Anything to worry about? Need information

[Myers86]

I’m 21, 6 foot 4 and rather thin, 175 pounds.  Tired of being thin (that may sound bad on this forum) I plan on gaining around 20-25 pounds over the next year.  Only, because of 8 years of adolescent marijuana consumption, I have these.  I guess my question is will the weight gain exacerbate the problem further.  If surgery were the only answer, would I do it now or after the weight gain? 

[sergeantpepper]

It's debatable whether or not marijuana caused that. If I were you I'd try to work on my chest a while and see if you can turn that fat into muscle. But if its gland youll need that taken out. I dont think it really matters if you do it before or after you gain weight but I was thinking if you do it before then you could bulk up after and help fill in the loose skin. But it doesn't look all that bad to me (i know that probly doesnt help at all) anyway, good luck

[Myers86]

You can't just turn fat into muscle their two completely different body tissues, that’s why I’m worried it would just worsen the appearance.  Also, I thought cannabis induced gynecomastia was a foregone conclusion, what’s popular opinion on these boards?  Would like to hear some more observations. 

[Twin Peaks]

Well, if you plan to lift and gain muscle mass, you definitely be able to tell if it's gyno or not.  If you continue to lift and your chest just pokes out further without gaining any definition, you more than likely have it.  I can tell you though, if you're self-concious about it now, you are going to feel even worse if your chest gets bigger.  I've been lifting for a year and gained 3 inches in my chest and it only made it look worse.

As for the smoking, there really is no conclusive evidence proving that smoking mary j causes gyno.  Some people say it's just a scare tactic.  I know MANY people that used to smoke up everyday in high school and they never showed any difference in their chest whatsoever over the couse of 3 years or so. 

[jackson318]

Given that you were smoking in your teenage years (when many of us developed the breast tissue with or without drugs), it'd be impossible to say what exactly caused the tissue - you only have to deal with the fact you have it now.

If you're like most guys, building the muscle underneath the tissue is just going to push it out more.  Yes, losing some weight would may help some but 1) how much do you have to lose, really - you're pretty slim as is, 2) even if it is mostly fat, it may be hard to get rid of without getting too lean other places - some guys just carry fat in different places and 3) even at single-digit body fat, you may still have gland there which will only go a way with surgery.

I'd do what you're going to do and see where you end up.  I think it was Dr Bermant who suggested guys do what they are going to do (lose weight, bulk up, etc) before considering surgery.  Oh, and I'd quit smoking the dope too ;-)

[trojan213]

Hey, I'm in a similar situation as you, but I'm a bit smaller/thinner (5'10/145). In my case, working out my chest hasn't made my gyn look worse. I think it really depends on the shape of your pectorals. Plus, even if working out your chest pushes out the gyn a bit more, by building overall definition, the net effect may be that your chest looks more masculine... Upper chest/shoulder growth helps take attention away from the lower chest, where a lot of the gyn distortion seems to take place.

In my case, I think working out will make the job easier on my surgeon as when I flex I can CLEARLY pinch the fat/gland away from my muscle and can make a pretty good guess as to how my chest might look post surgery.

Because our cases are relatively minor, I personally think a bigger concern than workout/don't work out is whether you want to risk complication/deformity that would draw more attention to your chest... I would personally rather live with my chest as it is than with noticeable asymmetry, significant scarring, or indentions...

Good luck