Had the surgery, but having concerns...

[sms1527]

Hi. I had excision of bilateral glandular tissue two weeks ago. My results are amazing. I could not be happier. I finally have the flat chest I’ve never had before.

That being said, I’m living in paranoia that my glandular tissue will grow back.

Last night I had the smallest bite of a marijuana edible. I did not even feel the effects because the bite was so small. I then read that marijuana can cause gyno, and I’m so worried now that the tissue will grow back.

One small bite, one time is not going to cause a reoccurrence of gyno right? I can feel that I’m being neurotic, but I’m just so happy with the results that I don’t want to do anything to mess it up.

Also, I read that alcohol can cause gyno. I’m not a heavy drinker at all. I might go out to a bar once a month with friends if that, but that’s it. So what…I can NEVER have a drink again? I just feel like I’m going to be living in constant paranoia that I’ll get gyno again. And also going to be so limited in life by the things I CAN’T do, because it seems anything fun (and for me it’s in moderation) causes gyno.

I’m 30. I don’t do steroids. My gyno was present since puberty and only got worse later in life when I started to naturally lean out.

I also went to an endocrinologist for labs under a year ago and everything came back normal.

Please help.

I've attached a picture of how much tissue was removed. 


EDIT: I recognize I double posted on this board. The last one had some weird text appear before my plea, and I thought I could delete the post (but apparently I cant...this is my first time on this board).

[Dr. Schuster]

Congratulations. Supposedly weed can cause gyno but I honsetly have never seen a scientific study confirming that. You've had the vast majority of the breast tissue removed. Time to move on and enjoy your future. I sincerely doubt that it is goign to recur in spite of your lifestyle choices (within moderation of course).

[sms1527]

Thank you very much for responding. I really appreciate it! 

[Litlriki]

I agree with Dr. Schuster.  Now that marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, I've had more than a few patients ask about the link, and I confess, I am not a believer in the marijuana-gynecomastia connection.  Searching literature for the basis of this reveals a number of older references from the 70s, and there are some references that talk about suppression of testosterone by marijuana use, but it's not clear to me how much suppression occurs. On review, however, in 26 years of doing gynecomastia surgery, I've had precious few patients come in complaining that they developed the condition because they smoked a lot of weed.  Alternatively, the other factors show up all the time--specific medications, steroids, and so on.  As a result, my assessment is that the connection was made during the "reefer madness" era, and may not be as causal as suggested.  

[sms1527]

Thank you Doctor for your response. Much appreciated. 

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Could not agree more with my colleagues.  There has always been talk that "marijuana causes gynecomastia" but it is all anecdotal -- there are no scientific papers that prove a definite link between the two.  In fact, marijuana has been illegal for so long that there could not be any appropriate scientific studies.  All you really have is stories and myths which have been repeated so often that they appear to be the truth -- not so!

Dr Jacobs

[sms1527]

thank you doctor