point of endocrinologist?

[tnel00son]

i was just wondering, when you go to an endocrinologist and they get your tests back, what happens if your hormones are imbalanced? do they just say well, your endocrine system is fawked or do they give you anything to take or have a way to balance it out?

[endurer]

If it is imbalanced, they may ask to take some medicines. Testosterone is one example. It comes in easy forms.

[nukem2k5]

If it is imbalanced, they may ask to take some medicines. Testosterone is one example. It comes in easy forms.

Easy, but from what many here have said, very aggravating.  I believe hypo has to rub gel on himself for 15 minutes every day of his life.

[hypo]

The point is you either 'get with the program', (is my US terminology getting better?) get on treatment and get your hormones balanced or you face a life with the possibility of a statistically increased risk of developing;

CVD (Cardio Vascular Disease), Diabetes (1 in 3 men with type 2 diabetes have hypogonadism), osteoporosis (I developed this due to lack of treatment), Alzheimer’s, Obesity.

Now I consider the above to be far worse than gynecomastia.

Forgetting about that little lot (like you could really forget that  

The point is if you are found to have hypogonadism, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism (the latter often causes pseudo gynecomastia via weight gain), once the correct treatment is found and your hormones balanced, (could take six months and the gyne may get worse or better in the meantime) you can then should you so wish get surgery in the knowledge that your hormones should not be able to cause any re-development.

If you just think screw it, I have been told my hormones are out of balance I’ll just forget about it and get surgery;

Then the odds of gynecomastia re-development is much higher, as any existing gland left behind can be acted upon by the same hormone problem that caused its development in the first place.

Correctly medicating a hormone problem can range from being very easy to very difficult depending upon the nature of the problem; in more difficult cases the individual needs a very good reproductive endocrinologist and careful management of their issues.

Whether these things are difficult or not it pays to deal with them properly and not ignore them.

[Gine2D]

Jeff, did you have Estrogen E2 in the lower half of the normal range?  

This where it should be, but most docs do not even test for it.  Too high E2 will cause boob growth. The higher it is the faster they grow. Some men with boobs have as much E2 as many women in theirs 50's.

It can be lowered.