i need help with my gyno

[jeroen92]

Hello,

Let me introduce myself, i'm an 21 year old male, since puberty i had tiny breast, it was hardly noticable. But due to some hair loss i used finasteride for 5months, my breast started to grow and i stoped immediatly, but now i feel it's getting bigger and bigger. should i use tamoxifin or anything else to try and reverse it ? my docter says it's swolen but she doesn't know about medication. Can anyone help me ?

[McGilli]

I find that posting pictures usually gets people on this forum much more help. It's hard to make informed opinions without seeing it.

Good luck!

[jeroen92]

i'll post one this evening

[fsugrad]

The same exact thing happened to me after using propecia. Only I used it less time than you did. In my case neither tamoxifen or raloxifene stopped the gland growth. It may have helped to slow the rate of growth but I have no way of knowing otherwise.

Its almost as if the propecia caused some hormonal change that triggered gland growth. This did NOT stop when I quit the drug.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Propecia is a good drug to stop the progression of hair loss -- it does not encourage re-growth of hair that is already lost.  It absolutely has hormonal properties.

Unfortunately, one of its side effects is what Merck calls "swelling and tenderness" of the breast.  It does not happen to everyone who takes it and there is no way to test a person, ahead of taking it, whether they will be the one who has this particular side effect. 

It is really disingenuous of Merck to call the breast enlargement "swelling."  Swelling connotes a temporary condition frequently associated with excess fluid accumulation.  That is not the case with this side effect-- it actually results in growth of breast tissue which is a one way street -- there is no way to reverse it.  Some patients continue to have some breast growth even though they stop the drug.

Unfortunately, once the breast tissue has grown, the only available treatment is surgery to remove the tissue -- with the advice never to use Propecia again after surgery.

On the other hand, I have had a number of patients whose gyne actually preceded their use of Propecia.  And when they decided to take Propecia, there was no change in their gyne. I have operated on these patients and they have continued using Propecia after surgery -- with no recurrence of their gyne. Obviously, these are the guys who would not have had the bad side effect of gyne stimulation. However, as I tell all of them -- there are no guarantees that you won't be the first to have a recurrence.

There are no controlled medical studies dealing with the above scenarios -- the company certainly won't sponsor them because it could hurt their sales.  All I can offer is anecdotal experience of patients using the drug.

Dr Jacobs

[jeroen92]

i dont know whether it's due to finasteride, i started develloping some breasts before taking finasteride and the dose i was taking was only 0.2mg/day.

under my left niple i feel a small disc, under my right niple i dont feel a disc. all i feel is a little fat with a lot of "little round shaped structures". a lot of small "beans". i went to see a docter and she said it was just a little swolen, but she didnt palpate it very well. i got some bloodwork done and all my hormones where normal :s

so tamoxifin or any other productsor something ?

i've added some photo's , it's hard to take picture of it though

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Your photos reveal none to minimal chest enlargement and your story, sorry to say is a bit muddled.  In addition, you are wasting your time in examining your own chest and trying to come to a diagnosis.

Best suggestion, if you are truly concerned with the contours of your chest, is to visit an experienced gyne surgeon for a history, examination and appropriate recommendations (which may include not to do anything).

Would certainly stay clear of self-medicating with Tamox or anything else -- that is not smart.

Dr Jacobs

[jeroen92]

no chest enlargement ? i can clearly feel a lot of swollen tisue /painfull tisue which is absolutely no fat.. do you need to have a c cup before getting conferned ?
i don't want to have surgery at all, my only question is what to do to minimize the swollen tisue (besides to stop taking propecia which i did) , that's why i asked tamoxifin or any other drug would remove the pain and make it flat again. or any other natural product , supplement which could help me.

[moobius]

the finasteride dropped DHT levels which through off your bodies natural balance. getting off will allow it to return to normal and you may do well taking some anti-aromatase (arimidex, letrozole, aromasin) at low dose in the meantime to lower E while your natural balance is restored

[Paa_Paw]

I will refer you back to what Dr. Jacobs said in his excellent response.

Like a Cosmetic Surgeon, an Endocrinologist Is a highly trained specialist. Their specialty would be to analyze and, if needed, balance your hormones. Neither of these jobs should be undertaken by someone less qualified. Balancing your hormones is not a do-it-yourself job. The chances are great that you could complicate the situation while there is little chance that you could improve things.