swimming issue

[bluboy19]

alright im 14yrs old next monday we are swimming for gym calss and naturally i'd have to take my shirt off for it.  if we refuse to participate we fail gym and if i do everyone will wonder what the deal is with my nipples im the last thing from fat so people wouldn't ever think that i would have gyno.  i have a athletic build so there is no fat to sorta cover it up like some other people i know.  its extremly noticable and ive been stressing over this event since the new school year.
Any advice would be apreciated. Thanks

[Worrier]

I can imagine it is hard having gyno at school. In these enlightened times I bet if you speak to your PE teacher you can come to some sort of arrangement. Like maybe you could  do the swimming at another time  or  just be excused from it.
     If I had had gyno at school I would not be to keen to go swimming either. although I am guessing your friends are in this class. at some point if you go holiday with them, won't they find out anyway? You may have this problem for a few years until it recedes in the majority of cases. maybe you should just deal with whatever now. when I was at school guys got picked on for being fat, different skin colour , race  or just because they were just plain sensitive. so many people get bugged over something at school.
          If you get hassle make light of it and if they carry on I always found a good kicking tends get people to shut up when I was at school.

[olderguy]

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1961 ("Gynecomastia  in Adolescent Boys") researchers reported finding the presence of breast tissue (> 0.5 cm) in 65% of 14-year old boys and 14 percent of 16 year-old boys.  Thus, it is a common condition in guys your age and will most likely resolve itself in a couple of years.

Go ahead and go to swimming class.  You will probably discover you are not the only one with some breast-buds.  It is probably more noticeable to you than it will be to others.  If other guys do make unkind remarks, realize that it is they, not you, who have a problem.

I remember when I was 14 and we were in the locker room getting ready for swimming class, one of my friends just came out and told us that he had pointy breasts and made light of it.   No one ever taunted him about it.  I also had breasts larger than I would have liked, too, but in my case it was mostly fat-- fat that fortunately went away almost magically when I turned 18.  I was self-conscious about it, but no one every made fun of me either for being overweight or having breasts.

I am participating in these boards because I have suddenly developed tender tissue behind my nipples 50 years after age 14.

Have confidence in yourself.  Act like your situation is normal, because in fact it is!

[brother_gyne]

I know how hard it is, I tried to hide it when I was young. 25 years later I can't stand straight because of stooping all the time. I remember at swimming hugging myself like it was cold which it always is in the UK.  

You can tough it out , you can go and try to hide it or have a talk with your teacher. Which one you pick depends on the person you are. Remember Teachers make a big thing out of being Profesionals so they can't tell anyone if you ask them not to.  

[Grandpa Bambu]

Maybe you could  do the swimming at another time  or  just be excused from it.

Great idea Worrier!  


bluboy.... just explain the situation to your P.E. teacher. If he/she has any compassion at all, they will not force you to go swimming. Be straight up and lay all the cards on the table.

John.

[c3ntralp3rk]

oh my god.. i've had these situations so man times.. well atleast my gym class accounted swimming as like 30% of my swim grades.. so i would always make excuses (go to the nurse, get BS excuses.. anything from a skin rash, to stomach aches),

but your PE teacher seems to value it a hell of a lot more than mine did..

but yeah, as Bambu said, go talk to your PE teacher.. they're educated, they're familiar with gynecomstia..
and you know..
if all else fails, talk to your parents.

they're there to help you out.
good luck brother..

[confused133]

hey im only 13 and i have the same problem exept wiht out the whole swimming thing im far away from being fat and have pointy nipples when wvwer im in the locker room i have to take my shirt off but put my uniform on 100 miles per hour so no one sees some how i have managed to deal withit for about a year now withouth anyone knowing but im scared because its been a year now and it hasnt gone away

[User]

alright im 14yrs old next monday we are swimming for gym calss and naturally i'd have to take my shirt off for it.  if we refuse to participate we fail gym and if i do everyone will wonder what the deal is with my nipples im the last thing from fat so people wouldn't ever think that i would have gyno.  i have a athletic build so there is no fat to sorta cover it up like some other people i know.  its extremly noticable and ive been stressing over this event since the new school year.
Any advice would be apreciated. Thanks

You could just go ahead and do it.  Without pictures we don't know exactly how bad your gyne is, but if you have an average case you won't be alone.  If you aren't currently being teased, then my advice would be to participate.

If you're being teased a lot and you really don't think you can go through with it, then talk to your gym teacher and try to set up some sort of arrangement.  If he doesn't listen, then get your parents involved.  You don't have to do anything you don't want to do and if you make enough of a fuss you'll be excused.