Author Topic: My Story...  (Read 6535 times)

Offline odt52

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Hi All,

I have recently discovered this website and can see that it is very useful and informative to fellow Gyno sufferers. However, I also noticed that nobody appears to have had quite the same experienced as me so thought it may be helpful to some people to read my story. I'll attempt to be as brief and concise as possible so feel free to ask me questions or for further information if required.

I developed small moobs aged around 18 (I am now 26). They grew progressively larger and are now pretty severe. I am 6ft 3" tall and of athletic build, however I was chubby-ish through puberty and through the following few years but I have lost a lot of weight recently which has pronounced my Gyno further. I am talking major Gyno here, about a C-Cup Iguess you could say. I have seen some of the pictures on here of people claiming to have bad Gyno, I would give my right arm to have Gyno as 'bad' as some of these people (no disrespect, just want to give a clear picture of the severity).

I was really struggling to shake of my moobs by exercising and having seen a bit about Gynocomastia  on C4’s Embarrassing Bodies I plucked up the courage to visit my GP having convinced myself this was not just excess fat.  

Having had a feel around my GP swiftly diagnosed it as Gyno. The firm and lumpy breast tissue can easily be felt under my skin, as opposed to just squidgy fat. In a way this was a relief to me as I knew there was something wrong and it wasn’t just me not exercising hard enough!

My GP agreed there and then this could be dealt with via plastic surgery under the NHS. However as a precaution he sent me to see a Endocrinologist to make sure there were no underlying hormone issues at play!

I went to see the Endo who again confirmed my case as definite Gyno and confirmed NHS treatment was available. I had my bloods taken and was told I would be referred to the plastic surgeon if the bloods were normal.

My bloods revealed I had low testosterone which caused my Gyno. I was surprised by this given my size. My only symptom was that of Gyno, all of the of my other physical characteristics are normal, if not more masculine than others! I was then sent for a CT scan to ensure my Pituitary Gland was of normal size and to rule out any tumours in that area. Luckily my CT came back clean and I was diagnosed with Secondary Hypogonadism which has an unknown cause.

Following another consultation with the Edno it was decided I should begin Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) ASAP. The TRT would consist of a daily dose of Testogel. This is a clear gel which comes in sachets and is applied daily to the upper arms, shoulders or stomach area. It is essentially designed to increase Testosterone levels to normal (in my case in the hope that it reverses the Gyno). I was told it should have an effect on my Gyno but I could still have surgery if required.

I have been on the TRT for a couple of weeks now and have noticed that I am able to lose weight far easier and feel much more energetic and healthier, although this may just be psychological. The bad news is, although my Gyno has gone softer, it appears to be the same size. Although the treatment can often take 6 weeks to really kick in I am not holding out much hope as I read, albeit online, that although Testogel works wonders for increasing testosterone its record in treating longstanding Gyno is poor. It is more effective in reducing Gyno on younger people who have had it for only a couple of years.

I intend to see my GP again and ask him to refer to me a surgeon to have my Gyno removed. I am hopeful that this will be fine as we have found the cause and are treating it, now I just want them removed. I am aware that I am required to continue to TRT for the rest of my life. However I will come off the TRT when trying for kids as Hormone replacement therapy decreases fertility in men.

To summarise it has been an interesting journey for me. I am glad I know the cause and that it is being treated. I do feel far
better in myself having been on TRT (not that I was noticeably unwell before). I fully intend to have my Gyno surgically removed over the next few months on the NHS. My only wish I that I sought medical advice far earlier and got this dealt with before it partially ruined my early 20’s (the normal no t-shirt, no taking top off etc.). I would reccomend anyone getting surgery privately to make sure you have blood tests first to ensure its not an testosterone deficiency.

I have another Endo appointment in 5 months to take my bloods again to see if I need to up my dose of Testosterone.  It may be that an increased dose has more of an effect on my Gyno although I am hoping by then I will have had surgery so will never know.

I will update you after my next GP appointment.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2010, 08:20:20 AM by odt52 »

Offline kingboob

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Hi, I'm on TRT myself and I can safely say it has no effect on Gyne... if anything it can make it worse in some people.

Second thing I would say is that the initial effect of Testogel often wears off and a slightly increased dose may be required. - Your doctor should know about this but many don't.    Also it is worth remembering that there are other options for TRT like Nebido. Nebido is a long lasting injection - after the first 3 injections which are given 6 weeks apart you only need 1 injection every 10 to 14 weeks, depending on individual needs / response.   

You need to be careful  to make sure that Women & kids don't come into contact with your skin after applying the gel. (IE: it is a good idea to shower and wash it off before sex), because it can transfer to them and cause increased testosterone levels which is obviously not good!

As you say TRT basically reduces fertility in men to almost 0 because the body senses *normal testosterone levels* and pretty much shuts down your own testicles from producing extra testosterone, a side effect is they don't make as much sperm I guess.  So TRT is pretty much a replacement therapy, meaning you don't really *top up* your own production,  because once you start on the testogel your body senses it and stops making your own, meaning you end up having to up the dose on the gel and completely replace all the testosterone.

^ that probably doesn't make sense, no doubt your endo can explain it better than that.

Anyway, once you get used to applying the stuff it becomes routine and only takes a moment.  Like you I didn't think too much was wrong before starting TRT, but after starting I noticed a big increase in energy levels and well being.  I sleep less hours but feel more refreshed, I used to get a lot of depression and I haven't had any in the last 2 years or so since starting TRT.  All things male (if you know what I mean) are better as well. 

  Only downsides are having to take medication every day and the increased body hair on the application sites.


ps: 5 months is a long time to wait for follow up blood tests,  I would push your GP to do it.  Testogel only takes about a fortnight to get stable levels in the system.     Do not apply gel to the area of skin where the needle will take blood (this can potentially contaminate the sample), and IMO it is best to either apply the gel 4 or 5 hrs before the test or not at all........... I once got a freakishly high fresult after applying the gel less than an hour before the test.

 


Offline odt52

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Thanks for the reply Kingboob! Good to know i am not alone in my experiences.

What I meant to say is I have bloods again in one month when my prescription is due for renewal. I have another Endo appointment in six months to discuss results so far. As you have mentioned it may well be that they increase my dosage after my one month bloods. I am undecided on the injections. It seems a pain having to keep getting them topped up however if I was to have to begin applying two sachets of gel per day I would consider it.

Can I ask how you now intend to deal with your Gyno? Are you going to get surgery? Also do you have Secondary Hypogonadism as I do?

The whole fertility thing has been a huge worry for me. I want to have kids over the coming few years. Will taking the testosterone gel now permanently decrease my fertility levels? I am currently awaiting the results of a semen test to let me know what my count is like.
 
Fingers crossed!  :'(

Offline Raider Fan

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On the Nebido.com website, it says: "Because testosterone replacement therapy impairs production of sperm, it should be used with caution in men with fertility concerns."

Offline Raider Fan

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I've read about the possible side effects of TRT.  Just wondering if either of you have experienced any of the following things. 

Increase in liver tests, as well as increased cholesterol levels. 

Increase in red blood cells, which could lead to blocked blood vessels and heart attack/stroke.  Other evidence shows TRT may actually improve cardiovascular health.  Evidence is emerging that TRT may protect against clogging or hardening of the arteries. 

increase in the size of the prostate gland

Sleep apnea

Fluid retention

Acne/oily skin

Testicular shrinkage

Enlargement of the breasts

I've read that men on TRT should have blood tests for serum T levels, hemoglobin, PSA, lipid levels and liver function tests.  Do you guys have all these tests, and if so, how often?

Here's a good booklet on hypogonadism that I found on the Nebido.com website in pdf form.

http://www.nebido.com/html/images/upload/Patients/PDF/Hypogonadism_Explained_Booklet_Mar09.pdf

Offline kingboob

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Thanks for the reply Kingboob! Good to know i am not alone in my experiences.

What I meant to say is I have bloods again in one month when my prescription is due for renewal. I have another Endo appointment in six months to discuss results so far. As you have mentioned it may well be that they increase my dosage after my one month bloods. I am undecided on the injections. It seems a pain having to keep getting them topped up however if I was to have to begin applying two sachets of gel per day I would consider it.

Can I ask how you now intend to deal with your Gyno? Are you going to get surgery? Also do you have Secondary Hypogonadism as I do?

The whole fertility thing has been a huge worry for me. I want to have kids over the coming few years. Will taking the testosterone gel now permanently decrease my fertility levels? I am currently awaiting the results of a semen test to let me know what my count is like.
 
Fingers crossed!  :'(


As far as I know primary means your testicles aren't working properly for whatever reason(low T, high LH & FSH on blood tests).    Secondary means your pituitary is not releasing the correct hormones which stimulate the testicles to make testosterone(low T, low LH & FSH on blood tests).    - in both cases the treatment is basically the same anyway so it doesn't really matter much.

I have already had gyne surgery so I don't have to worry about that now.

I had the injections and found they weren't right for me, so I decided to stick with the gels.......... I was just trying to really let you know there are other options out there - because GPs have limited knowledge on this subject and Endos / hospital specialists tend to get into a routine of doing things one way and may not explain all the options. (in my experience anyway).

edit:
and yes it does effect fertility but I do not  think it is a permanent effect.... there are certainly fertility drugs they can give (HCG)  which can stimulate the testicles to produce sperm whilst on TRT.   The thing is do you know how fertile you were before starting TRT?    

I was told that as things weren't functioning properly (hence low T) it was likely that I may have fertility problems, but that it wasn't worth investigating or treating until I was in a situation where I wanted to try for children.

« Last Edit: October 13, 2010, 03:51:11 PM by kingboob »

Offline kingboob

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I've read about the possible side effects of TRT.  Just wondering if either of you have experienced any of the following things. 

Increase in liver tests, as well as increased cholesterol levels. 

Increase in red blood cells, which could lead to blocked blood vessels and heart attack/stroke.  Other evidence shows TRT may actually improve cardiovascular health.  Evidence is emerging that TRT may protect against clogging or hardening of the arteries. 

increase in the size of the prostate gland

Sleep apnea

Fluid retention

Acne/oily skin

Testicular shrinkage

Enlargement of the breasts

I've read that men on TRT should have blood tests for serum T levels, hemoglobin, PSA, lipid levels and liver function tests.  Do you guys have all these tests, and if so, how often?

Here's a good booklet on hypogonadism that I found on the Nebido.com website in pdf form.

http://www.nebido.com/html/images/upload/Patients/PDF/Hypogonadism_Explained_Booklet_Mar09.pdf


I get a bit of acne and maybe a bit of fluid retention if I eat too much salty food, but nothing else really.     Prostate and liver stuff is more of a worry for older guys I believe.

I am supposed to have hospital consultant follow ups and blood tests regularly but for some reason my last appointment was cancelled and I haven't been seen for about a year now........ however my GP tests all those things you mention about once every 3 months, so I know everything is fine.

My cholesterole (sp?) has actually gone down since starting TRT.   Increase in red blood cells shouldn't really happen with correct dosage, only if the does is too high.     Testicular shrinkage is an issue for some men as TRT shuts off the hormones which stimulate the testicles meaning they can shrink a bit......... however many men with proper hypogonadism  (note not 'andropause' which is BS) who need TRT will already have issues in that area which is what causes their low testosterone in the first place.  (eg: small undesended testicles, having a testicule removed due to cancer or trauma etc etc).

There are many scare stories and conflicting evidence relating to TRT. There is also lots of evidence out there that suggests men with low T live shorter less healthy lives..       Basically it is a fairly new thing and the long term risks are probably a bit unknown right now.   Do your research and make your choice really, the positive impact it has had on my life means I wouldn't go without it now.




 

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