Hello, everyone,
As you can all clearly see I'm a new member here. I've been browsing through your site out for quite some time and found many interesting and useful topics here. Since English is not my native language, I'd also like to apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes I might make in this post.
Here's the deal. I've been having some problems lately, some of which include "odd" sensations around the nipple area (will explain shortly). The story is somewhat lengthy, so please bear with me. About a year and a half ago I had an accident at the gym, which resulted in fractured Th 12 vertebra + hernia between Th10 and Th 11. Went home, had to rest, wear a brace and in a couple of months I was fine (except for occasional pain in the right leg; my doc didn't pay too much attention to it). I started with my training routine (very slowly at first, but slowly progressing, adding more weight etc.). Checked with my doc if it was ok to train and he said that everything should be ok, that I have nothing to worry about etc.
Then, about half a year later, while at the gym (again) I experienced a "snap" in my back. It hurt pretty bad so I went home immediately and called my family doc and then the orthopedist. I told them what happened and they said it was probably a muscle strain - that I should take some pain meds and see if the pain goes away in a couple of days. If it does, everything should be ok. So I waited. And the pain was indeed reduced greatly in a couple of days, so I thought everything was ok. I took a couple of weeks off, then headed back to the gym, trained very cautiously - did everything slowly, in a very controlled manner, only small weights etc.
In the autumn (about half a year later from the "mysterious snap") I decided to start with a somewhat more serious training regime. It was around that time that I started getting these weird symptoms. Around my left nipple, I started having these weird crawling/tingly/...sensations (especially when I was sitting in front of my computer in a slightly bent position). They weren't pins-and-needles in quality, but more subtle - like mild burning. At first, I didn't pay too much attention to it, but after a couple of weeks, my whole chest was tingly/crawly/whatever. At approximately the same time I started having middle black and lower back pain, and also some upper and lower abdominal pain, sometimes coupled with right leg pain.
Ok, after a month of all this, I went to the family doc. To make the long story short, she put me through a series of test - US of testicles, abdomen (twice), blood tests, chest and back X-rays, basic hormone tests. All were negative (except that I have elevated slightly elevated bilirubine - this is hereditary (condition known as Gilbert syndrome) - and slightly elevated testosterone and estradiol levels - supposedly the ratio T:E is good though [other hormones were ok]). I told my doc about weird sensations about my breasts - she checked them out; as there were no lumps, no growth, no discharge, she said they look ok. Asked her about gyno, she just chuckled. She felt that my problems were probably due to a pinched nerve somewhere in the upper spine (probably because of that "crack" I was telling you about) and also told me to get an MRi (am having one in May, i.e. next month).
I talked with two more docs about this issue - first was a surgeon: she also had a look at me, and said that everything seemed fine, that she feels no glandular tissue, no growth etc. The second was a family friend doc: she also had a quick look, felt them a bit and said that perhaps they might seem a bit puffy, but she wasn't sure. She said to go to a endocrinologist to have it checked out. (am scheduled for august(!) this year).
Ok, this problem is indeed killing me. These weird sensations - I find myself staring at the mirror looking at my nipples all the time. My girlfriend says I'm crazy, that my chest is perfectly ok. I've gained some weight in the last six months as I'm not eating and training as properly as I should, so I did get a bit more body fat then before. It seems to me that my nipples are somewhat puffy. But then again my bro and my dad also have somewhat more puffy nipples. And I damn can't remember what they were like before. And I'm not sure if this is a gyno thing or something else. I've seen some members at this site who know quite a bit, so I'm really asking you to offer some advice. Does this seem like a gyno to you? Can this be somehow related to my back?