My Sweet Pectus Forum

I am doing very well.  I am off all pain medications and am by and large pain-free.  I do sometimes feel a little sore after a strenuous work-out at the gym, but I do think that is to be expected.  Vigorous stretching also can be somewhat painful at times and, of course, this makes some sense to me.  I do have two 16-inch steel bars inside me!

I have been consistent with my exercise regime and have made some good progress.  I have put on about 7kg in the past couple of months and am now at 76kg.  My goal is 85kg.  So, I guess that is all for now.  Things are good and I am very happy that I had the surgery.

I will probably not keep updating this blog again with more of the same photos of my body transformation. I suspect that the next major updates will come when I have the bars removed. I will then tell you all about the process, the recovery etc. Then we will have come full-circle in this very illuminating journey. I will check this blog each week and will try to answer any questions that people leave.

I wish everyone well and pray that you are given strength to deal with your own PE Demon. Mine is now all but dead but his ghost still remains.

Well, in an effort to keep my journey properly documented, here is my latest photo at 2 weeks shy of one year post-surgery with Professor Schaarschmidt in Berlin. I feel that I am slowly making more progress as the months pass. You will see quite clearly in the photograph below that my left pectoral muscle is quite a bit more developed than the right. The right one looks higher and less developed. It is something I noticed from the start but it does not bother me. I’m not sure what has caused it to be like this or whether it will change after bar removal or after continued working out – but we shall see.

Despite continued efforts, my abs have not yet made an appearance but I do feel that they are just around the corner.

I am going away next weekend to a beach resort for two days. I plan to unveil my new chest on a public beach for the first time in 20 years. What a milestone! 

10 Months Post Nuss

So, here are my results 10 months post-operation.  I have been trying to lean down before starting a slow and steady weight increase.  I still have quite significant rib flare but it is no so visible in these photographs.  I am able to lessen the look of the rib flare by standing a certain way.  In any event, this is the angle where it looks okay.    I am starting to feel a little more comfortable with the way I am looking and I do hope that I continue to improve as the months go by.

I shall post another update in a few months.  Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story and to post comments.  I am very happy that my journey to rid myself of PE has been beneficial to others.

Michelangelo, La Pietà (1499), St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome

I was fortunate enough to have my insurance company reimburse me for 95% of the cost of my Nuss Procedure in Berlin.  Whether or not your surgery will be covered by your insurance company will depend on a number of factors, including the details of your insurance policy and the severity for your Pectus Excavatum.  Basically, you need to be able to convince them that your surgery was medically necessary and not merely a cosmetic procedure.

I have drafted a template letter to be signed by your surgeon that may be useful when making an insurance claim.  This is designed for patients who have severe symptomatic Pectus Excavatum.  This template is based on the letter that I used.  If you would like to access a word version of the template letter, please leave me a message.

I have turned a corner in my recovery.  The worst is now behind me and I am well on the way to realizing my goals of a new and powerful physique.  The photograph above shows just how far I have come in the six months since my surgery with Professor Schaarschmidt in Berlin.  I still have a long way to go and must continue to work hard to achieve the results that I want.  Seeing the vast improvement between six weeks post-op and now, six months post-op, is so encouraging.

I am now thankfully off the morphine.  It has been a struggle but I managed to do it with the help of my friends and family.  I am now clear-headed.  The pain also seems more under control without the morphine if that makes any sense.

There are some things that will need to be taken care of at bar removal.  Certain odd protrusions and indentations, lumps and bumps, and a pesky flared rib that just won’t settle down just to name a few.  I am confident that Professor Schaarschmidt will take care of all of these things for me in two and a half years time.

I will provide another update in three months or so.  In the meantime, thank you to everyone for your kind support and encouragement.

Yes, I downplayed the pain. I wonder how long this is going to continue? Every single night, without exception. Perhaps I will use this time to write or work, or become more productive. Or maybe I wil finish this post and try to go back to sleep. I have to go to work in a few hours.

I am so tempted to go back to 30mg or morphine in the evening but I know this is not the right thing to do. Yes, it may relieve the pain but even when I was on 30mg in the evening, I wasn’t pain-free. Going back to 30mg would, I think, be a step in the wrong direction.  I can only pray that things will improve.

I am now a little shy of 5 months post-op and am seeing some good improvements from an aesthetic point of view. The quid pro quo is the constant pain I’m in, particularly at night. My pain seems to escalate after I work-out and lasts for a couple of days.  My work-out schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, ensures that I am constant pain. I have not had a full night’s sleep for months.  As you might imagine, I’m rather exhausted.  I’m not sure how much longer this is going to last.

The Nuss Procedure is no picnic for the adult patient. In fact, there’s not a picnic basket in sight.