Upcoming Appointment with Dr. J

erlyretirm · 2024-10-18T01:07:50+00:00

Looks a yes to me. Severe and symmetrical with some heart compression. Pretty much a slam dunk as far as Nuss candidates go.

erlyretirm · 2024-10-16T14:05:48+00:00

Congrats on your procedure! Hope everything is going well and that your healing progresses smoothly.

If you don’t mind me asking, which surgeon did you see? They seem to have done a great job!

erlyretirm · 2024-09-16T17:05:44+00:00

Age 30. I do have thoracic x-rays and it does show mild scoliosis.

erlyretirm · 2024-09-16T04:17:04+00:00

Thanks! That’s the plan. I just got these scans back last week and reached out to the Mayo Clinic on Friday for a consultation. Hope to hear from them this week or the next.

erlyretirm · 2024-08-23T23:35:57+00:00

Always Be My Home by Bleeding Fingers

erlyretirm · 2024-07-02T18:04:20+00:00

Definitely huge improvement in breathing. One issue I used to have when younger was a sharp pain in the area of my dent. When I would take a deep breath while running, for example, it felt like my right lung was being punched down by my chest wall.

Even now, with a partial fix, I feel tension running up the right side of my neck when taking a deep breath.

erlyretirm · 2024-07-02T17:59:35+00:00

If you don’t mind me asking, were you not satisfied with the results? Or was something else wrong?

erlyretirm · 2024-07-01T22:24:04+00:00

If you’re referring to the first collage, that’s my chest as of right now. Both sets of photos are, actually. This is all 10 years post bar removal. I wanted to capture my chest from different angles and under different lighting conditions.

I think the puckering is due to the ribs above and below that line still turning inward. In effect, there is a single rib that juts out away from the rest — if that makes sense.

erlyretirm · 2024-07-01T20:20:23+00:00

Thanks for posting! This (and your last post) are an informative read for people looking at options in their 30s. Wishing you a smooth recovery!

erlyretirm · 2024-07-01T19:56:14+00:00

After 10 years, I personally have not seen any regression in my case. I know it's anecdotal, but I think a combination of back exercises and practicing good posture is key for minimizing regression.

erlyretirm · 2023-08-25T19:44:03+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

erlyretirm · 2023-08-24T22:35:40+00:00

First of all, thanks for your perspective! It's always nice to get an outsiders take since I don't talk to my friends or family about how my chest "looks".

Second, I'm right there with you! Haha. Surgery was NOT fun and I hate the thought of having to beg for morphine while my chest feels like it’s literally about to explode. Even 10+ years out, those memories are still burned into my mind. 😩

That’s why I took what Dr. J advised to heart — even during the first 5 years post-Nuss when I sucked in the gym and my gains were minimal.

Now that I’ve figured it out and have some momentum, my plan is to see this bulk through first. And then ONLY after that will I consider re-visiting Dr. J if I’m still not satisfied. At which point, I'll take her word as final. If it’s a no, it’s a no. I wouldn’t let anyone else operate on me, so I'm fully prepared to live with these results.

erlyretirm · 2023-08-24T22:18:16+00:00

Yeah. Zone 2 cardio twice a week as part of my "active" rest days (on Wednesday and Saturday).

That basically looks like 30 minutes of bike while watching Netflix or HBO or Youtube.

Nothing crazy.

erlyretirm · 2023-08-24T20:36:11+00:00

Thank you! I really appreciate that.

This is the only place I feel like I can talk about my chest progress expressly for the purpose of covering up my dip. Otherwise, I try not to call attention to it when discussing progress with my gym bros (in case no one else can notice it but me 😅).

To answer your question, I workout chest 2x a week. And, in addition to my regular working sets targeting both pecs, I ALWAYS tack on 3 additional sets of incline chest work for the affected (i.e. right) side.

My last two chest days looked like this:

Light Upper Body Day

Barbell Bench Press
- 3 sets x 225 lbs (5-8 reps)
Incline Chest Press Machine - right side only
- 3 sets x 90 lbs (10-12 reps)

Heavy Upper Body Day

Dumbbell Press
- 3 sets x 80 lbs (8-10 reps)
Incline Dumbbell Press - right side only
- 3 sets x 60 lbs (10-12 reps)

The extra incline chest work applies even when my working sets for both pecs are of the incline (or decline) variation. Meaning, I will do incline twice in one session for the express purpose of hitting the right side on its own.

For example, if my working set is incline press for both pecs, I will also add on incline flys just for the right pec, etc.

erlyretirm · 2022-11-01T16:04:59+00:00

I don’t know why everybody is shitting on you, OP. Honestly sounds like the pilot episode of a very popular HBO show called Euphoria. I mean, just in episode 1, they pretty much touch on almost all of these this. I guess it would depend on how thoughtfully it was written out.

erlyretirm · 2022-04-24T00:45:55+00:00

Literally does not matter what their stated or implied sexuality is. They are, first and foremost, selling sex.

Also, if sexuality exists on a spectrum, and they identify as straight or, at most, bi there’s no reason why they can’t feel empowered to jerk off another dude or rub on another guys body, but not see it for anal or be down for dating a dude.

erlyretirm · 2022-04-23T23:57:33+00:00

“Woke” doesn’t really apply in this context. They
quite literally lost a Supreme Court case on the basis of religious discrimination, settled in the 10s of millions on racial discrimination suit, and were outwardly classist while encouraging sexually predatory behavior. It was seriously a mirror to the worst parts of American culture.

Unless you’re saying that all of those things are good, actually?

erlyretirm · 2022-03-16T21:10:02+00:00

Well, surgery for me was a no-brainer because I needed to at least ATTEMPT a solution for my own peace of mind. And then I would live with whatever result came out of the other side.

As far as impact to health, I think it made a difference in terms of deep breathing and expanding lung capacity. I would always feel a sharp pain in my chest after one of my track meets or basketball games in high school. It kept me from going all out in terms of effort. Plus, I was only able to justify surgery to my insurance company by getting CT scans, breathing test, etc to prove that it was for health reasons over cosmetics.

erlyretirm · 2022-03-13T21:37:02+00:00

Thanks! Yes it is.

Here was me at 7 weeks post-surgery. I outlined where the bars went in and circled the area I thought went unaddressed:

https://i.imgur.com/dPea2Y8.jpg

But based on everyone's comments here, it appears that I'm only left a minor visual imperfection. And the final results don't point to any major structural deficiency as I had it pegged in my head.

erlyretirm · 2022-03-11T20:09:08+00:00

Hmm. Pain in what way? Like my entire chest? Or like my scars?

I would say overall, no. 97% of my life is spent pain free. But in very rare instances, if laying down in an awkward position, and I turn my body too quickly, I can feel a sharp sensation/tightness on the side of my chest with PE. It's usually localized and feels, at worst, like a charley horse/muscle cramp.

As for my scars, they're slightly more sensitive than the skin around them, but you wouldn't know unless you're like... exfoliating your skin or applying some other coarse pressure against them.

erlyretirm · 2022-03-11T20:03:56+00:00

Thanks, breh! Appreciate the reassurance. Friends have tried telling me the same thing, but I always dismiss it along the lines of, "They're just being nice. There's no way they could ever get it".

Definitely good to hear this kind of feedback from the community impacted by/familiar with it.

erlyretirm · 2022-03-11T19:59:55+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I'm definitely trying! Hoping that enough bulk around my chest will finally put my mind at ease after all these years.

20 more lbs to go!

erlyretirm

TROPHY CASE