how fortunate are those?

[reaper33]

how fortunate are those people who dont have to put up with gynecomastia, in many ways it can very well be compared to HIV, its not as fatal as HIV but it will definitely give you a life thats worse than death, plus its taboo, has no sure shot cure either, not having any medications for this shit wasn't any bad, that now surgeries are in doubt as well, having read a lot of testimonials on this site, i honestly think that more people are unhappy with their post surgery results compared to the ones that are, and there is a good chance of recurrence as well, people say that gynecomastia is a common  in men and very widespread, so why dont they do anything about this, tons of scientists spend time in the amazon basin rich with plant species known to have healing powers, but they just look for AIDS and cancer cures, and let these surgeons cash in all the money. i may sound a little pessimistic but having to deal with this shit for last two years, it has seriously destroyed my both personal and professional life, i dont have a social life, constantly hide myself with layers of clothing, people think im a freak, ive had people ask me why do you wear the same outfits all the time, girls approach me but i turn them down knowing that they wont find me attractive after knowing that i have gyne, i was never an obese person, i was very athletic, infact i was the sports captain in school, i was lifting weights when gyne kicked in i was 19, im 21 now, i dint use any steroids either, its probably due to hormonal changes, but im pretty good downstairs. i finally convinced myself for the surgery, but having read so many bad stories on this site, it had thrown me back, and i feel there is no real cure for this disease, this is not a post about questions, im just sharing my experience with you guys, as i cant talk about it with my friends, i hope you guys have had similar experiences, i would appreciate if u wanna share your thoughts. thank you.

[Exile]

Find a good surgeon, ask to speak to former patients, see photos of his work. And go for it. Your 21 and it sounds like in good health and body weight. Don't spend your life sitting in a shirt by the pool or looking at a girl and never going for it.
I'm 36, have had mild gyno for most of my life and am not bashing you, but i've been Living with HIV for over 9 years now. For a long time i always let the issue of money hold me back. Now the HIV has made the gyno much worse.
I'm finally at a point where it's deal with the gyno or give in the the depression of it and let it control my life. And i'm looking at hitting at least 60 before cashing in. 30 more years of not going to the beach or taking off my shirt when out dancing. You know, i'm more afraid of dying cause of the gyno than the HIV. The HIV can be managed but the gyno will kill the spirit and that is worse than any disease.
I hope hearing this will help you. 
So go for it. Find the surgeon and do it.

[Mr_Nip]

...It's been my experience, that people notice the moobs, no matter how much you cover them up. Try NOT turning the gals away a couple times, you might be surprised 

So true... So true.  

[reaper33]

i totally agree with what you said exile, the fact that gyno kills the spirit of the man, which i worse than any other disease, thats the message i was trying to send, i may have chosen wrong set of words, but the only reason i compared gyno to HIV is that the kinda life that gyno victims live is much like death, of course AIDS is fatal and the single biggest evil in our living world. but what gyno does to a person psychologically is beyond measure, im not trying to compare my pain to anyone else's, and i apologize if i unknowingly offended anybody, like the mate said there are a lot of people who've been living with gyno for 20 or 30 years, some had it since early childhood, but dont count us out just because we had it for only two years, its equally painful for us too, i literally feel like an alien, i feel left out, inferior to everyone else. this has given a big blow to my self confidence, if my thinking is somewhat different from you guys then maybe i got issues, but i respect you guys for having such an optimistic and positive approach towards everything. its just not easy for me, and exile man you are a real fighter i admire what you are doing, and i hope you get all the happiness you deserve, and yes i am looking for surgeons, but there aren't many in Chicago, if anyone knows any good plastic surgeons in Chicago please let me know, peaceout guys

[theambushparty]

you cant give up hope.
period.

[headheldhigh01]

strongly disagree. AIDS "Will" kill you, gyne won't

there's dead dead and then there's living dead.  i believe in fighting back and always will, but death is not the worst thing that can happen in this world, thank goodness for the board.  and we're not always the only victims; i believe my gyne was in a way the cause for somebody i know who did die. 

Um yeah, because AIDS and cancer kill people. Good people. People who don't deserve to die  .

true, but on a per capita basis compared to other major killers they're almost overfunded; some of that money could be spent effectively elsewhere too, one of which fittingly is teen suicide.  and you wouldn't want them ignored, but i can't help wondering what kind of difference only a few ten or hundred thousand into instructing pe educators about gyne, a pittance of the aids/cancer money, could make.   may not happen soon, but seems like it should. 

[Hypo-is-here]

To be fair a direct comparison between gynecomastia and many life threatening conditions, in terms of which one is worse smacks of bias having never experienced the latter.

I can say that Gynecomastia particularly if severe is miserable and socially debilitating, I can say that I had one cancer that was less debilitating due to a positive outcome. 

HOWEVER!

No one would choose cancer over gynecomastia, you just wouldn't, not so much for the pain that it brings as much for the fact that you cannot guarentee a positive outcome.

I have also had a different cancer to the one aforementioned which in all honesty defies comparison with gynecomastia, in fact comparing the two would be frankly laughable (bad taste).

I do not pick out cancer for any special reason, I mention it because I believe the point was about comparing gynecomastia to life threatening conditions and they are the ones I have had.

I would also say that gynecomastia is no where near as difficult to deal with as hypogonadism and certainly no more difficult to deal with than osteoporosis- equally bad in their own ways.

To make these kind of comparisons you have to have seen it from more than one perspective. 

I don't think that is to belittle this condition at all as it can be incredibly tough as we all known.