DO MEDS WORK?

[IRISHBOXER]

Hello this is my first post, I'am 30 years old I have been fighting this now since about 18 years trying everything.  I go on diets and try working out but nothing works, has anyone tried pills?  I need help please.

[Alfa]

All I know is that some steroid using bodybuilders claim that stuff like testosterone and anti-estrogens work and that it can even reduce glandular tissue. Some of them claim this by their own experiences. However, my guess is that they have only had mild cases of gynecomastia. In any case I think there's hope that it could at least reduce the gyne, and in combination with exercise and diet it might be possible to make big improvements. That's what i'm hoping for myself. I suggest you talk this over with an endocrinologist.

[moobius]

if you've had this for 12 yrs+ theres' NO pill you can take now that will get rid of it.

surgery is the only option at this point   

[headheldhigh01]

what they said.  save your $, it's not going to work. 

[Alfa]

As I understand it gynecomastia can go away by itself up to the age of around 25, so why can't the pills work even if you've had it for a long time?

[Alfa]

I found this after a quick search on PubMed:

"OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of the anti-estrogens tamoxifen and raloxifen in the medical management of persistent pubertal gynecomastia. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of 38 consecutive patients with persistent pubertal gynecomastia who presented to a pediatric endocrinology clinic. Patients received reassurance alone or a 3- to 9-month course of an estrogen receptor modifier (tamoxifen or raloxifene). RESULTS: Mean (SD) age of treated subjects was 14.6 (1.5) years with gynecomastia duration of 28.3 (16.4) months. Mean reduction in breast nodule diameter was 2.1 cm (95% CI 1.7, 2.7, P <.0001) after treatment with tamoxifen and 2.5 cm (95% CI 1.7, 3.3, P <.0001) with raloxifene. Some improvement was seen in 86% of patients receiving tamoxifen and in 91% receiving raloxifene, but a greater proportion had a significant decrease (>50%) with raloxifene (86%) than tamoxifen (41%). No side effects were seen in any patients. CONCLUSION: Inhibition of estrogen receptor action in the breast appears to be safe and effective in reducing persistent pubertal gynecomastia, with a better response to raloxifene than to tamoxifen. Further study is required to determine that this is truly a treatment effect.

PMID: 15238910 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]"

[Time_to_fix_it]

The above post just seems to reiterate what many other studies have shown in that the use of anti oestrogens such as Tamoxifen can in some cases reduce gynecomastia in the early stages of growth.  The study above refers to pubescent growth of gyne in pubescent boys (mean age 14.6 yrs).  However after approx 18 months (28 months max in the above study) the gland changes its format in that it becomes more fibrous and is no longer receptive to the effect of anti oestrogens and aromatase inhibitors. 

Basically what Moobius said in his post here is exactly right.

if you've had this for 12 yrs+ theres' NO pill you can take now that will get rid of it.

surgery is the only option at this point   

Most GPs don’t know much about this condition, what causes it and what effects hormone treatments have or don’t have.  They are just General Practitioners after all.  Some will try a patient on something like Tamoxifen but many won’t because it may not be licensed for the treatment for gyne (it isn't in the UK).  My gyne started late in life and I was tried on it for nearly a year, it might have slowed the growth down a bit while it was growing but once the gland was established it was a waste of time and money.  The Endocrinologists knew this and told me surgery was my only option.

It’s understandable to grasp at straws (most of us did at some point or other) but the reality is that there is rarely an easy way out of these things.  The bottom line is if you have had it for more than a couple of years, it is there to stay and no amount of:
•   anti-oestrogens
•   aromatase inhibitors
•   diets
•   or fanciful claims of “wonder drugs or treatments” being sold on the internet
are going to make any difference.

So I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but after 18 months or so with gyne, there are only 2 options.  Live with it or have surgery.

[tomo]

I tried 6oxo and other pills from bodybuilding stores. Nothing worked I think surgery is the only answer.

[Alfa]

Unfortunately it looks like you are right.

However, here's a little quote from N Engl J Med 2007; 357:2636-2637, Dec 20, 2007:

"However, if the gynecomastia has been present for more than 1 year, it is unlikely to regress substantially, either spontaneously or with medical therapy, because of the presence of fibrosis."

As I read it, it's still possible - though unlikely - to see at least a small regression. What i'm wondering is if there's at least the possibility that meds can make at least a small difference. I mean, that would mean good news for those of us who have milder cases of gynecomastia. In the less severe cases diet and exercise can also make a hell of a difference, and perhaps with all things put together there can be dramatic improvements. However, this would depend a lot on how severe the gyno is.

[gynebegone2]

I hate to say it, but you need to realize there just are no other options right now.  If there were a way to remove established gland it would come from the relm of cancer research and not hormone adjustments.

[Alfa]

It's not that I refuse to realize the reality of the situation here, but I wonder why you are so categorically denying the possibility that certain medications might help? There seems to be little clinical research done on this issue, however it seems to point in the direction that established gland will be difficult to regress with meds. On the other hand drugs like tamoxifen are effective on some forms of breast cancer and it's also used as treatment for Ormond's disease. This suggests a rather potent drug that's at least effetive on other fibrous tissues(like with Ormond's disease). Since tamoxifen is used to treat estrogen receptor positive breast cancer this could also suggest that the effectiveness depends on the cause of the condition, meaning that it could work for some people.

Of course I am merely speculating here. I would personally like to know the facts before I give up on the idea.

[moobius]

hormones cause glandular growth. if the hormones are out of whack, you can correct this with pills (tamox, aromasin, femera, etc, etc, etc) and this will prevent further growth. once the gland has developed you cannot reverse it by correcting the hormonal profile. the gland is sensetive to estrogen/progestin/IGF, so reducing these things through hormonal manipulation can make the gland appear tmporarily smaller...

the fact still remains that the gland doesn't actually shrink. as soon as the hormonal manuipulators are taken back out of the equation the gland will return to its 'normal' size -- which if you have gynecomastia, 'normal' is actually abnormally large.

all the studies you are looking at on cancer patients will show that the disease is slowed by taking estrogen blocker/inhibitors. it can slow progression but it doesn't reverse breast growth.   think of all the old menopausal women who's bodies are only producing fractions of the amount of estrogen their bodies did prior... do their breasts shrink and go away? NO.

once glandular tissue has developed, theres NO drugs you can take that will reverse it. surgery is the only option.

[Time_to_fix_it]

It's not that I refuse to realize the reality of the situation here, but I wonder why you are so categorically denying the possibility that certain medications might help?

Jeez  . and I thought I was sceptical in the early days. 

There are many many years of experience on here. Yes we are laymen but some of us have spent years researching this.  Some of us have even seen (and are still seeing) some of the finest Endocrinologists and Andrologists in the world.  All we are doing is trying to share that experience and knowledge to save others from raising their hopes too high and have them dashed just as ours were. 

Of course I’m not offended by your continuing doubts, frustrated a little perhaps but hell we all need to get these things out of our system.

Go for it .. do your research. Keep us posted?  I'll eat my hat if anyone finds that one of these wonder cures on the internet ever works.

Off to buy a very small hat (just in case) 

[scousered45]

Surgery is the only option at the moment imo

[lpgarzalp08]

Does anyone know how much this surgery cost and where to go to get it?