#PatientStory – Oliver

“Hey guys! I want to share with you my experience living with Gynecomastia with how it has heavily affected my life. I also want to share with you my experience with surgery group and Dr Nurein who will carry out the Gynecomastia removal surgery.

Why I’m writing this

I am currently 20 years old and as you’ve more than likely realised, I have Gynecomastia on both sides of my chest. My case, however, isn’t the most extreme by far, but I do like many men with Gynecomastia suffer the mental effects it forces on its sufferers. One of my goals with the blog is to let other sufferers know that you aren’t alone and that there is support out there and that you don’t have to live with Gynecomastia.

How I discovered gynecomastia

I actually only discovered that I had Gynecomastia very recently, I’ll explain why in a second. But having realised I may have it, I looked into causes for Gynecomastia and found that a misbalance of hormones is a common cause. This was quite critical as growing up, especially through years of puberty, I suffered from depression which in turn resulted in me not eating well at all.

I ate little, and what I did eat were high in saturates and fats. I pieced together that this is what created a massive misbalance in my hormones which were already in disarray due to the nature of puberty itself. Thus this lead to the permanent growth of the gynecomastia tissue.

Then as for why I didn’t actually realise I had Gynecomastia sooner, I refused to look at my body due to a slight deformation of the legs called varus when the lower legs is curved. For me it’s easily hidden under trousers but when it came to sports in school other students would notice and point. Then I also have a large birthmark which didn’t help the situation at all with the changing room situation or the depression. So I went for years without paying attention to my body. Now here is why I finally looked and discovered something wasn’t quite right with my chest.

To help cope with the depression, I started to go to the gym so I can give myself something to focus on and so I can try feel better in myself. I was building muscle at a moderate rate and as you do you gain size. I was a very skinny person however I was finally starting to feel better putting on healthy weight, I was gaining some size in muscle and all was well. However… with the chest workouts came chest muscle. I soon found out this was a double edged sword as the the chest muscle I was building was pushing out what ever was ontop…. like fat and the gynecomastia.

A friend of mine pointed out my chest seems to be growing faster than the rest of my body, that same day I actually payed proper attention to my body in the shower. And I definitely noticed that my chest didn’t look right at all, as they really stuck out and on physical inspection it felt as if a large layer of fat was covering my chest with the bulk focused around my areola.

Gym didn’t make it go away

I shrugged this off as just fat so I increased the intensity of my gym workouts and was building muscle and burning fat. But to my demise, nothing was changing with my chest. It was starting to have a negative impact on me as I’m putting a lot of work in but seeing no improvements at all in my chest. I started to research into why and this was my first encounter with the actual condition known as gynecomastia. I read that this can’t be remedied through exercise, only through surgery can you loose it.

I thought it was false gynecomastia

This worried me immensely so I just put it down to another condition known as false gynecomastia where it really just is fat that gives the appearance of gyno. I switched up my now healthy diet and routine in the gym. But still no improvement over the months. I was heavily conscious of how my chest would bounce with every footstep. I was getting extremely conscious on how I could pinch a lot of flesh around my chest. It was also very down putting to wake up with my chest in a slightly different state than the day before, for example, the longer the gap between days where I’d exercise my chest; the more my chest would sag and feel loose.

By this point I was being heavily affected this. The little confidence I did have was taking a heavy hit. I was petrified to be topless around anyone, friends and family. This got so bad, I stayed at home while friends and family went on holidays so I wouldn’t have to be topless around anyone at pools. It was also putting a strain on my friendships as I would always turn down going to the pool or on holidays with my friends. It came off as me being to lazy and not valuing my friends enough to actually go with them which truly hurts.

I had enough

The one time where it really got me down and when I decided to do something about it was when I was performing with my band. With the heat from the audience and the stage lighting in this cramped venue, the heat was unbearable. I wanted to remove my shirt to cool down and was so desperate to I had placed my hand on my top to do it but then I remembered the state of my chest and I had a panic attack which ruined that evening for me.

How I found Surgery Group

It’s only then I was truly defeated by it and wanted to get a professional opinion on it which is where surgery group and Dr Nurein stepped into my life. I found Dr Nurein and surgery group after a search for gynecomastia removal surgery. I sent an email and I was in contact with Mathew from Surgery Group the next day. Mathew was extremely upbeat and helpful. He first gathered a few details about me then proceeded to get to know me and how I feel about Gynecomastia then that he’ll see me through this whole thing from booking a consultation with Dr Nurein to getting home from surgery. This was extremely uplifting as I felt like I had someone there who wanted to help me the best he can do which is invaluable for someone like me who’s been very alone in this whole ideal.

Unwanted news

Before I knew it, I had been booked in for a appointment with Dr Nurein and was on my way to London for the consultation. The meeting went very well with Dr Nurein. He was able to confirm that I did indeed have Gynecomastia after a quick physical examination. This was unwanted news as up to that point I didn’t want to think I had it; but there’s no point denying it any further, especially when such a highly proclaimed dr in the field has confirmed it himself.

During the consultation he got to know me as a person and see how I felt about Gynecomastia with how it had affected me which was hard at first at first but he had my full trust so I was a truthful as possible, which felt good in the end as I knew I was taking step after step forward to having the tissue removed.

Dr Nurein also explained how he carries out the procedure along with effects the procedure can immediately have, down to what thread he uses for stitching. He was also very efficient at answering any and all of my questions so I felt more at ease moving forward towards the surgery.

Matthew from Surgery Group went out of his way to support me

The next day after the consultation, Mathew from Surgery Group got in contact with me to discuss the results of my consultation with Dr Nurein. He again was extremely supportive and doing everything he can to make this process as smooth and comfortable as possible. He gave me a list of possible surgery dates and offering more support from surgery group with helping me organise transport to and accommodation should it be needed in Manchester where the surgery will most likely take place unless a London basses surgery can take place.

Preparing for the gynecomastia surgery

I’m now currently saving the funds together to undergo the surgery and for once I am happy and confident that I’ll be moving forward in my life both physically and mentally.

I’m also forever thankful for Surgery group and Dr Nurein for their continued support and compassion through this process. They’ve shown that this is more than their line of work, it’s their way of actually being able to help people as they understand what mental conditions such Gynecomastia can have on many men. And I can quote being told “this surgery is more than cosmetic, it’s life changing”.

Compassion matters and Surgery Group have itbucketloads!

This couldn’t be any more true, as you’ve read in my blog; Gynecomastia has had massive implications on not just myself but my friendships and my joy of playing music. Compassion is invaluable and these people have it in bucketloads!

I hope this helps you

I hope this blog was helpful for those who also have gynecomastia and for those who know someone who does have it. There is always support for you and should you want it, there’s is always a team ready at surgery group ready to get you in touch with Drs such as Dr Nurein.”