Consultation with Dr. Karidis booked for 27th March.

[Bain-of-my-life]

Last post before I am gyn free... not going to lie, I am starting to feel nervous now.... I am due to have surgery at around 9am tomorrow. See you on the other side!

[Bain-of-my-life]

And it is done! What a day! Firstly I have to say how amazing the staff were at the hospital. Not once was I nervous or concerned throughout the day. I am going to do a quick summary of what happened....

Left home at 5am and got to the hospital at 7am. Was shown to my room pretty much instantly and a lovely Aussie nurse talked me through the procedure and the day plan. I was 3rd on Dr. Karidis' list and my surgery would be at 10-10:15ish, so there was a small wait but hey I had sky sports TV and movie channels so that flew by!

The anesthetist dropped in the room at around 8:30 just to run through the process and ask me some questions about allergies etc to ensure I was ok to go ahead with everything. Karidis popped in a bit later also to draw on my chest and take some before snaps and asked if I had any queries at all but I was fine and all had already been explained to me.

Sure enough just after 10:15 it was time and I walked with the nurse to the lift and went to the anesthesia room. I had a small prick in my arm which was the general anesthetic and I was also given some gas for relaxation purposes I presume, although I never felt worried in all honesty. And bam, just like that I was awake in the recovery room having not even seen Dr. Karidis and having no recolection of any surgery being done. The recovery room was probably the worst part of the day as I was so dehydrated and there was a bit of an issue with extra bleeding by my arm pit which looked quite nasty but the nurses sorted it all out pretty quick.

I was then wheeled back to my room and given some painkillers, but to be honest there was and still is very little pain, and the worst part after the op is just the minor sickness feeling and the nasty taste of anesthetic in your mouth lol.

I had my food at about 3pm having requested it at 2:30, so not the fastest service but the food was really good so that didn't matter. I got tomato soup for appertisers, smoked salmon sandwiches for main and strawberry icecream for dessert... which did wonders for the soar throat I inherited from the breathing tube (Which I have no recollection of being put in my throat of course, just presumed one was).

At about 4pm one of Dr. Karidis' nurses came to have a look at me and decided I was fine so I could leave when I wanted. The first time I got up to get dressed I went a bit light headed and nauseous so I lied down again for a bit and got up slowly, and was fine this time. I found it difficult to pee standing haha so I would recommend a she-pee after the op... I think the anesthetics make things a bit funny down there for a while...

After my she-pee I was free to go, and left the hospital at 5pm. Traffic was pretty awful but I didn't care, and was just so happy I had finally got this sorted and the experience was a good one. I haven't got the exact amounts but I seem to remember the nurse telling me in my groggy state that a liter of fat was removed in total and 30g's of gland from each size so I think the results should be good!

I will take pics tomorrow when I can take this awful dressing off after my shower and post em on here (More nervous about seeing the results than getting the op done!). I know it will look pretty awful at first, and I know that I have a long way to go, but at the moment I am very happy with how today went

I will post pics some point tomorrow!

[Bain-of-my-life]

Just taken the vest off and here are some pictures.... beware it looks quite gruesome. I also took a picture of my bed sheets as there was some bleeding overnight and my compression vest which is also pretty gruesome.

ht  tp://s381.photobucket  .  com/user/UNITED_LEGENDS/library/?sort=3&page=1

[Bain-of-my-life]

Sorry... without the spaces between http and .com!

[Bain-of-my-life]

Ok I think photo bucket has privacy issues... Try this site, I have made a collage type document on paint of the before and after shots.

http  ://www.flickr.  com/photos/95288537@N06/8685320398/in/photostream

Again, without the gaps between http and .com.

Quick update... Sleeping on your back sucks... hence why I am posting this at 4:43am... lol.

[McGilli]

Awesome murder scene photos

Can tell it's going to look really nice when it heals. Long way to go - but you'll be good to go for the summer!

Good luck.

[Era]

Congrats on the op mate im well jelous, 3 weeks to go for me. That pic of the sheets was crazy imagine if karidis stiched you up all that would be waiting in your chest to slowly drain naturally.

Looking forward to more pics I will follow your recovery along the way.

[ladiesman69]

Great post and pics. It must be great to finally have it over and done with.

How were you post op? I'm still unsure about whether or not I could manage this without having someone there to help me. Although by the sounds of it you were alone.

My main concern is having to drive from the UK to Belgium post-op. I'm thinking it could be done if I stock up on microwave meals at home, spend a night or two at the hotel before leaving, and try and pace it out like that.

What do you think?

[Bain-of-my-life]

Thanks for taking the time to read/look ... I am just glad I can help others make their decision with my diary as others have helped me over the past few years!

After the op I felt quite bad for the first few hours and the first time I tried to get up and get ready to leave I went dizzy and had to sit back down for a bit (Think I just got up too fast to be honest). I actually had my parents with me, who have been very supportive along the way after they found I had ordered a compression vest on the internet about a year ago when it arrived when I was out! I think you would be ok on your own but I would recommend you stay in the hospital as long as possible (You are allowed to go when you please), and have a nearby hotel booked and leave in the morning (I think travelling a long distance would suck post-op and I reckon you should take a few codamine the next morning before you head out... the stuff is awesome!).

All in all if you have somebody you can share the whole experience with it would be better, but if you do not I think you would get on ok. If you have the op on a thursday which is most likely, the tubes etc shouldn't be that busy if you leave St Johns at say 10-11am on the Friday. The only thing I would say is that the first night was a bit scary for me... waking up with what seemed like a pint of blood leaking from my chest haha... I knew it was perfectly normal (Mainly from reading peoples experiences on this website) so I just took off my blood soaked t-shirt and went back to bed. Oh yeah, make sure you have lots of black items of clothing ready! I went through about 6 black t-shirts in the 2 days after the op lol.

I have just taken some pictures 1 week post op and you can see them here....

http ://www.flickr. com/photos/95288537@N06/8703156278/in/photostream/

At the moment I am happy with the results although the right side seems a little odd looking but I guess I have a hell of a lot of healing still to go.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[Bain-of-my-life]

Updated pictures one week post op!

http ://www.flickr. com/photos/95288537@N06/8703156278/in/photostream/

Again, remove the space at http and .com.

Pretty happy with the way things are turning out. Will be nice to be able to wear t-shirts this summer

The funniest thing is how I am now more comfortable walking around the house topless (My parents know everything about the op) despite my chest being mangled and weird than I was when it just looked like I had breasts  

[Bain-of-my-life]

Ok so the scar tissue is coming through now in abundance and it kind of sucks because it is pushing any remaining fat/tissue out making the chest resemble its old self. Is this normal for many areas in the chest to become very hard, and when is the earliest I should start massaging? I presume the scar tissue goes away after a few months?

[gynecomastiauk]

Hey mate, So I thought I would check your progress as I figure you are about a month behind me in your recovery, I am 8 weeks post opp today. I see you are having the scar tissue and swelling issues, I had the same...my chest was swollen but only in certain areas and had craters in others...looked worse when I tensed. Massaging took it away gradually and I find myself at 7 weeks with just a bit of swelling on my right side. I massage 2 to 3 times a day really thoroughly. My problem now is swollen nipples, I have read it may be fluid. My right one is quite puffy and the left one has a crease on the top, both were flat up until a week or so ago - you cant help but get stressed about it and other peoples threads who have had the same thing fizzle out so I don't know if it worked out ok for them which is frustrating. Hang in there and get massaging, I tried ice packs as well btw, not sure if it helped but made me feel like I was doing all I could...still putting ice packs on my nipples in case it helps with them too, who knows :-/ need to book in my check up with Karidis as I am a bit behind there as been so busy at work...

Cheers
Stuart.

[jimbob356]

I had my opp on Tuesday morning with Karidis and I'm still very tender. I'm about to attempt to have my first shower... We'll see how that goes. How long does it take to be slightly more mobile? At the moment I couldn't even think of lifting my elbows from my sides.

Is the worst over or yet to come?

Cheers

[gynecomastiauk]

Hi Jimbob, congrats on having the surgery, definitely chose the right surgeon. I went back to work after 4 days to an office job but it was 2 weeks before I felt mobile, a couple more weeks before I could put my hands properly over my head and 5 weeks post op I went to the gym...hope that helps.

If you want to take a look I have put up a web-site with a daily diary following my procedure with Karidis...it has about 80 photos so far, it might help with your recovery...hope it all goes well and keep in touch.

web site is www. GynecomastiaUK.org

Cheers

[jimbob356]

gynecomastiauk - I've checked it out. It's a great help! Thanks