Older guy

[aloe]

Hi,  I'm new to this but definitely not new to the situation.  I am 56 and have had gynecomastia since I was about 12.  Needless to say, there were not a lot of options back then, and I was too embarrassed to talk about it to anyone, anyway.  My dad took me to a doctor, though, because he was worried about me.  The doctor said I was just chubby and put me on amphetamines.  I spent a month chewing ice cubes and lost a lot of weight, and also became anemic.  So much for that idea.  

I have just lived with it.  It hasn't stopped me from having a good relationship with my partner of 24 years.  It has stopped me, however, from feeling comfortable with my body.  (everything that everyone has said about not going shirtless, never wearing t-shirts, hunching over, wearing baggy clothes, pinching my nipples to make them shrink, etc. - I have done and still do it all)  So, to anyone who is young and feels tortured by having large breasts or nipples, I say YES to surgery!  Absolutely!  Go for it!  

As I said, I am still bothered by my chest - mostly it's my nipples which are exactly like half pingpong balls.  Now I have the money to have the surgery, but at this point in my life I question whether it's a good idea or worth it.  At my age I am not concerned with being "hot."  And I'm not in the market for sex.   I would like to feel comfortable with my body before I die, though.   I would like to know what that feels like.   But I am worried about scarring, and I am guessing that the body doesn't heal as well at my age as it would on a young person.  

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks!

[crow]

Hi,  I'm new to this but definitely not new to the situation.  I am 56 and have had gynecomastia since I was about 12.  Needless to say, there were not a lot of options back then, and I was too embarrassed to talk about it to anyone, anyway.  My dad took me to a doctor, though, because he was worried about me.  The doctor said I was just chubby and put me on amphetamines.  I spent a month chewing ice cubes and lost a lot of weight, and also became anemic.  So much for that idea.  

I have just lived with it.  It hasn't stopped me from having a good relationship with my partner of 24 years.  It has stopped me, however, from feeling comfortable with my body.  (everything that everyone has said about not going shirtless, never wearing t-shirts, hunching over, wearing baggy clothes, pinching my nipples to make them shrink, etc. - I have done and still do it all)  So, to anyone who is young and feels tortured by having large breasts or nipples, I say YES to surgery!  Absolutely!  Go for it!  

As I said, I am still bothered by my chest - mostly it's my nipples which are exactly like half pingpong balls.  Now I have the money to have the surgery, but at this point in my life I question whether it's a good idea or worth it.  At my age I am not concerned with being "hot."  And I'm not in the market for sex.   I would like to feel comfortable with my body before I die, though.   I would like to know what that feels like.   But I am worried about scarring, and I am guessing that the body doesn't heal as well at my age as it would on a young person.  

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks!

I hear u and u know I would go for it if u still feel that way as u are still suffering........Also the scaring wont be as bad as the pain your having now and to feel normal before u move on i undersdtand and I say YESA TO AN OP..........Of course are u helthy enough to have it?Also all of what u said is what i whent through and Im just a litle younger than u but u got ot do it soon as age will catch up and u will miss out on your dream...........

ALL THE BEST

[headheldhigh01]

welcome, aloe.  you want to check with an endo to make sure the hormones are stable enough to minimize risk of a recurrence, but no such thing as too late if it's important to you. sometimes think i had it bad not knowing what this was for a quarter century, and then i read a post like yours or this one, which just really grabbed me once.  see if it says anything to you.  
 

DanMaine
Newbie
*Operation Oct 27, 2003. Second one Oct 26, 2004
Posts: 38
Re: Gyne @ 41 Yrs...
« Reply #14 on: Dec 21st, 2004, 3:24pm »  
You have to do what is right for you.
I did what was right for me. Had mine removed because I hated them. Happy 58th birthday to myself.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

[aloe]

Thank you both for your replies.  I am not sure what you mean about hormones being stable.  Could you elaborate?  I guess hormones keep changing throughout one's life.  Anyway, thank you for the encouragement.  I think I am lacking in courage.  When something has caused you so much pain and shame for so long and you have learned to live with it, it becomes part of you and the idea of change is terrifying, even if the expectation is that it would be a change for the better.  

[crow]

Thank you both for your replies.  I am not sure what you mean about hormones being stable.  Could you elaborate?  I guess hormones keep changing throughout one's life.  Anyway, thank you for the encouragement.  I think I am lacking in courage.  When something has caused you so much pain and shame for so long and you have learned to live with it, it becomes part of you and the idea of change is terrifying, even if the expectation is that it would be a change for the better.  

If u can find a good Ps and u really want this then do for it as it is never to late.........U can do it, and you will live a good, long and happy life..........

All the best

[Grandpa Bambu]

aloe...

It's never 'too late' my man! If it bothers you, get'er fixed... You're still farily young. You're certainly not 'old'.

You have what.... another 25+ years left to live? That's a long time to live being tortured by Gynecomastia! I had surgery last year when I was 41. I'm 42 now and I cherrish each and every day being gyne free!

Why live the rest of your life in misery?

John.

[headheldhigh01]

Thank you both for your replies.  I am not sure what you mean about hormones being stable.  Could you elaborate?  I guess hormones keep changing throughout one's life.  Anyway, thank you for the encouragement.  I think I am lacking in courage.  When something has caused you so much pain and shame for so long and you have learned to live with it, it becomes part of you and the idea of change is terrifying, even if the expectation is that it would be a change for the better.  

gyne gets kicked in by abnormal t/e ratios, which usually go haywire for a while during puberty and sometimes in later years, so if you removed it when that was still going on there would be a small risk of recurrence.  

we all have to deal with courage.  in my case i'm not afraid of an op as such, i just have to get a lot of the rest of my act together.  but sometimes it's like the lion in the wizard of oz, it was there all along.  

[Tired]

I think you should get the operation. As they said before me, you still have a great part of your life ahead of you.

Scarring(if any) is a small price to pay in my book. The idea that you don't have to be self- conscious when you take your clothes off, i would assume is one of the greatest feelings a gyne sufferer can experience (and thats including sex for christs sake)  

Go for it my friend.