24-year-old guy's Surgery Experience

[snowstorm]

So I'm about a week and three days post-op and feeling great about my surgery. Thought I would post something on here because I know when I was researching whether or not to go through with the very expensive procedure, the internet was my number one source of information. I'm a slim guy, but I've always had fat deposits in my chest, not to mention some love handles...but that's a different story. My feminine chest was literally ruining my life. As a gay man, my breasts prevented me from being intimate with anyone, as I anticipated their rejection and turn-off when seeing me shirtless. Part of feeling like a guy is looking like a guy, no matter how confident you are otherwise. My chest also prevented me from wearing certain clothes, so far in that I hated the coming of summer each year because it meant that I'd have to show the contours of my body - no longer able to hide under layers of winter clothes. Summer wasn't summer for me with gynecomastia. All the essential fun summer activities - swimming, the beach, summer love - I didn't experience any of that.

I tried treating my gynecomastia by dropping hundreds of bucks on tight, overpriced undershirts to try to smooth out my body. But they were uncomfortable and I felt like I was being squeezed to death. At the end of the day, looking at myself in the mirror, I just felt so bummed out about my body. I compare it almost to a transgender person feeling uncomfortable in the body they were living in. I was a man yet had these features that made me feel so unmanly. 

Finally, after years of dissociating myself from my body and feeling crappy about myself, I finally contacted some plastic surgeons. My family thought I was being silly, that my body wasn't that bad or that all of this was in my head. But I persisted and ended up meeting with three plastic surgeons. The first doctor I met with operated in a super-fancy, spa-like office, where the employees all looked like...they'd had a little to much free work done. I had entered the weird world of people altering their bodies - a place that I had only seen on Nip/Tuck. I felt out of place, imagining that they don't see too many guys in the mid-20s looking to get work done. And I'm no bodybuilder or musclehead, so I didn't fall into that category of body-obsessed either. I just wanted to look like an normal guy with a flat chest. Simple.

Or not so simple. After two more visits with other doctors, I began gathering price quotes. They ranged from $5,000-6,000. I felt really guilty putting that much money into what some people would see as a vanity-complex. But my family finally began to understand that this condition was bothering me intensely, that it was indeed a medical deformity, and that I would feel so much better if it was taken care of. I explained to my family that it was no different from a a girl who had abnormally large breasts wanting to get a reduction to feel more comfortable in life. Analogies are helpful in gaining the support of your family and helping others to understand your situation.

I finally chose a doctor who made me feel comfortable. I can't exactly say what made me choose him. He seemed confident, calm, and said he'd done about 15 gyn. surgeries this past year. That's not a ton, but definitely was more than the other doctors. I placed the call to schedule my appointment, and asked if I paid in full if a discount was possible. To my surprise, they took off 10%. Negotiate with your doctor's financial manager! And also consider getting the procedure done in the summer to get a greater discount, when plastic surgeons are slowest (all the ladies get their beast augmentations done in the winter/spring.)

One week later, I was in a hospital bed getting an IV stuck in my arm (after I had battled through a dense forest of chest hair I was required to shave the night before.) The IV was the scariest part, the idea of anesthesia. But most places give you anti-anxiety meds and pain killers to settle you down as you drift off to sleep. I don't even remember falling asleep. Next thing I knew, I was waking up and in pain, which was quickly reduced through some meds through the IV. As I came back to reality, I felt incredibly calm and totally fine - probably due to the meds. They put me in a wheel chair and I headed home. I felt great and in no real pain. Just a little sore.

The next day they took out my drainage tubes, as I had very little drainage. My chest was bruised and there are some scary looking small incision marks that are now scabbing over. But they will soon fade and be covered by hair. My nipples were cut open as well to remove the breast tissue, but those are fast healing - stitches coming out tomorrow.

Other than that, I sleep sitting up to reduce swelling, take all sorts of multivitamins, and walk for an hour each day to get my endorphins going, as sitting around drives me crazy. I do manual labor and am unable to do much with my arms for now, so I've been out of work. The chest binder is the most annoying part, it's really tight and can feel so restricting. But I'm getting used to it. I plan to wear some sort of recovery vest for at least 8 weeks, as I really want to reduce the possibility of raised scars or sagging skin. 

I really encourage you to get the surgery if you have the means and have been thinking about it. Everyone deserves to feel confident and like a "real man." If you've got any questions or wanna share stories, I'm totally down.  I know I didn't say anything too new here, but I wanted to share my story. Thanks.