glad i found this site,

[paint58]

Hi, i live in the uk, have suffered this gyne prob most of my life, I am now 50, I found this site a few days ago and realise I am not alone and that the problem can be sorted hopefully, today I showed my dad he was very supportive and offered to drive me to and pick me up from surgery and stay with him and his wife while I recover I have got things rolling after all these wasted years tommorow night i am going to my local doc, see what he has to say, what tests should I ask for.I have the money to go private if neccessary, I live near Bristol , I read on here about a surgeon there who was good so going to phone him for consultation this week,any other suggestions would be good another question please I am in the painting and decorating business how long is recovery as I am self employed and have contracts to fulfill. This site has given me hope maybe next summer I can get my shirt off.Will tell you what doc says tommorow,and once again thanks.

[creative]

Hi paint58,

Welcome to the site. I'm glad to hear that you have found some comfort from this site and its members. As you say, you are certainly not alone with this problem! I will try to answer as many of your questions as possible...

Okay in regards to the tests, the hospital will generally know which ones to do. They'll mainly be looking at your hormone levels to make sure they're all okay (which i'm sure they are!) and then do a few other tests which i can't remember off the top of my head. If you search the forum, i remember there being a recent post which lists the type of tests they do...

Recovery really depends from one person to the next. It also depends how much you are having removed. If not very much, then you could be active in less than 2 weeks. Personally, i felt fine after 2 weeks and being on my 3rd week now, i'm pretty sure i could resume most activities i did before. This is something you might want to ask your surgeon as there really is no 'hard and fast' rule. However, i'd say set your sights at 3 weeks but don't engage in anything too strenuous. You really need to repair fully, this cannot be stressed enough! The compression garment does help provide quite a bit of support though.

Sorry didn't answer this post earlier. Let us know how it goes and stick around to update us! 

[paint58]

Update, went to see the local doc, he looked said manboobs and the nhs cant help, so i upped and left,
going to see Tim Burge, bristol cosmetic surgery, next wednesday, for consulation, I have googled him ,
seems  very qualified, price £3960, includes overnight stay in hospital which i dont mind, some other chap on here went there no probs, will update next week after consulation.Ty for reply , will keep posting till
i am sorted, pics will follow, where do i upload them?   

[creative]

Hi mate,

Nice to see things are progressing, despite the NHS refusal. Though, that was to be expected given their ever increasing budget problems!

The price of surgery seems pretty reasonable. I hope things progress quickly from now on.

You can upload images to any image hosting site of your choice e.g. imageshack, photobucket, flickr etc. Then just post the thumbnails or urls here. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[thetodd]

I dont mean to be snobby over surgeons lol, but at that price why dont you pay a few hundred extra and go with karidis?

never seen a bad result on here by him, piece of mind!

[paint58]

update, went to see Tim Burge, in Bristol yesterday, he is willing to operate,has done the procedure many times, very easy to talk to and understood fully, I have booked surgery for the 5th Nov,
cant wait, lol, I have attached a couple of post op pics, is there anything I can take or do to help the skin shrink? after the op.

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss259/paint58/gyno/garden1609010.jpg

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss259/paint58/gyno/garden1609011.jpg

You will need to copy and paste into your  browser

will post again soon. 

[thetodd]

nice one!

nah you cant, but you shouldnt have major problems. Just massage with bio oil at 3 week point and continually do it for months (i didnt). Its a significiant case of gyne but i wouldnt say its bad enough to have loose skin afterwards.

and eat a healthy diet, lots of pineapple will reduce swelling.

[paint58]

update, surgery booked wed 4th november, just had pre op good to go, counting the days , will post when i get home after op, or maybe the day after that depending how I feel.