Counting Down the Hours

[yekop]

I discovered this site about six months ago and have finally come up with the courage to face this problem (gyne).  After much research and going in for a consultation last week, I have paid for my surgery and will be having it in six short days on October 20th.

I will be having lip and excision of the chest (moobs), as well as liposuction of the abdomen, waist, and back.

Here is an update of my experience so far:

3-4 weeks ago:  called the PS to schedule the consultation.  I work in a cubicle type environment where my calls can be heard by others so I had to make the call from my cellphone sitting  in my car during a coffee break.  My heart was pounding with nervousness when i called to schedule the appointment.

Last week:  Called in sick and drove several hours for my consultation.  After meeting with surgeron I finalized my decision to go ahead with the operation - I have been researching the surgery for months but I tend to suffer from "analysis paralysis".  I knew I wanted the surgery but I stalled all summer with just getting the process started by calling a plastic surgeron.

This week:  the week seems to by flying by and I am spending quite a bit of time thinking about the surgery.  I feel incredibly excited, nervous, and a little scared all at the same time.  I had my first dream (nightmare?) about the surgery last nite - i dreamt that my surgery was this morning and  I had forgotten about it and eaten/drank water within the 8 hour limit and not set the alarm clock early enough to make the 3 hour drive.

Sorry this has been such a long rant.  I have never discussed this issue with anyone and am hoping to keep the surgery a complete secret from everyone I know.

A few questions for those who have gone through the experience:

Any comments about recovery/pain/etc., particular from those who have had the gyne as well as abdomen liposuction performed at the same time?  I am hoping to go  back to work the Monday following the surgery (which is next Thursday).  

For those who have gone back to work within a few days, have co-workers noticed you looking pained/walking slowly/etc.?  

Realistically, what are my odds of being able to keep this a secret?  I plan on "getting sick" next week which will buy me a few days of sleeping and not being seen.

Sorry for all the questions and thank you to this website.

I am planning on posting some before and after pictures when I have the operation.

[Grandpa Bambu]

A few questions for those who have gone through the experience:

Any comments about recovery/pain/etc., particular from those who have had the gyne as well as abdomen liposuction performed at the same time?  I am hoping to go  back to work the Monday following the surgery (which is next Thursday).  

For those who have gone back to work within a few days, have co-workers noticed you looking pained/walking slowly/etc.?  

Realistically, what are my odds of being able to keep this a secret?  I plan on "getting sick" next week which will buy me a few days of sleeping and not being seen.

Sorry for all the questions and thank you to this website.

I am planning on posting some before and after pictures when I have the operation.

yekop....

Welcome Dude!

Usually, with Gynecomastic reduction surgery you can return to work within a few days following the proceedure if you have a desk job. If you have a job that requires you to be physically active, then you would have to wait at least two weeks before returning to work.

However, you say that you are having a tummy tuck at the  same time. A member of this Site had Gyne reduction and a tummy tuck and he said that the Gyne proceedure was a 'walk in the park' compared to the Absuction. He said that the Absuction recovery hurt like a MoFo! You might have to be on some serious meds if you plan on returning to work on your 4th day post-op.

Dude, people will notice that something is different about you. You won't be moving the same and you will have bandages/dressings covering the surgery sites. You will not be able to keep your surgery a secret unless you hide away or go on vacay for about a month.

You are about to embark on an emotional and phyisical rollercoaster ride. Don't worry tho, we are here to help you every step of the way!  

Yes, please post some pics if you would.

Once again, welcome and good luck Broh!  


John.

[Achilles]

The only people who know about me getting this is my immediate family, no one else.  My plan is just to tel them that I pulled a muscle in my chest while working out and that my recovery is slow, somwhere along these lines.  It'll also be in the middle of winter when I get it done so it will be easy to hide with the layers of clothing one would typically wear in that time.  I think it would be pretty ard to hide it from the family, but not so bad from everyone else.  Some people have managed to hide it from their families, so they may be able to give you some tips, if they reply to your thread, or if you can manage to find the messages on this site.

[Grandpa Bambu]

It'll also be in the middle of winter when I get it done so it will be easy to hide with the layers of clothing one would typically wear in that time.  I think it would be pretty ard to hide it from the family, but not so bad from everyone else.

Achilles...

yekop mentioned that he 'works in a cubicle type environment'. That, to me, sounds like an 'office' environment. When you work in an 'office environment', you can't wear 'layers of clothing' at work. Office attire is usually a dress shirt/tie and dress pants. You would not be able to hide the tensors/bandages with office attire.

If yekop were to be having Gyne reduction surgery alone, it would be easy to pass it off as a strained/pulled chest muscle. However, he is having a Gynecomastic reduction, Absuction, Waistsuction and Backsuction. How will he be able to explain all the tensors/bandages? Also, with all that Lipo, yekop will be very sore. He will not be moving around in a normal fasion...
Anyways, I really don't see the point of all the secrecy. We have this surgery to make ourselves look better and to rid ourselves of the psychological BS that goes along with Gynecomastia. Would we be embarrassed to say that we joined a Gym to improve our physique? Of course not!


John.

[Achilles]

I guess I wasn't taking the other stuff besides the gyne into account.  But I work in an office environment also, in the government, and there isn't really a dress code, so I'll be able to cover up by wearing sweatshirts.

And while I don't think that this is something you should hide from your immediate family, I don't think it's a problem hiding it from everyone else.  A lot of us have been embarassed by this condition for years, so letting others know about it is a very uncomfortable thing for me, even with my closest friends, it's just something that I don't think everyone needs to know about, it's a private issue.  There's a difference between letting people know that you're joining a gym and letting them know about surgery, a lot of people wouldn't understand that surgery is the only way.  To each his own!

[spaceface]

YEKOP

You might want to consider going back to work a few days later especially if you're doing more than just gyne.  Also if you can find someone to trust that can help you out for a a couple of days post-op, that would be best.  It's very difficult to manage on your own the first day or two post op.  Also, I've found that the bad back excuse is a good one, since people with back problems sometime wear a binder to stabilize them and they move very cautiously and carefully so as not to pull a muscle or something.   Much the way you'll most likely behave post op.

Good luck with everything

Thoughts and prayers are with you

[yekop]

Thank you all for responding .... In reading the responses so far I am realizing that my decision to go back to work will have to be made depending on how I feel next Monday morning.  I will decide based on the level of pain/discomfort/mobility.  If i have to take a few extra days then I will do it.

I am still almost certain I will try to keep the specific nature of my procedure a secret from everyone.  I do not feel it is anyone at works business and I will not be seeing my immediate family until Thanksgiving so they will not notice the preliminary recovery.

I am confident that I will be able to find a friend to lend a hand if necessary when I suddenly "get sick/hurt".  

65 hours until the operation!!!  

[spaceface]

Good Luck
Everything will go just fine.  You'll be Gyne free in no time.
Let us know how everything goes.

[yekop]

12 hours until the surgery.  This all still feels so surreal - I'm not sure if the reality of it has set in yet.

Right now I am feeling a strange calmness.  I am both excited and nervous, but not as nervous as I feel I should be.

I just finished my "Last Supper" a few minutes ago and will begin fasting.  I am packing right now and preparing to leave shortly.  I will be spending tonight in a hotel resting for the surgery and Thursday and Friday night recovering before venturing home to explain why I am in such pain.

Gyne has had a strong impact on my life since I was 13 years old and tommorrow is one more step in the process of defeating this horrible "cosmetic" problem.  I just cracked a smile thinking about it.

I will post an update on my recovery and hopefully some pics when I return home on Saturday.  

[yekop]

Hello everyone, here is an update on my recovery from gyne removal (excision and lipo) and lipo of the stomach, waist, and abdomen:

Day 1: Day of Surgery
Arrived at the doctors at 7:30 am.  The doctor took a bunch of pictures and drew all over me - a very unusual feeling to say the least!  I then went into the operating room and the anesthesiologist hooked me up to the tubes and said he would be starting with a little sedative and that they were doing my back first so I should lie on my stomach.  The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room aroun 11ish.  I was a little sore but nothing too bad.   I had to go to the bathroom several times in the first hour after I woke up - the nurse said this was from the all the fluids in the iv.

I had some apple juice, soup, and crackrs and rested in the waiting room until 3pm.  The pain was not bad all, the dizziness/nausea from being under was the wost part.

Nurse drove me to the hotel and I felt pretty good - I watched TV and rested the entire day and night.  Tried to eat but didnt have much of an appetite.  

The pain is surprisingly not bad at all.  I only took 1 painkiller around 5am when I woke up to use the bathroom.  The worst pain is definetly the back, the chest gyne pain is non-existent and the abdoment waist is a pinch sore.

Day 2

Wake up around 8am to go to the bathroom and feel liquid flowing down my thighs and my groin - it is the fluid leaking from my abdomen area.  The fluid is dark red like fruit punch.  I go to the doctors at 9am and have the dressings changed.  The doctor said the surgery went very well and he seemed very excited and kept saying that it is going to look fantastic when it heals.

My main soreness today comes from getting up or sitting down.  I feel pretty damn good and dont take any painkillers today (just some tylenol)  I went to a restaruant for lunch/dinner but could only eat about 1/2 the meal, my appetite is still not normal.

Day 3
Woke up this morning and went to the bathroom and my genitilia is bruised and purple colored.  The doctors materials said this is fariy common after abdomen liposuction but it is still a little scary to see.  I hope (pray) this brusing there goes away soon.  I drove home this morning from my hotel stay and I am a little sore after the 3 hour drive.

I have still taken only 1 painkiller and I'm over 56 hours post op!!  The pain is nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.  My thighs have grown swelled purple love handles on them, and, like I said before, my groin has some brusing.  Other than that I feel fantastic.  I can walk and move around perfectly.  It is only noticable when i get up or sit down from a chair it takes me a while .  If i stay like this I will have no problem going to work on Monday and keeping this a secret.

Pics to follow later this week.

[yekop]

Day 4 Update
Woke up around 6am this morning and my back was somewhat sore ... i took my second pain killer so far to help me get back to sleep for a few hours.

Woke up for the day around 10am.  Basically no body pain whatsoever.  I was able to move around the house and sit up and down without it looking abnormal at all.  I was around people all day and nobody had any idea that I just had surgery!!  

I really would enjoy a nice, long shower right now.  The sponge bath thing is not very refreshing.

I peaked below the bandages today and their doesnt seem to be any gyne!!  I cant wait to actually see it.  

I have some slight swelling in my abodmen, waist, and back and my body is a combination of yellowish, pinkish, and purplish colors.

My groin and thighs are stilled bruised a deep purple color.

[yekop]

Days 5 and 6

Nothing much to report.  Essentially no pain during the day, my back is a little sore when I first wake up in the morning.

My body is bruised pretty badly with different colors.

Peaked at my chest again today and realized that I actually have nipples again.  Its a good feeling, I had been so used to the nipples being like marshmallows down there because of the gyne.  No more puffiness!!

[shiver]

hey..i've been monitoring your diary in particular because it sounds like we had the same procedures and are experiencing the same type of recovery events. i had my surgery 3 days before yours and decided to take 2 weeks off to get my recovery in and take a relaxing vacation before returning to work. keep posting

[yekop]

Day 7
Doctor removed the stitches and took the ace bandage and pads off and I must say my chest is flat.  No more moobs and no more spare tire.  Will be going back in two weeeks - hopefully he will take pics then.

Day 8
Nothing much happenning.  Body is still fairly bruised but the bruise colors are lightening (from dark purples and reds to lighter colored purples and reds)

Day 9
Same as day 8.  The compression garment for my abdomen is begginning to be bothersome (starting to shift and scrunch up and cause itching)   I havent had any pain for the last day or two.

Shiver, how is your recovery going?

[shiver]

like you, i had my stiches removed one week from surgery and i didn't have to wear pads anymore. My next appt is in 2 weeks - i also figure that is when my ps will take post-op photos. In the meantime, i've been wearing a unitard garment for the last 2 weeks. that's probably been the hardest part for me as it doesn't allow me to get a good night's sleep. after about 3/4 hours on my back, my midsection feels very constricted and i need to get up. at least, that's how it has been for the past several days with the recent exception of last night.

today is day 11 and i'd say that the swelling has gone done considerably since day 8 (1 week follow up appt). my muscles are no longer sore, bruising has gone done a lot, and my range of motion is almost as it was the day before the surgery. like you, i noticed a lot of itching within my garment so i've done a couple of things - i've shaved my abdomen area. i know that it may feel itchy as the hair grows back but i was finding that my hair was being pulled and that worse than itching so i shaved. secondly, i make sure that when i take a shower, i spend an extra amount of time out of the garment. i'd say that i'm out of the garment about an hour a day. this seems to help my sanity.

overall, my recovery has made a lot of progress over the past 2 days and i'll definitely be ready to go back to work on monday..maybe tuesday. fortunately, i'm in the type of industry that i can make my own schedule so it wasn't difficult for me to plan out recovery time. also, before surgery, i used to workout 5/6 days a week and not being able to workout is driving me crazy. i don't want to risk going to the gym and ruining the work that my ps did. in about a week, i should be able to do a few toning exercises but cardio and more intense workouts need to wait for the 6th week.

shiver