Hello to everyone.  I am a 43 yr old with gynecomastia.  My story seems to be the same as far as the feelings of embarrassment and never taking my shirt off.  So I will leave that part out.  But believe me I FEEL YOUR PAIN! or should I say I am working to relieve the pain.
I have always had a sunken chest.  I can remember my mom always telling me to put me shirt on because my chest was gross.  Sad how Moms can really screw things up for a young kid.  But I do love her and now I get to decide how to feel about myself.  No one else gets a say.
2 years ago I went to a thorasic surgeon to see about getting my sunken chest better known as pectus excavatum, repaired.  Well i did the scans and measures and low and behold I had a very minor case of PE. my Haller Index was 2.4.  After all i have read that is pretty minor.  The surgeon did not recommend the surgery since all i would do is replace a small concave area for a large scare by doing the Ravich procedure.  The Nuss was not an option for this particular surgeon.
Fast forward about 20 months.  I had decided to work out and really try to build up my body.  So in mid 2009 i started the P90X program.  I will post my day 1 and day 45 pictures later.  Since that time I have been very active and I run and exercise 4-5 x a week.  And yes there have been weeks i have done nothing so I am still not in the best shape yet.  After being told that the surgery was a no go and the fact that i was running and exercising regularly I still seemed to have a bulk of fat on my chest.  no matter what i did i could not lose it.  I went on line and started researching this as well.
I found man boobs and boy was I feeling bad now.  Then I found gynecomastia and the surgery that could be done.  Well to make a long story short I found a local plastic surgeon that does this and i had it done.  yup just like that.
I had my surgery on August 26, 2010 and I am in my first week of recovery.  I will try to post my pictures and update this site 2 x a week or more.  I need support and I need to let the world know that I am OK with me, ok with getting this done and ok with my future.
the first weekend was easy easy.  no pain at all,  i did exactly what the doc said to do and stayed off my feet, walked around the house alittle and KEPT THE VEST ON.
i had 500 cc taken from each side to include the gland excision on both sides.  I am still a little swollen but overall i feel really good and the results seem to be taken very well.  My right side is a little firmer and larger than the left but it has always been that way my entire life.  Her a few picks of the day before the surgery and on day 4 after the surgery.
Feeling great and can't wait to be able to do push ups again.