BDJ148, excellent story. I read the whole thing.
I too am in college. I have a question for you, man. Do people at school know you're getting the surgery? I would get the surgery too, but I honestly can't imagine the social consequences of people knowing about it. A lot of my friends are pricks and would be brutal about it, no doubt.
I told several people about it, but only people that I'm very, very close to. I'm in a fraternity, as previously mentioned, so if I told any of them about the surgery the social consequences would be huge. As of right now, in all of my social circles only 4 people know I had the surgery, and I wish I hadn't told one of them as much as I did. Thankfully, she's not the kind of person to make things awkward, and she's had problems with her self-esteem in terms of her body in the past so she understands.
But yeah. I found it very therapeutic to talk to people that I feel close to about it, and relate my horrible past to them. Really, there's nothing that feels better than a friend to talk to. Some of my friends came the day of my surgery and took care of me.
Just tell who you can trust, and don't tell anyone else.
I also noticed something kinda interesting about my gynecomastia. As soon as I posted here and told my parents, it did feel like a weight was lifted off of me. But on top of that, as time progressed and I began telling the people I was close to about my past, I began to feel like it wasn't as huge of a deal as I thought. I realized that I needed to have it done for myself, but through all of my conversing I began to understand that there are far more important things in life than worrying all day if someone is looking at my chest. I know it's hard to open up about something, but find someone to talk to. And talk about it as much as you need to. Once you take that step, your life will become whole levels beyond where it was.
edit: I'll also be posting my before/after shots later tonight once I get my camera software setup. If you guys are impressed with the results that I got from the surgery, I'll post my surgeon's contact info in the appropriate places and here.
I also want to say just how amazing it feels to put on a shirt that I wore before Thanksgiving and, even with the foam underneath the vest, it fits me. I need to go buy new clothes.
edit2: Post op pics here! I'll post them in the other forum too.