I'm getting sick of it. Gyno in the Military

[Kurby]

I have spent the past 15 years as a nervous wreck. I have pretty bad social anxiety which I am pretty sure is caused by gynecomastia. I avoid the beach and pools even though I love to swim and be in the ocean. I slouch all the time when I walk around and I sit hunched over which occasionally causes pretty bad back pain. I pretty much only wear white t-shirts with large print on the front of them even though I'd like to wear other stuff. I don't talk to my wife or anyone else about it, i know she wouldn't judge me, but I still can't do it.

I'm 25 and I'm active duty Army, which I have been for 7 years. Basic training was terrible because I never wanted to take my shirt off. I am to self conscious to go to the gym and exercise so my PT scores aren't very good. I run very inefficiently in order to try and hid my condition. Wearing armor, or a rucksack is pretty uncomfortable.

I recently found out that Tricare can cover corrective surgery, but anything I've found on the internet is pretty dated so I'm not sure they would still do it. Will a plastic surgeon accept Tricare? I'm in the St. Louis area, and I can drive to Chicago and Kansas City for surgery if I need to. Has anyone had any success getting Tricare to cover their surgery in this area? I won't be able to pay out of pocket for this.

[hammer]

If you want to get it done, do it before you get out as we've had several active duty people on the forum that have had it done by tricare, however the VA will not do it after you get out!

From what I understand you need to complain about how your body armor bothers it.

Good luck
Bob

[Kurby]

Is there a way to tell the difference between fat and fibrous breast tissue when feeling around?

[hammer]

Not really, it's only truly done with a mammogram or ultrasound. I've had two mammograms and one ultrasound done, between the U of MN and the Minneapolis VA.

I'm not sure how you would proceed forward, but I do know that tricare has covered others on the forum.

[Paa_Paw]

I was in the Air Force.  Basic Training started off badly until I realized I was not the only one.  Besides, there was one guy in particular that made a much better victim than the rest of us.  Oddly, he was not the one with the most developed breasts, but he was the one that made the best victim. 
After eight years in the Air Force as a Medic, I became a Police Officer. I remember well the day at the police academy when the Inspector pinned on my badge.  He spoke with an accent, He said: "Now ere's a lad wot displays his badge proudly."  Everyone laughed, even me. 
But all that was long ago.  Since then, Breast reduction surgery for men has become safe and effective.  In some cases, the military medical benefits will cover the cost.  It costs nothing to ask.