Levick 'fixed' me on 26/3/14 - 7 week update

[Squire]

Hi all, this is my first post despite being a long time viewer. Well I went through with it and I'm now on "day 1 of my new life", according to Mr Levick. I was wondering wether to post or not but decided if it only helps one person make an informed decision, then it would be worth it.

Where do we start... Much the same as everybody; I've had gynecomastia since the age of 12/13, not being helped by being overweight for most of my life. I'm now 31 years old, 5ft 11 and 14.5st. I didn't realise how much I was avoiding being seen topless when getting changed for sport or whilst out on a hot day or holiday. It was second nature for me to hide it. And I didn't realise I was half of the time!

Last year I went for a BUPA checkup and all was fine apart from the observation of "enlarged breast tissue", despite the some 20 years of living with this, it was one of the only direct mentions, even my closest friends seemed to ignore the fact, apart from some references to my "women's nipples"! The bupa GP directed me to the spire in Bristol. I wasn't happy with their approach so started my own research. This lead me to you guys on this site and to make an inspired decision to use Mr Levick.

There's very little that I can add about Mr Levick's approach that hasn't been written here recently. I cannot commend him enough. A true gentleman before, during and after. The staff at the priory were also great, as regularly documented.

I arrived at the Priory yesterday at 11:00, was operated on at 14:15 and awoke at 16:15. I have had no pain at all and just a raised heart rate mainly from the tension in the binder document and the heat of the room...! I've seen the 'burger' shots and I did well!! After a ling night of broken sleep I was discharged this morning at 10:00 and I'm now glad to be at home and starting my recovery. I'm not back in work until week Monday.

This is a very brief summary and I will upload the pics when received. I'd like to thanks everyone who has used and posted about Levick because my experiences this far have been absolutely brilliant. If anybody has any questions about what I've just been through, please feel free to ask.

[Donut]

Another one done!

Like you, I felt I "owed" it to the guys who are yet to start the journey of getting themselves sorted out to document my journey, after having been so inspired by everyone else to finally get it done.

Look forward to following your progress!

[gj94x]

Nice one mate levick did mine yesterday morning too! Hope the recovery goes well and you get the results you want

[Squire]

Nice one gj, he told me he'd "just done another one of us" that morning and it went perfectly. How are you feeling? I'm not in any pain apart from some bruising at the top of this binder and the occasional overreaching for something. Scratching my opposite arm or back is the hardest thing!

[gj94x]

Yeah same here, I had a quick peak this morning when I tightened my binder and the difference was amazing! Only bruising for me is above the binder

[Squire]

Day 3 Post Op

I have followed many a post levick op experience and I'm pleased to say have had few few surprises. A few main things that I wasn't expecting were:
1. The restriction in movement of your arms. It sounds obvious but I can't even scratch the middle of my back or the outside of the opposite arm.  I still couldn't put a big coat on today. I had imagined that I'd be ok to wear a big t shirt today but that's still a couple of days away. I'm sure that this is a combination of the binder and the surgery.
2. The effect the binder has on your posture. I went out for a walk today and couldn't walk comfortably. I was compensating in my lower back and pulling my shoulders in. I've tightened the binder today and this didn't have any great influence.
3. Sleeping. I've never been the world greatest sleeper but I'm sleeping really deeply for say, two hours, then waking up suddenly like I'm struggling to breathe because of the binder. I'm not as tired as I was expecting to be.
4. How much I'm looking at my gut now my side profile has dramatically changed and is not being hidden from the over sailing created by my previous breasts. I predict I diet!

Otherwise, there really is minimal pain. The only pain I've encountered was leaning against the dinner table and over reaching from a shelf. I'm not taking any pain killers. Levick said to keep them in case it get toothache! I've taken my dressings of today and the incisions really are small! They seem to be healing well. I'm not going to replace the dressing unless they start weeping, the tape holding it in place is more uncomfortable than the binder.

The time is flying by, I'm now halfway through my binder week. I'm hoping that a change to the compression vest will sort out my posture and lower back. It's becoming obvious to me now how small the surgery portion is in the entire process....

[ian89]

Your post made me smile. Your points 1-4 are exactly my experiences, if i needed to scratch my back i was using corners of doors etc as reaching to my back was near impossible.

That binder does have alot to answer for, i had the same experiences, posture rubbish, sleep rubbish, gut massive, but it is only a week and it shows how well it works as for me anyway, the bits sticking out above it are still swollen 4 and half weeks on compared to the chest under the binder that's very flat.

I can guarantee that when you switch to compression vest everything will change, posture, sleep etc.

[Squire]

Thanks Ian, I'm glad it's not just affecting me in these ways! Meanwhile I'll continue for a couple more days sctraching my back on door frames like something from the Jungle book.

[Squire]

'Burger' shots received, looks more like kebab in my case....!

[Donut]

Pretty impressive burgers!

Wow - you're certainly going to have one hell of a transformation for this summer - you must be absolutely thrilled?

[Squire]

Pre op photo

[Squire]

Yeah I'm thrilled so far Donut. Mr Levick said the burgers were bigger than average! The big test will be Wednesday morning when this binder can come off, although I know it's not the finished article. I took your advice and brought a compression t shirt ahead of the switch to the compression vest.

[ian89]

Have you even peaked down the binder? I can see you being happy when your binder comes off, i know i was and there wasn't a great deal of difference between us by looking at your before shot.

Just be ready to see creased nipples and bulges where the binder didn't compress but mine is really settling down now i'm on just half day with compression vest on. Look forward to see and compare results.

[gj94x]

Bloody hell that's a lot! Looks like someone's gonna have a good summer! How are you feeling with this binder now? I'm gonna take mine off tomorrow and swap to my vest as I can't take this discomfort much longer, I got some compression tops to wear underneath the vest

[Squire]

Ian, no, I've not really had a look, despite the massive ongoing temptation to look. I got a little glance this morning as I had the binder tightened but didn't even see as far as the nipple. Definitely wasn't the cleavage there once was...! I'm also hoping there is no issues with loose skin, Mr L didn't think it would be an issue. It's reassuring to hear that you're happy with your results so far, Wednesday will be the test for me. Thanks to guys like yourself I feel quite well informed and prepared for the creases and bulges.  Did you have any swelling above the binder? If so, did this settle down over the next fortnight with the creases from under the binder?

Gj, not a bad haul, eh? Have you had you photos back yet? I was expecting quite a lot because a couple of years ago I was a lot thinner and still had massive breasts. This will inspire me to loose the weight again. I'm strangely not as bothered by the binder as I was on the first day or so, particularly now the swelling/ bruising to my arm pits has reduced. I've had it tightened each day but can't get it as tight as Mr L. For the previous couple of days I have been wearing a compression vest (under armour type) over the top, this has helped my posture and perhaps spread the compression so it is not focused just in one area. I'm finding it comfortable when I'm in one position for a while but as soon as I move, it digs in again. I'm planning to take it off on Wednesday morning and swap to the compression vest.


Day 5 post op

All in all I'm feeling a lot better today, much more human. In comparison to my day 3 report, I have much improved movement in my arms; posture is improved with the additional compression vest but is not 100%; no change in my sleeping, it's still awful but I'm less tired so I must be doing something right. I don't have any new significant concerns.

A very strange feeling but I must say that I'm not exactly excited about seeing my new chest on Wednesday but I don't know why. It's probably because I know there will be creases and bulges and I'll be worried that I've made a mistake. I'm also worried that the size of the nipple will not have changed, which is a big reason for having the surgery.

 I'm sure these feeling will pass when the T shirts come out of the draw....