Why not post shirtless pictures of me on the internet? Plus an introduction

[Franklin]

Well, that was lame. I spent a long time writing up a thoroughly detailed and cathartic introductory post. When I hit submit, I found I'd been logged out for time, and when I logged back in, everything was lost. Also, I can't figure out how to post pictures (and I'm not new to SMF, either, I moderate a board that uses it). The only "Additional Options" I'm give are 4 check boxes for smilies and notifications. Is there a posting cap for attachments?The attachment box isn't there at all.  I've tried both the long and short Flickr URLs with /img tags, and resizing the pictures to make them smaller but the images are all broken. Here's a link to the whole flickr stream in the mean time while I get this straightened out.

http: //www.flickr.com/photos/66485225@N02/







Okay, I really need to jogging and breakfasting, so I'll keep this as brief as possible. I'm sorry, it loses a lot of personality in bullet-point form. I'll elaborate later.

- I'm 20 years old next month, I'm 6' 3''-4'', and at 220 pounds. I plan to lose 20-40 pounds by December, and have the surgery then. I've been dieting/exercising for two weeks now.

- I'm super grateful to find that having large breasts is a medical condition, with a name and everything! I'm not just some fat guy, I actually have a condition that diet and exercise won't fix (I've tried before, and stopped when they didn't shrink). Some love handles, big thighs - I can handle that pretty easy. Having larger cans than half the girls in my class...well, you guys know how it is.

- My brother had this exact same thing, and got surgery at 16 (in the mid 90s). I was 6 so I didn't know much about it. Apparently the insurance company called it functional rather than cosmetic and covered much of it. It was 2k all told back then.

- Despite being pretty poor, I was shocked to learn that my mom would make this a priority. She can't get me a car, or give me money for college, but says "this is important." She was super cool to talk to, and knowing that I can actually get something done rather than letting them get bigger/saggier is such a relief. I really do feel better already. Also, not only did my brother have this condition, but my uncle did too. Have you ever heard of this many cases in a family?

- Finally, some grossness. If you look at the pictures, under the left boob there's a mini-fat-roll. I've felt this before many years ago, and got kinda flipped out. It felt all hard and weird, like there were lumps in it. I thought it might be cancer or something (hey, I knew NOTHING). It's nice to know that's how the tissue is supposed to feel. Also, I heard the word "ropy" used on these boards to describe tissue feel. That's the best word to describe how the boobs themselves feel.

- I can flex my pecs, and the boobs jiggle. Obviously the jiggling is lame, but I find it interesting that I have pecs enough to visibly flex them, despite not really doing enough to warrent it. It could always just be the fat amplifying the movement...Will I lose this muscle with the surgery?

Finding out so much in the last day...a big weight's been lifted off my chest, metaphorically if not yet literally.

[LagoonTrifecta]

Hey man, welcome aboard. 

I'm in a similar boat to you -- I lost a bunch of weight back in highschool, (22 now, so 4 years out) and am still dealing with the leftovers.  You found a great place for support, and answers.  Several doctors frequent and post on the forums, as you've no doubt seen, and I know that, for me, it has been a huge help dealing with things. 

Good luck and if you need something, feel free to hit me up with a PM. 

[Franklin]

Thank you for that post. I really did appreciate it.

I went to a general doctor on Monday for the first time sense I was about 11-12. He told me that it's definitely gynecomastia, diet/exercise really won't help, and that surgery is really the only option to get where I'd like to be. Basically everything I already knew, but it was nice to hear it from a medical professional.

Also, that second little bit of fat-roll that I mentioned? The doctor said it was probably a vestigial breast, and there's even a little remnant of a nipple there. Apparently that's also common. That was...pretty dang weird to find out, but evidently the plastic surgeon can fix that too?

The diet's going well. I'm not having much trouble at all refusing food I can't eat and avoiding snacking and all. The main challenge is motivating myself to exercise. I've found other sources, fortunately, that require no mental effort to get going. Today I tore down a clubhouse with a pick axe, and tomorrow I'll be going on an intense 3 mile hike (it's got mad hills and all).