Treatment for pseudo-gyno?

[Alfa]

Hi all!

I have recently got my gyne examined by a doctor, plus a few blood tests taken that returned normal results. The doctor only examined my chest with her hands and told me she only found "fat and extremely large pectorals...", ehm... According to her the excess fat is probably due to my earlier overweight, and she could not find any signs of enlarged gland. Although I know surgeons here have stated that there almost always is some glandular tissue involved, I guess I still would feel pretty fine if I could only get rid of the excess fat.

So, my question here is if there's any (preferably non-surgical) treatment for pseudo-gyno? I guess dieting down a little bit would help, but in my previous experiences that's not a very effective sollution. Right now i'm at a rather comfortable bodyfat level, and I reckon that I would have to reach significantly lower levels to shed off any unwanted fat from my chest. Still, I suppose I could live with that, but it would definitely be a real bitch to always maintain a 10-12% bodyfat level(especially when I have never been that low in my entire life). That's why i'm looking for an easier way, if there is one.

[GynO_DuDe]

Surgery aka Lipo .. but high chance to expect excess skin, creases etc unless you also get that sorted.

The wise decision would be to get down to and maintain the 12% bodyfat regardless of how hard it is as gyne is obviously something you dont want. It should motivate you to run that extra mile when your excercising!

[Alfa]

Would meds just be a waste of money? I suppose it would only work temporarily?

If I were to have surgery done, would it still be better to get my bodyfat down? I know this is recommended when you also remove gland as it makes the procedure easier which gives a better result, but is this still true for lipo?

Anyway, I will continue to diet down as long as I don't loose too much muscle in the process(I think that's always a problem, that somewhere along that road you get too far below your bodys comfort level, and it becomes much harder to get leaner).

[dcvet]

>>Anyway, I will continue to diet down as long as I don't loose too much muscle in the process(I think that's always a problem, that somewhere along that road you get too far below your bodys comfort level, and it becomes much harder to get leaner).<<

My friend, fighting the body's comfort level is the KEY in losing bodyfat... and building muscle... and success in general for life!!  It is a good idea to not try to diet, cardio, etc so drastically that you lose muscle - but realistically, you can lose about 2lbs of fat per week while holding on to your precious muscle.  Resistance training is crucial in this equation.  In fact, if you weight train 3-4 times per week, do moderate cardio 3-4 times per week, and clean upi your diet, you can lose the fat and hold the muscle very easily (unless there are other factors preventing it, thyroid, hormone etc). 

To answer your question about whether it would be better to get your BF down?  YES...if you have surgery or not, get it down.  You will improve your entire life!

[anon1234]

Alfa I feel I may in a similar situation to you with possibly left over fat due to previous excess weight when younger. I was also told after a scan that my chest was mainly fat even though I am currently at about 15% bodyfat. In the past I have been leaner and did still have issues,

I would like to ask you a question if can you please answer either way it would be appreciated, do you have any hard lumps almost feels like fat lumps (not gland) at all? I suppose mine based on what I have read almost feels like cellulite but I am not sure if this is the case.

[Alfa]

I would like to ask you a question if can you please answer either way it would be appreciated, do you have any hard lumps almost feels like fat lumps (not gland) at all? I suppose mine based on what I have read almost feels like cellulite but I am not sure if this is the case.

Yes, I do have some hard lumps. I also feel something that I have assumed to be strands of gland, but according to the doctor she felt nothing out of the ordinary. However it should perhaps be noted that this doctor was an expert on "general medicine", I don't know how much she actually knows about gynecomastia. So while I certainly hope she's right, I dare not trust her judgement completely.

[Alfa]

>>Anyway, I will continue to diet down as long as I don't loose too much muscle in the process(I think that's always a problem, that somewhere along that road you get too far below your bodys comfort level, and it becomes much harder to get leaner).<<

My friend, fighting the body's comfort level is the KEY in losing bodyfat... and building muscle... and success in general for life!!  It is a good idea to not try to diet, cardio, etc so drastically that you lose muscle - but realistically, you can lose about 2lbs of fat per week while holding on to your precious muscle.  Resistance training is crucial in this equation.  In fact, if you weight train 3-4 times per week, do moderate cardio 3-4 times per week, and clean upi your diet, you can lose the fat and hold the muscle very easily (unless there are other factors preventing it, thyroid, hormone etc). 

To answer your question about whether it would be better to get your BF down?  YES...if you have surgery or not, get it down.  You will improve your entire life!

It's true that you have to break homeostasis to loose fat, but i'm refering to a whole different thing. What i'm talking about is more in line with the set-point theory, meaning that the body has a sort of an ideal level of fat that it wants to preserve. This is based on both lifestyle and physiological factors. The further you get from that ideal level, the harder it will become. Now I don't buy into this idea completely, it's just a model to explain some observations that have been made regarding weight loss. However, the thing is that after a while it gets really tough to loose more fat. For a previously overweight guy like me, this level can be set pretty high. For me, trying to push below 15% bodyfat is very difficult. After a certain point I will just shrink without actually getting much leaner. Others might not experience this before getting below, say, 10% or 8%, but eventually this is what happens when you try to go below your bodys comfort zone.

Of course this only means i'll have to try harder. All i'm saying is that fat loss is not a very effective way to go, but it's certainly something i'm going to try. I mean, even if it takes years to get lean enough, sooner or later the gyne must disappear(assuming it's just fat). But I would certainly prefer an easier way, since i'd like the gyne gone like yesterday...

[Alfa]

I have read that DHT can help with pseudo-gyno, do you know if this is true?

[Paa_Paw]

If your DHT is low, you may benefit from it. On the other hand, If your hormone levels are normal, taking hormones could make things worse.

Taking such drugs without competent medical oversight and regular lab tests to monitor results would really be a dumb thing to do. This is not a do-it-yourself job.

I do not like to differentiate between what people refer to as True vs Pseudo Gynecomastia. The treatment is essentially the same.

Weight loss is rarely if ever effective at getting rid of Fatty Breasts completely and there is no magic cure.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Could not agree more with Paa-Paw.

When males gain some weight, they gain it on their chest, their abdomen and hip rolls (love handles).  And when they lose weight, these same areas are the last to go.  There is a different metabolism in the fat in these areas which science has not yet worked out.  I have known patients who died of malnutrition and they still had some fat on their chest and abdomen that their body somehow could not use to prolong their life.

Getting back to your problem -- losing weight is obviously to your benefit.  When you do lose weight, it will be the fat component on your chest that will diminish somewhat -- the gland remains the same and is unaffected by weight loss.  It is common that there will still be some residual (and objectionable) tissue on your chest.  It doesn't make a bit of difference if this is all fat (rare), all gland (rare) or a mixture of the two.  And even in the most experienced hands, one cannot tell by physical examination alone whether you have fat, gland or a mixture.  From a surgical perspective, it really doesn't matter because everything will be removed if the operation is done properly. 

As for hormone therapy -- it is best left up to a competent endocrinologist -- never play with it yourself.

Elliot Jacobs, MD, FACS