My Story (regular updates)

[sawyer]

My Story

Hi, I thought it was about time I made a thread and told everyone my story...
from what I can remember I've had gyno since I was about 9, at that point I was gaining weight really fast and always put it down to being a fat kid.
Throughout my years at secondary school I obviously got bullied like everyone else with it, not just for having moobs but for being really fat.

They've not really changed atall since 16, so it's safe to say they're stable and were caused by hormones as i was going through puberty and over-eating.
When i was 17-18 I lost loads of weight, but the moobs still remained, I knew summat was wrong but was too embarressed to go to the doctors..
When I was about 19 I found this site and actually understood what they were and why I had them.. I was so glad there's actually an operation that removes them with minimum scarring, and most importantly I wasn't alone. The only problem was the money.. I'd just moved into a flat with my girlfriend (away from my family) and we had money, but not enough to save with all the bills etc.
I always fooled myself into thinking I'd somehow magically have the op, or be given money to.. I went through phases of believing I just needed to lose more weight, to wanting to kill myself, to just cutting them off myself :|

I did that for 3 years.. I'm nearly 22 now, my girlfriend knows about it and has agreed to support me if it's what I want.. so a couple of months ago we both moved into my family's house to start saving the 5 grand to cover the op. I figured it's gonna take around 6 months.
We cancelled nearly all our out-goings and cleared our debts.. it's took 3 years of thinking about doing it, and now we're just over a month of saving. (started 1st July 2011)

It's clearly a toss-up between Dr. Karidis and Levick, I've decided to go with Karidis because he's in london (closer to me), I've seen him in magazines and on tele quite abit and I've heard celebrities have been to him. I also believe what "chopper" said is true:

You pay your money you take your chance.

I personally found the extra money even though I wanted to get it done for half the price Karidis was charging for 1 simple reason...Karidis had such a quantifiable track record all over the internet, not just on this forum. So did that Yank Dr Bermant, those two seem to have lots of photos and positive stories / journals and people genuinely happy with their end result.

Remember if you are conscious about your chest anyway, then pray you don't get a cowboy job because you will live with that forever....spend a few hours on here, read some stories of people who have found these unknown great Dr's that offer electric pricing....and as you get further and further into their journals you sense more and more unease about the final result.

Sod that I thought....I don't fancy living life with another regret....I would much rather get ripped off an extra £2K then think for the next 30 years "if only I had found that extra £2K and got it done with a Dr that had loads of rave reviews and a track record of proven results"

If you find a corker in Europe for £2K with loads of great results that would satisfy you, then don't waste your money in the UK, go abroad.
I was happy being "ripped off" by Karidis and would do it all over again...best money I have ever spent.

I'm not as fat as I use to be.. I'm about above average (around 12 and a half stone) I've basically been on/off the gym since I was 17, I know how to workout and diet etc, I always get to a good weight then lose motivation when I realise I'm always gonna be stuck with my moobs :/
I'm hoping to lose as much bodyfat as I can in the 6 months, which I think is ample time to get down to a good size. I'm more dedicated than I've ever been, knowing for sure I'll see a result at the end this time.

(the right seems to be slightly bigger)

As I said before, my girlfriend agreed to support me.. she's also putting money into it which is saving alot of time. I think if you're going to do it you need someone you can tell that's gonna support you. I've not told any of my family, but only because I know they won't understand..

(chart my girlfriend made to mark down how much we've saved)

So yeah, I can't believe it's finally coming together, and all I have to do is wait a few months. I guess I just made this thread so I have somewhere to record my progress over the journey, and hopefully inspire others to get the op
Any posts/questions are welcome.. I'm not too fussed though, I read alot of threads that I don't post in myself.

(post-op clothes I've bought over the years)

Shout out to the people I've been following on this site: thetodd, chopper, bomberman, Choda, somedude999, fingerit and kieran_22.. basically anyone who makes a thread on the U.K section haha.. you've all inspired me to reach my goal.

[bomberman]

mate fair play and good luck! sounds you have a pretty awesome GF and you're pretty motivated to get it done!
i understand about not telling anyone in the family either, im going to be living at home as well so will have to find a way to hide it
keep us updated on your progress

[somedude999]

Ur story moved me mate, thanks for sharing. U got a good girlfriend there supporting u with this.
I think you've made a wise choice and wish u all the best.

You are gonna love how u feel post op, its been awesome for me and I didn't even have gyne for too long beforehand.

The tide is changing for you mate. Looking forward to hearing how u are getting on towards ur goal.

[fingerit]

Appreciate you sharing your story, its great to hear you have support from your gf! Nice to hear that our stories have influenced you and helped you with your decision :-)

I wish you all the best with your saving, the sacrifice is worth the result in my opinion and you wont look back I'm sure of it.

Look forward to seeing reading your progress and, again, wish you all the best.

[kieran_22]

Sounds very familiar to my story, my op is next Thursday and I've been waiting years for this...

You're on the right track now though, and it's awesome that your girlfriend is helping out...mine has done the same - without her it wouldn't be happening!

I'll keep you updated with how I get on mate.

Good luck!

[chopper]

I know that story all too well; the moobs and hitting the gym, then losing faith because you know it's a futile effort to get rid of the things that are bothering you most

Keep saving mate as Karidis or Levick will get you the result you want, no doubt!
Those boobies will be gone by next year and the only memory you will have of the annoying things will be from photos 

[improving]

Good to hear you're set on getting it sorted, and your girlfriend sounds great, despite her chart looking like a massive wang 

I will probably be having my op around the same time as you. Although i'll be going to Levick as he is on my doorstep. Look forward to your updates.

[jim2509]

Am glad you've found the support you needed from this site, and your on track to sorting out your dosh, keep saving , keep hitting the steel hard (upper chest) either of those surgeons will do top job. Am going to Belgium as I'm keen to save a few bob, keep us posted.

[sawyer]

Hey, cheers for all the replies.. didn't expect that many haha. I thought I'd leave the thread for a while cause I know this forum ain't very active.

I hit the grand mark today, celebrated with a Starbucks haha. Pretty chuffed, as I've never had this much money before at once.

mate fair play and good luck! sounds you have a pretty awesome GF and you're pretty motivated to get it done!
i understand about not telling anyone in the family either, im going to be living at home as well so will have to find a way to hide it
keep us updated on your progress

Cheers mate, yeah she is pretty awesome  Have you told anyone atall? I don't think my family would notice, they don't really take much notice of me anyway, but if you've got any tips, that'd help

Ur story moved me mate, thanks for sharing. U got a good girlfriend there supporting u with this.
I think you've made a wise choice and wish u all the best.

You are gonna love how u feel post op, its been awesome for me and I didn't even have gyne for too long beforehand.

The tide is changing for you mate. Looking forward to hearing how u are getting on towards ur goal.

Thanks man, I really can't wait for post-op. Sometimes when I debate bothering with it all, I just think of how I'm gonna feel after it's done, and it gets me back on track

Appreciate you sharing your story, its great to hear you have support from your gf! Nice to hear that our stories have influenced you and helped you with your decision :-)

I wish you all the best with your saving, the sacrifice is worth the result in my opinion and you wont look back I'm sure of it.

Look forward to seeing reading your progress and, again, wish you all the best.

No probs, I'm happy to share everything, aslong as it inspires people like everyone else's have done to me..
Thanks, again

I know that story all too well; the moobs and hitting the gym, then losing faith because you know it's a futile effort to get rid of the things that are bothering you most

Keep saving mate as Karidis or Levick will get you the result you want, no doubt!
Those boobies will be gone by next year and the only memory you will have of the annoying things will be from photos 

Haha, yep.. that's exactly how it's been since 17. I've lost 3 stone on 3 seperate occasions now, but I've always given up knowing I'll never look normal :/ so frustrating!
I honestly cannot wait, I'm gonna get a ton of pictures pre-op, so I can properly compare

Good to hear you're set on getting it sorted, and your girlfriend sounds great, despite her chart looking like a massive wang 

I will probably be having my op around the same time as you. Although i'll be going to Levick as he is on my doorstep. Look forward to your updates.

Haha, that's exactly what I said :/ to be honest, I think she was drawing mine to scale whilst I was sleeping <_<
I'm glad we're having it done around the same time, we can compare

Am glad you've found the support you needed from this site, and your on track to sorting out your dosh, keep saving , keep hitting the steel hard (upper chest) either of those surgeons will do top job. Am going to Belgium as I'm keen to save a few bob, keep us posted.

Will do mate, you too. If this guy in Belgium does a good job, it might save people on here money in the future

If anyone's interested in my diet/routine.. it's basically a "cutting" type diet from bodybuilding.com.. (don't go on the forums, bunch of twats)
I've used it before, so I know how to do everything, and where it'll take me etc
I was 12 stone 8 last time I got weighed, which puts my maintenance calories at 2800, so I'm cutting on around 2300.. 200g protein, 200g carbs, 80g fat..
I don't count every single thing but it's around that mark.

My routine at the gym is basically:
cardio day,
weight day,
rest day.. then repeat.
The weight days vary in rotation of: Chest + bi's, Legs + shoulders, Back + tri's.

So yeah, I've got that bit covered.. haha. I'm hopefully following this for 4 months, then for the last 2 months I'm gonna up the cardio and make the diet as strict as possible to try and drop as much bodyfat as I can before the op
On paper, I should be down to around 10 stone by then, but I'm not really bothered by numbers and weight, prefer the mirror.. so we'll see.
Thanks again for the support, if you have any questions about anything, just ask

[somedude999]

Good work dude, you're doing great and will be there in no time.
How come you need 5k mate ? is that including travel costs, hotel etc etc ?

[sawyer]

Good work dude, you're doing great and will be there in no time.
How come you need 5k mate ? is that including travel costs, hotel etc etc ?

Cheers mate
Yeah, I know the surgery's around £4400? and I'm giving myself an estimate for train tickets and a hotel.
It won't be exact, cause I'll be going down for the consultation before I've got all the money and stuff.. so it's just an approximation atm
Oh, and giving myself some leeway to spend some money here and there <_<

[fingerit]

Dude, my surgery with Karidis was Surgery £4173 (I always say that this obviously might increase over time but the prices havent seemed to increase too much from what I've read from other guys), you pay a £1k deposit when you book the surgery. Add £75 for the initial consultation and I would try get your GP or nurse at your GP's to do your blood work since that will save you £130, thats how much it costs you for them to do it.

My train was about £60 but you can book trains as much as 12 weeks in advance to get the cheapest tickets if you know when you think you'll be getting surgery. I got quite a nice little hotel in sussex gardens for about £80 for the night before. Spend hardly anything through the day, the only money I spent was on a bit of lunch and an oyster card for the tube.

So you're closer to your target that you think mate :-), hope that helps dude.

[sawyer]

Dude, my surgery with Karidis was Surgery £4173 (I always say that this obviously might increase over time but the prices havent seemed to increase too much from what I've read from other guys), you pay a £1k deposit when you book the surgery. Add £75 for the initial consultation and I would try get your GP or nurse at your GP's to do your blood work since that will save you £130, thats how much it costs you for them to do it.

My train was about £60 but you can book trains as much as 12 weeks in advance to get the cheapest tickets if you know when you think you'll be getting surgery. I got quite a nice little hotel in sussex gardens for about £80 for the night before. Spend hardly anything through the day, the only money I spent was on a bit of lunch and an oyster card for the tube.

So you're closer to your target that you think mate :-), hope that helps dude.

Yeah it does actually mate, I've never really thought about the actual price.. just all guestimates..
An open return to Kings Cross is only 25 quid, which ain't bad..
Bit confused about the Tube though, can I go straight from Kings Cross to St. John's Wood? (that's where I wanna be right?) haha.
Thanks for the help though, it's made me think abit

[fingerit]

Seriously, dont worry about the tube its dead easy, either google a tube map before you go or get a map at kings cross. Get an oyster card or a day ticket. You've got plenty of time to organise all that anyway so I wouldn't worry pal :-)

[sawyer]

Seriously, dont worry about the tube its dead easy, either google a tube map before you go or get a map at kings cross. Get an oyster card or a day ticket. You've got plenty of time to organise all that anyway so I wouldn't worry pal :-)

Haha alright, cheers for the advice