I ran into her yesterday at my grocery store. She has a small patch of freckles on her forehead and the same blue eyes so she was easy to remember. She didn’t remember me but I knew her name and she was thrilled that someone from grade school knew who she was. She said that she had no friends at all and it was only when she started going to college, and I assume after her reduction, that people gave any attention to her.
She still looked very large chested but it was refreshing to see her so happy. Very different from the little girl I grew up with who sat in the back of the class. I didn’t ask her about her chest and come to think of it, I should have told her about your website. But she told me that she is a dental hygienist working at (-edited to maintain privacy-), only a few cities away from where we grew up.
We talked about our families briefly. I told her that I am married with 3 daughters, and she told me that she is single but had adopted both a boy and a girl a few years earlier.
Happy ending I guess and it is nice to see that she is doing well and has a little family of her own.
I came across this:
Patient 1 is a 14-year-old girl who developed macromastia 6 months after a liver transplant for α 1-antitrypsin deficiency. She had intense erythema as well as verrucous hyperplasia overlying the breasts.
Patient 2 was a 12-year-old girl who experienced severe bilateral breast enlargement 4 months after beginning treatment for thyrotoxicosis. She had extreme tenderness, erythema, and edema of the breasts and was treated with tamoxifen citrate, with improvement of her symptoms. Although virginal breast hypertrophy is a rare disorder, the dermatologist may be asked to consult on the associated skin changes in these cases and should be aware of its existence. The definitive therapy is surgical, but until breast growth is stabilized, cutaneous manifestations need to be managed.
Scary stuff that some young girls deal with.
“With VBH, teenage girls experience enlargement of the nipples and their areola’s may change in color as they grow to cover the ever expanding breast.”
———
My neighbors daughter (14 years old) had this happen to her. Her parents thought she was pregnant and were furious at her.
The school nurse sent home a note with the girl one day urging her parents to see a doctor about possible VBH. Thankfully the nurse was right about VBH and quite helpful in getting the girl treatment and dealing with all the worries the family had.
Before treatment the girl was nearly e cup in size and still growing. The surgery stopped the growth and she continued school around a size C if I recall correctly.
I can’t imagine growing an entire cup size per week. How can you buy bras? That would be like a new bra every 3 or 4 days during growth spurts. Thankfully surgery can remove the tissue and the breasts usually stop growing from what I have read.
This condition is very rare. But when certain girls get it, it has to be a nightmare living with such large breasts. Me, living with tourettes syndrome was bad enough through out my life in school. I’ve read the replies by SnowSkifan, and I just feel really sorry for that woman and her life in school….been there, done that :-/
Here are two links concerning VBH. After reading the entire case studies, I have a greater respect for the human body and developmental stages of woman.
Case 1
Case 2
Thank you for the links Joshua, but they don’t seem to work. If they are pdf files, and you have them, please upload them somewhere else for everyone to read.
Thanks!
I’m sorry for the late reply. I have since had to reformat my computer and can no longer find the links. They were pretty graphic to say the least. I’ll do some more searching and see what I can come up with.
Thanks Josha – Do not worry about how graphic they are.
We will look at the files first before posting them for the public to see. If we need to we will post them with a warning. The girls and I appreciate all the help we can get these days Joshua.
The good news is that there is no evidence that links VBH to any form of Cancer. If the girl is old enough, a simple Vertical Bipedicle procedure can reduce her chest and prevent unwanted discomfort.
I would never trust a drug like Lupron Depot to manage my daughters growth. I know there are extreme cases of excessive hormone production is girls that can lead to problems, but the website Toosoon is very misleading.
It angers me that they show a childrens cartoon of a boy slightly taller than his friends who goes to the doctor the next day to get a perscription of an anti-hormonal growth drug.
While the company who sells the drug would probably claim that they are not responsible for an incorrect diagnosis by a quack doctor, we all know that there are many many doctors out there who have little interest in the healthcare of their patients.
A monthly injection of this drug into children for years can probably mean a pretty decent profit for the doctors and companies producing it.
And how do they know if a childs body will begin production of their growth hormones after treatment. Stunting a childs growth might have disasterous effects years later. Growth hormoes are also responsible for brain development. Why would we want a drug that could potentially slow brain development as well?
My cousin suffered from this I believe. Im not exactly sure if she was diagnosed with this specific diesease but she suffered from having really large breasts as a teenager. I remember her wearing 2 bra’s and then going thru extremes like taping down her breasts around her body. The social and physical affects can be tramatic.
I was always busty for my frame (5 feet tall) since age 11. 3 years ago, I had a miscarriage and have steadily grown in bra size. I was a DD and now I’m a G or GG depending on the bra. I’m actually skinnier now than then. 2 questions:
1)Is my miscarriage the reason for this?
2)Will breast reduction stop the growth?
-thank you
KMAC I have never heard of a miscarriage being a decisive factor in breast growth. The pregnancy itself might have induced breast growth but not the miscarriage. A breast reduction will stop the growth in most women but many doctors recommend a reduction only after the growth has stopped. For me, that wasn’t until I was twenty-five years old. See what your doctor says.
thank you suzzie jc.
I have read many many stories about women growing 2, 3, 4, or more cup sizes during pregnancy and keeping the size long after childbirth. Everything I have read leads me to believe that it is perfectly normal KMac. I am sure you are beautiful and healthy. If the growth does not stop, see what you doctor recommends but I wouldn’t worry much about your new size. Consider it a blessing and have fun with it. Happy Holidays to everyone here!
So what I am wondering is, is the gain in bust when you are pregnant hard to lose? I am a DD already, and I can’t bear to get any larger. I have considered a reduction when I am through having children.
I don’t know. I have ALWAYS been large breasted. I was the first to develop breasts in elementary school and it has been an uphill battle since then. When I was in high school was very skinny but my breasts were still huge-and disproportionate to my figure. I know that I have my mother’s figure and when I look at her, I am terrified of getting bigger. She doesn’t seem miserable or anything but I don’t know if I could live bigger. If they were proportionate, that would be another thing entirely I feel.
My breasts grew during my pregnancy but shrunk back to their original size shortly after. But my friend kept her size and is still a DD – went from a B to DD – many years later. And to confuse matters more, we know a women who shrunk to a smaller size after her pregnancy. So….I think every woman is different.
In high school sex-ed class we watched videos on macromastia and other disorders. Me being large chested – 36F – I was the butt of everyone’s jokes all semester long. Now of course I don’t have macromastia. My breasts stopped growing after high school. Macromastia, and yes I was worried for a while, is far more serious and troublesome to those inflicted. My big breasts were annoying but easy for me to live with but I have had friends much smaller who have had breast reductions. Unfortunately I never had too many friends to talk to about my breasts since everyone I knew was a smaller size. Even my mum was only a 36B. Not sure where these things came from. :)
Sometimes you just want to rant about them to other people and scream about how silly big breasts are!
Morris thanks for the link – A bit much to post here however. Not so much for what it contains but what dailymotion links to when viewing that video. Thanks for sharing!
One of the things that really ticks me off is the constant pressure to conform that our media pushes on us. I happen to prefer busty women, and more importantly I’m attracted to women who have the emotional strength to accept their bodies the way they are. If I ever dated a woman with gigantomastia, I swear I’d treat her with respect. Why can’t a woman simply be curvy? Let them stare all they like! Time and again I see women on tv that essentially look like young boys. This is medically unhealthy, dammit. Did you know that the majority of Hollywood stars are severely underweight?
Honestly, I’ve never cared about the body weight of the women I’ve dated. As long as it isn’t a health hazard, I don’t give a hoot. Ladies, be proud of your curves & bust. From a male’s POV, the more sensitive territory I get to play with to prolong foreplay, the better. That having been said, it’s much more important that she’s intelligent, and genuinely good hearted as well as emotionally healthy.
Every time I see a weight loss commercial or “women’s” magazines at the check out counter, I grow disgusted. Sure, we must all watch our weight to a certain extent, but remember, no worthwhile man is that damned picky about a woman’s looks. It’s far more attractive if she’s assertive, intelligent & feels attractive. Hell, introduce yourself & ask HIM for a date for a change. I guarantee you that any man whose brain won’t melt when a busty lady smiles at him has a screw loose.
Not that this will make you feel any better, Scott, but most women who are always on a diet, those who desparately try to conform to the Hollyweird ideal – they don’t do it for men. They do it to impress other women. For the most part, women are far more vicious in their criticizm of other women than most men ever will be. (But they still blame it on “the patriarchy,” of course.)
And it doesn’t stop when one leaves high school – it just becomes more subtle.
You’re absolutely right – it takes a certain level of emotional strength and self-sufficiency to not only accept but be happy with the way you are. Not looking at “women’s” magazines, the ones who have headlines saying “How to lose 20 pounds in two weeks” AND “how to make the richest, most addictive chocolate mousse ever!” is, in my opinion, a good place to start. :-D
The mixed messages I got from media when I was a child were crazy. My best friend from middle school had VBH and got a reduction when she was fifteen to stop it. Her growth spurts were just crazy. She would grow two or three cup sizes every summer and was the talk of our school every year. I remember how much she hated gym class.
Love your website Sara! I am going to find my old friend again and see how she is doing. Last I heard she was attending college nearby. If I can get in touch with her I will let her know about hiddenfeet and maybe she can share some stories.
The media likes to put us in neat little boxes. Look at the runways and the stick models they use to show off their idea of what a woman looks like. I used to look at the usual teen magazines as I was growing up – drooling over the pictures of the small-breasted girls wearing clothes that I knew I would never in a million years fit into as I was struggling with my very large breasts. NEVER an article addressed to me and my types of how to dress or what to wear to minimize the appearance of my breasts.
I remember being 12 or 13 looking at an article about bras in one of the teen magazines. Everything showed was lacy, frilly, had ribbons on them, were on AA or A cup models. Here I was, stuffed into a D cup “industrial” grandma type bra just to keep my breasts from bouncing and getting in my way and crying over the article wishing for one of those pretty bras that I just couldn’t have.
Gym class was the worst. I had to wear a sports bra and changing from my regular bra to my sports bra was such a challenge for me. None of my friends even owned a sports bra and they just could not understand. Girls can be so cruel sometimes. If you don’t fit the mold that is established by the magazines, you are totally “uncool” and all by yourself.
This site is a wonderful safe place for girls who have hiddenfeet to learn from others and share their experiences. THANK YOU!! I just wish it had been here when I was that struggling 12 or 13 year old.
My daughter was just diagnosed with gigantomastia with several masses. They believe the masses are either fibroadinomas or cystosarcoma phylloides – we’ll know after the biopsy this week. She has gone from a D to a G/J in 4 months, is 13 years and is a size 0/1. I’ve been doing lots of research and it’s hard to find much information on this. Thanks for the talk – it’s good to know there are others out there going through this – or at least know what we’re talking about (we went through 3 doctors telling us it was nothing until we found one that took us seriously).
feather72: Best wishes to you and your courageous daughter. If there is any way the girls and I who run hiddenfeet.com can help, don’t hesitate to email us.
feather72: I know what your daughter is going through and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I’ll be praying for her.
Looks like that bad toosoon.com website got taken off line. The growth stunting drug is still being sold through their affiliate website however.
http://www.abbott.ca
Dangerous.
Here is another article about girls reaching puberty at an early age and possible drug companies trying to make money off it.
i’m only 14 yrs old and i have VBH i’m a 38DDD going on an E cup people at my school tease me about it,it’s hard to find shirts that fit,my breasts hurt my back,i barely have any friends,i get alot of unwanted attention,some of my male teachers hit on me,guys only like me for my breasts, and because of all this i now have low self esteem and my parents took me to a therapist to find out that i have depression.i don’t know what to do i want to get homeschooled but i want a good education plus we can’t move because we just moved into our new house only 2 weeks ago i would LOVE to have a reduction but we can’t afford it. it makes me wonder why do girls bend over backward to get big boobs?
38DDD does not mean you have VBH Jessica. Please see a doctor about your problems.
Jessica if your are sized 38DDD then you have a weight problem not a breast problem. Please see a fitness trainer and get on an active fitness program.
Best of luck!
Jessica: Please make an appointment and go to talk with your family doctor or therapist and ask them to refer you to a good pediatric plastic surgeon at a children’s hospital in your area.
Like yourself, my daughter was diagnosed gigantomastia when she was 15 years old. She is petite at 5′ 1 weighs 95 lbs and her bra size was a 34E. She had the breast reduction surgery and now wears a size 34B. She recovered very quickly from the surgery and had very little pain at all. As a matter of fact, we went shopping for new clothes the same day she had her bandages removed. She is so happy now, her self-esteem has returned an she is no longer depressed or anxious about how she looked. She has many friends (boys and girls) and she can finally wear all of the cute clothes and swimsuits that all of the other girls wear without people staring at her.
There were times when we would be walking through the mall or a store together and grown men and women would see her and make rude and suggestive comments out loud to her right in front of me! It made me sick.
As far as not being able to afford this surgery, if your parents have health insurance, it should cover this surgery and if they do not, you should be able to get help through your state health department. The pediatric plastic surgeon will have all of the information on this.
Please make an appt with your doctor ASAP and ask to be referred to a good pediatric plastic surgeon at a childrens hospital in your area.
Good luck and I will be praying for you. :)
Ohio Mom
Thanks Ohio Mom – good tips and inspiration.
These comments and disscusions are certaintly food for thought, but what amazes me most is that there is a distinct lack of ‘trolls’, so either the editor/censor is very quick to respond, or people have genuine balanced opinions! On the internet!? How can this be? :D lol, nice job team.
My editor moderates everything and we filter spam aggressively – thanks for the compliments Sam.
thank you i will talk with my parents =)
and get a new doctor at that
my daughter is 14 (15 on dec 10) and she is a 34E does that mean she has VBH or is that normal?
Kathy, it depends on a lot more than her age and size.
Here is an article of a woman with a very severe case of VBH.
I suffer from both virginal hypertrophy and precocious puberty! I started growing pubic hair when I was only 5 years old I started my period at 7 and by the time I was 9 years old I was already a “C” cup my breast CONTINUED to grow through my teenage and young adult life!! I am 24 now and I had a breast reduction when I was 21 and I went down to a “D” cup. I got my reduction when I was a 38 J…Unfortunatly my breast are CONTINUING to grow!! my breast have already grown another 4 sizes since my reduction! this is not a condition that is fun to deal with! I have learned how to deal with it due to the fact that I have a VERY VERY good support system with all of my friends and especially my family….I make jokes about the fact that I have never ending breast! Sometimes when there is nothing more you can do I just have to laugh about the entire situation I mean I was born healthy, had all my limbs, had all of my organs but YET my breast wont stop growing I mean what the hell??? It can be pretty amusing…I know some girls dont have the support they need to overcome this obstacle but I pray that they will end up living a very happy normal life like I have
Thats pretty incredible Erica, sounds like you got hit with it all. I would agree with you that sometimes you just have to look deep into yourself and appreciate lifes irony. Recurring growth after a reduction isn’t totally uncommon. I like your positive attitude, keep smiling.
I wonder how much of what some of these people post is true? Oh well, I’ve always wanted to meet a girl with VBH because I’ve always wondered what life is like for them. I will never look down on any girl for something like that, or anything for that matter.
same here. It kind of makes you think why anyone would look down on someone with VBH
I really hope this is the positive site I think it is. My daughter is 11 and has gone from a B cup in Dec. to an I cup in July. Her true cup size is a 28 J. She starts middle school this year and I am really worried about the taunting and how it is going to affect her self-esteem. We just went to see the endocrynologist and they think it may be VBH. We are waiting on labs and scans and the senior endocrynologist to come back in the country before it can be a definite diagnosis. I’m looking for a place for support for me and my daughter. Positive help is welcomed and needed. Please!
If there is anything us girls at Hiddenfeet can do to help – just contact us. What you and your daughter are going through won’t be easy, but I am sure the two of you can over come these obstacles.
Middle school might be difficult, it was for me (though I never achieved the level of size your daughter is experiencing).
One of the best things you and your daughter can do is start a diary. Both of you can work together to write down her thoughts and feelings so that her emotions are not bottled up inside. It is also a great way to get young girls to open up to their parents (diary will be shared between the both of you). Make a game out of it, make it fun and silly. Have her draw and doodle and be proud of how her body looks. Make sure she replaces her fear and worries with laughter and happiness.
How is she doing for clothing? If you need help finding clothing that fits, let us know and Hiddenfeet will gladly sponsor your daughter and cover hundreds of dollars of costs to help her out.
Keep in touch Yvette
Poor thing. Always let her know how beautiful she is and never let her doubt how she is developing. Self confidence will be key.
Yvette I will donate money to Hiddenfeet to help her buy clothing also if Sara needs more help.
:)
Wishing you the best Yvette. Our prayers are with you.
Hugs and Kisses! Thats the best medicine!
@Yvette this site is DEFEINITELY the place for support and comfort. You found the right site. Unfortunately, your daughter will get picked on by BOTH boy and girls. I’m male, and I remember what some of the boys talked about in junior high. Remember, she’ll be dealing with 12-14 year old boys who have begun to realize they are attracted to breasts. Keep constant communication with your daughter…the boys won’t see her the way you see her. Also, have constant communication with THE PRINCIPAL. Explain to him/her your daughter’s situation that way the principal could hold a faculty meeting to inform the teachers and the rest of the staff. My mom is a principal and she has power so I assure you that her principal has the same power. If any faculty member does something perverse, keeping in contact with her principal will allow you and your daughter to have matters settled REAL QUICK.
Hopefully, she’ll gain more self-confidence as she gets older. Being picked on and gawked at won’t suddenly disappear. However, having high self-confidence will make everything TREMENDOUSLY easier. I know what it feels like to get picked on so I can relate to your daughter even though I’m a 20 year old male.
Remember, nothing is wrong with HER. Even if she does have VBH which seems to be the case, there is nothing wrong with HER. The only thing that will be “wrong” if she does have VBH will be the growth rate of her breasts NOT the breasts themselves. Keep being a loving mom and you’ll do just fine :D
Yvette,
This is a great resource for both you and your daughter. I sure wish I had a place like this where I could come that was safe and I could have received good information about how to deal with my large breasts when I was your daughter’s age. I didn’t have VBH or growth anywhere near your daughter’s but I did grow really fast and way larger than my classmates. I had to deal with the boys comments.
One thing – make sure you have your daughter fitted for good, supportive bras. Even if store-bought bras need to be modified to fit her, get her into good bras especially before she starts school. I know how much a well-fitted and comfortable (well, as comfortable as bras can be!!) bra can do to help a young girl’s self confidence. There are many resources on this site to help in the bra department.
You being there with open communication will be SO important as you see her through this time of development is critical. Encourage your daughter and be there to listen and provide a strong shoulder if she needs to share.
Good luck and let us know how she is doing.
Kristen
Did you get the pictures of me that I sent you Sara?
The bra seems to fit much better. It is the biggest I have ever owned but you were right that it is all in the cups. It should make my last year of high school much more comfortable. Thank you for your help!
Shannon
Indeed we did Shannon. You have grown a lot since we talked with you last year. Good to read that you are doing well. Have you and your mother picked out a prom dress yet? Or have you changed your mind about going? Last time we talked you were worried that you would stand out too much.
Feel free to facebook me off the website if you wish.
Best wishes Shannon!
oops I think I posted that comment in the wrong area Sara. I don’t have VBH. I am just large for my age and weight. Sorry.
Don’t worry about it. Its fine. Keep in touch.
Hi everyone I am Yvettes daughter who might have VBH.
I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and comments especially Miss. Sara Churchill’s.
Wow! I didn’t know my daughter had sent a response to you all. As she stated thanks for all the support. It really amazes me to the point of tears to realize that complete strangers really care about what’s going on with my daughter and are there to support us. So again I say THANKS!!!
Sara, this year is her first year in a school that requires uniforms, which has actually been a blessing because I’ve realized that button up shirts don’t make her look as big. Bras on the other hand have been an issue. Her godmother and I had to drive and hour and a half to a bra shop called The Bra Patch to find bras that would fit her ($45 & $53 on sale). That was almost 3 weeks ago and she has already grown out of one of the bras. Which has been the norm lately that I have to buy new ones every month. If there is any site that has her size any cheaper will you please point me in their direction.
Firebread, I did get in touch with the principal at her new school and I have an appointment with her August 16. I am also going to request a meeting with her teachers once they have been assigned.
I also wanted to let you all know that this Thursday she has an appointment with her endocrinologist and a pediatric plastic surgeon. She also will have an ultrasound done on her kidneys and an MRI just to make sure there aren’t any tumors on her adrenal or pituitary glands. I will up date you’ll this weekend. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts.
Also, they were talking about maybe having to put her on Tamoxifen to “calm the breast down” especially if they decide to do surgery. I had already read a little on Tamoxifen and wasn’t to kin with it so it was a suprise when her Endocrinologist mentioned it. It was also previously mention by the lady at the breast scan center and she said that there hasn’t been alot you studies down on the longer term affects in children. If you have any information on Tamoxifen please share it with me.
I can’t say it enough how much ALL of your support has meant to my daughter and myself. Thanks again and keep us (especially my baby) in your prayers and thoughts.
Does Janae have trouble with clothing bunching up?
My friend finds it difficult to shop for tops that don’t bunch up in the middle. She often wears sports bras that smooth out her cleavage to reduce the number of wrinkles in her tops.
@Yvette You mentioned me in your post – sweet!
Seriously, I hope all goes well and your daughter makes some real friends especially real male friends. Having the opposite sex back her up could keep her trust in boys alive.
Stay Positive ;)
Yvette you said: “I did get in touch with the principal at her new school and I have an appointment with her August 16. I am also going to request a meeting with her teachers once they have been assigned.”
That is great news. Your involvement and ability to educate her teachers will make a big impact in her life.
She shouldn’t be sheltered from anything but obviously the students and teachers around her need to understand what she is going through.
You seem like a wonderful parent Yvette!
Hi Yvette,
Your initial reaction to the drug Tamoxifen was correct.
Stay away!
Tamoxifen was given to my mother when she had cancer. She took pills of it that interfered with the activity of estrogen in her breasts to supposedly reduce the rate her cancer cells were growing.
The problem was that these pills also created severe problems with her nervous system and she is now experiencing tremendous memory loss. All of which stopped when she stopped taking Tamoxifen.
Please do not put your daughter on this drug – she is way too young. It is very dangerous.
This Wikipedia page is pretty accurate – I studied this drug for months when my mother had complications so this topic is near and dear to my heart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamoxifen
Remember that when she gets a little older, a breast reduction usually triggers a reduction in new breast cell growth. Very rarely do women who have breast reductions grow back to their original size.
omg! Tamoxifen looks scary. It might seem easier to pop a pill but I wouldn’t take Tamoxifen if you paid me a million dollars.
Hi Yvette! Since you mention that clothing is expensive for her, email Sara some pictures of your daughter and work with Sara to start a sponsorship and donation program.
I am sure with Sara’s help the two of you can raise a few thousand dollars.
I will donate $100 – that should buy her 2 or 3 bras.
Hugs and Kisses!
I will donate $100. I have two daughters that my wife and I thought were going to grow uncontrollably but they stopped developing when they reached DD. Hiddenfeet was a great resource for my family a few years ago so I will gladly help out and donate money. God bless.
I will help! Send in some photos and videos to Sara to get the donation pool going!
We are at $300 so far. Anyone else?
Here is a link to a story of a 16 year old girl who has macromastia like your daughter.
She had a reduction and everything went well for her. I hope this helps!
my mom says she will donate money to help your daughter. my boobs are growing but I don’t think I have VBH. I hope she stays happy!
This is so touching! Everyone is helping out. I love the internet.
I will help! We should be at $500 now if Yvette contacts Sara. That should help her daughter buy lots of new bras to tough out the coming school years. God bless her!
Here is a link to a video of that girl with VBH.
So how often does VBH occur? And what are the known side affects? Any information or links about it would be much appreciated.
VBH is rare so it is difficult to tell how how often it happens. As for the side effects, we talked about them in the article.
Link
I’ve read VBH occurs in 1 out of 10,000 women.
That would mean there are almost 670,000 case around the world. That seems a little high imo. You sure about that?
Good luck Yvette! You seem like a wonderful mother!
If it’s not 1 in every 10,000 then it’s 1 in every 100,000 women
Today is Janae’s first day of middle school. :-( I am really worried about how the kids are going to treat her. We went to open house and the reactions weren’t as bad as I thought. I’ve met with the assistant principal and I had a conference with her teachers to let them know what is going on and what is expected from them as far as at the first sign of gossiping, teasing, or bullying that I want it nipped in the bud. I also made it clear that I have no problem taking off of work to come to the school if it seems like there’s a problem and not being handled.
The reaction that I got from the assistant principal as well as the teachers was GREAT! I felt so much better after each meeting. They were really supportive and expressed that they will not tolerate any bullying, teasing etc. I had worried so much about her starting middle school that it has waken me from my sleep for the past two weeks. I think I’m more worried about it than she is. She’s very excited about have a “locker”. :-)
Update on her doctor’s visit:
Her blood work came back and everything looked good. Her adrenal glands looked good but they said that her pituitary gland looked a little bigger than it should be and that they were going to check it again in a year. ??? They are still wanting her to start on the Tamoxefin but I told her doctor that I needed more time because I’m just not sure about it. Her godmother and I have been talking about getting a second opinion.
She has been doing so well with this. I have been so impressed. She’s the “GREATEST”!
Thanks for the update! Keep posting little bits of info like this and we will gather them up for a special fund raising article (money for clothing) about you and your courageous daughter.
As for Tamoxefin, please get as many professional opinions about it and other alternatives as possible. Shop around. You wouldn’t purchase a car or home without doing some shopping – treat this the same way and be as informed as possible. I talked with Lisa Elton, one of our hiddenfeet medical consultants who helps out from time to time, about Tamoxefin. She has never seen any studies that show how it effects young children. That alone worries me. This is your daughters life and future.
Thanks for sending in the pictures of her – she is so young and adorable. Smallest little arms and big beautiful eyes. So cute!
Hi Yvette,
It is great to hear that things seem to be off to a positive start for her at school. I enjoy reading your updates. They are so touching and inspirational!
I know having large breasts seems awkward and nobody wants sexual attention from boys and girls at that age but does Janae view her breasts as something beautiful? I know it seems strange but making sure that she takes pride in her uniqueness is important for young girls. In my opinion she needs to make sure that she knows her breasts are “pretty” and not something that “gets in the way” all the time. She needs to keep her spirits high.
My best friend through high school suffered from extreme Alopecia. She lost all of her hair as she entered her early teens and it never grew back. At first there were the occasional “chrome dome” comments made by some of our classmates. But all of her friends always stayed true to the “your head is beautiful just the way it is” attitude. She started to blend into our school and the more her head was “out there and in everyones face” the less everyone cared….everyone got used to it. Her personality remained bubbly and she had plenty of friends – genuine ones – from both sexes.
I guess im trying to make two points.
First big breasts ARE beautiful. Everyone on this website thinks so – thats why Sara started it I believe. Positive self image can’t be stressed enough. Second if big breasts are something that girls hide and are ashamed of, then they usually attract MORE unwanted attention. I still see this in college every day. There are girls much larger chested then I am and when they work too hard to hide their size with crazy amounts of clothing, they end up looking silly and guys and girls gossip even more about them.
I hope this helps! You seem like a remarkable parent! All girls should have parents as involved as you!
Good to know you feel so much better about school Yvette. Hope you continue to feel that way. Lindsey makes a good point. Confidence will make kids care less. At first, the kids will mock her confidence. Afterwards though, once they see poking fun is useless, they’ll begin to poke fun less and less. I should know.
I assume you took care of the P.E. situation. If you haven’t, then doing so as quickly as possible will help incredibly. She’ll probably need large sports bras and other stuff. Best part about that is whatever she’s needs you could get info from many women and men who know where to go and how to get the items required.
Thanks Yvette,
Thanks for the update on Janae. It’s wonderful that you had the courage to go to the school and nip any potential problems in the bud. Getting the faculty involved from the start is so important. I’m confident that your daughter will be able to cope with anything her classmates may want to try to do with the protection for her teachers.
As far as Tamoxefin goes, I read that this drug inhibits estrogen and will shut-down every body function involved in her puberty and stun her growth. With her future health in jeopardy. Janae may not even be able to have children if she goes on Tamoxefin at this age. In fact she will experience early menopause. With mood swings, depression, the works. All very bad stuff.
Yvette I noticed you didn’t mention if Janae had any more breast development. Can we assume that her growth has slowed down or stopped? This will be great news.
P.S.
Just make sure she controls her posture and doesn’t slouch or round her shoulders. Exercise is important.
Honey
Hi, I’m Roberta from England and I was diagnosed with VBH earlier this year. I’m 14 so I know I left it a bit late, I was a UK 28M before I got my reduction in July since I started growing about age 8 like a lot of girls with VBH do. I don’t know what size I was though, I didn’t find that out until earlier this year from a woman from another city who I’m not going to name for privacy reasons. She’s a 30JJ herself, but she didn’t have VBH, she’s just from a family that gets really big boobs it looks like. What she did was tell me all about her own experiences and how to deal with the back pain, for her it was exercising her upper body which seems to have worked for me enough before I got the reduction that she recommended.
She also gave me my first bra measurement and even made me some bras that fit me. She’s an expert at sewing and makes/adjusts all her own clothes and adjusts bras that don’t fit her so they do, normally she’ll get a bigger band with a cup size that fits her and shortens some of the other straps. She did that for me too, it was so weird having bras that were actually comfortable for the first time ever. Before that I had to put up with 38-40D bras which I just took off whenever I could. I was more comfortable braless than in bras that just cut into my chest but my mum didn’t understand bras, which I guess makes sense since she’s flat as a board and doesn’t even wear bras.
I was scared stiff of any surgery then so she got me to meet her niece who because of a bunch of medical problems that aren’t anything to do with boobs has had to have surgery tons of times but meeting her calmed me down eventually and I agreed to get the surgery.
It really wasn’t a nice experience, I’d definitely only recommend people who absolutely need a reduction get one. On top of that, I still can’t get used to not having all that weight on my chest. Each boob weighed about 7lb which is tiny compared to some cases of VBH I’ve read about but still enough to make a difference when it’s gone but I used to be able to compensate for the weight when I was doing stuff like trying to stand up from on the floor. After my operation I kept on trying to compensate for weight wasn’t there any more out of pure habit and kept hurling myself on the floor, think I did my head some damage a few times banging it on things so often. At least my boobs recovered from the surgery pretty quick though, I was out of the bandages and into a normal bra after only 3 weeks. I’m now a 28B and I go back to school this week so people are going to see the new me for the first time. I’m not expecting anything nice from it, but at least I’m good at ignoring bullies. They’ll just have to make up new insults for me to pretend to care about.
I’ve got a question not even the doctor is sure about the answer to. Will I keep growing again now I’ve had the reduction? The doctors says it’s likely but hasn’t dealt with VBH before so he’s not certain.
You know, in a way I miss my M cups. Sure, they were awkward but it was an awkward I could deal with. If I did start growing again I’d be happy to be the same size as my friend who’s 30JJ I mentioned earlier. She’s 27 by the way so she’s not a school friend, I’ve not got any of those. I do talk to her every day on the phone though, so I guess that still counts as friends even with the age gap. I’m still glad I got the reduction though, they were starting to get overwhelming and if I’d not got the reduction who knows what size I could’ve ended up as. I’d always had good posture but they were getting a bit big to hold up. At least I seem to have avoided all the other problems that can happen with VBH, I pretty much only have to deal with ballooning boobs and having to replace my shirts every month or two. I guess I should add bras to that now I have someone who can make a bra fit any size to help me.
Sorry this was so long but these last few months have been hectic so I had a load to say and it’s all important/relevant really.
Roberta
@Roberta no one minds how long your comment was. Hiddenfeet is a site to tell everything you want.
I’ve got a question. Did anyone else laugh when they heard you fell on the floor to compensate for weight that was no longer there? I’d imagine your family freaked when they saw you fall but laughed afterwards when they realized you were ok.
Roberta,
Thanks for sharing! And it is ME. I’ve shared a couple of times on this site as you’ve noticed. You are a brave young lady. Whatever happens, you will do fine. Good luck with your studies as you return to school.
@Firebread Nobody else panicked or laughed actually, it might have been more interesting to talk about if someone had joked at least I’m glad nobody panicked though, too much fuss gets on my nerves. The woman I mentioned asked how my head was when I told her, dad doesn’t seem to react to anything much so he just said ‘oh’ when we talked about it since he never saw it happen, mum I can’t tell what she’s thinking half the time and I’m not sure she even gets why I fell over, she did help me afterwards every time it happened though. Even the niece of the woman I mentioned only went into a big scientific explanation of stuff like muscle memory and habits that are hard to break, this niece is a little 12 year old kid, talks like a giddy encyclopedia.
Oh wait, I just remembered mum did panic when I brained myself on the fireplace but I didn’t hang around for long, just went for a lie down to wait for my head to stop throbbing. Like I said, panic and fuss just bothers me so I get out of the way as soon as I can.
@Roberta Gibbs Interesting to know. I’m glad you feel better about yourself (as in after the surgery).