Trying to work out what the problem is - Bras or Breasts
I've been trying to work out what it is that is most difficult about having Gynaecomastia
This a chart which is an attempt to pin down my thoughts.
I've identified the Five main elements - Inconvenience, Embarrassment, Health, Comfort & Pain and assigned a score for the breast growth and the bra wearing.
Certainly having to wear a bra is inconvenient - you have to put it on and take it off, it makes your clothes hang differently, and it can show under your clothes (which slips into the embarrassment line). I am having the inconvenience of wearing a bra while I sleep (that's perhaps comfort) and moisturising the things. I note below the inconvenience of checking for lumps & bumps occasionally.
I feel I might be embarrassed (it's not happened yet) if someone notices my bra, or bra straps, although I'm slowly getting to the stage where I just don't care!
My breasts are a different matter - they are embarrassing, no other word for it, I still feel like they don't belong, but I'm trying to learn to make the best of having them.Nipples are a different matter - they are frequently 'erect' and will stick out without padding - this I do find embarrasing!
I still find it a little embarrassing to go shopping for 'lingerie'.
Health? Well the bra has already caused a sweat rash in my tiny cleavage, and I do get some backache from some of my sports bras. Male breasts lead to a tiny increase in the possibility of breast cancer - so there's the inconvenience of having to check monthly for lumps, just in case.
Comfort is very subjective.
I find my unsupported breasts incredibly uncomfortable despite their modest size. The movement is not unlike sea-sickness! There's a downward drag and it's only relieved by a bra for support, and a decent bra stops the movement of the ships.
Most of the bras I've tried are 'not uncomfortable' - the sports bras do a great job, but become tiring after a few hours, the others I find need maintenance to keep my breasts from falling out the sides or the band rolling up.
I'm intending to see if a wired bra might be more comfortable.
Pain I don't get from any bra (yet). But my breasts are intermittently painful - although where that slips over into discomfort I'm unsure. I get very occasional shooting pains in my nipples, and very itchy nipples once in a while (although less often recently). My nipples are very sensitive and frequently erect - so I definitely need some padding in my bras for both comfort and discretion. I get occasional deep aches in the sides of my breasts which isn't eased by Voltarol or Ibuprofen gels. I know they are there!
There was another line that I've left off. Sexy. My breasts are the antithesis of 'sexy' - they are ugly and hairy and unpleasant, but maybe a nice bra to support them could offset a lot of that to look & feel sexy itself. Is that weird?