have questions and need to know what to do

[blustang05]

Hello I am 29 and in my opinion I have a pretty sever case of gynecomastia.  I have had a good sized chest since I was young. Growing up I was always a heavier kid. Truth be told it it created a huge mental handicap with my social life, even to this day.  I learned long ago it was easier to make fun of myself and laugh about it just to beat others to the punch.  Im still very unhappy with my appearance and it still causes me stress in social situations. I know I am not the only one here that has had these problems. 

Over the past year I have made a commitment to become more healthy.  I am 6ft 3in and am built pretty broad. A year ago I was 260lbs today I am at 230. As long as I keep building muscle mass my goal is 215.  I know I am still over weight but it seems like the more I workout and the more of my belly I loose, my breast look like they are getting larger. I know they arnt but thats the way I feel when i look in the mirror. I remember when I was younger trying to loose weight thinking "what if these dont go away?" and that is a huge reason why I never tried that hard at it and why I never took care to try and eat right or work to be healthy

Well I wanted to get that off my chest:)   Here are my questions

Do I just go to a Dr to see about getting this rolling or a specialist?  I don't go to a Dr but once every 2 years for a DOT physical so I don't really have a family dr.

I live about 30 miles south of Seattle.  Is there anyone in the area that anyone recommends?

I have pretty good insurance BCBS.  What is the procedure to find out if the insurance will pay.  I really cant afford to shell out 5-8k and I fear getting my hopes up and then having it all fall down like a house of cards on me. 

thanks for listening
Michael 

[EastCounty]

I personally didn't even bother asking my insurance about coverage for gynecomastia surgery. It seems in most cases they do not want to pay it. I have heard that if it is causing you physical discomfort insurance is more apt to cover your surgery, but if it's purely cosmetic they won't go near it.

Therefore, I went directly to a plastic surgeon.

So, yes, I had to pay $3000 out of my own pocket for the procedure. (I did this back in mid-October.) Luckily I was in a position where I could pay for this up-front.

Many plastic surgery practices can finance your procedure, but that, or course, depends on your credit. So, if your credit is good, you can get the procedure done without having to pay everything up-front, which can certainly be advantageous to those who don't have thousands of extra dollars lying around.

And finally, I know what you mean about working out your chest and it only gets worse. Remember, any fat and or glandular tissue you have on your chest is above the muscle; therefore, the bigger your muscle, the farther out everything on top of it will protrude. Before my surgery, I had a sizable amount of fat above each pec muscle. No matter how hard I worked out, be it chest exercises or cardio, nothing got rid of it. And surely, if I really wailed on my chest, it did indeed make the condition look worse as it pushed my fat farther out. An awfully frustrating situation, to be sure.

If you think you have good insurance, I suppose it's worth a shot to ask them about it, but DO NOT get your hopes up. So, if I were you, I'd go visit a few surgeons and see if any of them have financing options.

Best of luck to you, and I mean that very sincerely.

[Paa_Paw]

Without knowing the wording of your policy, I don't know how to advise you. Some policies require a referral from a primary care physician and others will allow you to self refer directly to a surgeon. Some policies will cover but most will not.

The previous response was good. But I'd start with a primary care Physician If I were you.

[blustang05]

Thanks guys for the responses.  I have to go in for a DOT physical monday so I will probably bring it up to him and see what he thinks.  Its the Dr my folks have gone to for years.  I think I went to him once maybe 4 years ago.  I guess we will see about getting the ball rolling.   I was thinking today that if nothing else I could borrow some money from my 401k, better to pay myself interest then then some finance company