How to 'feel the lumps'?

[Edmontonian]

When people say they feel the lumps/hardness, what do they do exactly?

Push the nipple inwards?
Pinch the nipples/around the areola? And if so, how deep do you pinch and how much do you pinch?

If I 'pinch' from underneath my pectoral to ~ half an inch above my nipple [a total of roughly 1.5-2 inches], I can definitely grab something. Do I want to pinch near the surface? Or deep against my skin?

I would like to know if I should continue to lose weight, 5'8 and ~170lbs, or if surgery is my only option.

Thank You

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

At 5'8" and 170 lbs, your BMI is 25.8, which is ideal.  Losing additional weight will not make a significant improvement in your chest.

As I have often said, feeling for lumps and trying to determine what they are is a fool's errand.  Gynecomastia is defined as "excess tissue on a male chest."  It is usually a combination of breast tissue and fat, in varying ratios.  Even my experienced hands cannot tell with absolute certainty how much breast tissue is there -- but I do know the difference between a normal chest (which has a thin pinch of skin and fat from the collar bone down to the lower ribs) and a chest with gyne present.

Bottom line, if you have excess tissue, it IS gyne.  Then it is your decision whether to have surgery to remove it or to live with it.

Dr Jacobs