(Do I have it?) Gyno or Fat now with pic...

[jedi111]

Hello,  I'm in my late teens, out of shape, and about 225 pound. I have distributed weight pretty evenley: mostly stomach, but also thighs, arms, back, chest. Feeling my chest, it seems that there is a large mass beneath both of nipples that makes up most of the mass between the muscle and skin. When i grab it, i kinda dig my fingers between the muscle and the lump and can almost pull it away. (some people say they have small lumps, these take up a good bit of the mass as stated, so i dont know what to make of that). It it somewhat solid, and seems to have a rough surface. When i lift my arms up they flatten out somewhat with a small gradual hump. I also read a a post that said, "all fat people think they have gyno" (encouraging, maybe fat people naturally have denser breast fat, if it is fat in my case) I will try to loose weight and then we will see, but if i could know now it would be great. The biggest sign seems to be the lumps, which does NOT feel like stomach fat, but maybe it is just feels different, i cant relly tell. BTW, i do have a few montgomery's tubercles (white looking pimples around the nipple) although i have not read these are liked with gyno. I can't tell if i'm grabbing a hunk of fat or not! Any help?

[Paa_Paw]

Some people make a distinction between Fatty and Glandular tissue.  Some of us look at things differently and say that self image is a concern and the distinction is pointless.  In any case, usually there are both fatty deposits and glandular growth.

Sometimes a Doctor will make an educated guess, But the only way to be sure is to examine what you have removed after the surgery.

You did not give your weight, but admit to being out of shape and having a weight of 225 lbs. So I'll presume that you are significantly overweight.  The first step in taking control is to see a doctor and have a physical. Next, you need to get your weight under control. The fatty deposits in the breast area are among the hardest for a man to reduce buy either diet or exercise. Thyroid problems are sometimes an issue in both obesity and gynecomastia.

All of which comes back to this, See your doctor!

Keep us posted, You are among friends here.

I wish you well,

[jedi111]

height is about 5' 10. Judging from some of the pictures here, Many have a conical shaped nipple, i do not, i follows the round-ness of the rest of the breast, i can also pull the skin around it untill it lays flat, an indication i read means it probably fat.  If it matters, i can squeeze my nipple flat, kinda like folding a pancake; because i'm getting the idea many people have the lump right under the nipple,  while mine seems to be about an eigth of an inch below it. they are soft, but it could just be the fat.

[randomtask]

The statement "all fat people have gynecomastia" is misleading but partly true. Gynecomastia can be very broadly defined as large breasts in males, so if you want to use this definition then yes i suppose "all fat people have gynecomastia". The distinction needs to be made between pseudo-gynecomastia and glandular, or real gynecomastia.

Psuedo-gynecomastia means that the enlarged breast is made up entirely of fat. Weight loss and exercise will help however it may not eliminate the problem entirely as the chest is one of the hardest places for a male to lose fat.

Real gynecomastia means that there is glandular breast tissue present. This can be in several form, such as a hard disc right under the nipple, or nodular glandular deposits, which would be felt as hard lumps within the fat.

In your case the first move is definately weight loss. A healthy diet coupled with fasted AM cardio is the best way to proceed. Fasted AM cardio means doing cardiovascular exercise before you eat in the morning, this is when your body burns fat best. Start easy as you don't want to overdo it, but you are aiming for 30-45 minutes of consistent cardio, ie. keeping your heart rate elevated at a constant rate for 30-45 minutes. Thus stop/start exercise such as football is not appropriate. Cycling, running etc are good choices. You want your heart rate to be somewhere between 130 and 160 during this time (depending on your standing heart rate). If you train too hard and your heart rate is elevated beyond these levels, you are working more towards cardiovascular endurance and less towards weight loss.

Hope this helps.

[vaio]

Looks like 80%+ fat. You can't tell from pictures if theres gland unless its real bad.

[Paa_Paw]

Nothing in the photo's give me any reason to change my original admonition.

See your doctor!

[hypo]

It looks to me like there is glandular mass in that tissue.  I myself have been very low in weight where the glandular tissue was obvious and much larger in weight where people would say- probably more fat.  Of course there is no 100% way of knowing without it being removed

A gp is not going to help you one way or the other so the question is one of what to do.

You should try and lose some weight and if the residual mass bothers you, which it may well do then get a referral to an endocrinologist and have your hormones checked.  If they are ok then I think in your case I’d go for a surgical procedure.

But maybe you would be happy with the difference weight lose brings?

One thing I should say is that a lot of people are putting a lot of credence in weight loss and whilst that is correct for those that are overweight it should be noted;

That it is not a good idea when considering surgery to be under your natural weight/at an unsustainably low weight.  

[jedi111]

Thanks for the replies. I will try to loose weight and see what happens. I guessing it is mostly or all fat at the moment. I feel no hard disks, and like in the picture when my arms are back they flatten out. Even the i feel a sizable lump that seems somewhat inconsisent with the surrounding fat, i still think it is fat, otherwise what would fat feel like? Fat would oviously feel hard if squeezed together like i am doing in order to feel a lump. I can also get the same effect squeezing near my underarm (seperating the fat and feeling a  hard lump like thing) We'll see i guess...

[vaio]

I highly doubt theres any glandular mass. If theres gland, you would see the whitish out line around the nipple. His nipples are not puffy from the pics either.

[hypo]

do not agree. vaio

[vaio]

Best thing to do is see a plastic surgeon. People on here will says theres gland and say theres not gland. Its stupit and immature to argue back and forth like that.  Solution: get it examined by a ps.

[hypo]

I only said I didn't agree Vaio, surely that is not a problem?  Its ok I don't want to argue either, we are only offering subjective opinions on the pictures here afterall.

IMHO weight lose first, endo second if still an issue, PS third if its still an issue.

[DrBermant]

Hello,  I'm in my late teens, out of shape, and about 225 pound. I have distributed weight pretty evenley: mostly stomach, but also thighs, arms, back, chest. Feeling my chest, it seems that there is a large mass beneath both of nipples that makes up most of the mass between the muscle and skin. When i grab it, i kinda dig my fingers between the muscle and the lump and can almost pull it away. (some people say they have small lumps, these take up a good bit of the mass as stated, so i dont know what to make of that). It it somewhat solid, and seems to have a rough surface. When i lift my arms up they flatten out somewhat with a small gradual hump. I also read a a post that said, "all fat people think they have gyno" (encouraging, maybe fat people naturally have denser breast fat, if it is fat in my case) I will try to loose weight and then we will see, but if i could know now it would be great. The biggest sign seems to be the lumps, which does NOT feel like stomach fat, but maybe it is just feels different, i cant relly tell. BTW, i do have a few montgomery's tubercles (white looking pimples around the nipple) although i have not read these are liked with gyno. I can't tell if i'm grabbing a hunk of fat or not! Any help?

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to distinguish just what is causing the problem.  Gynecomastia male breasts can be fat, gland, or most commonly a combination of both.  Sometimes skin and sagging muscles can be a factor.  It is impossible to tell from photographs if the deformity is from fat or gland. The dynamic images, of my standard set of images can show a region that compresses differently.  Even clinical examination differentiation can be difficult.

Fat tends to be soft, gland tends to be firm.  Fingers of gland often dissect between fingers of fat.  Look at this drawing and move your mouse over the arrows.  However, gland can be soft and fat firm confusing the picture.  Gland tends to be located under the nipple and pinching pressure can sometimes tether to the nipple pulling it in.

Men with excessive fat do tend to have certain contour issues.  Check out this link about Sumo Wrestlers.  Men tend to carry excessive weight in their chest and stomach.  In your images, the abdomen contour suggests weight may be a significant issue.

Losing weight first, to something you are comfortable with and can maintain is typically a much better option.  Weight loss is a coarse tool.  Unfortunately, you cannot pick where weight comes from - nor can you pick where weight goes back on to.  Gland that contributes to the breast shape is not helped with weight loss.  Fingers of fat in the gland can become smaller, but the contour problem from gland does not go away.  After losing weight plastic surgery can help with localized fat, gland, and extra skin.  After surgery remaining fat cells can put on more weight.


Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture

[headheldhigh01]

agree with hypo, excess weight alone would not be that conical in shape, especially in first two pics.  i vote gyne.  

[hypo]

Very good information from Dr Bermant.