Author Topic: Just had my surgery- My Story  (Read 2400 times)

Offline hmh4530f

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Hello all,

Having suffered with Gynecomastia for 11 years, I know how comforting it is to hear stories from others and I wanted to share mine.

I am 25 years old from Charlotte, NC and have had "Moobs" since I was 13.  They popped up and when I started puberty and I immediately got made fun of.  I went to the doctor several times because of the hardened tissue in the breast area, but my doctor always dismissed it and told me that they were growth stones and they would go away when I stop puberty.  They never went away....

I was a mess psychologically through all those years.  I never wanted to go swimming with my friends, and I refused to take off my shirt in front of anyone.  It was hard for me to wear t-shirts and polos, as my breasts would show the most.  I tended to always wear shirts one size bigger in order to hide my breasts, though it never fully worked.

I always felt uncomfortable even when someone accidentally brushed up against my chest.  I was constantly made fun of even up until recently.  I hated myself so much for this unwanted condition.  When I was 20 I started to gain weight and I did nothing to stop it.  I always thought that if I was fat, the Moobs would look like they fit in place.  I actually looked forward to getting fat just to make my breasts justified.  Unfortunately as I gained weight my breasts also got bigger and never seemed to really fit in.  I was always afraid of working out because I was once told by a doctor that if I work out my chest, the muscle will just build behind the breast tissue, causing the breasts to look bigger.
 In Christmas of 09 I weighed myself for the first time in years and I saw that I had gotten up to 202 pounds (I am only 5'9).  At this same time my doctor told me that my cholesterol was through the roof and I was way overweight.  I decided that it was time to lose the weight, but it took some time for me to get started.  I joined Weight Watchers in May 2010 and it was a major success in my life.  After losing 5 pounds on a previous week long diet, my starting weight was 197.  I hit goal weight September 2010 at 169 and kept on loosing until I hit 162.  It was a great success as I lost 40 pounds.  The problem was that even though I looked great weight wise, I still had breasts, and they felt bigger and more noticeable than ever before.  One day I was watching the late-night news when they did a segment on Gynecomastia.  They had referred anyone with this problem to see Dr. Finical at Charlotte Plastic Surgery.  I felt like this was a sign.  At this point I had just graduated from college and was hired for my first full-time job, and I felt it was finally time to consider surgery since I was more financially stable than I had ever been.  I had my free consultation and felt very comfortable with Dr. Finical as he has had a lot of experience in this surgery.  The total cost was even lower than expected ($5400 for everything including follow up appointments).

I just had my surgery yesterday (Dec 27th, 2010) and I already feel a sense of freedom that I have never experienced before.  The surgery went really well!  Dr.  Finical removed the breast tissue and had to liposuction my breast to my muscle line in order to flatten them.  The surgery finished early (only about 1.5 hours).  I am still sore, but this is only the second day.  I also have to wear a compression vest for thirty days to prevent fluids from building up behind my breasts.  I just had my follow up appointment today with Dr. Finical and he said that everything looks great!

So far I have no regrets from this surgery and I am already dreaming about all the activities I plan on doing this summer now that these breasts are GONE!!!!  If you are considering this surgery, please know that this will change your life.  It sucks that insurance doesn’t cover it as this is a problem that affects millions of men all over.  I don’t think that you should let the price of the surgery affect your decision.  $5400 is not that much money compared to other surgeries, and you WILL feel a hundred times better with yourself after you go through it.  I know I do!

Sorry for the long story, I just hope it inspires someone who reads this to get their freedom back.  Feel free to ask me any questions.  I will be happy to share with you my surgery and recovery experience.

Happy Hollidays,
Harrison

Offline Raider Fan

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Congrats on your weight loss and the surgery, Harrison, and welcome to gyne.org.  Hope the end result of your surgery turns out great.

Offline JamesDawson

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Congrats and welcome to the other side

Offline 303MattS4

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Congrats! And well done on the weight loss!

Offline hmh4530f

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Thank you all.  I am on day 3 after the surgery and I am feeling a whole lot better.  Just switched over from pain killers to Tylenol and can finally drive!  Chest is still pretty sore though...


 

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