Author Topic: Are my puffy nipples a result of excessive Estrogen?  (Read 1423 times)

Offline John1992

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Hi,
I'm a 25 year old man and I have puffy nipples.

After doing some research about puffy nipples and Gynecomastia online, I decided to take a blood test to find out the amount of different Sex Hormones present in my blood. Below are the test results.

Total Testosterone - 541.05 ng/dL
Free Testosterone - 14.88 pg/mL
Estradiol (E2) - 51.71 pg/mL
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin - 24.40 nmol/L

From the information that is available online, I learned that my Estradiol level is on the higher side. (Normal range for men - 20 to 40 pg/mL).

I also learned that, the excess estrogen present in my blood is due to an enzyme called Aromatase that converts Testosterone into Estrogen and that there are some compounds called Aromatase Inhibitors (like DIM) that block the production of estrogen.

Below are my questions:
What are your thoughts on my hormone levels?
Are my puffy nipples a result of excessive Estradiol?
Is my inference on Aromatase Inhibitors correct?
If I take Aromatase Inhibitor supplements that contain DIM, Grape Seed Extract, Rhodiola Root Extract etc., will there be a change in the puffiness of my nipples and in my overall physique?

Please note that my father has a fat chest but no puffy nipples although I'm not sure if he had them in his early adulthood or not.

I've also attached pictures of my chest area.

Please provide your valuable inputs. Thank you in advance.

Edit 1:

Adding some more details.

I'm not on medication nor have I been on medication for a significant period of time before. I've never used steroids. I'm not an alcoholic. I don't smoke.

Having my appendix removed through surgery is the only medical treatment I can think of I had in years. This happened 6 years ago but I remember having puffy nipples before that.

Edit 2:

Updated Free Testosterone level.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 11:14:30 PM by John1992 »

Offline Litlriki

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You've not given any history of medication or steroid use, so it would be wise to have the estradiol level repeated before trying to treat it, and that treatment would be best guided by an endocrinologist, rather than using "nutritional supplements" from the sport supplement store. I say this because if you truly have a medical issue causing your increased estradiol and the puffy nipples, you might only mask some other problem with your supplements and ignore a treatable medical condition.  I can't say that your puffy nipples will resolve with whatever treatment option you try--that may require surgical correction either way. But you want to do that after you know that there's not some other endocrine issue going on.  
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Offline John1992

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You've not given any history of medication or steroid use, so it would be wise to have the estradiol level repeated before trying to treat it, and that treatment would be best guided by an endocrinologist, rather than using "nutritional supplements" from the sport supplement store. I say this because if you truly have a medical issue causing your increased estradiol and the puffy nipples, you might only mask some other problem with your supplements and ignore a treatable medical condition.  I can't say that your puffy nipples will resolve with whatever treatment option you try--that may require surgical correction either way. But you want to do that after you know that there's not some other endocrine issue going on.  

Thank you doctor for your reply. 

I'm not on medication nor have I been on medication for a significant period of time before. I've never used steroids. I'm not an alcoholic. I don't smoke.

Having my appendix removed through surgery is the only medical treatment I can think of I had in years. This happened 6 years ago but I remember having puffy nipples before that.

Also what do you mean by - "it would be wise to have the estradiol level repeated before trying to treat it"?

Do you want me to take a blood test again to see if the Estradiol level persists?

Offline Litlriki

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Yes, one elevated estradiol level could be spurious so before you'd pursue treatment that could affect other systems, it would be wise to check it again. Additionally, hormone levels vary depending on the time of day, so you should likely have a more focused endocrine evaluation, rather than just randomly drawn levels. 


 

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