New guy here, fed up with my gyne

[Fed_up]

Hey everyone, this is my first time here.
I see I am not alone, (being new here)
There is another post, from a new guy, that pretty much stated everything I have been feeling all my life.
It wasn't untill recently, that I learned that my "man boobs" are an actualy medical condition.
Im 35 years old, 220 lbs.
I know I know, I'm overweight, but I've have ( what I now know is gyne), all my life. I don't remember too much of my childhood, but what I do remember, is getting made fun of.
Well, as alot of you ( i think ), that stuck with me my whole life. I don't EVER take my shirt off in public( I would love to goto the beach sometime), wearing T-Shirts sux. And the uncomfortable feeling of my shirts not fitting well haunts me every day of my life.
About 4 months ago, I went to see a plastic surgeon. I didn't even get to talk to him, becuase the *financial liazon* came in to tell me the procedure would cost $5,000, and the consult alone , would be a few hundred.
Talk about dissapointed. My primary care Dr. never mentioned the cost, and the plastic surgeons' secretary never mentioned it either. I was very excited in the morning, thinking that I can finally get rid of these things. And almost suicidal when I left the hospital.
I once again, am trying the Gym, lifting the weights.
I have a few questions for the masses if I may...
Can gyne be cured by lifting weights, and going to the gym ( it's impossible for me to lose weight, but easy to build muscle)
And, does it really cost that much to have this done?
Does medical insurance pay for at least part of this? I have blue cross federal plan.
I hope to check back here tomorrow, for some answers.
Thanks everyone :-/

[sideliner]

Hey Man you sound like me...I'm like you I'm a little heavy but have been lifting hard for 4 years...I've really grown, and with  a shirt on its hard to tell the bottom part is saggy. but I did strip down to 170 and was lean, but still had the good old moobs...when I bent over was the worst....I'm going to try and get the doc to knock them off.....Like alot of guys say,you won't be perfect, but anything has got to be worse than what I'm dealing with now....Hang in there

[Grandpa Bambu]

FU.... ( geeze, that doesn't sound too good does it?   )

The cost of surgery varies from a few thousand to over 7 Grand!    IMO, 7 large sounds a tad extreeme but then I don't know the extent of work involved with that case.

Give your insurance company a call and find out if Gynecomastia reduction is covered. More than likely it wont be as most insurance companies consider Gyne reduction as 'Cosmetic' surgery.  :-/

John...

[Blitz]

Fed_Up,

Where are you located?  Post your location and someone might know of a doctor that is cheaper.

One of the first questions my doctor asked me was if I lift weights and have I lost a lot of weight recently.  I told him yes to lifting and that I lost 17 pounds over the past year (down to 195).  He said all guys think that they'll get rid of their gyne by working out but it's a misconception.  If you go to the My Stories or My Diary sections on these boards, a lot of guys on there talk about how they thought they can beat this thing by working out and losing weight.  They finally type in man boobs in a search engine, end up at this site and they're booking an appointment with a doctor within a few days.  That's what I did.  

At least you found this site so that's a good start.  The good news is $5000 seems to be the high end cost of this surgery so if you got another quote, it might be lower.  I'm paying $1605 (Can.) for mine.  I'm sure if you get a lower quote, think about it for a while, you'll start finding a way to get the money.  As for insurance, ask your insurance company or even the doctor's office if it's possible.  I've read that some people did get insurance to cover some or all of their surgery.  

[usernameX]

John dont insurance companies classify gyno a condition and not comestic surgery? If not, im screwed. I need OHIP to pay for a good chunk of my surgery. I can pay for lipo though. :-/

[anonymalaysian]

Weights won't do much. I tried it too. It only minimizes, not get rid of it. Make it look smaller, but inadequate for shirtless trips to the beach. Focus on your upper chest and shoulders, try not to do bench presses that focus on your lower chest (incline benchpress would be much better).

And I feel your pain. My parents decided to renovate the house that to spare me another few years of misery. So the only time I get to afford surgery is some years after working.. i.e. around your age.

[Fed_up]

Thanks for the Info everyone.
I'm located in Taxachusettes if theres anyone with info or referrals for Dr's in my area. I'm pretty close to boston.
Christ, I'd be willing to travel anywhre in the country to have this procedure done. I just got divorced, and I have HUGE child support payments, and I don't know how I'm ever gunna come up with the 4k. I don't think Dr's have payment plans do they?
Also, I was reading about all these tests some people have done about different levels of this, and different levels of that. WHo orders those tests? Is it the surgeon? Or the primary care Dr? My primary care knows about how much this bothers me.
Again, thanks for the info.

[usernameX]

I think the doctors want the money before the operation. Maybe a few can work out a payment plan but I doubt it because there are alot of people pay. If you own a house you can maybe take out a loan from your mortage. Im not sure exactly how it works though.

[Grandpa Bambu]

John dont insurance companies classify gyno a condition and not comestic surgery? If not, im screwed. I need OHIP to pay for a good chunk of my surgery. I can pay for lipo though. :-/

usernameX...

Yes, Gynecomastia is a 'condition', however to eradicate that 'condition', most, not all, insurance companies consider the 'operation' to get rid of Gyne, as 'cosmetic' sugery.

If you have access to OHIP funding, then you are laughing Dude! OHIP will pay for all but the Lipo portion of the proceedure. Oh Canada!     Our tax dollars at work...  

John out....

[Paa_Paw]

Not only is Gynecomastia a 'condition'.  it is such a common condition that it is often referred to as normal.

In that light, insurance coverage can be somewhere between difficult and impossible to get.

What would be needed would be to establish a medical need for the surgery.

In the absence of physical pathology, Your best bet may be to exploit the fact that many with Gynecomastia are the victims of teasing etc and that eventually they become socially witdrawn and isolated etc.  The doctor to establish this would be a Psychologist.

[Badgene]

You sound just like me if only you were a bit younger. I just found out not too long ago myself but lived my whole life with it too. It's ridiculous that insurance may not cover it. My gyne gives me so much pain. Next Halloween I should just run around with a tiger mask on and my shirt off which will look great with the colorful stripes of stretch marks that reach from my lower back over the shoulders and down to my chest. My ribs always hurt and my lower back gets increasingly more painful everyday. How can they not cover an unnatural condition that can cause so much pain in both ways???