AAS Induced Gyno. Treatment and Surgery.

[FitnessFreak]

I'm a Bodybuilder and have used Pro Hormones for the last year.

I have always taken the correct precautions with Post Cycle Therapy, Using Nolvadex and Torem.

I finished my last cycle and Post Cycle Therapy around 1.5 months ago.

I have recently found a lump under my right nipple only. The lump started off very small and has now grown to the size of a pea of possibly larger. It does not hurt to touch but there is slight puffyness and white/clear discharge from the nipple. It is a hard lump.

As soon as i found the lump i started using Letrozole dosed at 2.5mg a day. I'm currently on day 6 and have noticed no changes. The lump seems to be getting bigger.

Shall i continue to use the Letrozole and wait to see what happens? Or shall i go to the doctors and talk to them about surgery? I'm in no rush to have the surgery done purely because i cannot afford it.


 

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Many body builders take hormones, HGH, etc and then follow some internet guidelines (usually posted by non-physicians) which purport to tell them how to avoid the "bitch breasts" that invariably follow such hormonal manipulation.  The problem is that you are playing with your endocrine system without any physician supervision, blood testing to establish hormone levels, etc.  Your endocrine system is a very sensitive, delicately balanced biologic system with multiple feed-back mechanisms.  Taking a pill to avoid a possible problem is simplistic in its extreme.

My best recommendation would be to get off everything and don't touch it ever again.  Then give your body several months to go back to its normal endocrine state.  Finally, if the lump is still there and if it bothers you, then consult a surgeon about possible removal.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

I'm a Bodybuilder and have used Pro Hormones for the last year.

I have always taken the correct precautions with Post Cycle Therapy, Using Nolvadex and Torem.

I finished my last cycle and Post Cycle Therapy around 1.5 months ago.

I have recently found a lump under my right nipple only. The lump started off very small and has now grown to the size of a pea of possibly larger. It does not hurt to touch but there is slight puffyness and white/clear discharge from the nipple. It is a hard lump.

As soon as i found the lump i started using Letrozole dosed at 2.5mg a day. I'm currently on day 6 and have noticed no changes. The lump seems to be getting bigger.

Shall i continue to use the Letrozole and wait to see what happens? Or shall i go to the doctors and talk to them about surgery? I'm in no rush to have the surgery done purely because i cannot afford it.


 

Swollen gland can sometimes reverse itself once the stimulation is removed.

I recently posted this on the same topic:

I work with many Bodybuilders with Gynecomastia.

Prohormones are unregulated powerful substances that can change the hormone balance of the body. Hormonal stimulation can swell and grow the breast gland for both men and women. Just why the FDA is not regulating Prohormones, is beyond my understanding. Herbs, plants, and other "natural" items have been used as medications for years. The Digitalis plant has been used for centuries, it is just not refined and has unregulated strength of the drug.

I have seen many many patients over the years complain about the tenderness, discomfort, and breast growth that just would not go away after stopping the "over the counter" pills. Medical treatment of gynecomastia works only on the swollen phase of gland stimulation by blocking the effects of the stimulating hormones. Once this swelling subsides, there seems to be little effect of medical management unless there is an underlying problem. The human hormone system is in a delicate balance that can be thrown out of kilter. Sometimes it can recover on its own. Other times, patients stop the stimulating agent and the tenderness and growth persists. If tenderness, growth, nipple discharge or other Symptoms of Gynecomastia Growth continue, I ask my patients to have an evaluation by an experienced Endocrinologist. I have even seen patients who after cycling with self medication have untreatable continued breast growth. One particular patient had already had 2 major breast reductions by other doctors and regrew massive breasts after each operation. His endocrine system could not be reset, several endocrinologists were unable to find anything to change.

Surgery is not the first choice for glands recently swollen by a stimulation process. If the swelling resolving reduces the gland size beyond what a significant contour contribution, then surgery was not needed. That is why I prefer to operate on a stable problem whenever possible. If the breasts have stopped growing, are not tender, then surgery is an option. Otherwise you are risking breast regrowth.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[FitnessFreak]

Many body builders take hormones, HGH, etc and then follow some internet guidelines (usually posted by non-physicians) which purport to tell them how to avoid the "bitch breasts" that invariably follow such hormonal manipulation.  The problem is that you are playing with your endocrine system without any physician supervision, blood testing to establish hormone levels, etc.  Your endocrine system is a very sensitive, delicately balanced biologic system with multiple feed-back mechanisms.  Taking a pill to avoid a possible problem is simplistic in its extreme.

My best recommendation would be to get off everything and don't touch it ever again.  Then give your body several months to go back to its normal endocrine state.  Finally, if the lump is still there and if it bothers you, then consult a surgeon about possible removal.

Dr Jacobs

Thank you very much for the advice. Are you saying that if i come off any current supplements that i am taking (Letrozole) my body could return to its natural state and the lump could reverse?

I thought that if the lump was hard that the only treatment was surgery.

I will be taking your advice.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Yes, it is possible for the lump to settle down once the hormonal stimulation has stopped.  No way to tell except by stopping everything and just giving your body a chance to get back to its own natural equilibrium.

If, after 4-6 months, the lump is still there, then it becomes your choice whether to have surgery to remove it or not.  If it is not visible, but merely feel able, then you may not want to have the surgery.

Dr Jacobs

[absec9]

Go to bodybuilding.com and read a little more there.  letro is going to shut down your estro about 98%.  I would stick with it for a while if its still growing. Hopping off of everything is definitely the "safest" thing to do, but the consequences could be terrible.  I wouldn't want that growing for a really long time.  Stay on it and keep doing research