Diary

[Ste]

Thanks for the well wishes guys.

Ian, it's good to hear that from someone who's been there. Hope you're right. When should I start massaging? Not soon I hope, it feels weird touching my chest when I can't really feel it.

UK_Bloke, how'd your consultation go? You booked in?

Ste

[IT100]

I am right.... I can be sure... because I have had the same conversation with about 6 other people all saying the same... check out some levick diaries! Its well documented in mine!

Start massaging at 3 weeks, as soon as everything feels more settled... I have some long term scar tissue thats irritating! And I didn't massage enough. It does feel weird to touch your chest at first though.

Good luck from here on in!

Ian

[uk_bloke]

hi ste ,

the consultation was great ,levick seems a top bloke ,i havent booked the op yet because i havent got any holiday time left for this year, so its gonna have to be next year ,hes on holiday for a fortnight after the new year so im probably looking at late jan early february,i'll probably make the call in the next couple of weeks.
i must admit im kind of having trouble getting my head around spending 3 and a half grand of my hard earned savings on an hours surgery but i suppose it'll be worth it in the end.
cheers,
paul..

[Oppositions]

im sorry guys, but.. levic isnt the best doctor as u r all imagining..
u know... im basing this because. i dont know what my doctor has done exactly but i havent got any scar tissues at all developing, guys with levic they all had scar tissue issues... give me a break

[IT100]

You always seem to take personal offence at others joy oppostions!

Not sure if anyones ever said tht Levicks the very best... but as 99% of patients seem to be very happy with end result and the whole surgery experience... then I don't think we have any complaints.

Ian

[oscar]

oppo, to quote Sir Alan Partridge, "your a mentalist!"

I have my op with levick next week, and havent bought arnica or a thingy vest, oops

surely just a v tight vest and bandages'll do the job?!?!

Jimd - how are you doing my man, hope your well

[Ste]

Hey Guys,

Good luck Oscar. Hope it goes well matey. I know that you will be catered for as well as is possible. Prepare yourself for the anaesthetist’s razor sharp wit as well, he’s a right one. I’m sure that the bandages & tight vest/T shirt combo will be fine, that’s what Ian (IT100) did. His patented technique was to pin the bandages to the vest or T shirt to prevent slippage. I’m just too lazy to do that also I don’t have any tight T shirts (coz I had tiits . Also you could order your vest during your Mr. Levick bandage co.ck wearing stage or at any stage in your recovery cos they usually only take up to a week to come.

Oppo, I’m pleased that your recovery is going well and your happy with your results; I’m in the North West so I really didn’t fancy the gruelling trip down to the smoke and back for the consultations and then the op and then all the post op assessments and countless difficulties this would cause me i.e. what if there was any fluid build up or complications etc etc. Also, with all due respect to yourself, I would never choose a Dr. on one person’s recommendations – I thought long and hard about this. Mr Levick is close and came highly recommended by many people over many years, though I’m sure that your surgeon is equally talented. Also he uses a very good procedure that eliminates nipple scars. The BMI is also a very nice hospital. Plus he’s a top guy who knows how we feel (felt as he had it himself – How could I choose anyone else? This in no way detracts from your op and hospital. It certainly isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that there are two good hospitals/surgeons in the UK - there are probably many. Your results look great by the way.

Paul, (Uk_Bloke), I have no doubts that this is the wisest investment I’ve ever made. Even now (with my pre-pubescent, miniature chest) it’s a joy. I think that gynaecomastia was a hurdle in my life and there were two ways over it. Either I came to accept it and move on or I had it removed. I tried to come to terms but I couldn’t - I’m not strong enough (as most men wouldn’t be). I therefore couldn’t fully accept and love myself, and they say if you can’t love yourself you can’t love anyone else properly. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life at that hurdle. The operation doesn’t just remove unwanted tissue, gland and fat from your chest, it removes a corrosive piece of baggage from your mind. I most likely will never be Mr perfect chest bod but I won’t have breasts like a girl and I’ve freed an area of my mind to concentrate on what’s really important. That is worth way more than £3700. All the best.

As an aside, it’s op + 15 today and my chest is starting to come back to life. I’m getting feeling there and I look so good in T shirts and footy tops (which made me look like a freak). Defo gonna get myself an England top. Feel really positive today.

All the best guys.

Ste

[Ste]

Op +24 days(ish)

All the bruising has now gone. I’ve still got a prominent swollen area over my left pectoral muscle – this goes down a little each day. I’m still wearing my compression vest 24/7. My chest looks a bit lumpy and my left side is different to my right side. One side sticks out a bit and one dishes in a bit, though less than before. Hopefully this will even out in time. I’m totally used to having a flat chest now. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve got used to my new shape. I can walk around not worrying about whether the wind is blowing my clothes against my chest. No worries about what to wear. It’s cool.

Started massaging a few days ago just for 10 minutes after my shower as it feels a bit tender when I massage it. A kind of feeling is back almost all over my chest area – I say kind of because it’s a dull feeling. I can feel things but only vaguely or not as acutely as before. I’m sure this will come back in time as well. I’ve got a pretty good range of movement now, that is almost back to normal. One of my puncture scars looks a bit angry still and occasionally gives me a burning sensation.

I’ve been able to sleep on my side for the first time last night. Zzzzzzzzz. first proper nights sleep for nearly 4 weeks.

Went out this weekend without the compression vest on. I’d decided that I wouldn’t change my clothes style – from baggy to a bit tighter – too quickly as it may arouse suspicion but I had bought myself a few T-shirts which aren’t as baggy as my usual garb. Well I had to wear one on Saturday and a few people said that I’d lost a bit of weight but that was all that a couple of people said. No-one seems to have noticed. We really do take the pi.ss out of each other so I’m pretty sure that they haven’t noticed the change at all else they would of said.

Apart from being uneven – which isn’t noticeable in clothes – it’s all good.

Will update again in about a weeks time.

Ste

[Ste]

Hi – it’s op + 34days – so I thought I’d post progress so far. Been well busy so haven’t posted as frequently as I would have liked to.

Full range of movement is more or less returned, during normal activity I wouldn’t even know that I had had the op except for the compression vest that I’m still wearing most of the time. I’m not in any pain at all. I’ve resumed training again but not as intensively as before.

My chest has no bruising at all but it has a lumpy appearance – a bit like cellulite – perhaps caused by excess skin, I dunno - there doesn’t seem to be any excess skin at all it’s like there’s just the right amount.

Shape-wise it’s looking a lot better now, the sides seem to be beginning to even out visually. My chest seems to be flush and lean and I fancy it may look a bit like David Beckham’s if I squint, in poor light. I’ve still got an area slightly swollen above one of my pectoral muscles close to the keyhole.

I went back for my 1 month post op check up recently – Mr Levick was of the opinion that things are progressing satisfactorily and it’s basically a waiting game now. I was given copies of my pre-op pictures – yikes – so glad I went through with it. I think I had mentally persuaded myself that it didn’t look as bad as it obviously did. I looked awful in the piccies. I am totally glad I had it done – no regrets at all so far.

Massaging; I’ve been massaging for about 10 minutes a day for the last 10 days as it seemed a little tender still , it’s getting better now and so I’m gonna start massaging more, and slightly more vigorously. Any advice about massaging would be gratefully received.

Well that’s it for now, I hope everyone’s doing well – Oscar how’d it go?

All the best

Ste

[SIMES]

Ste

I had mine done by Levick around 8 months ago and I can tell you it has taken until now to look right and even now it's not 100%. It takes a long time to really get back into major shape, and don't worry about the bumps over the months they slowly go down more and more and more. I still have some very minor 'ridging' for lack of a better word which isscar tissue, but it's very minimal and only really noticable if I lift my arms up as that stretches the skin over my pecs. With no fat at all there to speak of you can see the muscle directly underneath it.

Don't worry about how flat your chest looks, I was horrified when my bandages came off, I could not get used to how flat it looked, but some weight training and mainly time and they start looking like pecs again.

Shape takes time as wel, so does what will seem like loose skin. It all takes time and I'm not talking a couple of months I'm talking 10 months or so until you really look in the mirror and are really happy, at least for me.

The only issue I currently have is that my nipples are not what they where. Now they are thicker and don't tend to stand proud any more , they are there but not as they were.

Other than that pretty good, I've been doing some weight training and that has really started to forum the pec again, but really the vast majority of improvement just comes as time goes by and the skin starts to really reform itself to the new contours of the muscle underneath. Remember that skin was really pushed out before.

I'm not sure Levick is the be all and end all, I have seen goods results from more than one surgeon, but he is a very safe bet IMO and apart from the nipples I am happy.

[Ste]

Well I’m exactly 2 calendar months post op as I write this. Over the last  few weeks the lumpiness didn’t seem to have gone down at all, nor the swelling (which looked like fat but was hard) over my left peck near the armpit, but in the last 3 days I’ve finally stopped wearing the compression vest and the swelling seems to be going down. Perhaps the vest was preventing it from dissipating as this area was outside the vest. The lumpiness remains and still one side is more dished than the other though they seem to be gradually becoming more symmetric, this is causing me some concern and I’m worried that the two won’t even out. My left nipple is a funny shape and the aforementioned swelling is causing a slight crease across it. My left side was significantly bigger than my right pre-op so it seems unfair to compare the two at this stage. All this is un-noticeable in clothing.

The entry scars are a kind of a new moon shape and are light pink in colour now but I’m not worried about them as they are hidden in the creases of my armpits and will become less visible over the year it takes to fully recover. My main concern at the moment is symmetry and whether my right side has had too much removed in comparison to my left.

Almost normal feeling has returned to my chest which, with hindsight, was actually very numb up until a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve upped my weights and been training as normal (except for flies and reverse flies) on my pre op weight for the past couple of weeks and haven’t had any problems - if anything I’m convinced that the stretching and exertion is helping as I don’t seem to have had restricted movement for that long. I’ve started training my chest – which I’ve not really ever done before but always wanted to. It’s great to stick my chest out while I train as it looks perfectly normal in my gym clobber.

I’m massaging for about 30 minutes a day in two sessions with more emphasis on my left side.

Mentally, it’s amazing how quickly I’ve got used to being tiitless. I thought I’d spend the rest of my life giggling to myself and in constant good humour. I also thought that I’d always remember what it was like to have tiits, but I’m already forgetting that I used to dread certain situations and guess what - I’m actually looking forward to summer and I look forward to shopping for clothes and hugging my friends at the end of a night etc etc. You know the score. Visiting this site today has reminded me of how I used to feel and reminded me of how glad I am that I made the decision to have the operation.

Well that’s progress so far – 2 months gone. The next landmark is 3 months post op.

A donf!

Ste

[AJP]

Well keep your chin up, and keep your mind set on six, nine, twelve months from now, and how much better things will look. I'm glad you're happy with the results.

I've just booked consultation with Levick for 25th Jan, and I can't wait to get rid of my gyne. Hopefully I'll get good results aswell.

All the best.

[IT100]

I spent the first few months convinced that Levick had taken too much from the right side of my chest... now if anything. the right side is bigger than my left side... but I can't really decide either way! I'm obviously looking at it too much! My symmetery isn't perfect... but it was miles out before and now its pretty damn close... No one would or does notice... and my friends all knew I had the op and what it was for. I have comments such as.... your chest just looks normal... So, stop stressing so much and just go with the flow. I'm still waiting for the swelling/ scar tissue to disapear... and I'm at 10 months!

Ian

[Ste]

Well another month has slipped by (Op + 3 months) so I thought I’d better update the diary. This last month the improvement has been great. I haven’t worn the vest at all and everything has been evening out (I’m glad I wore it religiously for the first two months though). Not much discernable difference between the two sides now. I feel so NORMAL it’s frecking ace. A couple of incidents have happened over the last couple of weeks that have really brought everything home to me.

First one; Typical nightmare situation. A female friend, who’s a hairdresser, is cutting my hair in her living room. After she’s finished she asks if I could shake my T shirt off outside cos the vacuum cleaner is knacckered. She follows me out ‘cos she’s got the towel that’s been round my neck, oh no! What should I do? I just took off my T shirt and shook it off – with her there – right in front of her. She doesn’t even bat an eyelid. Yeeeeehaaaaa!

Next one; I’m at a party last Friday night. It’s getting a bit messy towards the end of the night (well it’s about 4 am) and all the guys are messing about dancing to a bit of music with their tops off. There’s a few girls there as well. Now I would always be the odd one out here but I thought friak it, so I whips my top off and I’m messing about with the rest of them. That’s not all, later, a couple of the guys have put their tops back on so I start to put mine on and the girls start booing and saying I should leave it off. Man! I was seriously shocked because I’ve never even been close to anything like that before. Yeeeeefackinhaaaa!

What’s also interesting is that to me it doesn’t look that great yet and if I wasn’t mullered I wouldn’t have done it. Never the less it has really boosted my confidence. Best money I ever spent.

Recovery wise my chest seems to be getting softer. The flesh was very hard but the massaging seems to be softening it up. I massage quite vigorously now but it is boring to do so I only do 15 – 20 minutes a day. Still a little bit swollen over my left peck. This has definitely gone down a lot since my last entry.

Incision scars are virtually invisible one side, even when I look straight at it, and still a little bit pink the other.

Still no feeling in my nips but that’s a small price to pay should it never return.

Training like I never had an operation at all.

Well, all the best guys - keep the faith.

Ste

PS. I wish I could be on the boards a bit more but I have a pretty demanding job and rarely get a chance to read the board let alone post. Ste.

[RRB]

Ste

your last post there has convinced me that the money for my Op is going to be well worth it.

Regards