Hey whoever comes across this - I replied to a couple of comments but I will be posting my 1 YEAR update on October 12th, 2024. A short update - I think this surgery was 100% worth it. It is tough, especially in the beginning, but I can now do full pushups again, I work out in a gym weekly, I can run, rock climb, practice Muay Thai which is something I started a couple of months ago, and overall be pretty active. At this point I still sleep on my back (probably for the best anyways) but I live on my own and my life is just fine and I am fully functional. Good luck to anyone who is considering getting the surgery! Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will do my best to reply.
I'm currently just starting to get to the bottom of my diagnoses. Local doctors don't understand the compression I feel on a daily basis. Like someone is shoving something into my heart. It seems that the cosmetic idea still perpetuates. I'm trying to stay positive, but surgery is so far into the future, it seems. Keeping busy is the only thing helping me endure the wait. Thanks for making this video. I appreciate it.
@@gyokuto9332 yeah man I had a few doctors tell me I wouldn’t need surgery. When I finally did the pre-surgery tests and exams I was really surprised I had heart and lung compression and my heart was actually slightly displaced. If it’s an option for you, fly here to AZ to do Mayo Clinic. They did amazing and the surgeon Dr. J genuinely cares about this condition and she has years of experience and they’re constantly researching. It sucks ass healing but I’d do it again. Best of luck!
Hey Alex, first of all I just wanted to say thanks for this vid. It's good to see someone honest and unedited thoughts and feelings on this surgery, and hearing what you have gone through and are going through is really helpful. I personally would be interested in another update from your side! I'm curious, do you have any regrets or anything you would change (prep wise) about the surgery? How old were you when you had the surgery? And so far, do you think it is worth it yet or maybe will be worth it with time? Wishing you all the best mate, from another Pectus bro in the UK looking into surgery.
Hey man, I will upload my one-year update on October 12th. But in regards to your questions - I was 27 (28 now) and I do not have any regrets. As far as preparing, the surgeon and her team gave me chest exercises to do to really stretch out your chest muscles prior to surgery, so do lots of stretching. So far, yes I think it's worth it because for my situation personally, it has improved my breathing and reduced the heart and lung compression I had. This is something you really have to go into understanding that you are making a 3 year commitment (maybe more or less depending on the level of your pectus). My surgery was in October 2023 and to this day I still have the 24/7 sensation of the bars, I still stretch every day, I still am working on improving my chest strength again. But if you're like me and you love to work out you will find workarounds and still be able to go to the gym. I also started training Muay Thai a couple months ago however obviously I cannot take hits or spar, I just practice the art and my form but it is taxing on my stamina. Look out for my update in October - I'll touch more on all of this stuff and just how it's affected my life. In the meantime though feel free to reply with any other questions and I'm happy to answer when I see them. Thanks for the comment/questions and watching!
Hey, man, hopefully, the pain is less now after 6 months. I am have the same issue with my chest. I have some questions. How old were you when you got the surgery done? How is the pain now? If you could maybe do an update comparing the before and after of your chest, that would be amazing. Good luck man! 🙏
Hey there, I'll be posting my one-year update on October 12th! In regards to your questions, I was 27 at the time (28 now) and the pain has mostly subsided, but I still have the sensation of the bars on the inside 24/7, so I do stretch daily still. That is a good idea though - I will add some comparison pics to my update when I post it. But I will say this - surgery is 100% worth it. I know how this condition affects us mentally and it is a real source of body dysmorphia, but also a huge motivator in working out and building chest strength. If you're considering it, do it.
7 months later I still have the sensation of the bars in 24/7 but it’s not necessarily painful. I’ve been working out at the gym again and figuring out what I can and can’t do. Deadlifts still suck but I can do belt squats. Got into doing full pushups but can’t really do incline bench at all. Flat bench is easier. Machine press is even easier and preferable. It’s a long process and hard not to jump back into the hard workouts for sure!
I also did my nuss procedure 46 days ago, and til now its still very complicated. It was two procedures because first one they tried putting one bar which rotated in the same day then doing the second surgery 2 days later putting 2 bars. The first weeks are TERRIBLE, if you live alone and have an very active life its a problem. I have anxiety but the workouts always helped me, BUT the pain, low breathing and lack of activity made me have panic attacks so going to the psychiatrist was needed in my case. Getting up from the bed is a problem til today, I do the same as you do but I dunno if you got the "conectors" from the bars showing in your skin, I REALLY hated this part, you can clearly see this conector through your skin looking like a "breaking rib" and it still feels like popping/cracking, sometimes when I breath or cough... or even if I move too much. But one think is real, you have to walk as much as possible and do some breath therapy... I got a bilateral pleural effusion, had to get it draining to no coming back, its a pain in the ass! :/ I am not sure if its "normal", but do you have back pain? I guess the worst thing for me is the back pain, sometimes I just wanna cry because no pain killer helps me... and I am praying to be able to sleep from my sides because sleeping belly up every day for almost 2 months is terrible
Its like, I REALLY understand what you are feeling, I had a "blessed soul" saying to me: "Try giving birth to twins, then you talk about pain" it came from a man, like... hahahaha! For real, for weeks I regret the procedure, I cried and I coudnt cry because any emotion hurt, even sneezing til today is bad and painful! But hope that today you are feeling better!
Wow, where did you get it done if I may ask? That is very abnormal that they would have to do 2 procedures... and it sounds painful. At this point I am 10 weeks out and to answer some of your questions - back pain, yes every other day it felt like I had a new muscle that was aching or just stiffness. Even now I get it here and there, but I think this is just from sleeping on your back so much because that's your only option. I don't think I can really see any connectors, but I can definitely feel where things are attached especially since I've lost 15-20 pounds since. I absolutely understand the lack of being able to work out - thankfully I have a therapist I see every couple weeks which has helped air out some frustration so it's good you have a psychiatrist you go to. Actually in an hour as I am writing this I am going with a friend to attempt a light workout lol. Fingers crossed. That last bit is comical because it's annoying as F when people try to compare their experience or others' experience with pain, with the experience of having a constant tightness around your entire rib cage like someone is squeezing your ribs 24/7 literally, as well as pain you can't do shit about for weeks on end, and my god when I had significant sternum pain I was just pissed all day every day for 2 weeks. This whole thing really is a test of strength and will. I can tell you at 10 weeks, you will most likely feel way, way better. My pain is virtually gone minus that constant feeling of pressure but that takes a long time to go away. You just get used to it. Hang in there seriously. We got this.
@@alockwood I got it done here in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I tried to get the best doctor from my place, which is also considered one of the best ones in america latina, but even like this I got some problems. But from now on I guess its going in the right way, finally! (But still a long progress ahead) The back pain is boring as fuck but its a process... soon we are going to be free from that and healthy! 🙏🏻
@@PePeripeciasTV It is certainly a process. I just recently got back into some gym exercise finally, and worked myself up to full pushups. Hopefully things are looking better for you!
@@alockwood that sounds good, I feels like its slowly getting better too, reeeeeally slowly, HAHA! I still feel some pain in the conectors which is more visible and it makes things hard when you try to sleep on the sides, it hurts. Its been 2 months I am dealing with a shoulder blade pain that always appears when I lay down, probably this is the thing that had been more boring to handle right now but I'm MUUUUCH better than before, it was too brutal in the first 3 months. I guess this surgery is like a pandora box, everybody gets really bad with some different "surprises". But now 6 months gone, now waiting the 2.5y ahead, LOL!
Hey whoever comes across this - I replied to a couple of comments but I will be posting my 1 YEAR update on October 12th, 2024.
A short update - I think this surgery was 100% worth it. It is tough, especially in the beginning, but I can now do full pushups again, I work out in a gym weekly, I can run, rock climb, practice Muay Thai which is something I started a couple of months ago, and overall be pretty active. At this point I still sleep on my back (probably for the best anyways) but I live on my own and my life is just fine and I am fully functional. Good luck to anyone who is considering getting the surgery! Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will do my best to reply.
I'm currently just starting to get to the bottom of my diagnoses. Local doctors don't understand the compression I feel on a daily basis. Like someone is shoving something into my heart. It seems that the cosmetic idea still perpetuates. I'm trying to stay positive, but surgery is so far into the future, it seems. Keeping busy is the only thing helping me endure the wait. Thanks for making this video. I appreciate it.
@@gyokuto9332 yeah man I had a few doctors tell me I wouldn’t need surgery. When I finally did the pre-surgery tests and exams I was really surprised I had heart and lung compression and my heart was actually slightly displaced.
If it’s an option for you, fly here to AZ to do Mayo Clinic. They did amazing and the surgeon Dr. J genuinely cares about this condition and she has years of experience and they’re constantly researching. It sucks ass healing but I’d do it again. Best of luck!
Thanks for sharing.
Best of luck with all of that, man. 🙏
Thanks boss been a process for sure
Hey Alex, first of all I just wanted to say thanks for this vid. It's good to see someone honest and unedited thoughts and feelings on this surgery, and hearing what you have gone through and are going through is really helpful. I personally would be interested in another update from your side! I'm curious, do you have any regrets or anything you would change (prep wise) about the surgery? How old were you when you had the surgery? And so far, do you think it is worth it yet or maybe will be worth it with time? Wishing you all the best mate, from another Pectus bro in the UK looking into surgery.
Hey man, I will upload my one-year update on October 12th. But in regards to your questions - I was 27 (28 now) and I do not have any regrets. As far as preparing, the surgeon and her team gave me chest exercises to do to really stretch out your chest muscles prior to surgery, so do lots of stretching. So far, yes I think it's worth it because for my situation personally, it has improved my breathing and reduced the heart and lung compression I had. This is something you really have to go into understanding that you are making a 3 year commitment (maybe more or less depending on the level of your pectus). My surgery was in October 2023 and to this day I still have the 24/7 sensation of the bars, I still stretch every day, I still am working on improving my chest strength again. But if you're like me and you love to work out you will find workarounds and still be able to go to the gym. I also started training Muay Thai a couple months ago however obviously I cannot take hits or spar, I just practice the art and my form but it is taxing on my stamina.
Look out for my update in October - I'll touch more on all of this stuff and just how it's affected my life. In the meantime though feel free to reply with any other questions and I'm happy to answer when I see them. Thanks for the comment/questions and watching!
Hey, man, hopefully, the pain is less now after 6 months. I am have the same issue with my chest. I have some questions. How old were you when you got the surgery done? How is the pain now? If you could maybe do an update comparing the before and after of your chest, that would be amazing. Good luck man! 🙏
Hey there, I'll be posting my one-year update on October 12th! In regards to your questions, I was 27 at the time (28 now) and the pain has mostly subsided, but I still have the sensation of the bars on the inside 24/7, so I do stretch daily still. That is a good idea though - I will add some comparison pics to my update when I post it. But I will say this - surgery is 100% worth it. I know how this condition affects us mentally and it is a real source of body dysmorphia, but also a huge motivator in working out and building chest strength. If you're considering it, do it.
How is it now?
7 months later I still have the sensation of the bars in 24/7 but it’s not necessarily painful. I’ve been working out at the gym again and figuring out what I can and can’t do. Deadlifts still suck but I can do belt squats. Got into doing full pushups but can’t really do incline bench at all. Flat bench is easier. Machine press is even easier and preferable. It’s a long process and hard not to jump back into the hard workouts for sure!
I also did my nuss procedure 46 days ago, and til now its still very complicated. It was two procedures because first one they tried putting one bar which rotated in the same day then doing the second surgery 2 days later putting 2 bars.
The first weeks are TERRIBLE, if you live alone and have an very active life its a problem. I have anxiety but the workouts always helped me, BUT the pain, low breathing and lack of activity made me have panic attacks so going to the psychiatrist was needed in my case.
Getting up from the bed is a problem til today, I do the same as you do but I dunno if you got the "conectors" from the bars showing in your skin, I REALLY hated this part, you can clearly see this conector through your skin looking like a "breaking rib" and it still feels like popping/cracking, sometimes when I breath or cough... or even if I move too much.
But one think is real, you have to walk as much as possible and do some breath therapy... I got a bilateral pleural effusion, had to get it draining to no coming back, its a pain in the ass! :/
I am not sure if its "normal", but do you have back pain? I guess the worst thing for me is the back pain, sometimes I just wanna cry because no pain killer helps me...
and I am praying to be able to sleep from my sides because sleeping belly up every day for almost 2 months is terrible
Its like, I REALLY understand what you are feeling, I had a "blessed soul" saying to me: "Try giving birth to twins, then you talk about pain" it came from a man, like... hahahaha!
For real, for weeks I regret the procedure, I cried and I coudnt cry because any emotion hurt, even sneezing til today is bad and painful!
But hope that today you are feeling better!
Wow, where did you get it done if I may ask? That is very abnormal that they would have to do 2 procedures... and it sounds painful.
At this point I am 10 weeks out and to answer some of your questions - back pain, yes every other day it felt like I had a new muscle that was aching or just stiffness. Even now I get it here and there, but I think this is just from sleeping on your back so much because that's your only option.
I don't think I can really see any connectors, but I can definitely feel where things are attached especially since I've lost 15-20 pounds since.
I absolutely understand the lack of being able to work out - thankfully I have a therapist I see every couple weeks which has helped air out some frustration so it's good you have a psychiatrist you go to. Actually in an hour as I am writing this I am going with a friend to attempt a light workout lol. Fingers crossed.
That last bit is comical because it's annoying as F when people try to compare their experience or others' experience with pain, with the experience of having a constant tightness around your entire rib cage like someone is squeezing your ribs 24/7 literally, as well as pain you can't do shit about for weeks on end, and my god when I had significant sternum pain I was just pissed all day every day for 2 weeks. This whole thing really is a test of strength and will.
I can tell you at 10 weeks, you will most likely feel way, way better. My pain is virtually gone minus that constant feeling of pressure but that takes a long time to go away. You just get used to it. Hang in there seriously. We got this.
@@alockwood I got it done here in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I tried to get the best doctor from my place, which is also considered one of the best ones in america latina, but even like this I got some problems. But from now on I guess its going in the right way, finally! (But still a long progress ahead) The back pain is boring as fuck but its a process... soon we are going to be free from that and healthy! 🙏🏻
@@PePeripeciasTV It is certainly a process. I just recently got back into some gym exercise finally, and worked myself up to full pushups. Hopefully things are looking better for you!
@@alockwood that sounds good, I feels like its slowly getting better too, reeeeeally slowly, HAHA! I still feel some pain in the conectors which is more visible and it makes things hard when you try to sleep on the sides, it hurts. Its been 2 months I am dealing with a shoulder blade pain that always appears when I lay down, probably this is the thing that had been more boring to handle right now but I'm MUUUUCH better than before, it was too brutal in the first 3 months.
I guess this surgery is like a pandora box, everybody gets really bad with some different "surprises".
But now 6 months gone, now waiting the 2.5y ahead, LOL!