Hormone Imbalance is it all Connected?

[xwhybreasts]

August of last year I went to the Dr. With a persistent cough, by the time I left the office I was diagnosed with Afib and started on a beta blocker and warfarin.  Having a bad reaction to the beta blocker, my medication was changer to diltiazem 360 mg/ day and eliquis 10 mg/ day.  I also started  low carb high protein and omegas 3 diet. I also eliminated alcohol and most sugars from my diet. In the past 8 mo I have lost about 40 lbs.  going from 245 to 205 for the record I am 69 years old and my height is 6"4'.  By February my breasts were obvious (38" under 42/43 around fullest)and sore/painful ,especially by the end of the day.  At a March check up with my regular Dr. We did standard blood work and I was surprised to see that both my blood sugar ( under 100 to 132 and cholesterol under 200 to over 230) had increased.  Also my Dr. Confirmed the gynecomastia .  My question is this, since we know gynecomastia is caused by hormone imbalance. Is it possible that the root cause for the afib is hormonal,  and I have read that hormone levels have a role with diabetes and high cholesterol.   Do you think it is possible the medications are involved ,  also the soreness/pain still exists in my breasts even though I have been wearing a sports type bra for the last month.  I would like to know if you think the breasts were prexisting and just became more obvious and moving after the weight loss or if they still being effected by the meds or hormones.

[Litlriki]

As we are only getting a snapshot of your health history, it's very difficult to answer your questions in terms of causality.  At 69 with an excess of body fat, it isn't unusual to see gynecomastia, and this could be present unrelated to any medication or other medical condition, but rather related to the aging process with dropping testosterone levels.  The addition of medications and other medical conditions may contribute to the development of gynecomastia, but a-fib and gynecomastia don't have any connection that I'm aware of.  Your PCP can check your hormone levels to assess for abnormalities, and if appropriate and indicated, you might consider hormone replacement to deal with symptoms.  Your gynecomastia won't resolve, but it might help to diminish the discomfort. 

[xwhybreasts]

Thank you for your response.  There still is some discomfort and I will be having my hormones checked at my next check up with my PCP.  Since discomfort is only since drugs, pretty sure they are involved.

[Dr. Schuster]

I agree with Dr. Silverman. You need to have your PCP review your complete list of meds and perform a thorough physical. Keep in mind that the treatment of prostate problems can cause gynecomastia.