COPY OF E-MAIL SENT TO ftaylor@geckoproductions.tvHi,
Re: your documentary about Gynecomastia.
Firstly may I applaud your idea of bringing this condition into the public eye. I’m sure you will have done your research on this subject and no doubt you will have read some of the posts on the website
www.gynecomastia.org so you will have an inkling of the effect that this condition has on males of all ages. You will be aware of the shame and intense embarrassment that sufferers feel, usually through no fault of their own, which differing circumstances have brought upon them. It is because of this that the job of finding willing volunteers to appear in such a documentary will probably be a very difficult one.
You will be aware that most sufferers develop this condition around puberty and for a very small percentage it doesn’t go away as they develop into adulthood. It is also common in older men (60+) as their hormonal balance shifts away from testosterone predominance.
I would hope that you are also aware that it can affect men outside of those age groups (20s through to 50s) for purely medical reasons such as liver disease, various cancers, and side effects of prescription drugs etc. Gynecomastia in these age groups can often be the first physical sign that something far more sinister may be wrong with their bodies.I was in my late 40s when I developed pain behind one nipple and later my breasts grew. Over the course of 3 years of embarrassing and sometimes painful medical investigations the NHS eventually drew a blank. I recently had surgery to remove them and I feel I have finally got my life back. The shame and embarrassment during those 3 years was immense. A few examples are:
• Sitting in breast clinics waiting to be seen as all the women looked at you (including the nurses) wondering what you were doing there.
• The red faced nurse who tried to give you a mammogram.
• The stupid joke of the Registrar who said you wouldn’t have to rely on your wife to breast feed any children.
• Changing the way you dress (dark colours and baggy clothes) to try to hide your chest.
• Changing the way you sit and stand (slouching with shoulders hunched) to try to hide your chest.
• Avoiding people who joke about your chest (strangely enough it was often women who were the worst).
• Sitting in hospitals as different doctors and medical students prodded and poked the chest (and all other parts of your anatomy) that you couldn’t bear to look at anymore.
• Hating the summer because you couldn’t take your shirt off or wear summer clothes because they showed the shape of your chest.
• Fighting the bureaucracy of the NHS trying to find someone who knew enough about male hormones to help you. It’s not a popular specialisation for Endocrinologists in the UK whereas female hormones are well mapped and understood. I ended up seeing a Harley Street specialist which currently costs me hundreds of pounds for each check up. Medication has to be added to that figure because my GP refuses to prescribe it.
• Trying to get surgery on the NHS, but being given the run around as it isn’t a life threatening condition (although it is ruining your life and turning you into a recluse). I ended up spending nearly £4000 to get it done privately.
I could go on, but if you have researched the subject well, you will already be aware of all of these things and many more. Add to the above examples, the natural anxieties of someone who is undergoing medical tests and examinations for some really nasty diseases, then you will get an idea of how things have been. During those 3 years only my girlfriend was aware of what was going on in my life. Hiding it from employers, friends and family became a sad obsession.
I’m afraid I cannot help you by going on camera and describing my experience, but if I can help in any other way, such as names of UK Endocrinologists and Surgeons who specialise in this condition, then please let me know. I post on the
www.gynecomastia.org site as “Time_to_fix_it” so you may be able to get a little more background about my situation from there if you think it might help.
I wish you all the very best in your endeavours and hope you make the documentary. If you do, please tell the public that this is a medical condition like many others. They wouldn’t laugh at someone whose hair falls out because of alopecia or someone whose skin goes yellow because of liver disease, so why laugh at men who grow breasts because their hormones have dropped out of balance.Thank you for listening to ramblings of a 50 year old man who still gets angry at the injustice of it all.
All the very best,
Topic: UK Documentary (Read 16588 times)
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