Gynecomastia Support Forum
General => User Photos => Topic started by: ManBoobahs321 on December 27, 2010, 05:01:25 PM
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I am 5'11 and 225 lbs. I will be 20 next month.
Ive had gynecomastia for as long as I can remember. I had a flat chest once. But that was back before the 2nd grade. lol
it sucks. Flat out. I played football in high school and would always get teased on.
would my case be average, severe?
(http://i52.tinypic.com/2a0e1w5.jpg)
(http://i55.tinypic.com/1z6q9c.jpg)
By the end of the spring semester (may) i would like to have atleast lost 30 lbs. I will bring up gynecomastia surgery to my father and it will explain to him that just losing weight will not fix it.
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(http://i53.tinypic.com/whxu1d.jpg)
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I would say you have an average case, mostly cause your a bit overweight.
If you lost 10 pounds and gained around 5 pounds of muscle your chest wouldnt sag as much and you'd just have puffy nipples thatd stick out a little.
Thats just my "2 cents" on what i've seen and experienced, maybe one of the docs would be of more help.
DONT think of surgery until youve exhausted your other options!
Mark
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Here's a way to find out an appropriate weight range. It's not perfect because it can't take every variable into consideration, but it at least gives you an indication of where you need to be.
http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/a/after_weight_loss/bmi_calculator.html
You do look like you could lose some weight around the middle, but being slightly overweight is definitely not the cause of your gynecomastia. Even with weight loss, your chest would not look the way a normal male chest is supposed to look. So the question is....what to do about it?
You could definitely benefit from gyne surgery and you need gyne surgery. Your areolas appear to be too big for a male and it appears that you need the usual combination of liposuction and glandular excision.
Choose a plastic surgeon with loads of experience at gyne surgery....preferably one who specializes in gyne surgery. The first gyne surgery presents the BEST opportunity to make your chest look the way you want it to look. So don't put too much emphasis on cost. Go with the best surgeon who has lots of good looking before/after results, because in all probability, that's what YOU are going to look like, too!
I think you'll be a much happier man after getting the surgery done. It's been bothering you and it's time to do something about it. The great news is....you can!
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Get a bodyfat scale.. weight numbers are useless without knowing your true body composition.
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Gosh ever since i posted these pictures, im always constantly thinking about my chest now. both of the breast feels like its on fire. the feeling in the breast just over emphasizes how i am always thinking about them. feels like every shirt doesnt fit. it sucks when its a windy day and the wind just blows on your shirt allowing everyone to see the way your shirt shows ur moobs.
gyne blows :(
Id like to talk to my father about this. how should i bring it up first?
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Surely your dad has heard of gynecomastia. It's a common thing. It's not your fault and it's nothing YOU did. If he doesn't fully understand it, maybe you could look around the site for some particularly good posts by the doctors here and print them out for your dad to read. Or just ask him to come to this site and read some posts in the "Ask a Doctor" forum. And there is plenty of good information about it on the internet. Find some of your favorite articles and print them out for your dad.
The doctors here have made it very clear that gyne is largely out of our control and not a condition that you can exercise away, etc. It can only be treated through surgery. Tell your dad that you don't want to go through your young adult years being embarrassed and afraid to even take your shirt off. He's a guy, so he can surely relate to what you're going through.
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I would have to agree with most of the comments here. I'm 31 ... have suffered from gynecomastia for roughly 15 years and just had my surgery about a week ago.
About your case: I'd suggest losing 35 or so lbs. and then reassessing your perspective. I think some of the volume can be remedied through weight loss, though it certainly could be the case that you will retain puffiness around the nipple area (in which case, surgery is a viable option). It's really a matter of getting to an optimal weight first and then deciding if the mass is tolerable or not. Sure, gynecomastia cannot be exercised away but you need to establish the extent that gynecomastia is contributive to your condition and not merely being overweight. The tell-tale sign that I needed surgery was when i dropped to about 10% body fat and still had breast protrusions.
if you do decide to get surgery, I think you're set up for success being that you're young and your skin probably has good elasticity. If it's merely fat around the nipple, the surgeon can make several incisions, lipo it away and do some feathering. If it's breast tissue that needs to be removed, that will require an incision around the nipples. It's not really painful in my humble opinion...you'll just be off your feet for 24-48 hours. I didn't use any painkillers post-op...
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About your case: I'd suggest losing 35 or so lbs. and then reassessing your perspective. I think some of the volume can be remedied through weight loss, though it certainly could be the case that you will retain puffiness around the nipple area (in which case, surgery is a viable option). It's really a matter of getting to an optimal weight first and then deciding if the mass is tolerable or not.
i can feel tissue behind the nipple. In all of my years of medical school (sarcasm) im pretty sure its the gland.
When i hunch over and the breast is free i can feel it. Its hard and its depth is atleast 2 inches. when i lay down on my back the nipple is pointed upwards. when i have both my arms up i can feel the tissue perfectly.
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Dear Man321
You appear in your photos to have a true case of gynecomastia, given that your nipple-areola diameter is large and both areolae are puffy. And on top of that you can feel firm tissue behind the nipples. The other posters are right - you'd do well to lose a fair amount of weight, but it looks like your problem won't go away without surgery. It looks like you'd need both lipo and tissue excision. The skin should contract nicely, given your young age.
Dr. Pope, MD
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I agree with many of the previous posters -- you should lose some weight but you will most likely still require gyne surgery. Best to do so at your lowest possible, stable weight.
I am sure Dr. Pope could do a great job for you!
Dr Jacobs
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I have a number of photos that I need to get on my website. I'm in the process of redesigning my entire website, and it's almost ready for launch. There will be more before and after photos on it too.
I look forward to meeting you in my office.
Dr. Pope, MD
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Great news! :)
So I assume he reacted better than you thought he would?
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Dude- your insurance is going to cover it! You're so lucky you're under the military tricare.
If you search around this site there are atleast a few threads of military members who brought their
concern to military doctors. They all had success in getting the surgery COMPLETELY covered.
Just because it says they won't cover it due to psychological issues, doesn't mean you won't be accepted.
My suggestion is go see a health specialist as well as a plastic surgeon.
They will feel and confirm that you have extra tissue.
You tell them you can feel it also and it is causing you a great deal of pain and discomfort.
They will be glad to write you up something legitimate that is within
the standards of your insurance coverage.
GREAT JOB MAN YOU GOT THIS!!!!!
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So today I saw an endocrinologist.... for about 3 minutes.
I waited an hour in an examination room for the Dr. to ask me 3 questions and say go up front to schedule another appointment.
Seriously 1 hour haha. Cant believe I missed a class for that.
Anyways, March 23rd is when I am hopefully going to get the tests done.
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So today I saw an endocrinologist.... for about 3 minutes.
I waited an hour in an examination room for the Dr. to ask me 3 questions and say go up front to schedule another appointment.
Seriously 1 hour haha. Cant believe I missed a class for that.
Anyways, March 23rd is when I am hopefully going to get the tests done.
I cannot imagine a competent first time gynecomastia endocrinology evaluation taking only 3 minutes. Perhaps follow up visits discussing test results and reasons for ordering additional testing might be that abbreviated.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, M.D.
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Specializing in Gynecomastia and Surgical Sculpture of the Male Chest
(804) 748-7737
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There was no evaluation. There was nothing. No tests or anything. She asked me if I shave, if i have morning erections, past medical history, and what Im here for. And then she said well schedule an appointment to do the tests. Biggest waste of time. :-\ However, I am staying strong Dr. Bermant. Im losing weight ;D Lost 12 lbs since I started dieting and im not stopping anytime soon
Thank you
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Congrats on the weight loss! Keep up the good work. I'm distressed to hear that your dad called my office and no one answered. If all of the phone lines are busy, the call should go directly to voicemail, and a staff member calls the patient back quickly. The office phone is 407-857-6261. Please ask your dad to try again. We're open M-Th 8:30 to 5, and Fridays 8:30 to 3.
And to answer your previous question, my office doesn't take insurance.
Dr. Pope, MD
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There was no evaluation. There was nothing. No tests or anything. She asked me if I shave, if i have morning erections, past medical history, and what Im here for. And then she said well schedule an appointment to do the tests. Biggest waste of time. :-\ However, I am staying strong Dr. Bermant. Im losing weight ;D Lost 12 lbs since I started dieting and im not stopping anytime soon
Thank you
Good for you! Keep up the good work. Remember the scale is not the only tool. Check this post about the importance of including body fat as a tool to measure your progress:
https://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=21613.msg146411;topicseen#msg146411
If fat converts the muscle, the scale will not change.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, M.D.
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Specializing in Gynecomastia and Surgical Sculpture of the Male Chest
(804) 748-7737
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I have low testosterone levels, in the 300 range.
Not surprised. I hardly shave lol
every few days
i do have plenty of muscle tho
anyways, i had an mri done to make sure nothing is stopping testosterone production. im waiting on the call to set up the next appointment with the endo to see the results. she also talked about putting me on testosterone
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Hopefully once your testosterone is balanced, and you've lost weight, your gyne surgery will be that much more successful that it would have been if you had just went it and had it. Good luck!
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today is Easter, all my co workers are playing beer pong at the beach.
today i plan on playing this new Mortal Kombat game all day
I just got a text from the hottest piece of a** at my work
saying
"Hey, Beach, go loser"
what am i supposed to say to that????
sry i cant because i have man boobs?
lol
Anyways, the endo has faxed over allllll the information about my blood work and MRI to the plastic surgeon.
PS said they will send up every bit of info to Tricare to get it approved.
The PS said he has done many many gyne surgeries on people with tricare :)
so HOPEFULLY IT gets approved!!
he also said that since i saw the endo it is more ammunition to get it approved from tricare
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Damn, gyne is a b*itch....
I passed up going to the beach last week because of my gyne and wore a shirt at a waterpark I went to 2 weeks ago!
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Oh wow, I'm dumb hahaha, well I gotta start working out again, its getting hot already.....
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Called the endo so that she can write up a letter for my insurance packet, stating that surgery is the only option for my condition.
I have an appointment June 21st with the PS to go over everything.
Ill update once the PS has the letter and hopefully it wont take to long to determine whether I get approved for surgery.
Sounds like it will tho. The super nice ladies at the surgeons office reassured me that theyve seen many cases like mine all with military insurance.
So begins another summer with my shirt on.
For everyone that lurks on these forums, patience is key in the whole pre surgery process.
If you lived with this burden for most of your young life, you can wait a few more months. :)
I know i can
Stay strong, and keep gettin stronger while you hit the gym :)
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Endo wasnt willing to write up a note. Instead she faxed over "putting me on testosterone may reverse the gynecomastia"
Great. I have have a better chance of winning the Powerball then having this work out my way.
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Endo wasnt willing to write up a note. Instead she faxed over "putting me on testosterone may reverse the gynecomastia"
Great. I have have a better chance of winning the Powerball then having this work out my way.
Get another Endo as this one is clearly clueless about how the body works
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new to the site, I can't figure out how to post pics and I am registered. What the hell.
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Finally. Its been over a year since I brought this up to my father. My surgery just got approved today. Scheduled January 16th.
Just in time for my 21st birthday!!!
Last year I was miserable. I didnt do anything all spring and all summer. It took a full year to go thru my insurance. Countless blood tests, an extremely embarrassing mammogram, having a female fondle my chest made me hate life for those 20 minutes lol
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I had my surgery yesterday. I wasn't nervous at all during pre surgery. Pain is very low. Moderate if I bend over, change a t shirt, or if I try extending my arms upward. I was prescribed a very powerful narcotic. I havnt touched it or any Tylenol. Im kinda scared of prescription opiates. Today I have an appointment with the surgeon and hopefully hell tell me when I can get these drains out. The drains are definitely the worst part. I can't believe after 10 or so years that this mass on my chest is finally gone! I will post post op photos when the drains are out.
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I had my surgery yesterday. I wasn't nervous at all during pre surgery. Pain is very low. Moderate if I bend over, change a t shirt, or if I try extending my arms upward. I was prescribed a very powerful narcotic. I havnt touched it or any Tylenol. Im kinda scared of prescription opiates. Today I have an appointment with the surgeon and hopefully hell tell me when I can get these drains out. The drains are definitely the worst part. I can't believe after 10 or so years that this mass on my chest is finally gone! I will post post op photos when the drains are out.
Congrats :)