Free from it

[freefromit]

Wow...I didn't think I'd find myself back on this site, but for some reason I just thought about it and decided to surf here. It's amazing how many guys are finding solace in this amazing resource.

Almost 6 years ago I made my last post on this site...and since then life has been a complete turnaround. To be honest, I don't even think about gyne anymore. I don't dwell on the 15 years I had it before I dealt with it,  because the new me has completely washed away the bad memories of it.

Dr. Fielding did my surgery, lipo & excision. I did it secretly, only one member of my family knew. I created a story about having a rib injury to everyone else.

I was back at work within a week (bartending), and working out after about 4 weeks (following closely the advice on this site).

When I first took off my bandages after the op, I almost passed out. Whether it was due to the rush of blood from removing tight tensors...maybe.

But I think it was due to the fact that I was looking in the mirror at a body I'd never seen before...and never expected I'd ever have.

I cried that day with tears of joy, and I think all the hard memories of growing up as a 'not quite fat kid with the boobs of a fat kid' washed away forever.


I thank this site for helping free me from that mental prison. No matter how much anyone tells you to "get over it"...until you've experienced the isolation from this condition...they really have no idea.

I thank Dr. Fielding for doing such an amazing job that 6 weeks after the op, my girlfriend couldn't even see my scars as she rubbed my chest and I finally felt like a man.

I thank myself for having the courage to do it. And to anyone out there who is afraid, or second-guessing a surery...do it. That's all I can say.

I worked out religiously, I dropped 30 pounds, I could bench-press a million pounds, I ran, I played every sport, I did ten thousand pushups. For these efforts I was rewarded with a lean, fit body...that was covered by two glaring blemishes.

To anyone getting ready for surgery, or simply trying to limit the visual effects of gyne I say...

GET FIT! It's one step closer to who you want to be. If you want surgery to get rid of your boobs, but you're still planning on sitting around and eating bad food all day...you are NOT serving yourself. And you are NOT serving the body. Why does it matter if you have no breasts but a huge gut?

If you get fit pre-op...your results will be SO much better. The doctor will be able to shape and sculpt a man's chest...not just try and remove excess flab that is OUR job as a gyne sufferer to remove.


To everyone out there looking for hope, or inspiration...I am one person of many whose life has changed. Yours can change too. Whatever it takes to save the money, to find the surgeon, to get the courage to tell ONE person that you need a ride home from the hospital...

DO IT.

If it's going to take you five years to save....DO IT! What's five years of saving if you can have a LIFETIME of sanity, free from gyne after that.

Do it men. Do it for yourselves...do it for the women who you'll fall in love with, for the kids you'll have and be able to play in the local swimming pool with, for the days when it's SO hot outside and y'know what? You can take off your shirt. You can play a game of beach volleyball and not wonder if everyone is staring at your body that we've convinced ourselves is deformed.

This will likely be my last post for the next 6 years. I see there are many many forum users here who are all asking the same questions I did when I was endlessly researching my options. I probably spent hours a day on this site, reading, listening, asking, and realizing...that I had to make a change.

Make a change. It's up to you. But there's help, and there's no shame in taking it. There's no shame in having a fair chance to love yourself. There's no shame in making a decision to change your life.

I wish everyone on this forum, new and old, pre-op and post, the best of life and hope you all find the solution you need to address your own personal battles with gyne.

I did. And I will never be more thankful. And I will never look back.

Sincerely,

Free From It

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

What a wonderful post!!  Congratulations on your surgery and your new lease on life.

I always tell my patients that having gyne is a two-fold problem -- one on the chest and one in the head (one's self-esteem).  And surgery on the chest gyne often changes the self-esteem as well.

I have had many many patients return with stories as to how their lives have improved.  And, to be honest, it makes me feel good that I played a role in the improvement of their lives.  That is the satisfaction of being a surgeon.

Dr Jacobs

[steelhead]

That was a wonderful post it's always hard to find someone post that many years after their surgery.
And glad to hear that no traces of it has come back. I would wish more people would post that long after surgery.

[Bikkembergs]

Fantastic post. I almost starting singing the Rocky theme tune half way through reading  

[iconnect]

I totally agree, on a similar note: I was so embarrassed about this "condition" of my chest since I was 14.. I was too ashamed to ask for help from my parents  but I was determined to something about it. Now I'm 25 and two weeks back had my surgery done. I waited 11 yrs for this moment..and during this 11 yrs time, I studied hard, got good grades, became an engineer, got a full time job few months back- kept saving money from my paychecks and finally got the surgery done, paid totally out of my pocket. On the hindsight, I think if it wasn't for this gynecomastia, I'd have been far less motivated to achieve all this. Guess it was a blessing in disguise. No one in my family knew that I was gonna do this. I only told a close friend of mine about what the surgery was and that too, a day before the surgery cause He was gonna pick me up from the hospital.