pubescent gyn success story (kinda :P)

[cdub]

alright i thought i'd share a hopeful story with you guys. i've had gyn since the 8th grade, was a very social boy, had a lot of friends etc.  i never thought about my nipples until one of my buddies asked me at a pool "why do u have goosebumbs on your nipples?" (cold water) from then i realized the difference.  all through highschool i felt ashamed with my nipples, i did everything i'm sure you guys did.  wore jackets in the dead heat of summer, put duct tape over them, never took of my shirt, or when i was forced too (soccer team) was constantly playing with them to keep them hard when no one was looking.  I also hated having to wear certain warm up jersys etc because they made it obvious i had gyno.  i don't know if i should be proud of being able to hide my nipples, but no one ever really asked me about them expect for a few times, but alas i remember each of those times like it was yesterday.  Anyways what i wanted you guys to hear was that maybe the beginning of maybe my senior year of highschool i noticed something when playing with my nipples (i would always push down on the hard lumps with my fingers trying to "break" them down sometimes to the point of extreme pain and brusing around the nipple, not a pretty sight), they actually seemed smaller than before! not by much but just barely noticable.  Anyways over the next month i noticed it was getting gradually smaller and smaller but only in amounts that i would notice because i was constantly feeling the lumps.  Well now i want you guys to know that they started out the size of half a golf ball under each nipple, and having this on an athletically built and nice looking body (i lift weights) absolutely kills my confidence.  i always think "i wish i could take off my shirt and show off all my hard work!" etc.  but i have yet to have that opportunity.  Well i will say that now im starting my sophmore year at college and i think (although over past guesses im probably being to hopeful) that by the end of this year my gyno will be completely gone.  They feel smaller than ever and i've noticed taht on both my my nipples only about half of the nipple looks "puffy" while the other half is starting to look normal, i can almost tell what it will look like normal.  years and year of waiting and i'm so close to happiness i can't even explain, it's like a fucking prison sentence hah.  anyways one thing i've notice is that as i'm ending my years of puberty and starting to really grow in the facial hair the more hair i grow, the more my gyno starts to "dissolve" almost and i'm confident that it will be gone one day soon with out surgery and i will finally be able to walk around with my shirt off, stop playing with my nipples, get completely naked during sex (yeah i know ), go swimming regurally during the summer GOD I'VE WANTED TO DO THIS FOR SO LONG.   Anyways it's sad because i know that if i didn't have gyno i would be 10x as confident as i am right now, not that i'm not happy with myself i just know it could have been better if i didn't have gyno, but soon it will be gone and i will be uninhibited!  it really is unbelievable how much of a psycological effect gyno can have on you especially during your teenage years, the very fact that i know once this goes away that i will be even more confident, especially with women is almost sad.  Anyways I've visted this site many a times during my years with gyno but to be honest it always left me feeling sad and depressed knowing i couldn't really do much about it.  Well today I felt like posting this to bring hope to some of you yonger guys out there that are going through puberty and hating yourself for this curse.  I know it sucks, i always read "more than 2 years and you need surgery" but have hope and see that even i, 5 years of a living hell with gyno am finally starting to see results near the end of my puberty days.  Good luck to all of and continue fighting!

Sincerely,

Anon

[alphajc]

It's a good idea to wait until around age 18-19 to see if it goes away on its own, but if it doesn't surgery is a great option.  If it's greatly affecting you right now, with parental consent a surgeon may feel that it's okay to get surgery now.  In any case hang in there...there are better days ahead!

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

It is true that usually, if the gyne is present and stable for two years or more, then it will not disappear.  Yours seems to be getting better -- but it is not all gone.

I take a different tack on the subject.  If you realize the many years that you have been hiding your gyne, would it not have been better to have had surgery, be done with it and actually enjoy all your teenage years??

I have therefore operated on a lot of teens, between the ages of 12 to 18, and not one of them has had a recurrence of their gyne.  All of them have had not only a physical improvement, but a vast improvement in their self esteem and self image. They have been able to do the topless activities that all teenage boys would like to do.

I am not saying that every teen with gyne should have surgery -- but I am saying that it is an option -- and it can save a lot of physical and emotional turmoil -- which you have adequately described.

Dr Jacobs

[f22]

Hey man,

Just read your story about how your gyno is finally clearing up! Really happy for you. I was just wondering how old you are now and is it still improving even more? I am 18 and had it since i was about 14 I think, however at the time I was pretty fat and in bad shape. Over the years I have lost loads of fat and I am in pretty good shape now. I still have a minor case of gyno and really hoping it will go away. But as I said I'm not sure if there's hope as I am 18!

[jojo82]

Although very tricky for boys going through puberty, it's necessary to consult an endocrinologist as soon as you notice physical signs (gyne) of a hormone imbalance. Preventative medicine will always be cheaper than expensive surgery. Insurance will cover an endocrinologist, but will rarely cover cosmetic surgery. This forum is teeming with plastic surgeons pimping their practices (don't be fooled- they're advertising), so you'll rarely get advice to see an endocrinologist immediately; you'll get the "wait it out a couple years" advice which, in many cases, leads to fibrous gynecomastia only correctable through surgery.