Hey guys,
Sometimes it is important to give back to the community. Way back in 2010 and 2011 when i found out about my condition, I used forums such as this (this forum was specially helpful) to research about viable options. It has been around two years since I had the surgery and I have in a way forgotten that I had gynecomastia. Life has changed and in many ways the surgery has been a life saver. Specially for someone who is in his youth and experiencing the world and appreciating beautiful things in life (i hope you got what i meant !)
Now, I am not so sure how frequent I can be on this forum but I woke up on the first day of 2013 and was thinking what should i do to thank those who had done a great deal for me. Somewhere it struck me that I was just lurker who read all the posts on here but never contributed to this forum. Worse, I never offered any help to guys who could be in a similar situation like me. Hence, here goes my two cents; I have split the post into different segments so that you can read the specific parts.
Before Surgery:
I would say I was a mildly chubby guy in my early teens around 12 or 13 years of age. Hormones had kicked in and from a thin kid I ballooned like a cylinder and grew nearly a feet a year like a bamboo. The end result was that I looked like a round mattress. No kidding. Then I became a bit more conscious and started losing weight by eating less etc. I always thought that this teen fat will go away somewhere.
Then when i was 17 I joined college and the bug to play sports hit me and I started playing tennis and started to jog frequently. Consequently fat was burning like money and I was seeing good results....except for my chest. Now, let me tell you that I had a mild case of manboobs....one that is not noticeable in shirts....but man let me put on a tee shirt and there you see....two small cherries on both sides ! and now that i had lost weight...it looked odd as i was literally fit...except for my weird looking chest.
I tried gymming....and tried lots of stuff...nothing worked...and then i heard people giving this weird concept that it is all about body fat...when the entire body fat goes below 8% or something....the fat around the nipples goes away too. Dunno where those idiots were, but i trained hard and nice, the result was that i was fit and had a flat stomach and athletic physique....but the nipples...hmmm something was still wrong.
strangely, when i used to take off my shirt and touch my nipples used to shrink as it used to get excited when it was touched. i realized there must be more to it. Numerous medical journals and youtube video followed and then I realized i do have gynecomastia, but i have a mild version of it.
Whatever it may be, it was psychologically affecting me. Now these are the important things I did, which I would also suggest you to do before surgery:
1) research on your own about your condition. The web is a very very strong tool
2) i found online pics where guys had similar puffy nipples or man boobs like me. Then i read what was their story and would relate how I would fit into it.
3) I went ahead to consult doctors. I am from coimbatore, but call bangalore my second home. So I went to a doctors in coimbatore and he did say I had the condition.
4) Online articles and posts about doctors for gynecomastia in coimbatore was not sufficient, so I went to Bangalore.
5) I discussed my condition with some of my closest buddies and they were supportive and one of them volunteered to help me by being with me during a surgery, if i opted for it. Trust me friends do love you and they provide a lot of support.
6) my mom and dad were not receptive to the plan, as they were concerned about having a surgery !!! I know, but they are parents. (I did not tell them i finally decided to go ahead with the surgery. I had it and then informed it!)
7) Please have someone know about what you are doing...some friend...or cousin or BF or GF...or mistress...or boss...someone...as it is important that there is someone for you when you need help and assistance. A surgery is a surgery and however simple it might be, you do need help form ones who love or like you.
Note: I consulted Dr.Deepak K.L.Gowda and it was easy to get an appointment with him at Apollo. Many people on this site suggested Anateswar at Manipal hospital(i guess that is his name...even the sales/tailor guy who got me the compression garment told me that Anateswar is more celebrated). But then he was in high demand and I just could not find a date for even consultation with him. So i cannot compare him to Dr.Gowda.
Surgery and immediate post-surgery:
I had done my surgery in 2011 February with Dr. Deepak Gowda. He is a great doctor and had done a great job. As I said earlier, I had my counselling session in Apollo and also had my tests done there, but then i wanted to do the surgery soon and we could only do the surgery in Nova Medical center. I had got it done in the kormangala branch. Infact Nova is an amazing facility. It was a day center, but since I felt too weak after the surgery I stayed overnight and the nurses there did an amazing job ! very very professional and caring.
The surgery was scheduled for around 10 am. I was told that since i will be in general anesthesia, I should not drink or eat anything after 10 pm midnight. Sounds freaky, but i had a great meal and drank lots of fluids and slept around 10:30 pm. Woke up with anxiety and excitement at 6:00 am and was in hospital by 7:30 a.m. My surgery was said to be delayed by 2 hours or so and then I waited for my surgery to commence. I was changed in my gown (for god's sake it was girly pink colour gown...ha ha) and they checked my pressure etc etc.
At the time of the surgery I was whisked inside and before i knew i was told to sit on the surgery bed and amidst all the glare and shine....they gave me IV and then gave me the GA injection. I was in Ga-ga land in no time ! the next thing is that I was woken up by the doctor and the nurses .....i woke up as if i had been hungover for a week (it feels worse than hangover) and i was mumbling...he told me the operation was successfull and then he showed me a small glass like vessel with my glands and blood in it...it was gross but i could see small white yellow pinkish mass kind of thing suspended in bloody liquid. I then went to sleep again and was made to rest.
I woke up and the doctor came to check on me. He said all was good and i guess he went to another place for surgery. I was actually curious how my chest looked. The doctor told me that there was liposuction done and also incision done to remove the gland.
well after sometime, they had to check the fluid retention in the drains and thats when the doctor and the nurse came and opened my compression garment (they put the garment on me soon after the surgery). My chest looked like it had been sucked off by a Dracula...it was flat...i mean flat....and this is where i want to make sure that your expectations are set right....you wont get to see the perfect chest right away right then.....you can definitely see a flat chest, but then since the liposuction was done...some fat and fluid which otherwise gives shape to our body was removed in just that particular area. So in proportion it looks a bit strange.
I was weak after the surgery, my friend got me food..and i chose to spend the night at the hospital. It was a pain walking around to the bathroom in night, with one of the nurses holding the drains.....(not a great memory BTW)
the next day they opened my garment and took off the drains....did they hurt....ohhh they did.....it is not a great pain....but it is a freaky pain...because you get to see the whole tube being taken out..like half to one feet of pipe from inside your wound ! (they insert the drains in the hole that they make for liposuction)
the day after the surgery i shifted to the homestay and i stayed in there for additional 4 days. on the 4th day before my flight to coimbatore, i went to see Dr.gowda again to ensure that i was fine and had no infection or anything....i was given the green signal. ( i have to say that i had mild fever on the second night or something...but it is normal and the body is typically getting used to the changes)
I would definitely like to highlight that I was very anxious and even bombarded him with many questions for which he answered patiently. You should note that Dr.Gowda is knowledgeable, but i guess he does not expect us to be anxious. So if you have doubts ask him right away. (i guess he has what many people say the classic laid back 'Gowda' attitude ! ha ha)
Costs --> it costed me around 45000 for the surgery (I am talking about feb 2011)and doc fees at Nova...and the extra medicines and the bandages..the compression garments...i would put that at around an additional 5000 rupees ! I stayed in a home stay in kormangala with my friend for close to 5 days. That costed me around 6000. Also the homestay arranged all the food.
3 to 6 months
by the third month, i was not feeling any pain around the nipple areas...unless when i touch it or slightly pinch it...there was some scar tissues which made it feel hard and rubbery.
i did not work out or do anything for 2.5 months after surgery...at the start of the third month I went ahead and started working out ! i would suggest people not to overdo it !
even by 6th month my chest felt a bit flat ! and whatever muscle i had looked like pure muscle !
1 year
almost no pain....but even then there was slight hard feeling on the nipples....if someone touched it hard or grabbed my chest (you know why such "accidents" may happen ha ha) ...i would get a mild pain....
nearly 2 years - today
it feels amazing....the whole thing is a memory...i feel like a free bird...i take my shirt off on tennis courts to change my tees....or i walk around the house in towel....i love tee shirts now...and love how it fits me so well....
In all, i would say that whatever i went through for the surgery...it is all worth it...worth it in gold...the way i feel right now is completely different....as i am very much into fitness....many people say they envy my physique and athleticism....well only do you and me know the secret...don't we ? ha ha
anyway....good luck with your surgery....no matter where you want to get it done...and yes do shoot me a PM here on this forum, but i am not sure whether i can reply on time. But, my best wishes and prayers are there for you guys !
Cheers
Garuda (of course that is not my name!)
Topic: My Experience with Gynecomastia before and after surgery ! (Bangalore, India) (Read 88061 times)
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