Successful non-surgical approaches

[Swole2112]

What kind of non-surgical approaches have some of you been successful/semi-successful with in the past, or at least have heard of.  I, myself, have tried tomaxifen citrate (nolvadex) with little to no effect.  What about the rest of you?  I've heard of things such as andractim and 'diet aid of questionable value'.  Any of this stuff sound familiar?

[Time_to_fix_it]

There is a plethora of information on these.  Just run a search on the things you mention and have a good read.  Two things I would say though.

Firstly, take all posts on here with an open mind .. with one or two exceptions we are not doctors .... just fellow sufferers.  We can share experiences and that can help us get the treatment we might need.
Secondly, I would strongly recommend that no one self medicates with drugs or treatments.  See an Endocrinologist first .. they are the experts on the endocrine system and messing around with it in ignorance, is a very dangerous thing.

Good luck and keep us posted of how things develop for you.

[fizzy]

There really is no non-surgical "cure" for gyne. At the end of the day - it's not fat that can be burnt away - it's tissue. You have to have corrective surgery.

[Spleen]

I'm no so sure that's right fizzy.  I think there may be cases where drug treatment can help.  While surgery IMO appears to have the best and most immediate results, there might be other avenues to approach the problem.  I've seen a couple before and afters where guys have used tamox and andractim and while the improvement was modest, there was improvement.  Like with surgery, I think mild cases would have the best results.  

[mannyman742]

Most of the drugs commonly used to treat gynecomastia are in actuality designed for women, namely breast cancer patients.  Since gynecomastia is a benign tumor, a reduction of the gland is possible, i stress the word possible.

[Paa_Paw]

I would echo what Spleen said and add that the most effective way of dealing with Gynecomastia is to do nothing but wait until you are 20 to see  if it will shrink on its own..  

This does work for a lot of guys. But, since they have no interest in this site,  We have no input from them.

Good statistics are non existant.

[nothingworse]

Very rarely some medicines "((((""RARE"""))))", Sometimes it goes away on its own but, it never really totally goes away. Surgery is the only positive outcome cure but, extremely rarely they come back after surgery, and excessive weight gain like a hundred plus pounds could make them come back. But, surgery is the best option and instead of looking for a non-surgical solution you should start saving for the correct solution. Not saying it may go away for you. I am just being honest and saying chances are 99.9% it won't just go away or go away with medicine. And with surgery you will have 100% improvement or riddance rate. But, make sure you go through a skilled surgeon in this area because there is also a small chance of bad surgery from a not so skilled surgeon. Good luck and again I am not saying surgery is the only option but, 99.9% of the time it is and to tell you the truth I think more like only 40-50% of the pubertal cases go away on there own. Studies and other people say 90% of them do but, if they did you would probably see a lot less gyne out in the world. Best of luck to you.

[Paa_Paw]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but somewhere around 1/3 of the surgeries leave the patient less than thrilled.  and there can be regrowth after surgery.

The reasons for these failures are varied but often involve hormonal issues which were not resolved prior to surgery and/or the patient having an unrealistic expectation of what the surgery will accomplish.

For these reasons, it is often best to include a complete evaluation by an Endocrinologist and another by a Psychologist before considering surgery.

Some surgeons will check these things out well before setting a surgical date, others presume that you have done the preparatory work before you were referred to them.

The ultimate responsibility for success is with you! Not with the Surgeon.  Because there are so many variables, I do not know of a surgeon who will guarantee the outcome of surgery.

There are some non surgical means of dealing with Gynecomastia but the best results are usually when the treatment is rendered and monitored by an Endocrinologist.

Good luck!

[nothingworse]

Paa Paw you are definetely right about getting your hormones checked before surgery and figuring out all possiblities but, I just don't see anybody on here saying I had a problem with my hormones and they go to an endo get a treatment method and it cures there gyne. Maybe in a few cases but, studies say 10% of gyne cases are hormonal so that is a pretty good rate and taking the fact before even if his case was hormonal and a treatment was perscribed there would be a huge percent of a chance that the gyne would not resolve. So your probably looking at like I said a 1% chance that is the reason. But, like paa paw said you should get your hormones checked for your first answer. But, chances are it isn't that and you are probably normal but, I am not you and it is important. I am just saying in the end if it bothers you and you want treatment surgery will most likely be your final answer. I had my hormones checked and am now within a month or 2 from surgery. My hormone results came back great I always had thought my hormones were high also I had huge amounts of hair growth acne and body changes very early on. I also have very long curly hair and am very active. I was also able to put on a lot of muscle in short amounts of time. Many factors indicating everything was going right. But, you just have to be sure. I though I had breast cancer I had so much lumpy painful and tender tissue underneath my chest. I am going to get surgery for my final treatment method. I tried testosterone just to see if I could only break the gland down a little but, didn't help a bit. I saw the specialist and I am one of the few gyne cases he sees with all glandular tissue and practically no fat to be taken out. Good luck on a treatment and with your gyne. I hope on tuesday Aetna pays for my surgery. They have to it is a medical case. If not we are calling them up to see what treatment they suggest since there are no other corners to back into and mine is medical they have to grant me coverage. The only thing is the gland creates a deformity under my armpits and is wrapped tightly around my muscle and my skin is tight against my chest so the gland has to be removed to stop the binding. When I flex or do any lifting my gland pushes so hard against my skin because it is so tight against my skin it hurts so much. The only thing cosmetic I wanted from the procedure is to get rid of my puffy nipples and firm up the skin against the muscle to stop the pain from the gland jammed under and tightly over my muscle. My specialist has seen it and he said he will removed the small mass under my armpit muscle and the tight glands on the top of my chest. Since my skin is so tight on the top of my chest he said once he does the surgery the skin will contour back very nicely and take better shape also reducing or ridding the puffy nipples. Good luck and sorry I just had to add that. I just am having a lot of problems with my gyne.

[Time_to_fix_it]

ALL Gyne is caused by hormonal imbalance.  Not 10% .. ALL.

The important thing to ascertain is if that imbalance has corrected itself (pubescent usually does) or has been corrected by a competent Endocrinologist, before considering surgery.  There really is no point at all having surgery unless you are as sure as you can be that your hormones are back in balance.  Some have opted for surgery only to find that the breast re-grows afterwards because the underlying problem was not resolved first.

My advice is always get your hormones checked first.  

[Paa_Paw]

Very well stated!