3 days ago
My moobs halted my love life as I'm too self-conscious to go topless – girls have made cruel jibes since I was a kid
A MAN claims his 'moobs' have stalled his love life as he's too self-conscious to take his top off on dates.
Thabo Methie, 31, was just 10 years old when he started noticing that he seemed to be developing breasts instead of pecs.
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Sporty Thabo says he was bullied at school - with kids saying they were "bigger than some of the females".
Thabo stopped participating in sports like swimming aged 11 as he was too self-conscious to take off his top and he says he became "sick" of being the brunt of every joke.
He went to the doctor and was diagnosed with gynaecomastia – when boys or men have more breast gland tissue than usual.
Having lived with the condition for 21 years and worn oversized T-shirts to hide his chest, Thabo has decided to have his breasts surgically removed.
As the surgery is deemed cosmetic, Thabo says it can't be done through the NHS.
Instead, he's set up a GoFundMe to raise the £6.5k required for "life-changing" private surgery to remove the breast tissue he says has been holding him back for years.
Thabo, a healthcare assistant for the NHS blood and transplant service, originally from Marondera, Zimbabwe, but living in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, said: "It isn't painful, but it has mentally affected me because of how people were to me.
"I went for quite a while without dating someone because I didn't want to take my clothes off.
"For such a long time, I would debate getting a knife and cutting it off myself.
"The moment people started making jokes, that really hurt me and that stuck with me, especially when people pointed them out to me.
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"Some girls were laughing about it at school, and the most heart-breaking one was my then-crush telling me that I could breastfeed."
Thabo's insecurities grew when he attended boarding school at 13.
He says he became a recluse, trying to avoid any interaction with his peers.
He went on to spend the next four years trying to wash when no one would see him - which proved difficult sharing a communal bathroom with 23 other people.
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Thabo said: "My entire life has been about wearing clothes that hide something that makes me deeply embarrassed and has gotten worse with time.
"Even now when I want to swim, I worry what people will think of me and I want my confidence to come back and I don't want to worry about what other people think of me."
When Thabo was 19, he took up running in an effort to shrink his chest and has more recently added strength training to his repertoire.
The 31-year-old claimed he even tried taking weight loss jabs.
What is gynaecomastia?
Gynaecomastia, or 'man boobs', is where men have bigger breasts than usual.
It's common and may not need treatment, but can sometimes be caused by other conditions.
The main symptom is getting bigger breasts than usual.
Your nipples or breasts may also look swollen or feel sore. One or both breasts can be affected.
What causes gynecomastia?
Hormone changes in men aged over 50, or during puberty
Being overweight
Certain medicines
Conditions such as an overactive thyroid, kidney disease, or cirrhosis
Drug use, including anabolic steroids
The effect of pregnancy hormones on some newborn babies
Treatments
Gynaecomastia is often harmless and may not need treatment, but if it's a problem for you, your GP may recommend:
Medicines that reduce or increase certain hormones
Losing weight, if you're overweight
If your gynaecomastia is caused by a condition, getting treatment for the condition may help reduce the size of your breasts.
Surgery can reduce your breasts if other treatments have not worked, but it may not be available on the NHS.
When gynaecomastia happens in newborn babies, or when it's caused by puberty, it usually goes away by itself over time.
Though he's maintained an active lifestyle to try and manage his condition, he has gained 21kg and now weighs 19st.
His breast tissue has grown more with time, affecting his self-esteem and mental health, he said.
Thabo said: "This has been ruining my self-esteem and it's just making me feel depressed most of the time.
"I have added strength training to the running but these can only do so much, especially as I gain weight.
"I started eating healthier with food that has more fibre, and last year I started taking the weight loss injection, but I stopped taking it as it was really expensive."
Gynaecomastia is fairly common and thought to be linked to an imbalance of oestrogen and testosterone.
Conditions such as an overactive thyroid, kidney disease, or cirrhosis can cause it, as can taking certain medicines and being overweight.
The NHS classifies surgery to remove breast tissue as cosmetic.
It also requires patients seeking it to provide long-term UK-based medical records, which Thabo can't do as he only moved to the UK on a visa in 2023.
Thabo said: "To have this surgery would mean the world to me. It would be a huge weight off of my shoulders.
