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

[kingboob]

2 weeks post op is still nothing, try not to worry!

Scar tissue, folds of skin, swelling, bruising, oozing.... etc etc... are all still normal at this stage, things will probably get worse before they get better unfortunately!    Just remember these issues are part of having surgery, whatever surgeon you use, but  Kardis does have a good reputation on here and I am sure things will work out.

IMHO (not a doctor I might add!) wearing the compression vest for long wont do any harm, and if it makes you feel more comfortable, why not?

And wow.... as for the eating; I know where you are coming from, I have gained 7lbs since my surgery at the end of january, and I had about 5lbs of skin REMOVED during the operation..  

Ahem, back to the gym for both of us then!

[ChestMan]

Blue 2, good to hear that you got the surgery done. Is it just my browser or have your pics not been uploaded? I can't seem to find a link anywhere on this thread. I'm am very keen to see your results as I am considering Karidis myself (once I get the all clear from the missues - long story).

Your thread has been most imformative and I appreciate guys like you keeping us informed of your progress - this is the stuff you don't hear from the surgeon when you have a consultation.

[ChestMan]

Blue 2 - ignore previous. I must not have let the page load or something and the pics are now showing. The results look great. I can't believe that the nipple scar is almost invisible. Do you have a pic of the armpit incision. I am worried that friednds might see various scars and know that is why I am curious.

Thanks

[Blue2]

Breastman, I don't have any pics of the armpit scar sorry, but I can tell you that it is barely visable. You really have to put your arms in the air to find it! It just looks like you have had a small spot thats just healing up and really nothing to see. Once the redness has faded you will not see it at all (hopefully!).

Kingboob, yes I know you are right and things will almost certainly get worse before they get better.  As mentioned previously, I am not panicing (yet!) and I had read about this kind of thing on these boards prior to the sugery. Just never expected it to happen I suppose.  Anyway, I will give it until the weekend and then post some more pics.   

[Blue2]

17 days post op today and generally things are OK but I have had my ups and downs over the last few days. Yesterday my nips looked shocking! All lumpy and irregularly shaped with creases on both sides. This morning though they are much better and the lumpy swelling has gone down quite a bit. I am defo on that post op roller coaster.  I have to say that even if my chest stayed the way it is now (which I doubt it will!) my quality of life would definately have improved over what it was like pre op as I am now able to wear tight fitting, fashionable clothes without feeling self concious. However, the main aim is get get 'beach ready' and so I look forward to the day when it has all settled down and the nips are back in some kind of order. I will try and get some pics up over the weekend.

[ChestMan]

Blue2, this nipple probelm that you are experiencing is putting me off. Hope they settle down and you are beach ready!

Your case has been insipring and your one of the cases that I am using to persuade my wife that this is the right thing to do. If have to get a six pack before she will let me get surgery.

[Blue2]

Breastman, DONT let the nipple thing put you off. As mentioned previously, the appearance changes on a daily basis. I would say my nips look  90% normal again today! It's all part of the healing process. I have 100% confidence that it will all settle down in time. After all, I am still less than 3 weeks post op!!! 

[Blue2]

As promised here are some more pics of me 18 days post op. As you will see, the left nip is slightly lagging behind the right one in it's healing. However the left side was worse than the right and so I expect  it did suffer more trauma during the op. I am still very pleased with the progress though. Most of the bruising has now gone but there is still a bit evident as you can see. There is also still some swelling but largely this had eased off. I still have some tightening in the chest area, especially when I try and stretch my arms above my head, but I am doing some gentle stretching exercises and this is defo helping.

Oh, and the red marks under my chest are nothing to do with the op! They are just creases from where I had been sitting down!!! 

[irish lad]

looks great to me.. i hope and pray my chest gets similar results.. thanks for the updates really helps

[gynoisgone]

Hey man, its looking good. You had as great a result as I did. I think its the whole gym thing. The fitter you are when you go into this surgery the better the results end up being.

I hope other guys out there thinking about this surgery hit the gym first and loose most of their bodyfat before getting this surgery.

Anyway, well done, I'm sure your going to look great for summer. I tell you what, it feels great going to the beach that first time with a normal chest. You'll love it!

[ChestMan]

Blue2, I can't really see any problem with your nipples man. I gotta persuade the missues still - your results are impressive. Keep us posted.

Thanks.

[Jim1985]

Great results, mate. I am a week after surgery and it is encouraging to read whats going on with other people. Cheers and good luck with the recovery.

[Blue2]

Thanks for the comments and support so far guys! It means a lot.

A bit of an update. Things are going well. Been training with weights the last couple of days. Had two decent workouts including.....wait for it..........a chest session! Wehay! OK, I'm not back to full glory just yet as I still can't quite stretch my chest fully, so just did sort of half presses on a machine rather than with free weights. Not quite ready for that but it felt good though. I have also been doing some gentle stretching to help get the movement back in the chest. I am feeling a bit of muscle soreness today as a result of the workouts (not done any weight training in about a month!) but as far as the operation site is concerned, no adverse side affects! I feel very happy today. I have also got down to 13st 4 1/2 lbs from my initial 15st 3 lbs. I think I have another 6 or 7 lbs of fat to loose before I will be able to see the old abs coming back!  I am also keeping an eye on my body fat, although I am not sure how good my scales are! Before I started dieting they were saying I was around 36% BF and obese! Now they are saying I am 28% BF so it has defo come down. Personally I would have put myself a bit below 28% but hey, who am I to argue! 

I have also started taking some extra protein (powder supplements) to boost my diet, although the diet is packed with plenty of protein already. However in all my years of bodybuilding (if you can call it that!) protein was about the only worth while supplement I ever took. And believe me, I tried pretty much all of them!!  Anyway, as a result this means that my calorie intake will be slightly higher so I have also stepped up the cardio. It's going to be a hard slog this, but now I have my new chest, it simply wouldn't be right if the rest of the bod let me down.

More pics in a few weeks and hopefully you may see some difference!! 

[Jim1985]

Well done on the weight loss, mate. Sounds naff, but it is a really good motivator to read other peoples stories.

I am 9 days post op. When would you say it is OK to get back to the gym? I am not in too much pain, but I don't want to lift weights and feel my chest explode? What do you find most effective for the weight loss, cardio or weights? Cheers.

[Blue2]

Well done on the weight loss, mate. Sounds naff, but it is a really good motivator to read other peoples stories.

I am 9 days post op. When would you say it is OK to get back to the gym? I am not in too much pain, but I don't want to lift weights and feel my chest explode? What do you find most effective for the weight loss, cardio or weights? Cheers.

Jim, I am glad this thread has helped motivate you! We are all here to share our experiences good and bad, which in turn may help others.

As for starting weight training in your case, well only you can tell when you are ready. I asked loads of questions on these boards about this very subject and the replies varied greatly. In my case I was 3 weeks post op before doing any weights, but did mange to do some cardio on the stationary bike in week 2 post op. Everyone is different and of course it all depends on your level of surgery. Mine was classed as moderate but as I had managed to loose much of the excess fat, the post surgery healing was made a bit easier I think. It may take others months to get back in the gym so just listen to your body and see how you feel in a few weeks. Please also bear in mind that i was training quite hard pre op so this may also have had a positive effect on my post op healing and subsequent return to the gym.

Good luck anyway and heres to a speedy recovery!