New member to fourms.

[Mikel]

Hello everyone.

i been reading these boards for a week or two now just reading through the posts on all the different topics effecting people with gyne ect.

im 21, 5'11" ~ 160-170 pounds.

in the last week ive cut down cigs from 1/2 a pack a day to 1-2 a day if any at all, and started going to the gym once a day doing at least 1/2 hour of cardio and light weight lifting with some friends. and eating correctly.

ive had gyne for a long time now. One time when i was younger i asked my ped. about it and he said it would go away in time, and well it never did. i must say its an extreemly mild case. just alittle bit of fat and the 'puffy nipples'.

both my mother and my father are nurses which helps alot. i finally talked to my mother about my gyne last week.

she gave me the name of a doctor to go see (i havnt gotten another doctor since i was about 18 and couldnt go to my ped. any longer) im planning on calling him tomarrow and than having my records swiched over to him and making an appointment.

from what i have read on these forums i pretty much know what is going to happen. i will go to the doc, and he will reccomend one of those gland doctors (forgot the exact name sorry =\ ). i will go to that doctor and he will check me out and want to test my hormone levels. if my hormone levels are normal (which is what i will assume will happen) he will reccomend a plastic surgen correct the problem, and if they are not normal he will put me on some sort of hormone coctail to straigten them out.

[Mikel]

oh and another great thing: (copy and paste from aetna's lovely website, ie. my insurance company)

Gynecomastia:

Aetna considers breast reduction, surgical mastectomy or liposuction for gynecomastia, either unilateral or bilateral, a cosmetic surgical procedure. Medical therapy should be aimed at correcting any reversible causes (e.g., drug discontinuance).

See also CPB 031 - Cosmetic Surgery, and CPB 185 - Breast Reconstructive Surgery.

[nothingworse]

Mikel Aetna is a bi*ch. I am working with them right now and I have a real medical case of painful gyne. They are tough. I haven't heard back from them yet with the doctor and things are going very slow. I don't understand why I have to go through all this trouble. I don't know why Aetna considers all gyne to be cosmetic. It can be emotional, painful, and just plain hurtful. They need to examine cases before they say every dang person doesn't have a problem with their gyne. I am looking for some more responses things are slow and I know you are new but, do you think Aetna will cover my medical case? Just wondering. Thats good that you are on the right track to getting yours taken care of. The doctor will first review you, then send you to the endo or a specialist. The endo or the hormone doctor will make sure everything is right then you are good to go. Then go to a specialist. You should get this taken care of sooner or later. I thought I would have surgery in like 2-3 months but, I am moving on to my 6th soon. I just hope things work out. Good luck to you as well with Aetna if you do send in a claim. They are just a tough old bird. You know what though if this would have been 5 years ago you would have and I would have gotten the surgery with no questions asked. Now they are just tough and want to rack in more profit. Just like the rest of the world who is continuing on that road for the past 5 years. Good luck and I wish you the best.

[Mikel]

yes insurance companies are part of the problem. but the entire medical feild in general is messed up.

the whole problem with gyne imo is that it is not talked about. there is so little information out there about it that it took me until now that i was able to discover what it actually was. my ped never said what it was just that it would go away. i just knew i was abnormal and wanted it to go away, i hide it anyway i can.

i doubt aetna will cover the cost of surgery in my case at least. your case is a different story if it is a case where pain is involved. i have read a few stories about appealing to a review board with some insurance companies, so at least you have some hope.

although i have double coverage. my primary coverage is aetna and my mother has a different insurance coverage for her job. in the end if the neither will pay for it ill just bite the bullet and get it done. ive lived with this since i was around 13. i deal with it no one has ever said anything really nasty to me about it before. except one time at the beach with my close friends (which hurt the most of anything).

with a statement like that on there website i doubt they will give even 1cent for the operation in my case.

however ive decided to lead a healthy lifestyle from now on and i dont feel that this should inhibit anything i do. i consider it a social handicap that i will make sure is taken care of.

finally heres a link: from "© 1996-2005 Aetna InteliHealth Inc"

its sort of a Q&A

"Surgery also has been done to reduce the amount of breast tissue, although it is rarely used to treat the many normal teen-age boys with gynecomastia (and almost never done before the age of 18)."

org link
(search for:It looks like my teen-age son is growing breasts. What could be wrong?)

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/34970/34993/363119.html?d=dmtChildGuide

more than likely its rarely used to treat the problem because they wont pay for it!

hah. insurance companies make me laugh. the fact is they think 40-60% of guys have this and they dont wanna pay for everyones surgery to correct it. its just a mathmatical calculation to them.