People Need to know about Gyne

[Copespo]

There are so many people out there that think gyne will go away or its just fat, for example I was just on another forum and I help guys out with like weight loss and weight lifting and stuff. I kind of read a lot about it so I know a little more then the basics to both, and they had this kid on there who was posting how he cant wait until his weight loss makes his boobs disappear. I just replied to him and Im pretty sure hes gonna feel like crap when he finally reads the reply that it can be only taken care of with surgery. Even at my college, so many guys think if they work out they will make their gyne disappear, its messed up, because this will never happen and they probably wont ever find out about gyne and the way to take care of it until their like 25-30 years old.

My point is gyne needs to be thought at school health classes, advertised in newspapers and other locations. In NYC they literally have a billion ads in the subway about back-pain, foot pain, acne and all this other bs, but never did I see anything such as gyne. The general public thinks its all a fat problem and can be taken care of, I myself thought that. Then my brother told me NO its a gland combined with fat, and I finally found this forum. If my brother never search it up, I would probably be still at the gym thinking its fat and its going to go away sooner or later, I wouldnt be thinking about my upcoming surgery or anything like that. How do you guys feel about this issue? DO you think gyne should be advertised, or is it something that might embarrass the people who have it, for instance if there is a guy with gyne and in the train there is a AD for it do you think people around him might think like "Hm look this guy has this condition".

[Paa_Paw]

I first started to get active on the internet almost twenty years ago.

It was such a good means of exchanging information worldwide and at incredible speed. I harbored the hope that the condition of Gynecomastia would become better understood and that the stigma associated with it would simply become extinct.

The sad truth is that we have entered a time where physical ideals prevail. Some of these ideals are actually contrived and are not representative of truth. It is now common for perfectly normal people have surgery so they would look normal when they were quite normal already. Breast augmentation for women and reduction for men are now commonplace.

There was a story about two years ago about an upsurge in women seeking labiaplasty so they would look normal. The concern of these women was traced to porn magazines which featured full nude girls. The genitalia of the girls had been artistically airbrushed to alter their appearance. Those altered images were what some women thought was "normal."

The phony ideals have made things much worse, and we stigmatize ourselves even more.

The idea that weight loss will get rid of gynecomastia is something that started with a thread of truth which has been distorted beyond recognition. It starts with the true fact that obesity can be a causitive factor in Gynecomastia. This is then exagerated to the point that some people think of obesity as the primary cause of Gynecomastia, Which is obviously false. The next assumption is that weight loss will get rid of Gynecomastia, Which is also false.

Just as bad is the concept that a hormonal problem caused excessive Estrogen and Gynecomastia. The assumption is then that if a person takes drugs to reduce or eliminate Estrogen and/or raise Testosterone, the Gynecomastia will simply go away. If it was really that easy, we would not be here. The hormones are normally a bit screwed up in early puberty, some of us are more sensitive to this than others. This was an event, usually in the past, not an ongoing problem that needs to be treated in most cases.

The Myth that Gynecomastia will regress if you wait long enough also contains a bit of truth which is exagerated. It is true that it does regress in some people, But for some it will not regress no matter how long you wait.

Something else happened about twenty years ago. Various surgical methods came together so that reasonably safe, effective, and cosmetically acceptable male  breast reduction became a reality. Pharmaceutical methods of dealing with Gynecomastia have not kept pace, (at least not yet) so Surgery is the only effecive way to get rid of Gynecomastia.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I have constantly referred to gynecomastia as "The Last Taboo" -- something that men will rarely, if ever, discuss among themselves, their best friends, or their family.  Heck, we now talk openly about erectile dysfunction and have ads on tv pushing Viagra, Cialis, etc.  So in effect, gyne really is the last taboo.

Dr Jacobs

[headheldhigh01]

it's a dilemma.  on the one hand i would have been horrified in my teen years to be sitting on a couch with family and channel surfed into a documentary on the subject.  on the other, if i had, chances are good gyne would not have wasted my years since then the way it did. 

i think the best solution is for phys ed teachers in school to be alert to the issue.  that way it could be approached with a little more sensitivity AND you could get alternatives to the shirts and skins disasters. 

interestingly, we have seen a lot more of this publicity in just the last five years.  i never saw anything about it in the 80s or 90s, i always assumed it was a male breast cancer in remission. 

[kevinrex]

pseudo-gyne can be taken care of through dieting and exercise.

[Paa_Paw]

The terms "True Gynecomastia" and "Pseudo Gynecomastia" Are almost meaningless and should be avoided.

The truth is that the former, a condition with Glandular tissue only; and the latter, where there is fatty tissue only; rarely ever exists. The usual situation is that there is both.

The only person who could use these terms accurately would be a surgeon. Even then the terms could not be used with certainty until after the surgery had been completed.

It is true that, in rare instances, there is pathology associated with Gynecomastia. In most cases, Gynecomastia is, in itself, not physically detrimental.

The detrimental effects of Gynecomastia are almost always psychological. And, the effects are the same whether the breast enlargement is mostly fatty or mostly glandular.

If an obese person should lose a considerable amount of weight, The breasts will also reduce. But even then surgical reduction of the skin is often needed.

The idea that gynecomastia can be treated by diet alone is almost a pure myth.

[arpa1]

I don't know why some people think surgery is Taboo and find anything to rule out surgery or simply keep looking for alternatives with soooo many stories here. I believe I was about 9-10 years old when I started noticing that I was depositing fat on my chest...then by 13 yo it just got so much worse... at 10 years old I had already consulted a general doctor for surgery and he told me to wait and see...well it got worse and I lived with it until now mid 30s. I measure 6'1 and I would say that my healthy weight is about 195-205; I got to 179 once when I was 20 (was doing aerobics 5 times per week 3 hours a day) and still had Gyne (less noticeable but still there and I still would never take my shirt off).

So Just to add to the 1000s of posts; Gynecomastia will 99.999% disappear ONLY via surgery and not diet; creams; exercises or rituals. For $ 3k and a one or 2 weeks of light pain...I think I'll go for the surgery's chances of correcting my problem.