PAIGE Hamilton’s huge breasts grow uncontrollably, despite shedding nearly 30 pounds.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ve lost like close to 30 pounds and they haven’t changed in size,” the 29-year-old from New South Wales, Australia, said.
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“For all those people that say just lose weight, it will make them smaller, it doesn’t.”
Paige suffers from gigantomachia, a severe form of macromastia, a condition causing excessive breast tissue growth.
It can be triggered by hormones, puberty, pregnancy, weight gain, and even certain medications. Treatment options are limited.
Standing at 5’2” and weighing 210 lbs, she’s desperate for a breast reduction, but worries it might be wasted if she has more children.
“I don’t want to spend X amount of money on a reduction, only for it to be wasted when they grow again during pregnancy,” she explained.
Her last pregnancy caused her breasts to grow even larger, so now she’s pursuing IVF due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to avoid the same issue.
“That’s what happened in my last pregnancy as well. They were really big,” she recalled.
Even after following her surgeon’s advice and losing 22 pounds in six weeks, her condition has persisted.
“I’ve been at the same weight for a long time now, and I’m still gaining,” Paige said, suspecting high oestrogen levels might be the cause.
Living with macromastia also has its physical challenges.
“A lot of people might believe that I actually can’t lie on my chest,” she shared.
“I’m unable to lie on my chest because it kind of feels like I can’t breathe,” she shared.
To ease the discomfort, Paige uses a maternity pillow for support.
“There is no treatment for gigantomachia.” she said.
“The only thing you can really do is have a reduction, which is not guaranteed to slow the growth.”
Last month, a case of unilateral gigantomastia, which causes one boob to grow abnormally large, was reported in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.
It comes as a 19-year-old’s breasts ballooned by six-cup sizes – from a B cup to triple G – after receiving the Covid vaccine.
Doctors diagnosed her with pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH), a rare condition that leads to abnormal cell growth and benign lumps in the breast.
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What is gigantomastia?
Gigantomastia is a rare condition that causes excessive growth of the female breasts.
The exact cause isn’t known and it can occur randomly, during puberty, pregnancy, or after taking certain medications.
The breast growth can occur over the course of a few years, but there have been some cases of gigantomastia where a woman’s breasts grew three or more cup sizes within a few days.
Other symptoms include breast pain, posture problems, infections, and back pain.
While gigantomastia is considered a non-cancerous condition, it can be physically disabling if not treated.
In some cases, the condition resolves on its own, but many women with gigantomastia will need to have breast reduction surgery or a mastectomy.
Gigantomastia also goes by other names, including breast hypertrophy and macromastia.
Source: Healthline
