Doctor just Prescribed Tamoxifen

[Gyno-more]

I've been seeing a Dr for the last month for my Gyno (Kaiser Permanente) in an effort to have surgery.  Everything came back normal except my Estrogen Level - which he said is DOUBLE the level it should be.  Not a big surprise to me as my chest looks more like breasts.  I am heading to the pharmacy to pick up my tamoxifen scrip now.  I am not expecting a miracle, but hopefully this helps. I know many of you have commented that gyne caused by steroids can possibly be helped by these drugs, but in  my case I have double the estrogen in my body that I shoud have and its not from steroids - do any of you think this will help?   

[Paa_Paw]

Yours is the exception, So lets hope it does you some good.

Various anti-Estrogen drugs are mentioned here often. In most cases they really are not indicated nor are they effective because the man's Estrogen level is/was normal.

Since your Estrogen levels are elevated, the drug should help you. The drug should lower your Estrogen levels and may allow your breasts to shrink some. Whether this will be enough to satisfy you or not is yet to be seen.

It must be remembered always that these drugs are only for a small number of "selected" patients and their use requires medical supervision.

Sadly, for most of us these drugs have no value.

[Gyno-more]

Paa_Paw,

  I'm glad you responded (you are one of the main members I was hoping to get input from).  It is sad that this drug (or a different one for that matter) does not help everyone.  As you said, hopefully since my Estrogen levels are twice the normal level, this will make enough of a difference that the gyno won't bother me as much - time will tell.  Thanks.

[mrpower33]

If Tamoxifen does not work, you should look into AIFM, it's an aromatase inhibitor.  I believe it is more effective and it's pretty safe if you follow the directions.  You can google it for more info, it's legal to buy you can get it at a certain body building online store. 

That being said, you absolutely should not get the surgery until you figure out why your hormones are out of whack.  If they grow back you will be PISSED!

[Gyno-more]

Absolutely agree with you about not getting the surgery til I get the hormones figured out - my next appointment is with and endocrinologist.  My biggest fear is that I've had gyno for about 20 years and I can't see Tamoxifen clearing it up - I think in the end, once the hormones are figured out, I'll need surgery.  About the AI - I've looked into that, but wouldn't that be required if you were on Steroids to stop them from Aromitizing and becoming estrogen?  I'm no expert and I'm certainly not questioning your advice, I just want to research this as much as possible. 

[Paa_Paw]

At this point, I'll have to admit you are over my head.

See the Enocrinologist and see where it takes you. You will need to give the Dr. your trust and follow directions faithfully. Don't expect big changes in a short time, the Estrogen levels should be corrected soon enough but the residual effects will take a long time to see what, if any, benefits ensue.

Good Luck.

[Gyno-more]

Just an update - Day 4 of the medication.  I can't say if anything has changed  - I do notice a slight weight gain, though not enough yet to say if its normal fluctuation or due to the meds (if it's the meds I'm sure its water retention).  I was looking at my chest last night and the gyne seems to be worse on the left side.  I asked my wife, without telling her what I thought and she said that the left side was indeed bigger.  It has never been this way before, so i am hoping that the med is working, just a little faster on the right side ( Ispoke to a good friend and former pro bodybuilder who used this med after developing gyno using steroids - he said I'll see a difference after a week - of course our gyno was caused from different things so time will tell).  With that said, it could be in my mind - I took some pictures and will do so each week.  I will post them after a month.  Thanks to those who have responded - sometimes its just nice having someone to "talk" to who understands.

[thetodd]

I think your mates wrong, a week? no chance

you wont see any results after a week, i mean 6 months down the line maybe (years?). Also ive took the whole shebang drugs wise and nothing helped (i was never given ANY estrogen tests though btw) and nothing helped and i took them over a good year and it cost me about £900 (it actually did letzerole/cabergoline is expensive on black market)

in reality if youve got breasts dont expect tamoixfen to visually do much, because it wont and your going to need surgery once your levels are ok. I mean i dont know a great deal about your case but there's a high chance that youve got breast tissue now and you can only remove that surgically. If you want to do yourself a favour forget about taking pictures dont analyze your body everyday because its going to drive you insane (ive been there dont do it!)

take the course as prescribed and go back to your doctor and ask about the possibility of surgery when your estrogen is back to normal

GL

[haisook]

Gyno-more,

how much tamoxifen are you taking every day?

[Gyno-more]

20mg per day.

[Gyno-more]

I think your mates wrong, a week? no chance

you wont see any results after a week, i mean 6 months down the line maybe (years?). Also ive took the whole shebang drugs wise and nothing helped (i was never given ANY estrogen tests though btw) and nothing helped and i took them over a good year and it cost me about £900 (it actually did letzerole/cabergoline is expensive on black market)

in reality if youve got breasts dont expect tamoixfen to visually do much, because it wont and your going to need surgery once your levels are ok. I mean i dont know a great deal about your case but there's a high chance that youve got breast tissue now and you can only remove that surgically. If you want to do yourself a favour forget about taking pictures dont analyze your body everyday because its going to drive you insane (ive been there dont do it!)

I can't argue with you, I can only tell you what he told me his experience was.  I fear you are probably right, but I hope like hell you're wrong!
take the course as prescribed and go back to your doctor and ask about the possibility of surgery when your estrogen is back to normal

GL

[Gyno-more]

Just saw the Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente - he said he can remove the gland no problem, but he's referring me to their Plastic Susrgery Department because he said it wont look right if I don't get the Lipo as well.  One step closer.......

[mrpower33]

If you have some random ps do the surgery for you, you should prepare to be disappointed with the results. 

[Gyno-more]

If you have some random ps do the surgery for you, you should prepare to be disappointed with the results. 

With any PS procedure you should be prepared to be disappointed with the results.  If you do a search in this forum for "Kaiser" you will find a few people have had the surgery done there and the results have been positive.  I would love to be able to afford to pick the "Best" PS in the world to perform my surgery, but I've been laid off from work for months.  But thanks for your support!

[mrpower33]

Just trying to make sure you are thinking things through.  Most surgeons do not know how to do this surgery very well.  The fact that there are so many people here with botched operations should remind you of that.  You may think you are saving money now, but in the end, that may not be the case and your condition may end up being even worse.  You should make sure you grill whomever they assign you to have the operation and ask for before and after photos.  You can't trust a random surgeon to get this right without being positive he has the expertise to do it, you are not likely to get a good result if you do.  Don't think that because someone is a doctor or even a certified ps that they know what they are doing, that's just not always the case and we've seen that over and over again on this forum.  Faith in someone's expertise should never be blind, their track record and experience will always be a good indicator as to what result you will get yourself.  If they don't have one, or can't show you one, then just be aware that you are playing craps.  It's just crazy reading all these stories about people who rushed into this operation or went cheap thinking it was no big deal only to have to re-live the ordeal of this operation multiple times and end up spending way more than if they had done it right the first time.  Trust me, you do not want to do this more than once, it's not fun at all. 

Make sure you let us know how it goes!