Do I seem to have gynecomastia?

[Htv12]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to this forum.

Well, here's my story: can't quite remember from how long ago, but I've had these two things with me as long as I started caring about how I looked in the mirror!

Anyways, I've lost more than 40 pounds, but as you can see, they're still with me. Now, it's not hard to tell from the pictures that I still have a high amount of body fat (don't I?), so here are my questions:

1) Do you believe my problem is gynecomastia, or it's fat?

2) If I lose weight, will they go away or even slightly look better?

This might be off topic, but I'm a firm believer that there must be way to get rid of the worst cases of gyno without surgery. Starting tomorrow, I'm going on a 30 day juice fast, which is said to help balance the crucial hormones, and of courses, some weight will be lost. I'll also do visualization every night before sleep to get my mind to help create the body that I want. I hope you guys didn't find all this funny, but I'm seriously going to give this a shot. I mean, it's better than doing nothing about the problem, right? I'll keep you guys posted on the results, possibly with before/after pictures.

Anyways, I hope I didn't talk too much, and thanks for your suggestions / answers in advance

[Paa_Paw]

The condition is essentially one that is self diagnosed. Your opinion is the only one that really matters. What I might think is of no importance at all.

While I truly admire your faith that there must be some non surgical methods to reduce or get rid of Gynecomastia; I fear you are going to find tht your hopes are for naught. Like mny boys, I developed the condition in early puberty. Over the years I tried many things but none worked. I had reached my fifties and had different priorities before the modern surgical methods became available. You are fortunate to live in a time when surgery is safe, effective, and widely available.

The old man here, I am 75.

[Htv12]

Thanks for the reply.

Well, what you say absolutely does make sense. However, a concern of mine is that, the reason most people say it's "impossible" to get rid of man breasts might be that, no one has actually tried hard enough. I know they may have thought that they're trying so hard to get rid of it, but I think about it like this: If the man breasts developed over 5 years, it's unfair to expect that they'd totally disappear in 6 months or even a year. If unbalanced hormones are causing it, who knows that fixing the main cause won't reverse it over 2-3 years? I'm not suggesting that one shouldn't consider surgery. I'm just saying that, I don't want to let someone cut me up, as long as I haven't really tried MY BEST to solve the problem.

Anyways, if anyone could let me know how bad they think my case is, that'd be great, I appreciate it

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Surgery is your last option.

If you feel you can get rid of your gyne by diet and exercise, then do so -- and take as much time as you need (years, if need be).

And then decide, if you still have residual gyne, if you wish to proceed with surgery or if you can live with it (which certainly is a viable option).

Dr Jacobs

[Htv12]

Update -- Day 6 of juice fasting

Hi everyone!

As promised, I'm posting an update, 6 days after I started the juice fast.

I've lost 9 pounds so far, and not sure if it's just me, but I can already feel some improvement in my chest.

Take a look at the new photo, and let me know what you think.

Also, do you honestly think my chest looks that bad? If you were in my place, would you go for surgery?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's comments ...

[gemidude]

Looking at your first photo, it does look like you have a mild case of gynecomastia. but your most recent photo, looks flat to me. i would love to have a chest like that! you might just have a mild case of puffy nipples, I would consult a surgeon to see what they think. it's odd you lost size in your chest area, because gynecomastia is not always related to weight gain or loss.

[freak]

you look pretty good to me. Its really a personal thing. People may look at your chest and say that it looks totally normal, while at the same time you see something there. Does it feel like there is any solid, tender tissue under the nipples? If not, a plastic surgeon could probably take care of you by just doing liposuction. Sometimes when there is hard breast tissue under there they need to do excision (cut it out) in addition to liposuction. Good luck with your fasting. I too dieted and lost 35lbs but the gyne was still there. So after living with gyne for 35 years, I finally had surgery a couple of weeks ago to make my chest flat. My surgeon did lipo on both sides and had to do excision on one side. Its a slow healing process and expensive procedure but well worth it in my opinion. Good luck to you!

[Htv12]

Update -- Day 15 of juice fasting

Hey everyone!

As promised, this is me posting an update for the 15th day of my juice fasting.

I've lost almost 15 pounds, and I'm lovin' my body!

I actually do feel a noticeable difference now in my chest, and I'm so happy!

It's nowhere near what getting a surgery could offer; though, still, I think after these 15 days, my chest does look much better.

Feel free to let me know what you think ...

[Stem]

As freak asked, are there any hard lumps under your nipples, tender or not? If not, it is likely only fat. Fat stores itself in different places and even if you are lean there's no guarantee it will go from where you want it to go and lipo may be the soloution rather than gland exision.

I hate juice diets btw. Too low in calories and nutrients and can actually screw your hormones and metabolism. Once you lose the weight you need to eat the right amount of calories for your new weight.

Remember, fat cells shrink as well as grow. Unless you are remarkably obese, you won't gain any fat cells. Any fat cells you have removed will be gone forever but the others that are left can still grow.

[Htv12]

Thanks for the reply.

Um, well, yea, I do feel something hard under my nipples, so I don't think it's just fat.

However, as I said before, even if I am to let someone cut me up, I have to lose weight, as much as I can, first. Now that these 15 days have passed, I am even more certain that by losing weight, my chest may look so much better that I may even end up forgetting about surgery.

I hope that is feasible

[Stem]

We all have glands, some are so minute they can't be felt and never grow. Some grow at random times an to random sizes. You can do nothing about reducing the size of the gland without surgery.

See how you are when you reach your weight loss goal and reassess then.

Good luck!

[sjwsjw]

Everyone has the gland its the size that effects it. Some people at the same level or worse then I have have no issue with how they look. I've lost weight to an unhealthy point in the past and have still felt self conscious of how it looks. If you are happy with whatever degree you have then there is no need for surgery, if you're not then it's something to look into