Hi,
I think I made a post a few years back outlining my story so far, but as of now, I am sitting in the Atrium Hotel, in Szcezcin two days post op. This is quite a long winded post, so if you don;t want to read the whole thing, just skip to ‘Poland 2012’.
I first noticed gyno at about 14 years old, I was very skinny up until about 12 then went slightly chubby then got gyno which stayed with me since.
It never majorly affected my confidence, I was still generally very outgoing and confident. However, there were times when it would affect me like going on holiday etc. And it would do my head in, also when wearing tight t shirts etc.
I've been going the gym on and off for about 8 yrs or so now. My body shape has changed many times over the years depending on what training I was doing / if I was training. Last year I was 17.5 stone with 18.5" arms and fairly lean, but still had the gyno. I've been down to 14 stone with less muscle and still lean, with my chest looking pretty much the same. January 2012 I stopped training for seven months, eating poorly, lost about a stone of muscle and put about 2 stone of fat on, and to make it worse, when I started training again, I broke a bone so was out for 2 months, then got another injury shortly after that. I’m currently not in good shape but can easily lose weight and get my muscle memory back, if I stay injury free I find it easy to bulk up or lose weight as long as I’m motivated. I still decided to have the op as this was the best time for me, I will get lean in the following months.
NHS:
In 2006/7, I went to my GP and explained about the gyno, he put me through to a plasticesurgeon at the local hospital, about nine months later I finally got a consultation. After much research, I knew there was gland under there, the surgeon said it was just fat, I asked for a second opinion, he left the room I could hear him shouting at the nurse basically calling me cheeky for asking for a second opinion, the nurse came in and said that’s fine but would take another 9 months to see someone else. I decided to trust the surgeon and have the op, lipo only.
That was a mistake, he basically did nothing, very little difference after the op and I didn;t get a letter for the post op consultation?! I just left it at that. This has left me some scar tissue and made my next op a lot more difficult.
Steroids:
I have taken steroids on and off, and am fairly clued up on them, always had tamoxfien and letro on hand if needed and I know how my body reacts to most steroids. I found they haven’t had a major effect on the gyno, the only one that actually did was Anapalon (Nap 50's), which ironically is a steroid that doesn’t aromatise. These nearly instantly gave me itchy nipples and the nipples puffed out even more. I doubt I would take steroids again but I just thought I would mention them to give the full story.
Karadis Consultation:
In 2009 I decided to go and see Karadis for a consultation, I wasn't overly impressed with his attitude but I knew from here he was good. I went to apply for the loan, but about a month earlier I had received my only default on my credit rating, which has affected my credit rating since. So, no op for me at this point which was pretty dis heartening.
I still went on holidays and enjoyed my life but always wished this problem would be sorted.
Poland 2012:
I ended up getting a new job, and my salary almost doubled, this was out of the blue, but I decided now I would get the op done, I had seen Katarzynas work and was impressed, slightly worried about scarring and the drains and the fact it was in Poland etc. But I made my mind up to go, I wanted it done ASAP and did not want to take extra time off work for it plus I think she had a better chance of getting my chest completely flat.
After several emails with Jermey (sometimes waiting days for a reply), I booked my flights, he booked my hotel and transfers (Hotel Atrium). The cost was slightly more as it was a revision after the NHS attempt. So it cost £1710 for the operation.
As it was over the Xmas period, the flights were slightly more expesnsive too, all in all including accommodation and spends and one night in Berlin two days before the op, I think came to £2700 ish. If I dont work, I dont get paid and I couldnt work over Xmas, so if I went later in year, would have to take a week off and would cost me even more.
Berlin was amazing, will defo go back again, too much to see and do in two days / 1 night.
Szcezcin is generally quite grey and a bit gloomy, but parts of it are good, like the castle and shopping centres. Definitely an experience.
I hadn't actually prepared myself to have the op in a strange country and I will be honest on the morning of the op, after Jeremy took me to a blood clinic in a dodgy looking part of town, I panicked, I thought about what I was doing for the first time and I nearly bottled it. I had the ultrasound later on and a good chat with Jeremy, I was a bit more at ease. I went for the op about 3 p.m, had a chat with the surgeon, she went through all of the risks and I was still sh*tting myself at this point.
I remember waking up after the op and talking to the nurse and the surgeon briefly I then slept most of the night / next morning. I seen Katarzyna about 11:00 a.m, she had a look at me and was very pleased, as was I, my chest was very flat, she had earlier thought there was some indentation as the NHS surgeon, sucked the fat from under the gland, meaning when she cut it out, it was behind the rest of my chest, but I could barely notice at all and when standing up she was very happy with the results.
She bandaged me up and sent me off. I went back to the hotel and lazed around until 8 p.m, then went for a nice meal at somewhere called Bachus, with my girlfriend.
This morning two days after the op, I had a little look under the bandage and thought one of my nipple was off colour, I was anxious it might be dying, so rang Katryzna up, she opened the surgery especially, and was not very happy with me, as the nipple was perfectly fine and aparently the skin will change back to normal very soon. I got a bit of a telling off as I wasn;t meant to look at it at all until tomorrow morning. She said she doesn’t need to see me again as it is healing very nicely and she is made up with the results.
I fly back tomorrow, I will post some pre and post pics then. I have some slight swelling already so might not be as flat as the day after the op, but she said it was perfectly normal at this time.
All in all, I am happy with my decision, I can’t wait for the healing process to be over and enjoy my life without worrying about my chest.
I will lose 2 stone over the next three - four months and hopefully my chest will be looking good for the first time in nearly fifteen years. Its good to see my pecs for the first time aswell haha.
I think the after care with -- is better than the U.K, you are not just a number, she will see you when necessary, and you can ring her at any time, from my consultation in the U.K, I got the impression this wouldn’t be the case. Just make sure you obey her orders or you'll be in for a b*llocking!!!
If you decide to go with --, prepare yourself first, as it is very different to the U.K and can be quite daunting, the country is very different from the U.K and not too many peolle speak English. When you think of all the things that could go wrong it is scary, but apparently their health system is very good and with -- you really are getting an expert at these ops.
It was definitely worth the money, I couldn't justify spending £5000 and a week off work which is also very costly, for the op in the U.K. Especially as due to the NHS attempt, I wasn't confident they would get it completely flat. If money isn;t an issue and its your first op, then the U.K is less worrying, but for me London might aswell be a foreign country, the surgeon is foreign and the healthcare isn't exactly great down there. but for me Poland and -- were the best option and thankfully it has worked out well. So far anyways, I will post up progress tomorrow and again in a few weeks. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Topic: My Story - Poland 2012 (Read 5235 times)
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