Plucking up the courage - Surgery completed 15.03.12

[namsoni]

Hey guys,

So I have been lurking round these forums for about 3 1/2 years now, but always had various reasons for why I never got round to having surgery. The closest I actually came was when I first joined, but then decided to use my savings (wisely) to fund my masters degree.

Since then, I never had the funds, or capacity to save for the surgery. Roll on to this year. I found out I got a great job - in a field I love, and fairly well paid. The months leading up to me starting, I was sure one of the first things I would do, was secure a long term interest free credit card loan, and get the surgery with Karidis asap. However, it hasn't worked out that way. I've realised I need a bit more of a push than I thought.

I've had gyne for as long as I can remember, and with putting on weight since leaving uni those years ago, it definitely looks a lot worse. For real/psychological reasons it has hindered me romantically, and causes me a ton of stress in the usual situations:holidays, staying at friends, swimming, clothes shopping etc etc. I've now found out I'm off to Barbados for work in January - I should be delighted, and though pleased, I'm also stressed. You'd think I'd be jumping at this chance then to have surgery but various things are holding me back:
> Scared about surgery
> Whether I am being vain - should I spend this much money on something that is not technically making me ill
> Whether it will really make me happy. I weigh about 16 stones, when my healthy weight should be nearer 13 so need get my arse in gear and do something about that. And as well as being plagued by gyne, I am also uncharacteristically hirsute and am thinking about laser hair removal as well (ps I'm not on about chest or legs in case anyone thinks I am really vain! lol) (pps reading back it sounds like I'm the elephant man - not quite there yet!)

So essentially I need some reassurance that this is a good thing to do. I am being realistic, but I'm hoping it will give me the confidence to lose weight, and get my gorrila-itis sorted as well. Or is this silly?

N

ps apologies for the rambling post!

[badger]

I am having my operation with Karidis next week.

Your questions are ones that I have been asking myself recently.

This post is a bit of a ramble since it's just me putting my thoughts out there as they come to mind.

My thoughts:

Surgery carries inherent risks. So does crossing the road. You're minimising chances of things going wrong by choosing someone as experienced and highly regarded as Karidis and his team.

Will it make you happy? Only you can make you happy.

If it's affecting you psychologically, it is making you ill.

If it's holding you back in any aspect of life, you should do something about it. Does this necessarily mean surgery? No. But surgery is easier than acceptance.

Any plastic surgery is vain. Things like gynecomastia only affect us negatively because we give them the power to.

Is the gynecomastia affecting the me or the I? The real me, or just my ego?

Life isn't all about the way you look.

I'm not looking for 'perfection', whatever that may be. I have other physical 'flaws', but I accept them. For some reason, I cannot accept my gynecomastia and I cannot ever see myself accepting it.

To me it is just something that went wrong with my hormones during puberty. Something I didn't ask for, something that came and never went away.

I am still very insecure in myself. I want to wear t-shirts without worrying. I want to swim without feeling self-conscious. So or me, at this point in my life, gynecomastia surgery is the right option.

Surgery is the easy way out, but I'm not ashamed of that.

Life's a journey. You make decisions, things happen, you learn and you change.

 

[Swarley]

Have you had a consultation with Karidis yet?
I'd suggest that it would be best to do that, and then make a decision. I think that only you will know if it's the right thing for you to do.

To add to what Badger said, here's my thoughts around your points:

> Scared about surgery

Yeah I was scared too, but for me personally, I was more scared about living the rest of my life with moobs.

Besides which, my fears turned out to be totally unfounded. Surgery itself was a breeze. The whole team make the experience very easy. I've had tougher times checking into hotels.
Really the only thing you have to do on the day is show up on time (although I was actually 15mins late due to London traffic), put on some paper pants, and then fall asleep (and the anesthetic makes that part very, very easy!)

> Whether I am being vain - should I spend this much money on something that is not technically making me ill

For me, the goal was to be comfortable with how I look, and I'd spent nearly 20 years learning that I'd never be comfortable with how I look while I had the moobs.
Also, doing one thing to make yourself look & feel better does not mean you are vain. Don't judge yourself so harshly!

> Whether it will really make me happy. I weigh about 16 stones, when my healthy weight should be nearer 13 so need get my arse in gear and do something about that. And as well as being plagued by gyne, I am also uncharacteristically hirsute and am thinking about laser hair removal as well (ps I'm not on about chest or legs in case anyone thinks I am really vain! lol) (pps reading back it sounds like I'm the elephant man - not quite there yet!)

Only you know what is stopping you from being happy. Life is way too short to spend it being miserable, so if you want to lose some weight, then go do it!

I don't know much about laser hair removal, but recently I've started to include a little trimming into my maintenence routine. But, I always remember the wise words of James Bond: "Bird never make nest in bare tree"
 
 
Best of luck for next week Badger!

[cms5402]

I disagree that surgery for gynecomastia is the "easy way out."  It's not.  It is the only way out.  My gynecomastia bothered me for years despite being on the mild end.  I exercised, lost weight, fitted into old clothes but my chest did not get smaller and ended up looking worse as the rest of me got smaller and it stayed the same.

Nothing but surgery can remove glandular tissue.  You have two options:  live with gyne, or have surgery to remove it.  Don't worry about whether you are vain.  If it's holding you back from being as happy as you think you can, or stopping you from engaging in certain activities without great anxiety, I think surgery is the right option.

My surgery was a little over two weeks ago and already every time I look in the mirror I stop in awe that my gyne is gone and my chest is flat.  I didn't want or demand perfect, I wanted normalcy.  That's not vanity.

Best of luck!  I hope you do what makes you happy.

[badger]

You have misinterpreted what I said. It wasn't stated as fact, it was my opinion.

I didn't say anything else can get rid of gynecomastia. I was saying that, for me, surgery is easier than accepting it.

I would love to be able to accept it and get on with my life without surgery, but I can't. Hence surgery is the right option for me at this time.

Will it make me happy? I don't know.

[namsoni]

Guys, this has been very helpful.

After so many years, I have an opportunity to correct this, and I should just bite the bullet and do it. It's rare that you are afforded an opportunity to control something that you had previously thought was frustratingly outside of your influence. I guess I spent those years lurking on the forum, preparing myself for a post gyne life, but forgot to prepare myself for the actual surgery.

I have applied for a loan, which hopefully should be with me very soon. Any advice on the next steps? I just ring Karidis's clinic and ask for a gyne consultation? And, I probably won't be able to have surgery till February with work commitments - are bookings that far in advance possible (it seems he has a very quick turnaround)? And I know it is specific to the individual, but generally how many days off work did you guys need?

N

[badger]

Ring or e-mail, they're all nice and easy to speak to. Say you're interested in the surgery and would like a consultation.

Book your train tickets as soon as you know the consultation date, to reduce costs.

Bookings that far in advance I don't think would be a problem. Just ask when you contact the team.

I can't answer the work question as I'm not working at the moment.

[Swarley]

I think it depends on what your job involves - and it's well worth talking that over with Karidis in the consultation.

Personally, I found I felt really tired for the first week, and slept loads. It was over the course of the second week that I started to feel more normal.

So if it's a desk job, like mine, then you could probably go back to work after a week, but I'd say 2 weeks is probably best.

If it's a job that involves a lot of driving, lifting, standing up etc then you might need at least 2 weeks off.

[badger]

And don't be worried by the surgery. It was a piece of piss. Second time I've ever been under general anaesthetic and I wasn't at all nervous.

The nurses were great, the anaesthetist was great, Karidis was great (although you'll only see him for 5 minutes before the operation for photos and marking).

Only problem I had was wobbly legs on the way down the stairs at St John's Wood tube station.

[Swarley]

Good to hear it went okay Badger - post some pics!

I remember feeling a bit wobbly on my feet at first too, but a couple of hours after I woke up I spent some time pacing around my room, and by the time I left I had no problems.

 

[namsoni]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Fortunately, I live in London, so don't need to worry about train tickets. I do a desk job, so can't imagine I will need too much recovery time. So, I just need to confirm my funds and then book a consultation. I suppose the only other question is how you dealt with people who didn't know. In my case, I don't plan on telling anyone, apart from maybe one close friend.

[namsoni]

Plucked up the courage  Well I only have a consultation, on the 11th of January.

Not as nervous as I thought I would be, just concerned about a couple of practical issues:
> I don't plan on telling anyone bar a close friend, how did you guys explain the vest?
> And for the more hirsute amongst you did you have to remove your chest hair before the procedure?

N

[nitrox987]

The vest is not that noticeable and even with just a button up shirt on you can't really see it.
Depending on when you get your surgery, if you can wear a sweater or any other second layer it will be completely invisible.

Good luck with your consultation.

[badger]

I didn't bother shaving my chest. You can see how much chest hair I've got on my post-surgical progress thread.

Removing the tape from the chest the day after surgery wasn't that painful, though maybe that's because I took 2 capsules of tramadol beforehand  

If you have a lot of chest hair than I'd say it might be worth it.

[Swarley]

Rather than shave my chest, I gave it a grade zero buzz with some clippers. My chest hair was quite short and thin anyway, but I thought it would make it easier to take off the dressings afterwards - an in my opinion it did.

The only problem was the armpits.
They'd run the surgical tape for the dressings under each arm, and had stuck it onto my armpit hair.
Since Karidis does an incision under each arm, my armpits were already a bit sensitive and sore, and pulling on those hairs to get the tape off was not fun (not to mention that reaching under each arm was a bit difficult 24hours post op.)
 
Wet shaving, if you don't do it regularly, can give you a shaving rash afterward - and if your skin is sore with a shaving rash, then i reckon taking off the dressings will be just as painful as if you were pulling on hairs.

I've tried that Veet hair removal cream, and for me it left most of my hairs behind. I tried using it again the next day, and it irritated my skin, and still didn't get all the hairs.

So my advice would be to get some clippers and do a grade zero buz over your chest and armpits.