Gyno or fat

[sammaihoub]

How would I determine if I have gyno or fat? I'm 91kg 183cm tall and aged 20

[Paa_Paw]

The usual finding is that there is a mound of fat with glandular tissue threaded through it.  The only way to know relatively how much there is of each is to examine the tissue that was removed when the surgery is done.  Making such a declaration before surgery is not generally something that can be done reliably.
For our purposes, there is no distinction.  The term "pseudo-Gynecomastia" is not used here.

[TigerPaws]

Generally and I do mean very generally if you can feel a round firm lump or something firmer than the surrounding tissue then your breast gland is growing. Normally you will know that this is happening, itching, a pulling sensation like a thread is being pulled through the center of your breasts and nipple. Pains can be sharp and or dull, sometimes pulsing.

These are some of the signs that your underlying gland is growing. While this is not 100% the case but more often than not you will feel it if your breast gland is growing. Believe me it hurts, a LOT!

Beyond that you may be genetically predisposed to depositing fat in and around your chest, at 20 and 91 kg (200 lbs) and 183 cm (6') you may try loosing a little weight but I doubt it will make much difference.

Right now it is a wait and see. Think in the terms of years unless you have some of the common symptoms. Then see an Endocrinologist for a complete hormone work-up.

For the past 30 plus years the developed world has been exposed to ever increasing levels of synthetic Estrogen. It is in almost everything from shampoo, body soap to the water we drink and the food we eat. The levels are really quite staggering and the effect is cumulative.

[DrPensler]

Every patient wants to know prior to surgery the % of fat and glandular tissue.Glandular tissue is firmer and often more painful to palpation than fat. So based on physical examination an estimate can be made regarding the composition of the tissue,however as someone said it is an estimate.There are multiple factors that can increase or decrease the reliability of the estimate. An example would be if a competitive weight lifter developed gynecomastia after steroid use. In case like this the tissue is almost exclusively glandular in nature.

[betterchestnow]

For what it's worth, I thought mine was mostly fat. I lost substantial weight but the breasts stayed. Had the surgery a few days ago, and they took out a LOT of breast tissue. And also plenty of adipose (fat).
I am not a surgeon but after researching this topic for a few years, I have yet to see one story of a guy with large breasts who had "only fat" and was able to eliminate the problem exclusively through diet/exercise. I'm sure that story exists somewhere, but I haven't seen it. It is probably also why no one can ever get a clear answer to the question "Is it fat or breast tissue?" There is no clear answer without examining the actual tissue, so the question just goes on forever.

The term "pseudogynecomastia" seems pretty useless to me and is mostly just used to shame men who are overweight (sometimes only slightly).
My thought is that being overweight simply makes the breast tissue even more prominent. Ironically, I have seen overweight guys who do not have gynecomastia -- these are guys with a big belly but not large breasts.
Both of the surgeons I consulted (including the one who did my surgery) seemed to also think the "gyno vs. fat" was not a very useful distinction and one told me that most surgeons no longer use the "pseudogynecomastia" term. Again, I don't know if this is true, but if it is, it confirms my suspicion that the vast majority of cases involve some degree of breast tissue. I can tell you that I had more breast tissue in me than the last woman I dated.

My personal definition of gynecomastia is "too much tissue in my chest that gave me feminine looking breasts". I didn't care what the tissue consisted of by percentage... I just wanted to get rid of the breasts. And I thankfully I did.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Glad you came over the the "light" side.  It has been my impression for years that there is always some amount of breast tissue in every case of gynecomastia.  It doesn't really matter the ratio of fat to breast tissue -- it will never disappear completely, even if you are on a starvation diet.  That is why I wrote an essay on this forum on precisely this topic (see the post on "Patient Galleries").  I do not believe there  is such a thing as "pseudogynecomastia."

Hope your surgery has turned out well.

Dr Jacobs

[betterchestnow]

Thanks, Dr. Jacobs! I will check out that article.

I'm pretty happy with the results, but it's only been a week.  The coolest part about doing the surgery is being able to tell people about it AFTER you have it. Before, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. But now that's it's done, I've told a few friends and family and they have all been supportive. Truly, I think a LOT of men suffer from some degree of this problem. There is no male I've told about it who laughed at all. They all understood completely!

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Breasts on a male are no laughing matter, although many people trivialize it.  Just try saying the same thing to a young woman whose breasts haven't developed and see how she feels about it.  I will bet many women and men would condone that young woman's desire to have a breast augmentation.

Dr Jacobs

[sumitahuja]

You Must have to share your photos, or you can consult with doctors as well.

[TigerPaws]

Breasts on a male are no laughing matter, although many people trivialize it.  Just try saying the same thing to a young woman whose breasts haven't developed and see how she feels about it.  I will bet many women and men would condone that young woman's desire to have a breast augmentation.

Dr Jacobs

With all due respect I take exception to your statement above. I have known many relatively flat chested women who are very happy and some who have had breast augmentation who are unhappy with their decision to artificially change their appearance.

We are dealing with a persons feelings about their self image and the image they project to the world around them.

Any decision to artificially alter your appearance for a non-medical reason is a deeply personal matter and one which should not be taken lightly. If a man (such as myself) decides not to undergo an invasive surgical procedure that is his choice. If a man decides to have breast reduction/removal then again that is his choice, just as it is a woman's choice to have breast augmentation or in some cases reduction.

Society dose not care about you or I as long as what we do or do not do has no effect others. People of either sex do not need to succumb to peer or societal pressure to change or surgically alter their appearance and society has no business in pressuring someone, anyone to do anything against their will.