HRT, Prostate Issues and Living with Breasts vs. Surgery

[TigerPaws]

Prostate cancer hormone therapy

This article relates to this site because Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is now a widely accepted treatment for Prostate issues and like it or not gentlemen if you live long enough you will (100% guarantee) develop a Prostate issue. The issue could be simple enlargement to Cancer in its many states and forms. But if you go down the HRT road  which by the way if you catch the issue early enough carries a 100% recovery rate then some breast development is also a guarantee. Then again developing breasts is better than having your Prostate removed and having to wear a diaper for the rest of your life, and lets not forget loosing the ability to enjoy the pleasures of a woman.

I am going to agree and disagree with the studies conclusions because I have a great deal of personal experience with HRT being one of the first to try this treatment.

Anti-Testosterone medications are just part of the treatment, Estrogen and eventually Progesterone are also used depending on the extent of the issue with your Prostate. Personally my issue was an enlarged Prostate with a fairly large precancerous mass. My choices were simple surgery or (then) experimental HRT. The exact regiment is not important but the results after a year were dramatic, my Prostate was back to normal and the mass was gone.

Down side: My endocrine system was now Estrogen dependent and I was sterile. Ok, not a bad trade, I could still get an erection and orgasm.

As the article discusses depression I will basically agree, HRT will give you wild shifts in your emotional state and I do mean wild shifts. From feeling unbelievably great and on top of the world to being a really nasty person and breaking down and crying. Yes gentlemen you will cry, you will not be able to stop it and until you learn to avoid the triggers it is going to irritate you. Think of symptom’s similar to PMS except not related to a monthly cycle but rather on your system readjusting to shifting from Testosterone to Estrogen. In my humble opinion and from talking with others experiencing similar issues the depression comes from these new and of the uncontrollable emotions and not being able to keep them in check. Additionally if a man is not emotionally stable to begin with these shifts can be overwhelming at times. The key to living with the hormone shift which will be your new normal is that you will get used to them, a you will learn what triggers (and there is always a trigger) an emotional reaction. This is not just from my personal experience but from 8 other men I came to know who were in the early trials (experiments really) with HRT for Prostate issues. All of the men varying in age from 45 to 70 had similar reactions to HRT, some greater than others but the similarities are uncanny to say the least.

Of course if you go the HRT route you will develop breasts, how big and what shape is totally dependent on genetics and your development will continue for up to 7 years. Several other changes will take place, softer and thinner skin, you will burse easily, likely develop spider vines, there will be some fat redistribution to a more female shape though this will take years. your face will become a little rounder and you will look younger. Your body hair will thin and possibly disappear but not your beard or crotch, you will likely regrow some hair on your head and your fingernails will break easily.

And you will be on some form of HRT for the rest of your life, not as intense as it will be at first but a maintenance regiment. While adding Progesterone is still controversial it has a number of benefits, you will sleep like a baby and everyone reports vivid dreams and waking up feeling like they had the best sleep of their life. This hormone also adds protection from Osteoporosis (thinning of the bones through calcium loss) and gives you a bit of energy.

While I have brought forward the negative aspects there are some real benefits. You will still be able to get an erection though it will be more difficult to maintain. That is because men are used to being easily excited and staying that way until satisfied. But your hormone system and even some of your thought patterns are more female now and like a woman getting and staying excited is more in your big head than in your little head as you used to be. The benefit is mind blowing orgasms unlike anything you have experienced before but unlike a woman when you are done you are done though the aftershocks can last for 30 minutes. As I said before the hormones will change how you think, they will even change your sense of taste and your ability to perceive color as well as smell. Your body odor will change, no more strong musty smell, women describe it was sweet and this comes from numerous women and several of the other men whom I know said they experienced the same thing.

Overall if you are confident and mentally stable with a good bead of yourself and a handle on the world around you HRT is not much more than a bump in the road of life and believe me the other options. Surgery, intense radiation treatments or even radioactive pellets implanted have their own set of side effects most of which will leave you completely unable to have an erection. But everyone is different and each man’s situation is unique just do not fear the HRT option and believe me you can live with fully developed breasts.

And yes this is me.

[Alchemist]

Hi TigerPaws,

Ah ha, the crystal balls into our future.  At this point, that sure sounds a lot better than surgery and the future after a surgical answer.  And you know, what's another cup size or 3 among friends.  It really doesn't make any difference except finding clothing that fits, and that has always been a problem.
Something I would like to mention that that you listed may be something entirely different than an inescapable side effect.  The spider veins, and varicose veins, and gum breakdown, and varicose veins may all be the result from  "refeeding syndrome" which is basically caused by cell formation and healing.  What happen is that as new cells  get made their might not be enough opf spome nutroients.  So one thing that can go low is copper (along with Boron, manganese, molybdenum) and cause all sorts of symptoms, encluding  depression, horrid mood  shifts, neuropathic effects, connective tissue breakdown and repressed cell formation.  This can directly account for spider veins, varicose veins, thin finger nails, cyanotic and thinning gums, mood and sleep disorders.

From testosterone I got my red blood cell overproducing (and muscles restored), dangerously, which also finished off my copper depletion which cost me all my upper teeth so far.  And it is so sad that refeeding syndrome isn't recognized in this form.  Now that I'm on all four trace minerals, my veins are normalizing, my blood is good now after reducing  P5P which is a driver of red  cells also, my connective tissues are healing.

Don't always assume all side effects are what they seem.  Some are caused by induced deficiencies in healing/non-healing, in the case of tissue growth in any case, whatever kind it is.  Good luck

[TigerPaws]

Gentleman like it or not believe it or not, we (men) were not meant to live as long as we do today. As little as 100 years ago the average man lived to 47 and it was not until the last 60 years that we have started to live into our 80’s and beyond. Lets face it as young men we tend to push the limits of what we are physically capable of and in doing so we abuse our bodies, but we are young and shrug off the pain and abuse we cause ourselves without a second thought about the future.

The sins and abuse of our past will and do catch up with us, as for me it really started when I was 17 and thought nothing of carrying a 60 or 70 pound pack and battle rifle for days on end. I never worried about the Agent Orange we were sprayed with or the day in day out stress of combat and trying not to get my sorry ass shot off all the while loosing others around me in some of the most horrific ways imaginable. I never thought about what I was doing to myself drinking, partying and cavorting with loose women until I passed out only to get up and do it again and again. This went on for more or less 30 years without a second thought.

Personally I would like to smack the SOB who came up with the phrase “50 is the new 30”. It was right about when I turned 50 that things began to hurt in places that I never hurt before and this time I was not healing as fast, if at all.

Today it is the chemicals and additives in our food, things like High Fructose Corn Syrup, Phytoestrogens are in almost everything, food dyes and highly questionable processed foods and the list goes on and on.

All of this relates to getting older and Gynecomastia because as I said earlier if you live long enough you will have a Prostate issue and at least 25% of you will develop some form of breast development.

How you deal with that is unique to you because there is no right or wrong answer.

[clawdius]

Tiger Paws:
U seem very knowledgeable and I'm grateful for your postings. U answered my  post re: testosterone replacement but I've lost that link. My endocrinologist suggested I could take estrogen blockers but there are possible serious side effects. I'll pass on that. Could U pass on the type and make of bra U are wearing? How do U deal with being on a public beach or pool? I spend most of the year in warm climates and enjoy both pool and beach. As I am growing to a full C and probably larger I am quite aware of breast movement when walking. Would U be willing to send a pix of yourself braless? I will reciprocate.
clawdius
jeffbenavrumtoo@yahoo.com 

[TooMuchBoob]

I guess for those of us that already have boobs, there's nothing to lose or gain from HRT other than no prostate disease.

I do question the age thing mentioned though. In relatively modern times I don't think "old age" was under 50 for men.

John Adams - 91
Thomas Jefferson - 83
Ben Franklin - 84
John Quincy Adams - 81
James Madison - 85

And Ben was one hell of a partier!

Now maybe, if we factor in disease, injury, war, etc., etc, the average age was lower than today, but there were still plenty of men living to a good age even by today's standards.

TMB

[igotum]

TP,
I can relate. I am at a 42D now. I take 2 drugs for enlarged prostate and 5 heart drugs and ALL of them say "can cause gynecomastia". My testicles have atrophied and are about 25% the size they were 20 years ago. Not sure what caused that. All my chest,stomach, underarm, and leg hair is gone. I have coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease which are just big words for they are stopped up, some worse than others. My breasts are just very minor to me. The circulatory issues are MAJOR issues. I am 70 still having fun however slow it may be. The circulatory issues limit most if not all my activities.