why is teen gyne so shrugged off?

[HeroToXero]

As a 17 yr old with gynecomastia myself I have done some research on how to "cure" it, so to speak. Everywhere I look I find that if you are a teen you are SOL because you'll just "grow out of it" once your hormones balance out, so there is no recommended treatment. I understand that it will eventually go away in time, but it's interfering with my life NOW. I can't go to the beach because of the embarrassment of taking my shirt off or I can't change clothes in the locker rooms. I feel like it has just destroyed my self-confidence, and I can't fathom as to why teen gyne is not considered a bigger issue as I don't believe that I can't be the only one who feels this way.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I could not agree with you more.  I see no reason why teens should bear the burden of gyne, particularly during their precious teen years. I have stated many times that a teen is a candidate for surgery if he has had gyne for two or more years and there is no sign of it disappearing.

Unfortunately, in medicine there is a lot of myth -- and this is one of them.  If one doctor states that you should not treat gyne until the magical age of 18, other docs will  parrot the same phrase -- without any substantial scientific study.

I have operated on young men, from 12 - 18 who fulfilled the above criteria, and have not had one case of recurrent gyne.

You can read more about it in the section on adolescent gyne on my website (see below for URL).

Dr Jacobs

[rob11XX]

I know exactly how you feel man.  I went through all of middle and high school secluding myself socially because I was so concerned with the condition.  I made sure on gym days I wore two shirts so I would just throw a different one on the outside.  I can't remember the last time I went to the beach or anything involving water.  I remember when I asked our doctor about it he told me I did not have gyne it was just because I was overweight.  By this time I had already done the research and knew he was wrong.  I'm now 21 and am in a better situation to take care of it myself.

The best advice I can give you, if you aren't able to have a procedure to get it taken care of, is try your best to not let it bother you, how impossible that is, I know.  Try to stay fit somehow.  I went into my own world for many years just sitting on video games for probably over 300 days accumulated time.  This caused my eyesight to go to shit, I haven't lived a day without back pain since probably 9th grade, and I missed out on every social learning experience that these years offer.  I have so many regrets from those years and would do so many things different if I could do it again.  If you have insurance there's ways to get them to pay.  I have read instances of parents helping their kids get through the hurdles of insurance not paying.

We all know the cruelty teens show each other so I feel your pain, do whatever you can to  keep yourself active and mentally healthy.

-Rob

[canadianmoobs123]

Shouldn't 4 years of med school and even more years of surgerical education debunk these myths? I mean cmon gynecomastia is very common and GPs and surgeons alike should be educated when and when not to consider surgery. these myths are causing many teens to suffer psychologically. Ridiculous!