Paraplegic with gynecomastia - a question!

[copperfield]

Hi folks, what a great website! 

I have since my teens, suffered from Gynecomastia, it has alas, always affected my self confidence as a man, and I’m sure because of it I never reached my full potential as an individual, as it sort of zaps the zest out of life.
However, growing up I had the outlook that there were worse things to be suffering with, so I put it to the back of my mind and got on with life!
So I got on with life, and somewhere down the line playing sports, bust my neck. I have been paralyzed from the chest down for 13 years.

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While recovering and going through rehab etc I have to admit that it wasn’t high up on the list of life’s priorities, but life seems to have settled somewhat now and so, here I am 13 years later still looking at this ugly condition as I get up ever morning, and wondering, can I get this fixed?
I feel pretty depressed at having to spend my life in a chair, but this condition on top of it as well sort of doubles up the apathy, I try and get on with life, but unlike an uncurable spinal injury, I’ve heard that there are actually surgical procedures that can reduce the effects of Gynecomastia, therefore I have a chance perhaps of getting rid of one complaint, that may give me the confidence boost I need to deal with my disability a little better.
As it is between everything, I’m stuck in a rut and going nowhere fast.
Not that I think that even if I had this treatment life would suddenly be wonderful again, but it would make a world of difference to have one less thing to worry about!

So, what am I worrying about? Well in an un-injured state, I’d go and find a good surgeon tomorrow, BUT, I’m a self-caring paraplegic, which sort of makes things complicated, what are the risks?

The real question which I would like to ask you folks who have had this surgery is, well, if I can explain a little more here :- I have to make bed to chair transfers, that is, I lift my whole body with my upper body strength from my bed to my wheelchair, obviously I then wheel myself around. Getting into a car I do the same again, lift my bodyweight using only my arms / upperbody ( I guess involving chest muscles) etc Also to get onto the toilet I have to lift my weight again. I also have to turn myself regulary every few hours in bed at night so I don’t develop pressure sores etc.

OK! Now I am realy thinking of having the gland tissue I have removed, it would probably involve the liposuction, and probably I’d have saggy skin to be shaped afterwards ( my guess, I haven’t seen any medical profesionals yet).

If I have to lay around not lifting or straining ( my body weight) for more than a day or two at most, then obviously not being able to do everything that I have described above sort of makes things complicated ( as if things werent complicated enough!)

Can you sort of help me out here?
How bad is the pain?
How much do I have to lie still or be out of action?

If you can imagine yourselves having to lift your own bodyweight hours after surgery without pulling stiches etc Could you have gotten away with it, that is, lifting your bodyweight? 

As I have no one else to care for my needs apart from myself, is this, because of all the weight bearing I have to do daily, and would need to do not long after the surgery, a procedure out of my reach?

How long out of action are most people on average?
Ideal for me would be a day in bed afterwards at the most, I'd like a rough idea...

I’m thinking of contacting some private centres that do this type of surgery, or seeing my Dr first, but I’m honestly perplexed at what kind of questions to ask and what kind of problems could be ahead for me as a paraplegic. 

I have no idea whether anyone here has the answers, but many thanks for looking anyway, any advice would be helpfull! 

[emjay]

I am sure that ppl that have gone thru surgery will have some feedback for you.  I have not yet.  But I would suggest that you consult a surgeon...and see what he/she has to say about it.

[outertrial]

Interesting. The problem is that the recovery is different for different people. I most certainly could  not have lifted my own body weight for   5 days, and to be comfortable a couple of weeks. The muscles arent damaged so it doenst hurt to exert them as such, but mobility can be quite reduced due to the bruising and tightness of the skin. 

But then the guy in the other thread in this page was fighting forest fires the next day. It just depends.

It would be good if one of the doctors could comment on this, though IMHO youd need a helper for about 4 - 5 days post op.

[copperfield]

Thanks for the replys so far.
Yes, seems to me that I would need a carer for a week or so, having been self caring now for so long, it feels like a headache to go through all that again. It is what is putting me off at the moment, the situation after the surgery, I have a lot of tissue as well so I'd imagine I would have some heavy work done.
The nearest surgery is a good 100 miles away so finding suitable accom. and a suitable carer in an unfamiliar place is also perplexing, It's frustrating after all these years of having gynecomastia, it can finally be treated, but my paraplegia seems to be a big hurdle in the way of  actually getting it done.
In the meantime I am going to lose as much weight as I can ( I can't really exercise much, just the arm parts) so it's a meagre diet at the moment! And see what things are like in a few months.
As things are, I can stay as I am with this lifelong unhapiness of my chest, knowing it is only because of my paraplegia that I can't go for the correction of it.
Or I can venture into the unknown and have to go into the unfamiliar world of arranging some sort of after care package, life is never simple eh! 

[Hypo-is-here]

Extensive/invasive liposuction is more problematic from an upper body point of view, in terms of having to move yourself around.  Glandular excision is not likely to be an issue.

If you required a decent amount of lipo and the surgical technique was a bit basic then that would present your biggest difficulty.

I required lipo because the glandular gynmecomastia was intertwined with fat and the gland went very high into my higher chest/up near my arm pits almost…..not because of a weight issue.

For me I had a terrible time with not being able to move after the operation due to the muscles in the upper arms being affected.  I could hardly move at all for days and I say this as someone who is able bodied.  I had four drains out of my arm pits.

The issue for you must be, like everyone getting a competent experienced surgeon, but also carefully ascertaining what the surgery will involve given your case…if lipo is involved ensuring the minimum complications.

I hope this mail helps.

I don't reply to many general mails anymore (hormone affect only) but I thought maybe this would help...

[copperfield]

Yes your post is usefull, thanks.
I perhaps could get away with one side just having the gland removed, but the other side is probably intertwined with a lot of fat in a pocket under the arm, so that would be more invasive probably. I have some thinking to do, pro's and cons etc
Thanks for your replies. 

[outertrial]

Do you not have a friend who can go with you? I know it would seem like quite a lot to ask but it can be surprising how flattered some people are to be asked.

[copperfield]

Yep, i have friends! But whether they are the sort of friends who would want or have the time to help me out on this one, I'm not sure. I've only recently started to have the 'what the hell' attitude and actually had the confidence to tell a few close ppl how I've felt about this condition.
As things are at the moment, the whole idea is at the embryonic stage so to speak, so I'll have to plan a bit ahead. Good thing is, after reading many stores here,  this can be treated, up untill a year or so ago, until I saw a TV programme about Gynecomastia, i had no idea it was a medical condition, just thought it was fat. Alll that work on the peck deck in my late teens was a bit of a waste, do'h!