Karidis pics - almost 1 year on!!

[niguy13]

Wow - i cannot believe that i only have 17 days of gyno left! The time has passed so quickly since my last post.

For the last couple of weeks i've been running and doing a bit of weights. Not much though but just keeping myself ticking over. I have a bit of a cold at the moment which i'm hoping is going to clear in the next few days.

I've paid the Karidis aspect of the surgery £2683 with another £1500 or so to be paid to the hospital within the next two weeks. I've stopped taking supplements such as multivitamins and creatine etc and i've been eating pretty healthily for the last few weeks.

I've got my hotel booked and i'm ready to go. I'm nervous as hell still about the actual op but the excitement is taking over and i hope i can get a decent result. oh... and i've started to stack up on pineapple and i got myself a bottle of bio oil so i think i've got everything i need.

Some questions

1) What did you karidis guys bring to the hospital on the day, so far i have glasses, slippers and loose clothing?
2) Is it ok to brush your teeth on the morning of the surgery and maybe swish a bit of water around there?
3) I was planning to fast from about 9pm the night before. Is this too long. Would 12 be better?
4) Whats the best time to tell my brother to pick me up from the hospital?

Any answers would be welcome!

[paint58]

Hi Nice,

I had surgery this week ,in Bristol,  its a great feeling, those waiting days will fly past, I had surgery at 8am , I eat nothing form 7pm the night before, less chance of being sick, I just had sips of water up untill
2am , then just rinced mouth out stop it drying out occassionally.I took some magazines to read while waiting, clothes wise same as you,Todd advised me on getting stocked up with arnica as did a friend who is well up on alternative healing.I started taking mine a day before the op, which I told my surgeon , he aggreed it would do no harm, and have since only being taking arnica, and pineapple fresh and juice, being honest I have had no pain killers since coming round from op, day 3 now and every day is easier.I am not sure how it works with Kardis , but my surgeon came to see me a couple of times after op, and as I felt pretty good about 6 hours later I phoned for my lift and went home with his consent although i could have stayed longer, guess it depends on how you feel.Hope that helps to answer some of your questions, thats what worked for me, good luck its well worth the wait.

[niguy13]

Thanks mate for the answers there.

In the pack i recd from Kiridis he provides some Arnica tablets (not enough though). So you recommend taking these the day before surgery ( the ones i have are 200c), what sort of dosage did you take before after?

I know everyones different etc.. but how did you feel paint when you came round from the anaestethic?

[paint58]

Hi Nice, regarding taking arnica the day before op, check with your surgeon first,  people have different views, when I came round just felt very thirsty,its day 3 for me now the compression garment is
my main complaint, have taken it off for showers, it is really restricting my movements, and is not comfortable to wear,will stick with it though,at least it does up from the front so I can get it on and off on my own, glad its not a pull over the head variety.

[niguy13]

8 days pre-op!

OK, so i have 8 days until the big day. I wont lie I'm feeling more nervous with each day that passes and questioning my motivation for the op. I wonder if i will have problems with the anesthetic, if I'll get a good or bad result and my mind is racing with my preconceptions of how it will all go on the day. I'm assuming this is normal as its not everyday you have a 4k op 

At the same time I'm resigned to the fact that i have come this far and I'm not going to stop until I'm rid of it for better or worse. I have made a list of things i will be buying this week before flying out on Monday (with the op on Tuesday).

LIST:
pineapple and pineapple juice/ tinned packed etc....
fruit> oranges,pears,apples, kiwis, plums
vegetables > Spinach, brocoli, peas, carrots, mixed veg tins- fresh veg etc
brown rice - sweet potato's, chicken breast,
boots waterproof plaster/ waterproof shower plasters.
Arnica tablets 200c/ arnica cream.urea cream/ paracetamol/ strepsils/Bromelain pills
green tea Small plain t-shirts/ Compression t-shirts- small size.

I hope I've covered all bases there. I'm looking forward to a few weeks off work anyway. Well heres some pictures for you 8 days pre-op!

[niguy13]

??

[niguy13]

7 days pre-op

Sorry about the size of those pics above!

Anyway - i've just caught the cold - got a blocked nose > thats about it though - feel fine otherwise- throat, head all grand - dont feel run down at all.... I'm a bit worried that theres only 7 days to go and i have a cold but i'm preying it'll be gone by then and i'm not giving up 4K unless im missing an arm or something... even then i would still consider going ahead...

I keep thinking about the operation at random times during the day... i mean i'd just be going about my normal routine and then it would pop into my head and cause a whole range of emotions at once... weird. Well i've stopped my caffine intake from today onwards so im expecting a headache to add to my blocked nose 2moro and i'm taking it easy from here on in - light running light weights from now to sun then off for Mr K to do his thing. I'm going to make sure when he comes on the morning of the op exactly what i want done/ removed. I've done all i can do now so the rest is in his hands.

[postiey]

good luck niceguy! i can see by ur pics u train and keep fit but probably the same as me the last bit of gland fat or whatever wont budge. my case is similar to urs so please post after pics. as i think ill be using Dr. Karidis to!. i guess u just got to pray the day comes quick to get it over and done with, i find that helps when im nervous about things. once again good luck!

[niguy13]

cheers postiey - i would have not have been in this position if it had not been for this site and all the great folk on it. So thanks to everyone. yes m8 i'll get lots of after pics up. Its the least i can do for others going through the same process. Yes theres gland in there so it'll never go without surgery so it has to be done  

6 days pre-op!

I went and bought some more arnica tablets today. 30C ( there were also 60C) didnt know which one to get tbh. I thought the 60cs would be stronger (obviously?) but the chemist said that wasnt the case. Called in for a word to the great man upstairs on my way home so hopefully he'll take care of me. Otherwise i'm buzzing about it- cant wait to get it over with and start the healing. Does anyone know how soon you can start drinking? ( Im not a big drinker). i'm heading out for a birthday bash on the 12th December (18 days post-op) and i'm wondering will this be ok?I've still a few things on my list to get and thankfully my cold is clearing up just in time.

I posted some pics on this thread also:

http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=19432.0

[niguy13]

5 days pre-op!

Well i had a mini-crisis today. Called the hospital to pay my fees and they put me through to the Cashiers office. They searched for me and said they had no records of me being booked in for that day. I told them it was through Mr K and they said they would transfer me to sort it out. They put me through to admissions who didn't have me registered so i rang Karidis office and they said they sent the paperwork on the 25th August. They told me to give it 10 minutes or so but i didn't have time to call back as i was on my break and was working to 7 tonight. So i'll give them a call first thing and hopefully sort it out from there. The fee for the hospital is £1483.

Apart from that i went out on a run tonight - that's my lot now in terms of exercise before the op. I might do a light run/ weights session on Sunday...maybe. My cold has all but gone and i'm praying that's the end of it and that anything that was going to go wrong is over. The days are starting to dragggg... but when i'm sitting here at night typing its feels as though the op could be tomorrow. My nerves are much better now too. I'm finding the trick is to realize that nothing can be done about the op and result. What will be will be.  

[niguy13]

4 days pre op!

Phew - well I've sorted the money aspect now . I called the cashiers today and they recognized me by name so i can only assume Karidis's office has been in touch and sorted it out (although the cashiers office did say admissions were having problems with their IT systems.  )

Today i wore a tight shirt to work in a final defiance of my Geno. I tried to stand up to it, safe in the knowledge that this would (hopefully)  be my last working day where i would need to be conscious of my chest. But i failed. I found myself arched over most of the day while i was walking around and longing to be away out of sight somewhere where i could sit and feel comfortable and not be ashamed or embarrassed about my body. I know my case looks minor but everyone reacts to their own case differently. I sort of think of it with the analogy that if you were missing one figure if would be minor related to someone missing a hand for example. So this is it now. Just the weekend to go. My last weekend with these lumps on my chest. That feels so good to say.

Tonight i stood in front of the mirror and looked at my body. I looked at my chest and i know 100% that I'm doing the right thing. A lot of my family and anyone else Ive told say I'm crazy and stupid spending so much money on this but it doesn't phase me. I've always had an image of the person i want to be and this is one of the steps in trying to achieve that.

I don't know if its just me, I'm sure others can relate to the few days before surgery but i feel great. I've been walking about with a smile on my face wanting to take as much in from life as possible and talking to anyone who will listen. I feel on a real high at the moment. I'm psyching myself up for a few months of being on a downer as i know that i might not get the results i want and also that it doesn't happen overnight but I'm in for the long haul and I'm hoping that I've timed this operation nicely to be able to enjoy the summer in t-shirts and doing the things i want to do.

Well sorry for the ramble. I'll check back in 2moro night with some final pre-op pics!

[niguy13]

3 days pre-op!

No much to say tonight other than bring it on! 

I found these 2 pictures - the first is from early 2005 and the other was taken a few months back. I'd say theres roughly 2 stone in weight difference and i thinks its pretty obvious that with gyno weight doesn't make much difference. If anything its more balanced to the rest of my body when i was larger but i guess for me it comes down to a choice then. Look fat and live with gyno or get rid!

[postiey]

good pics niceguy! can definetely see the gyne isnt goin to shift funny enough the same thing happend to me i was a little heavier maybe a stone and a half over weight. so the reason i started training was to get rid of chest fat. wich i thought i could get rid of

first of all tried weights wich got me in a good shape. but just didnt look right so then i tried doin loads of cardio wich then kind of makes it look worse cause the gland is more pronounced .

im in quite good shape other than that so i know pretty soon im goin to have to go for surgery like u. i totally agree with u even tho its minor it sends my head in a spin if i have to wear something that i think it may show up. especially as people have playfully commented on it in the past.

once again good luck to u postie

[niguy13]

Thank you m8 -

I think the view of the common man in the street is that gyno can be worked off. Which just isn't true in 99% of true cases.

Yeah i totally agree with ya, no matter what you do on the scales if the gland is there it will find a way of showing through. Everyone with Gyno knows the problems with clothing. I have honestly 7-10 jumpers/ shirts that i've worn once and never again due to gyno. Even with all that variety its a very selective process each morning.

Surgery really is the only option if you cant live with it. I would start planning now mate. I have read countless posts about people who have undergone the op and they all say the same thing > 'i wish i had done this years ago'.

[postiey]

yes i agree with u there i to have many jumpers and t shirts that i just cant wear. and i think i have only a minor case thanks to this site and people on here u realise its not just u that suffers with this problem. and the information on surgeons etc is a massive help

as regurards to the surgery i am saving up for it but it is lookin like it will be next year. im really hoping it will be done by the summer atleast i can walk around in any t shirt then. like i used to be able to.

ive had a consultation with karidis and went well, i liked his confidence. it did feel a little rushed but then i thought what more can he say i guess he has heard how it affects us all so many times. so i have decided to go with him to so think u have made the right choice mate.