It has ruined my life... what do I do?

[hidden_from_society]

Hi..

I'm new to this site. I was searching around and I seen pictures of Gynescomastia. I was shocked... I said to myself.. "That's me."

When I was 12-13 years old, I started developing "breasts". I was embarrassed. I went from a happy kid who played competitive sports, good grades, to someone who did not care about their life. In a world of masculinity, it's hard to live with what most consider feminine.

I always thought it was because I was fat, but that wasn't the case. Sure, I'm overweight now, but I wasn't always. I started eating more, drinking more cola's, eating fatty foods after the fact, because I was depressed.

I soon began to wear sweaters, then they progressed to wearing shirts under the sweater, to tighten. Then I would wrap an elastic arm sling around my chest, then put on a shirt and then a sweater. That's where I'm at now.

I've realized that no matter how much weight I lose, my chest doesn't go away. This is what makes me realize I most likely have Gynescomastia. I haven't gone to a doctor, as my pride won't allow me to.

Now, I'm young still.. 18-20 years old. I cannot afford to pay for a cosmetic solution myself. I can't even afford to buy a camera to take pictures for you. But this is what I want...

I want to finish my life. I want to be able to go to school, go to university, and be not afraid to go out in public without wearing huge layers of clothing, just to hide it. It's at the point now where I haven't even finished half of high school as I would not go because of it. I was too scared of the reactions of people, and the negative perception.

If I was to say how "large" I am, I'd say I was an A cup. My nipples protrude at least 2.5 - 3 cm from my chest. If I wear a bandage (like this one: http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/BDX/BDX128/bxp28225.jpg) I'm able to actually wear a T-shirt. I only recently found this idea. The one problem is, it seems to slip a lot. If I wore it for 3 hours, it would be knotted and slipping over my nipples by hour 2. I would have to go to a bathroom, take it off, re-wrap it, and off I went.

This is my question...

What other options is there for me? There must be some form of under clothing that will act as a compress so that I can wear a t-shirt over top with minimal bulge showing. If so, where would I find one?

I know you may say that surgery may be the best option, but right now, I cannot afford it, and won't be able to for at least a few years. I can't go get a job to even earn the money, because I'm too ashamed of my breasts to work in an environment where I have to wear a uniform, and I can't even finish high school because of the stress and psychological problems. It's actually so bad that I can't work out anymore unless I'm wearing a lot of layers of clothing, as I'm too ashamed of it. I can honestly say that in the last 6 years of my life, I haven't gone outside in just a T-Shirt. I've worn dress shirts over a t-shirt with a bandage underneath only. I would use just a t-shirt, but I'm scared of it slipping off if im walking or running.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to live a normal life, and I can't until I've found some temporary solutions.

[hidden_from_society]

Thank you so much for the reply.

I've been reading on the compression vests and such, and I'm getting extremely confused with all the different makes and models. It's getting late, so I told myself I would search tomorrow to find a suitable one, preferably one that accepts Paypal as a form of payment I don't use credit cards as I don't personally trust myself with one yet.

"I can tell you what NOT to do.  I used surgical tape to strap down my boobs, and man, for the first time I felt normal.  I went to a convention dressed in a polo shirt and felt like a movie star!  The tape, however, will cause the tender skin on your sides and under your arms to blister.  I had painfully raw skin that hurt like crap in the shower.  So don't use tape.  (I know it sounds dumb, but I was desperate!)"


I did that twice, with duct tape. Then I switched to the Ace Bandage instead.

Do you have any reccomendations as to which one I should look at? I don't care how painful it is to wear; I just want to live a normal life. It may seem severe, but I've contemplated suicide at various points in my life due to the depression caused by this...issue. When I encountered this forum, and I saw there were other people like me, I nearly cried... I wasn't alone. Now I hear there's "cover ups" that will allow me to lead a semi-normal life until I'm able to get a surgery? This is probably the happiest day of my short life.

[fixedupinTX]

I got mine from a company called Underworks.  They were much cheaper than most places I checked into, and the type I ended up getting was perfect.  I chose an A-type shirt (sleeveless T-shirt) that covers your whole torso.  The good part is that the material actually pulls moisture from your body and keeps you relatively comfortable.  I do NOT recommend buying a small so-called compression running shirt at the local sports shop.  They aren't tight enough.  I tried those and they kind of worked, but not nearly as well as my Underworks shirt.

[turningacorner]

u say it's ruined ur life, u just gotta make the most of the future u have left. Do some travelling, see a bit of the world, really live for a while.

I can imagine ur gyne will seem pretty small when your broke in bangkok, or about to bungee jump in australia.
These are jsut examples of things, they might seem stupid to you but I hope you get the idea, keep busy, don't dwell on the gyne, people can and will see through it once they see the wonderful person you truly are man.

You've got plenty of living left to do.

I know a guy who travelled for a year and  half on 2000 pounds, you could'nt even get gyne surgery in the UK for 2 grand.

It's changed his life, and believe me his body was terrible before he left, he looks and says he feels absolutely amazing and can't wait to get out there again.

The only thing that might ruin his life obsessive travelling lol, thats better then dwelling on imperfections and insecurities.