My diary. 8 months post op. Surgery with Karidis.

[V8]

It depends on your level of swelling and bruising - you elevate in bed so your head is above your chest. Once this has subsided you can sleep flat. The nurse told me I only need 2 pillows to elevate but at first I used a duvet and 2 pillows, then down to just the pillows.

[Albion71]

Thanks guys. Tomorrow is day 14 post op so I will revert back to just two pillows.

I have an important meeting on Wed, and could really do with being fresh for it...

[sergeantpepper]

V8, do you have any pics of your nipple being pulled back in the middle? I may be in a similar situation.

[Blue2]

OK fellas, here are my 4 month (well nearly!) post op pics. I have been training quite hard and this has paid dividends. I still have some way to go before I get to where I want to be, but as far as the gyne is concerned.....what gyne??    Well, you can make your own minds up!! 

[whufcboy]

Looking good Blue!  Those gym sessions are definitely paying dividends.  You would never had known you had gyne in the first place.  I can't wait start hitting the gym again myself but know I've got to be patient. 

[equium]

Blue, absolutely awesome results, Karidis has done a quality job.

Are you completely happy with the results of the op - no creasing? no indents? no skin sticking to muscle etc?

I had my first gym sesh a couple of days ago, have become soooo weak it's unbelieveable but looking forward to getting fit again. Thanks for your advice through the private messages by the way, was a real help bro.

[Blue2]

No probs guys. You know that if there is anything I can help with I am just a PM away! 

Yes I am happy with the results so far. I still have one or two minor niggles (and they are minor) but these are righting themselves gradually and I am being patient. I did have some creasing up to recently but this is now almost gone. I think the key honestly is to be patient. There is no point hitting the panic button so soon after surgery as the healing does take time, like it or not! I have certainly not had any indents, well not since the early stages of the recovery anyway. As for skin sticking to muscle, well, this is one of my minor niggles. My left side (which was the worst side) still feels slightly stuck but it is easing. Other than this I would say I am 99% happy at this stage which can't be too bad can it?

The training is going well and despite not loosing any more weight, I am also gaining muscle mass and therefore I must be loosing fat weight. Well i know I am cos I am looking much leaner now. Just got to keep it going now. I have a real goal now for next summer.......ABS!!!!  We will see.   

[irish lad]

looks great man.. and keep up the work in the gym its showing.. you'l def get them abs by next summer just remember bud you will have to target your body fat percent to start really seing them abs and stay sharp mentally i.e dont give up until you acheived your goal!!! that means no pizza my  downfall lol

[Blue2]

You are absolutely right mate, the BF % is the key but you also need to work the abs hard to build them up a bit too. My BF has come down a lot but it is becoming very difficult to shift the last few lbs. I think in my current state I would need to loose a further 6-7 lbs to really see the abs and this would take me to just over 12 1/2 stone, somewhere that I have not been since my early 20's! And that proves how motivated I am at the moment. My diet is pretty clean but there is room for improvement. I will just have to put in 110% to cross that finish line victorious! I will keep you all posted on my progress and thanks for the words of encouragement so far, it really helps to keep me pushing along.

[fed-up]

hey Blue! Havnt been on the forum for a while, & just saw the 4 months post op pictures! Looking great i must say - much leaner! You look as if youve never had gyne! I havnt got long to wait now till my op on september 11th, & im getting really nervous! but still loosing b/f which is great! Your pictures are really reassuring for me, especially since you had it done with Karidis,
anyway - nice to see you're doing well - FED-UP

[Blue2]

Right, 5 months post op and thought I would show you all some updated pics. Just returned from 2 weeks in the South of France and so have put on a couple of lbs!  Not too much though and at least I have a tan.  (First time ever!). No real issues to report on to be honest and all is going well. I still get the odd day where I get a bit of light swelling / fluid under the nips, but I just give them some gentle massage and this then subsides by the next day. This is happening a lot less now though. I still get very slight creasing when I tense my pecs but again, this is far less noticable now. My main aim for for summer next year now and I am determined to keep up with the training and to build my chest up as I believe this is one body part that needs some improvement. I will also be aiming for a six pack too which may prove to be a little more difficult!  I feel that having these kind of targets really halps with motivation and to stay focused, something that had been shot down in flames when I had gyne. I trained, got nowhere and simply gave up. Not this time though.

Please let me know what you think:

[EricO]

Fantastic results mate

Have to agree - no one would ever know you suffered from the condition.  You have really put a lot of time and effort into that body and you deserve the results you have achieved.

Best of luck mate.

[WXYZ]

Blue2,

Amazing pics. Like others have said it looks like you never had gyne in the first place. I'm definately gonna go with Karidis.

As you work out pretty well I have a question about body fat. I'm pretty much a skinny guy except I have ab-fat around my waist (I can pinch an inch). What is the best exercises of shedding this as I've heard that ab crunches and sit ups do nothing to shed fat around the midsection. I've heard cardio was good, but what cardio exercises are most effective - treadmill, bike, rowing machine or aerobics? I can't imagine myself in an aerobics class, especially with man-boobs, so that's out of the question.  I already can feel the ab muscles, it's just that it's under a layer of fat.

[whufcboy]

Right, 5 months post op and thought I would show you all some updated pics. Just returned from 2 weeks in the South of France and so have put on a couple of lbs!  Not too much though and at least I have a tan.  (First time ever!). No real issues to report on to be honest and all is going well. I still get the odd day where I get a bit of light swelling / fluid under the nips, but I just give them some gentle massage and this then subsides by the next day. This is happening a lot less now though. I still get very slight creasing when I tense my pecs but again, this is far less noticable now. My main aim for for summer next year now and I am determined to keep up with the training and to build my chest up as I believe this is one body part that needs some improvement. I will also be aiming for a six pack too which may prove to be a little more difficult!  I feel that having these kind of targets really halps with motivation and to stay focused, something that had been shot down in flames when I had gyne. I trained, got nowhere and simply gave up. Not this time though.

Please let me know what you think:

Excellent results mate.  You are still looking in great shape, even after your break in the sun    Abs still there and I can't see any creasing on you but I also have a few niggles that come and go which are not normally visable in the photos.  All part of the healing process I suppose.  Keep up the good work with the training, the determination is showing, like you say there is nothing to slap you in the face when you look in the mirror any more, only improvements, and you can look back on the photos in the months to come and see how far you've progressed.

[Blue2]

Blue2,

Amazing pics. Like others have said it looks like you never had gyne in the first place. I'm definately gonna go with Karidis.

As you work out pretty well I have a question about body fat. I'm pretty much a skinny guy except I have ab-fat around my waist (I can pinch an inch). What is the best exercises of shedding this as I've heard that ab crunches and sit ups do nothing to shed fat around the midsection. I've heard cardio was good, but what cardio exercises are most effective - treadmill, bike, rowing machine or aerobics? I can't imagine myself in an aerobics class, especially with man-boobs, so that's out of the question.  I already can feel the ab muscles, it's just that it's under a layer of fat.

Hi mate. I am afraid the only way to loose fat is with a clean diet and lots of cardio work. I hate it to be honest but sadly I have a very slow metabolism and so I have to do a lot of it, it's the only way. If you are quite slim anyway you shouldn't have too much trouble, so just start with some light exercise such as jogging or on a stationary bike. Go as long as you can manage and time yourself. This will give you a goal and something to beat each time you work out. I find cardio very boring so setting targets keeps you mildly interested!

As for diet, it's a complicated thing. But generally, if you want to loose fat you should stick with lean proteins such as fish, chicken, turkey etc. and reduce the amount of carbs that you eat. Stick to carbs from the lower end of the glycimic index (you can look this up!) as these are slow release carbs that your body can use eaily over time rather than storing them as fat in one lump! Providing you are eating less calories than you burn off each day, you will loose fat. It is a balancing act though and only you will know how far you have to take it before you start to see results that you want.

Good luck though and if I can help any more just drop me a line. I don't claim to an expert and may not be able to answer all of your questions, but I have been doing this a long time and so have plenty of personal experience.

Hope that helps.

And thanks to everyone else for your comments. I do sometimes forget that I ever had gyne which is just the way it should be!