This is really starting to suck the life out of me

[jmlnarik]

Hello everyone.  I'm here for the same reason you all are.  I've got gyne and it has been a hell for quite some time now.  I am 16.5 years old and have been suffering from gyne for at least 3.5/4 years (even if that sounds crazy).  It started as barely noticable, at the point where they weren't of the 'comment-provoking' nature.  But over the years, my gyne has gotten worse and worse.  I am currently striving to lose weight (but I have read that weight loss doesn't help and can sometimes accentuate it).  I am not skinny, but I'm certainly not obese. I am about 5'11" and weigh 170 lbs.  I observe others much larger than me, but with much smaller chests.  So I know this is gyne.  And I have known this gyne to be the overseer of my life for so long now: it decides what I wear (I don't ever leave the house in just a T-Shirt, I always wear an overshirt, jacket, hoody, etc.), how talkative I am (I tend to just sit in class and not speak to anyone because I can't stand drawing attention to myself because of this), my posture (I'm always hunched over trying to hide it), and basically every aspect of my life.
    Just recently I brought this to my mother, asking her if she could please take me to a doctor, even offering to pay for the visit entirely out of my paycheck.  She somewhat agreed.  Instead of taking me to, let's say, the hospital, she took me to a chiropractor.  Inside, they performed some odd test (or series of tests?) on me, saying that the cause of the gyne could be something wrong internally (lack of nutrients, hormone inbalances, and so on).  A small metal point was placed in various spots of my hands and feet, and 'readings' were taken, god knows of what.  I really questioned the entire purpose of it all, it seemed like a crock.  Well, anyways, after all that I walked having been prescribed 4 "dietary supplements" as they called them.  The doctor said these are what I needed, and that my condition could possibly go away from taking:  Betacol, Thymex, Symplex M, and Flax Seed Oil capsules.  And while I took the time to read these products descriptions and saw that they very well could help some of my body's inner-mechanisms (as well as taking the time to down each of these twice a day for the past week), I doubted they would have any real success in fighting what I even went there for: the gyne.  Long story short, my mom paid for the visit with her own money and since then I have asked her if she could take me to the hospital and see what *they* think, but every time she goes on these rants about how wrong "western medicines" are.  My struggle is to no avail.  I thank her for showing that she cared, but I know my problem will still persist.  I'm positive of it.

I just don't know what to do anymore.  Every day I have to look at everyone else who can dress however they want.  How happy they seem to be.  How comfortable they are with themselves.  Not me.  This has been a plague in my life for so long now!  I have a feeling surgery is the only way out, and at this point would be glad to embrace it.  How much would an operation cost me?  I'm sure you guys could ballpark the money it would take, I don't have any idea.  I'm just sick of living like this, and I *will* start an 'operation fund' if I have to.  I'll save the money up.  I need this out of my life.

I need to be normal.
I need to be myself.

-Josh.

[Hypo-is-here]

Top advice has been given jmlnarik.  

If you are in the US and you tell me your city and state I can give you the contact details of some endocrinologists in your area that might be able to help.

Perhaps with a phone number your mom might give one a call?

[Spleen]

Good advice.  A chiro can't do anything for you.  

[jmlnarik]

Thank you for your replies, you guys.
But I feel I must re-ask, does anyone know how much an operation would cost?

I don't really care how expensive it might be, you can't put a price on living your life normally.  I'm ready to save up if need be.  (Which it will be).

[revolver]

Some say its around 2000 for the surgery itself.

[headheldhigh01]

that might be the low end and doesn't include anesthetic and hospital fees.  plan around more like 3/4 to 6k depending on where you are.  

it's true that mainstream hospitals can do harm as well as good, always manage your own healthcare, but even though hormones were probably the initial cause, you're trying to cure the aftermath, and unless you can get a really good placebo effect out of it, i have yet to hear of chiro or anything like it ever fixing gyne.  

congrats on finding the site.  

[jeremiahj]

i just had surgery. insurance covered it. woo hoo.. im 21 and had it since middle school.. my advice is just try and chill out. chances are people wont notice it even with your shirt off.. it shouldnt affect your personality like it seems to be doing.. and if people notice, oh well. they arent going to lable you a freak, its just fat tissue.

[Spleen]

I had one doc tell me $2K for excision only.  Another quoted $6K for lipo only.  Then there was a range inbetween for a combo approach.

[norfar1]

get this checked out. it could be cancer. i don't think it usually grows for that long if it's just gyne.

[StevenC]

jmlnarik, if I were you, I would not even think about surgery just yet. You need to rule out genetic conditions that have caused your breasts to grow. And you need to know what hormones in your body are out of control or missing. You can't just solve the problem with surgery. Maybe the breasts are normal for your age. Maybe ... Visit a endocrinologist first and find out what is going wrong in your body if there is anything wrong at all and then think about what's next.