I've just had an interesting experience. Early last Tuesday I had to go to the ER at our regional hospital because it seemed that I might have a recurrence of the twisted bowel I had 5 years ago, and this indeed proved to be the case. This time I eventually escaped but not until today. My "smart" phone expired just before I went in, and the hospital has no wi-fi available to patients so I have been suffering Breastnexus withdrawal symptoms as well as PM withdrawal symptoms and general starvation.

During the past week my chest has been extensively exposed to a large number of hospital staff, doctors and specialists, and nobody made any direct comment. However...

My bowel was finally untwisted by a gastroenterologist and the distension partially relieved using some form of colonoscope. He had a somewhat professorial manner, and held forth during the procedure to his interns. This particular specialist has been in the news of late because of multiple allegations that he indulged in unnecessary and inappropriate breast examinations prior to procedures, as a result of which he is currently barred from treating female patients while his case is under review. In my case he pointed out quite unnecessarily to his interns that I exhibited a classic case of Campbell de Morgan spots (harmless tiny red spots on just my chest and breasts).

The effect of the twist had been that my belly became distended to an extreme degree, and I did receive quips from nurses that I was 9 months pregnant (or later 7 months after some relief of the distension). I can't help feeling that my breast development must have enhanced the effect. Later, when the worst of the distension had subsided, my wife said I still looked 6 months pregnant. Things are now more or less back to normal, and at least I escaped surgery this time. I'm told that after my previous surgery this second 'volvulus' simply shouldn't have occurred. Perhaps nature is taking revenge on me for wanting to feel like a woman, since this pseudo-pregnancy was certainly not a pleasant experience.

Hello Annabel,

It's good to hear your health has improved since your departure from the hospital.

To comment on your final statement, no, I don't think nature is taking revenge on you for your gender identity.

Hello Annabel,

It's good to hear your health has improved since your departure from the hospital.

Indeed! Please try to stay healthy!

To comment on your final statement, no, I don't think nature is taking revenge on you for your gender identity.

Agreed. Doctors don't always know as much as they pretend to. When they say things like that what they're really saying is that they're baffled by what's happening but don't want to admit it.

I was relating my experience with the notorious gastroenterologist to a rather dour acquaintance, and she commented 'perhaps he didn't find your breasts sufficiently attractive'. I don't know whether she was 'noticing" me, or whether she was just commenting on his alleged propensities. As for the volvulus, the surgeon said that he couldn't say when or if it might occur again, but he was unable to predict the outcome of further bowel surgery, and therefore couldn't recommend it. Today however I saw my NP, who having prodded and listened to my belly, asked whether anyone had recommended any action in respect of my hernia. I said "what hernia' and "do I have one?', and that it was the first I'd heard of it. It seems that I have developed a substantial ventral hernia, probably following my gall bladder surgery a year ago. and this could well have been responsible for the latest volvulus if part of my gut had moved into the hernia. I had been noticing that I was bulging more than I should immediately below my rib cage and above my navel, with a rather prominent midline ridged protrusion when I tensed my stomach muscles. Possibly this has contributed to the flare of the bottom of my rib cage (which does nothing to improve the presentation of my breasts).

Third breast

It seems clear that what I have developed since my gall bladder surgery is something known as 'diastasis recti', most common amongst women who have recently given birth and popularly known as 'mummy tummy' (another feminine feature I could do without). It appears intermittently under certain circumstances as an (American) football shaped protuberance extending between the breastbone and the navel, and is caused by separation of the rectus (six-pack) muscles on either side of the linea alba which is the vertical line of gristle that normally connects them. The effect is painless but visually quite disconcerting, although it seems controversial whether it constitutes or may be associated with a hernia and whether any corrective action is desirable. It is like a sort of intermittent third breast between and below the other pair - I'll see whether I can photograph it.

I found the bulge quite difficult to photograph,but this may give an idea. It is the slightly lighter patch extending upwards from the navel. About two thirds of the way up this patch, close to the bottom of the lower shadow from the breast on the left of the photo is the scar from the incision through which my gall bladder was removed, and another of the gall bladder incisions can just be seen a little north west of the navel. Across the navel is the top end of the scar from previous surgery, so my centre line has been fairly well perforated one way or another. I'm on my back, and not really as fat as the photo makes me look: apart from anything else the split adds at least two inches to my girth in that area .

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That looks horrid!

OMG!! That does look nasty!

Ventral hernia

Yesterday I and my wife had a joint session with our nurse practitioner. I've been trying to get an appointment with my urologist since early july' so I prepared a note for the NP to pass to the urologist outlining some of my concerns, including those relating to the changes in my body due to low T (among other things), specifically my breast development and the drastic atrophy of my penis and testicles, and loss of muscle. I also thought it was time to take the bull by the horns and tackle the issue of my changes head on, since each of the three NPs we have seen over the past 20 months has carefully avoided any reference to my breast development. My specific question for the urologist was whether my now very small and soft testicles represent a health hazard (there is said to be an increased risk of cancer, but whether this is really something to worry about I don't know). To avoid the risk of him simply prescribing testosterone, which at this stage I definitely no longer want, I made clear that I was generally quite comfortable with the changes since I had always wished that I'd been born a girl. She read it, and commented on some of the things I had said, but still carefully avoided the subjects I have mentioned above. THis seemed the to be the most minimal way of introducing my GI, but of course is less than the whole picture. My wife said that she (the NP) was probably embarrassed (and also, gratuitously, that I would make an improbable girl anyway).

By some coincidence, the syndicated 'Dear Abby' column in our local news paper this morning was relevant and probably of interest to many of our married members. A link is
http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/
but if this doesn't work, Googling 'Dear Abby' shoud produce it -it is the column for December 18. My wife commented that sometimes Dear Abby comes up with sensible answers, and I have to agree.