My diary...

[IT100]

18 week post op update!

Went and had my post op check up with Levick yesterday, He confirmed that everything is fine and says that I am actually healing faster than should be expected, reckons the fact that I am quite active and have been doing a lot of swimming is helping this. Apparently over the next 6 months or so, all swelling should disapear too but that I should help it along with regular massage. Nice one!
He said that a good way to tell when you have finished healing is when the scars on the outside have faded right down, which apparently they should do then thats when everythings finished healing inside!
I got my pre op photos back too, (God I'm glad I had it done!) so I'll get them scanned in to my pc hopefully tonight and will post some before and after pics. (Finally!)
Basically left it that theres no need to come back but call him with any questions or concerns that I have and let him know in 6 months time if everythings ok.
I made sure I let him know how gratefull I was and how much its changed my life and confidence etc! He seemed pleased!

Ok, so let me see what I can do about those photos...!

Ian

[uk2000]

hey thats great news, have u posted yr pics up anywhere?
also i wanted to ask would u say yr chest is as flat as u would liked it to have been??

[IT100]

Hi, thanks! No no pics up yet, I need to get my pre op photos scanned in somewhere and get someone to take some post op pics. But I should have them up in the near future...

My chest i think when all the healing is finished will look as perfect as it can be! By this i mean that there is a small patch of swelling just below the pec on the right hand side that sometimes is noticeable. Levick says that this should disapear over time (up to a year after the op but I have to massage it to help it on its way) Apart from this all I would have to do is increase the amount of bench pressing I do to get the perfect chest! Both nipples are perfectly flat against the undelying muscle. So my chest has a perfectly contourned look around the muscle in my chest. Theres basically near 0 % fat in that area.. but just enough so it doesn't look odd in any way.
I can honestly now say its one of my favourite parts of my body rather than the part of my body I loathed! The scars are still noticeable, more on one side that the other, but they are right up by my armpit... I don't worry about them at all, don't even see / look at them most of the time. Again levick says they should fade to practically nothing. I have no qualms about anyone seeing or looking at my chest, love the way my chest looks in tight t-shirts and basically am happy all round. Levick is the man!

Hope that answers your question!

Ian

[uk2000]

excellent stuff, im wondering whether i should have gone and seen levick as my results are not looking to good with grobbellar at the moment.  im convinced he didnt take enough out.  he also did mention to me at one point he doesnt like to take to much out to avoid a indent look.
just over 3 weeks post op and my chest looks more or less the same as before even when i wear t shirts over the top.

[IT100]

Well I wouldn't worry too much yet, I went through such an emotional rollercoaster with the recovery... it takes up to a year to really recover from it, and certainly after 3 weeks I wasn't very happy with how my chest looked. Although mine looked too flat if anything... But you might just be really swollen. Your surgeon has a good reputation... so just see how it goes...

[IT100]

Hey, Thought it was about time I checked in with the diary! So here it is, my 30 week (Basically 7 months) update!

Basically everythings ok. I still have swelling just below my right peck and a little bit just to the side of the right nipple which you can't see but can feel. All looks good though, and still very pleased with my chest. No pain or tightness at all. And all activities, heavy weights etc, absolutely fine as would be expected at 7 months!

Been working quite hard on the body last few months and for the first time in many many years (maybe all of them?!) I am genuinely happy, and even proud about how I look with no top on! I have lost nearly a stone in weight since the op and have been hitting the weights recently too! An ex girlfriend came round for dinner the other day, and when she got there I was still shaving, so shes sitting on the toilet watching me shave in just a towel.... "Why didn't you look like that when we were together?" She asked enviously! You could see she was havig a good gawp! This made me feel great! It's times like that, that make it so worth the £3500! I am now dieting to get rid of the last few pounds and get that elusive 6 pack... I don't know if I'll get it or not... but would love to acheive it so that I can get old and fat knowing that once, I had the body of my (realistic) dreams! Something that without Mr Levick's help would never of happened! So anyone thats umming and arring over surgery, as I was 9 months ago... Do it! Best decision you will ever make! And now, the recovery period seems so so short! Its truely worth it!

Hope everyone else that was getting surgery with Levick around the time I was is also pleased with their results and alls good with them too!

Ian

[Ste]

IT

Hope you don't mind me posting in your diary.

Good to hear your happy with the results.

Mainly due to your (this) diary and Guy_J's, sorted.now's etc I have booked a date for surgery with Mr Levick. Just wanna say thanks to you and the other guys for taking the trouble to post your diaries.

You're gonna have one hell of a Xmas/NYE. Enjoy it. You deserve it.

Respect.

Ste

[IT100]

Hey Ste

Of course, no problem! I sometimes wonder whether I'm the only one that reads 'My diary'! and its good to see that its doing what it was designed to do!

My first post back in January 2004... the last sentance reads....

"Thanks everyone who has done this sort of thing before me... its helped a lot and I want to 'pay it forward'!"

So in that sense... seems I have succeeded!

I thought about your christmas and new year thing... To be honest, its amazing how quickly the whole having a new chest thing becomes a non issue. Like, I don't think, Great my first new year without a breast! Its just who I am now. Although some things do make you really appreciate it, but you have to think back to how you felt before. Like walking around in my shared house with just a towel wrapped around my waist... non issue. Getting your top off on the beach... non issue. Wearing whatever top you want... non issue. Although always in the background, it is an issue, because it's a non issue if you see what I mean?! It's very liberating. Last few times I have walked around without a top on in front of girls that are friends... but don't see me topless all that often, they are like... Ian... grrrr!! Looking good! Thats a great feeling, knowing what I have come through. I don't think you can truely appreciate that unless you have been in the situation  where you were ashamed of your body and hid it away for a few years. For whatever reason. It makes you do strange things too... Like now, some of my T- shirts are just a little bit too tight for my liking... in a fashion sense... but you know what.. I wear them.. because now I can! And at the pool... I stand up in the water at the shallow end... because I can! I push my chest out and walk super tall and super confident across a room with lots of people in it, because I can! It's great! It's hard to explain, but you will see! It's a rollercoaster of emotions though... You hit some lows... where you think its all been messed up and then some highs when you realise its all gonna be great! I would say about 2 months after the op... Thats when I was on my biggest high, cause its so fresh in your mind what it was like before! If Mr Levick had walked past then... I would of given him a snog, probably with tongues! And I'm straight! But after a while... you just get used to it!

Why not start your own diary... its good to read though it... and you can see your own progress plus it helps out others... as you know!

Good luck! I'm sure all will be fine!

Ian

[headheldhigh01]

posts like that make diaries worth reading, ian, thanks for scribbling it up  

[oscar]

Im booked - 2nd December, DJ Levick in the house.

Fine at the moment, but no doubt ill be cacking it in a month..!!!

Just to say cheers to everyone for such good diary postings; its nice to know what to expect

PS I love women with birmingham accents, where these nurses at!

[IT100]

lol

You get about 100 nurses come in to your room (Not all at once though!) Although I have to say there is a wide range of nationalities... I don't think many of them come from Birmingham! There was a really lovely one called Louise I think... and a damn scary Hungarian one who laughed at me when she ripped the plaster off my hand that was holding in the drip! And another one that had absolutely no sympathy for me... I found out that the most comfortable place to lie was off my pillows completely so my legs were off the end of the bed, practically touching the floor! She said, "C'mon, your making the room look a mess!" And grabbed one arm and dragged me up the bed! "Owww Owwww Owww Owww!!! I'll do it myself I'll do it myself!!!!" "Men!" She said! "We women, have to have babies! And we don't moan that much!"

Ahh, happy days!!

Ian

[Jacob-Rb]

Hey IT

I just wanted to say that i really appreciate the fact you posted such a comprehensive diary. From yours and many other posts im booked in with Levick on the 8th Dec. Thanks to you i now know what to expect, not sure if i would have booked if i hadnt read your post. I originally had a consultation with Bermant but having spent months reviewing previous patients of Bermant (and others) i feel that he doesnt take enough out. This would really be a problem for me as im quite trim so i booked Levick instead. Thanks again for taking the time to give us your experience, i hope you have found that new lease of life we are all looking for.

Jacob

[IT100]

Hey, It's my (pause as I count the weeks!) 45-week update! (That’s not far off a year!)

Well, what can I say. All the lumps and bumps are... slowly disappearing... and my chest looks more and more 'finished' every month! It gets 95% there within a couple of months and the last 5% seems to take forever! My nipples now have most of their sensitivity back and I would say the appearance of my chest is pretty much symmetrical and even. Easily enough for me to be very happy with! All’s good! Never a problem to be seen without my top on, strangers, friends, girlfriends... all a non-issue. I prefer my chest to my stomach now! lol

I mainly thought I would update this diary to bring it back to the top of the boards again. I notice there are a few guys booked in with Levick in February and I believe this to be the most comprehensive learning resource on surgery with Levick you can get!! (I must be bored at work or something!) So if you like, read through, and it should tell you what to expect! Most guys who have had surgery with Levick seem to agree with my version of events too!

Good luck guys, by April you should all be looking forward to the summer sun!!

Ian

[RRB]

IT100

Thanks for bringing this post back to the top.  I have read it before, but re-reading it now kinda with all the things you do now as opposed to what you didnt do having breasts makes the expensive £3655 fee seem inexpensive if you know what i mean.  Im just so excited that having to wait another 3 weeks to get this done is driving me crazy.

Many thanks to you and everyone else on this board, i can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Chorlton]

IT100,

Where are your pics posted?