Met with Karidis today....thoughts - Now booked with pre-op pics

[ChestMan]

So finally I met up with Karidis today after years of put it off.

He was running a little late, but I did not mind as it gave me a chance to read the paper and fill out the forms  (note to anyone who has an appointment, allow 5 -10 mins to complete the forms (have your GPs details), also bring correct change if making the 75 pound donation in cash...). I was surprised that he didn't have a separate reception waiting area, which kind of put me off a bit as I'm not sure who was there for legitimate (non cosmetic) reasons and who was waiting to see a plastic surgeon. There were a few fit birds waiting around, and in my head I was trying to determine who was there for breast augmentation...

Anyway, when I got to see Alex, it was all pretty straightforward. He asked a few questions around when I first got them, what my reasons were for surgery (aesthetic vs. medical) and then I took my took my to off and he had a look (grab). He said I had a combination of gland and fat and he coud sort me out. This was contradictory to what an endocrinologist told me a few years ago (no gland - just fat and muscle...).

He showed me a few photos and this was really good as he zoomed in really close on some of them (I was asking about what the scars would look like).
We talked about scar tissue and he said it usually takes 3- 6 months for a full result, in some cases it can take 8 - 12 months. In 2% cases revision is required and if so he wouldn't charge a fee. I mentioned these boards and he said that a lot of the guys on here get carried away with massaging scar tissue...

I had some other questions around loose skin and says I'll be fine. He should me a the before and after photos of a guy that must have been a least a C cup who had no loose skin post surgery and advised that if that patient didn't have any loose skin, I'll be fine. and everything should retract nicely.

I probably had less questions than most as I've been on these boards for some time now and he managed to appease most of my concerns (I don't think I ever fully feel comfortable about the general anesthetic risk, no matter how low the chances are...).

He was nice guy, pretty smooth, reminded me of Javier Bardem.

I met with his secretary and the earliest is they could fit me in is around 6 weeks away. I didn't book the surgery in. I nearly did, his results are impressive.

Anyway, I'm determined to get rid of these this year, once and for all. The only thing stopping me booking an appointment is that I want to try one last time to shed these through diet and exercise. I know that everyone on here says it is not possible, but most of the bodybuilding community seems to think otherwise (except for steroid induced gyno). I saw that 'Arg' from the Only Way is Essex managed to loose his through exercise/diet so maybe there is hope.

I've aslo been reading about BioSignature Modulation, where boy fat is measured using calipers and hormonal imbalances are corrected (i can't post a link here due to forum rules, but google it to find out more....) I was looking to get this done in conjunction with a regimented training routine. I figure, even it doesn't work, I should be in better shape overall and if I'm going to spend over 4K on surgery, I want my chest to complimented by a decent physique...

[Bikkembergs]

Anyway, I'm determined to get rid of these this year, once and for all. The only thing stopping me booking an appointment is that I want to try one last time to shed these through diet and exercise. I know that everyone on here says it is not possible, but most of the bodybuilding community seems to think otherwise (except for steroid induced gyno). I saw that 'Arg' from the Only Way is Essex managed to loose his through exercise/diet so maybe there is hope.

Did you ask him what his opinion of the chances of this are?

[ChestMan]

Alex asked me if I had any success losing them through exercise. I advised that I'd had limited success. I didn't ask if he thought I could.

Now you have got me thinking - If you have gland, is there any chance at all or is it a lost cause?

[Bikkembergs]

I don't think you can, it's not like burning normal fat. It'd be like a woman exercising off her breasts.

[ChestMan]

Yeah, I'd thought about that too. However, when you see a really athletic bird they usually have small breasts. Look at Anne Keothavong or Jessica Ennis for example.

Part of me is thinking it is better not to lose weight before surgery as that way all of the fat cells are removed too. If you put weight back on, there would be less chance of them coming back. On the other hand  I'd read on here that it best to get bodyfat down so low that only gland is remaining, that way the surgeon's job is easier and recovery is easier.

Anyway, I think too much about these bloody things....that is one reason why I what to get rid of them once and for all. I can start using my mental energy on something more meaningful.

[Bikkembergs]

True, but don't forget those women are no doubt wearing compression garments when we see them in action. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong, but popular opinion is strongly against you.

If you are going to go under I think being in good shape is the way to go. This was one of my questions to A.K and he said he finds it easier with less fat to work with. If you look at before and after galleries too, I think the more muscular and athletic physiques look slightly better than the fatter bodies, results wise.

To be fair, you said you wanted this finished by the end of the year so you've easily got time to get in great shape (with good determination) and decide then with plenty of time to spare for any potential op.

[ChestMan]

Tine is running out....I'm most likely leaving the country for good later in the year to return to Australia. There is no one like AK in Australia (not that I'm aware of), so this is my last chance. I need to make sure that I've allowed time to heal/recover before I go, so that non of my family/friends back home are aware that I've been under the knife. I've also got to fit a summer holiday in too.

Good point about female athletes and compression garments.

[thetodd]

Stop messing around and get booked in

Youl regret it if you dont ,you wont lose it with exercise. And as for arg from TOWIE losing them, he still has them and he definitely needs surgery you can see the glands behind his nipples.

dont listen to the juicers on bodybuilding forums, they tend to drag their knuckles on gynecomastia.

[bomberman]

squeeze your nipples, the hard rubbery disks and nodules can't be reduced through diet or exercise, no matter how much weight you lose
also the fat around your moobs can be reduced but only by losing weight all over your body which isnt necessarily proportionate now
i recommend karidis all the way, im so happy with the results, you can see in my sig, but i was at a pretty good weight already so it was really the gyne itself sticking out that was the problems, plus some excess fat around the chest
i have much more confidence now and buy clothes i actually want to, i dont need to labour over which t shirt to wear, i just select any one off the rack and stand up tall! (i've spent about £300 extra on clothes since the surgery, felt so good even though i couldnt afford it!)
good luck on whatever you choose

[linkin]

Google a model called Isabelle Caro. She was a French model who became famous for posing nude in an anti-anorexia advertising campaign. She suffered from anorexia herself and sadly died due to it. But the point is, and you can see from her pictures ("No anorexia"), that no matter how much weight you lose through diet/exercise, you will never get rid of the glandular tissue. Surgery is the only way.

Hope this helps. 

[sawyer]

i googled this "arg" from towie and..

he has two blatent scars round his nipples :/

[improving]

Yeha that Towie guy has gyne



Mind you it was taken May 2011.

[ChestMan]

Hey guys...lay off Arg ....

I'm sure these are the shots before he lost weight as he still has gyne in both of these (I can't see any scars...). I did find a pic where he has lost weight and the gyne doesn't look as obvious although in fairness there it is still there (sorry, I don't know how to attach pics to the post).

Hat's off to the lad though. He should be the poster boy for the acceptance forum (granted his case is not severe). Who else do you know that has gyne that doesn't give a toss and gets photographed with his top off. That requires some balls. In one episode, him and Mark were in a steam room and Mark was given him shit about them and grabbing at them, and Arg responded something along the lines of 'what can I do? I was born like this' and laughed it off.

[ChestMan]

This has started to turn into an 'Arg/moob' thread, so I thought I'd give an update of where my head is at the moment..

I've started seing a Personal Trainer and dieting and I've dropped just over 1% bodyfat in the last two weeks (not massive improvement, but a start). He took my skinfolds and calculated my bodyfat at 23%. This was a surprise as my Tantita scales say 14-15% and a gym I went to last year also used some fancy machine and it also came out at 15%. It makes me wonder if the electrical devices are not including gland tissue in the calculation, which can't be avoided in a manual skinfold measurement. Thoughts? I'm tempted to ask him to run the calculation again without a pectoral reading...

For those that are interested, my pectoral skinfold reading came out at 25.5mm and has dropped to 3mm to 22.5mm. Apparently 5mm is the target skinfold, and the average UK male has around an 8mm reading (the PT says his is 3mm and it used to be 10mm- showoff!).

Anyway, I put the PT on the spot about the moobs and how could I possibly lose gland through exercise and diet. He reckons, that I can at least lose the 'fat' part of my condition and as I still have relatively high skinfold readings on my stomach and love handles, my condition is in part due to fat (which I knew already). His advice is that once I have lowered my bodyfat % down to a manageable level (10%!!!) and the moobs are still there then may still be some 'small' hope....although he didn't elaborate on what the options where from then on (at that point the Elephant entered the room).

So, I've finally accepte that I'm going to have to go under the knife to achieve my desired result.  My wife reckons I should continue to loose as much fat as possible beforehand so that surgery is the 'icing on the cake'. I would tend to agree, although as I've advised before I'm concerned that if I lose all or most of the fat on my chest, then as I am predisposed to storing fat in this region (on my chest) then if the fat cells are not removed during surgery then it could come back in the future. I am intending to stay in shape in future, although who knows where my priorities will be in 10 -15 years time and what are my chances of maintaining sub 15% bodyfat when I get old?  Wouldn't it be better to let Karidis remove it in it's entirety and loose fat afterwards to ensure I never have to worry again?

Linkin - those pics of Isabelle Caro in the Italian ad campaign are some of the most hideous images I've ever seen. I really feel sorry for her and I hope the campaign did have the relevant cut-through to educate young women on the dangers of anorexia.

[thetodd]

10% is a really low BF percentage, it could take years to get from 23% to 10%. Losing weight is always a good thing but putting surgery off for it wont make any difference to the final result. Personal trainers will tell you what you want to hear "yeah i can make you look like xxx in 6 months" in reality theyl know most people wont be darkening the gyms doors in a few months time.

Get the surgery, then focus on weight loss i remmeber not being able to go on treadmills because i was to concious about my moobs doing a baywatch routine it gives you a great push not having them on your chest.

one final thing the younger you are, the more elasticity the skin has!