My diary. 8 months post op. Surgery with Karidis.

[Jim1985]

To be honest, apart from raising my arms straight above my head I've no real pain or constrictions on my movement at all. I think I would go to the gym and start with machines rather than free weights next week. If it hurts, I'll just take it easy. I just want to start getting my movement back to normal. Dr. Benito mentioned stretching and I think light weights would maybe help.

Cheers again.

[Blue2]

Well I am a full 1 month post op and to be honest things are looking OK. I still have some swelling around the nipple area and I can feel some scar tissue too, but most of this has pretty much gone. I have had some great workouts in the last week including a very heavy chest session which felt fine. I still have some creasing on both nipples but I am confident that this will subside and does seem to change each day. I am still wearing the compression vest at night as I feel that this is helping although I will cease to wear it from next week onwards. The nips are still a bit tender bit not too bad at all.

So generally everything seems to be settling down now and I am just trying to forget about it all and get on with life. I just look forward to the day when it all looks 100% normal. Even if it never gets to 100% I will still be much happier than I was before the op.

[milesed1]

Your results look great. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Blue2]

OK fellas, I am now 39 days post op and generally I am very happy. The scar tissue under the skin seems to be smoothing out now and the chest area is looking more natural now. I still have slight creasing on the left nipple but this is improving with each passing day. The incision sites under the nips are also improving and flattening out as the scar tissue builds up and these are becoming less noticable. The nips are still a touch tender but I have virtually no pain at all now when stretching my arms up and I am back to my normal weights routine (well almost!!!). Benching 60 - 70kg at the mo and I am confident that I will be back to my old form in no time at all. The weight loss has slowed considerably but as I am training heavy again this was inevitable. Body fat has continued to drop albeit very slowly over the last 2 weeks. I must get some better BF scales as I am not convinced that mine are anything like accurate! I reckon I am at about 24% BF and was well in excess of 30% before I set out. The hardest part for me is loosing the weight around my waist (the dreaded spare tyre!) although there are visible signs that this is depleating now.  I will step up my cardio in the next few weeks to try and shift the last bit of 'excess' fat until I am 100% comfortable with myself and then it will be all out for the summer!! Can't wait!

So all in all I am seeing some great results now, not that ever doubted that I wouldn't of course!!!!  All that is left to do is to thank Dr. Karidis for helping me to change my life around. I have my follow up consultaion a week on Wednesday so I should have improved further by then.

ROLL ON SUMMER!!! 

Here are a few updated pics, including one of me posing!!!  (Sorry about that, I couldn't resist!!!!)

Any comments welcome as usual.

[irish lad]

top stuf blue looks like you got something off your chest lol .. your chest looks great as wel as you keeping us posted throughout your experience wel done..

[ChestMan]

Blue - glad to hear that it is all going well. Please keep us posted with your consultation with Karidis.

Can't believe that you are 24% BF, that seems excessive given that you don't seem that fat. I remember when I was fatter than you are in these pics and my BF% was around 15% (this was measured using calipers as opposed to a BF scale). What type of scale are you using now? Is it a Tanita? I was consdiering buying one, however I am concerned about the accuracy.

Anyway man....looks like i have missed my spot for surgery this summer. I have agreed with the wife that I must have six pack to prove that I have tried everything naturally to get rid of the breasts before I can get surgery. Even if I achieve that in the next 8-10 weeks, it is too late as i am reluctant to get surgery in summer as i think it will be more difficult to hide the compression vest from work colleagues. Best case scenario, I'm look at October this year when it is not too hot to wear at jacket or jumper in the office or on tube.

PS - do you know if it is mandatory to stay overnight after surgery?  The hospital in St John's wood is in walking distance (15 mins) and would prefer to stay at home. If you don't know, nevermind I'll find out during my consultation.

[Blue2]

Breastman - The scales that I am using are just cheap ones from Lloyds Pharmacy and are by no means accurate! I wouldn't say that I am anywhere near 15% BF but could be closer to 20 I think. As you say, the best and most accurate way to get a reading is using calipers. I may try and get some to see what they reveal!

With regards to your surgery and getting a six pack, that is a pretty tall order. I have tried all my life to get a six pack and have never really achieved it. It takes real dedication and hard work, not to say sacrifice, to reach that stage. You literally need to strip every last gram of fat off your body to see the abs, and even then, if you ain't trained your abs hard enough then they will not be pronounced enough to see them anyway. I would maybe change the agenda to a target BF% rather than the six pack as you may find this more realistic and achievable.

Re the stay in hospital, if you have surgery in the morning (which you can specify) you will be allowed out in the afternoon all being well. I had my surgery at about 9:00a.m. and was in a taxi heading for the train at 4:00 p.m! If you can avoid an afternoon surgery it is worth it as they charge you for the overnight stay and this is not cheap! Added to an already expensive procedure you would certainly want to avoid it.

Best of luck anyway and I hope you can persuade your other half that the six pack should not be a necessity!

[omgninja]

great result, can hardly tell you've ever had it. bet your chuffed

[Jim1985]

Great results, mate. I am a month post surgery and today was the first day without the vest. I noticed some swelling under my nipples and in random places over the chest, making the whole chest look uneven and un-natural. Did anyone else have this? I have quite visible scar tissue under one nipple too which is causing a crease in the skin. Did anyone else have this and how long did it take before it started to go down? Cheers, and well done again mate. Pics look great.

[Jim1985]

Great results, mate. I am a month post surgery and today was the first day without the vest. I noticed some swelling under my nipples and in random places over the chest, making the whole chest look uneven and un-natural. Did anyone else have this? I have quite visible scar tissue under one nipple too which is causing a crease in the skin. Did anyone else have this and how long did it take before it started to go down? Cheers, and well done again mate. Pics look great.

[Blue2]

Jim, the scar tissue and unevenness will come and go. My chest looked different every day for the first month, and even now has not settled down completely, although it is generally more stable now. I think 3 months will give a good indication of my final look which is what Karidis told me. I have noticed that the incision 'scar' (if you can call it that!) is now more flush with the surface of the skin and not recessed in a crease and the scar tissue beneath the skin is now evening out and becoming flatter and more consistant. My chest is also developing quite well and responding to the training so I have high hopes for the future, without getting too carried away with it at the same time! 

I don't know if it is relevant, but with my increase in training intensity, I am also consuming much higher amounts of protein than I would normally, around 180g per day to be precise! This is certainly helping with building the muscle, but I also wondered if this may also be having a positive effect on my recovery? Who knows, but it can't be doing any harm. I have lost another pound this week which is the first one for about 2 weeks, although my BF% has dropped further. I have ordered some BF calipers to try and get an accurate figure as I have no confidence in my electronic BF scales. I will let you all know what I find when they arrive!

[PaulSW]

Great results, mate. I am a month post surgery and today was the first day without the vest. I noticed some swelling under my nipples and in random places over the chest, making the whole chest look uneven and un-natural. Did anyone else have this? I have quite visible scar tissue under one nipple too which is causing a crease in the skin. Did anyone else have this and how long did it take before it started to go down? Cheers, and well done again mate. Pics look great.

Jim I too had allot of swelling and unevenness but I have to say it is reducing and in fact has got allot better. Lots of people told me here on these boards it would get better but I had my doubts. In reality they were right and it has got better. On one side I too have some scar tissue and in fact a crease above the nipple but even that is getting better.

In the end I think to myself that if the car tissue is still there at a year visibly (obviously I know it will still be there to some degree) then there are always the Kenalog injections to reduce it without surgery.

[Jim1985]

How did you guys find that the shape/size of your nipple changed as time went on? I have a noticeable scar on my right nipple which seems to be distorting the shape of the nipple. Is this permanent or will it start to lessen along with the scar tissue?

[ChestMan]

With regards to your surgery and getting a six pack, that is a pretty tall order. I have tried all my life to get a six pack and have never really achieved it. It takes real dedication and hard work, not to say sacrifice, to reach that stage. You literally need to strip every last gram of fat off your body to see the abs, and even then, if you ain't trained your abs hard enough then they will not be pronounced enough to see them anyway. I would maybe change the agenda to a target BF% rather than the six pack as you may find this more realistic and achievable.

I have managed to bargain the wife down to a flat stomach. I am also quietly hoping that if I do get down to low enough BF, it might reduce the gyne to an acceptable level. I used to lift weights a lot when I was younger and hit the bench press big time in hope that it would make a difference - it never did! However, I never used to do any cardio and my BF down was always around 15%, so it could still be fat (who am I kidding - really!!).

Cheers Blue2

[Blue2]

How did you guys find that the shape/size of your nipple changed as time went on? I have a noticeable scar on my right nipple which seems to be distorting the shape of the nipple. Is this permanent or will it start to lessen along with the scar tissue?

Jim, as mentioned earlier in my thread, my nipples have changed shape during the course of my recovery and they still do from day to day! I wouldn't worry too much and just give it time. My chest looked almost perfect immediately after my op and gradually went down hill from there. Over the last few weeks though it has gradually taken shape and is definitely on it's way back to looking something like the end result. I still have a way to go yet though.

Had my follow up consultation with Karidis yesterday. He was very pleased with how things were going with my recovery but gave me a few tips to help the process along. He advised to gently massage the nipple scars (what there is of them!) each day and also the nipples themselves as they are still a touch swollen. He was very confident that I would see great results in another month or so but it would take approx. 6 months to see the finished article. I still have some hard scar tissue forming which once finished, will help with the overall look of the chest area. So all in all I am very happy with the progress so far. I have one more follow up appointment in 3-4 months time so that he can make a final judgment and take some after pics for his files.

It was a long way to go for a 10 min consultation but it was a glorious day and I enjoyed the train ride! A rare few hours to completely relax!!!