please give advice 19 yr old

[vancouverboy]

hi

they came in when i was about 14 years old naturally. doctor said it'll go away. This is seriously a problem that is extremely tough to deal with. spend hours picking shirts that dont show them poking thru... Im sick of them. Have to come up with excuses when friends ask to go spend the afternoon at the pool. Anyways enough of my sob story looking for a solution to the problem.

Im willing to try surgery as well. They do seem quite severe to me, and I havent found a doctor that specializes in this in my area. I live in Vancouver. Please advise.

[Paa_Paw]

I live in California,US so I cannot be of help but I assure you that this is the right place and someone is bound to comment in a helpful way.

Meanwhile, welcome.

[Monkey83]

Hello fellow Canuck!Go to your family doctor and discuss this with him/her. They can refer you to a plastic surgeon who specializes in this. As well, if you get a referral it should be covered under provincial healthcare.

[TigerPaws]

vancouverboy,

The image you posted looks very familiar, this is how I looked after 8 months on medications for an enlarged prostate. Today at 58 I fill out a 38C bra. As to how to proceed? Do so very carefully, from your development you most likely have a slow developing breast gland and the associated tissue. Removal will not be simple and not without risks, plus at your age there is no guarantee that over the long term you will not have further development some years down the line.

While I understand your desire to have your breasts immediately removed, patience and some due diligence would seem to be the order of the day. With your development it would be advisable to see a competent endocrinologist with a great deal of knowledge in hormones in order to determine if you have an underlying hormone issue. While I am no expert I highly doubt that what you have already developed will go away.

You can do several checks for yourself, feel for a gland, it will be more or less directly under the nipple and circular in shape, judging from your development the gland could be about the size of an orange cut in half if not a bit smaller. You should be able to feel the edges as well as a firm area between the edges and the nipple. Additionally if you have any pain or itching under and around the nipple, this is a good sign of gland development. Generally the pain is when the gland is trying to grow into the surrounding tissue and the itching is when the skin is expanding. Another possible indicator is nipple development, if your areola is darker or if you see small lumps around your nipple (these are the Montgomery's glands); you might see a light colored ring which can range from white to a light discoloration this is also a sign of breast development.

There are no easy answers, you have the greatest research tool in human history right in front of you. Take some time and learn as much as possible, there is information available from simple explanations to highly scientific research, all you have to do is to look for it and read.

below I have added a couple of images to show what I have been taking about. Note: These images are for those men who have developed the breast gland and not simple fat tissue.



 

[rasputin]

To remove gynecomastia requires surgery. If it is impacting your life negatively and you avoid situations because of it then you should really at least consider surgery. It'll cost anywhere between $4,000 - $7,000 and is a safe and relatively simple operation.

Unfortunately I can't recommend anyone outside of my own experience in London. There is a forum here dedicated to people in Canada so have a look there first:

www.gynecomastia.org/smf/19/

[vancouverboy]

When feeling for the gland would it be 'floating' with the fat or would it be behind the fat? I dont really feel anything except for fat. If i flex my pecs the gland shouldnt flex as well right? While flexing i can only feel fat as well.

As for pain there is none. Only sensations i get is a weird fluttering muscle twitch very rarely. Booked an appointment for family doctor strictly regarding this issue.


If i think back  i remember my parents giving me 'boost' a soy based protein drink. Ive heard soy boosts estrogen levels. What do you think?
 
 

[TigerPaws]

It is well known that soy products increase estrogen, to what extent is dependent on the individuals susceptibility to estrogen. That is totally out of your control, it is genetic.

As for feeling the gland a lot depends on your development, the images were not very clear, but in general if what you have developed was fat you would hang down more than you appear to. While no one can say for sure it appears that you have the type of development which is indicative of a breast gland.

Please be aware your "family" doctor might not be well versed in  gynecomastia, if you get the "loose weight, eat healthy and exercise" line of bull so many doctors hand out as advise, insist on seeing a specialist.

[George Pope, M.D.]

Vancouverboy,

Go to the Patient Gallery section on this site and check out my most recent post.   This young man looks similar to you; maybe he's a little larger.  I just wanted you to see what is possible with surgery on someone with a case similar to yours.  Don't give up hope.  Do your homework and learn as much as you can about your condition on this forum.  There are a lot of really helpful guys here.
 
Dr. Pope, MD