Blood test ok

[abcdefg120]

Im 60years old and 69kg and my gyno started a just few months ago and currently a 36A cup. Ive always assumed that gynecomastia was caused by a hormone imbalance but Ive had blood test results back now which show nothing out of the ordinary at all. My doctor seems to want to just pass this off saying he sees no reason to believe I will get much larger and quite honestly Im not sure he actually believed me when I described the growing sensations that Ive been experiencing on and of for a few months. At the time the blood sample was taken I was not experiencing any growing pains so wondering if it is  possible that my hormone levels at that time were normal but can the balance fluctuate significantly over a few days or weeks? Im not sure were to go from here in finding the cause but hoping maybe someone else has had similar experience.

[hammer]

Are you on any medications as there are a lot of them that can cause breast growth! That could be a good place to start looking, at our age many of us are on more than one that can become an issue! I'm 60 as well.

[gynepaul]

I’m a little older than you (65) and have had two separate blood tests for testosterone levels over the past 4 to 5 weeks.  The first sample was taken in the early afternoon and showed total testosterone of 164.  Based on that, my doc wanted to start me on TRT.  But, insurance wouldn’t approve the treatment without an early morning T-test.  So, I had a second test (taken at 8:30 am) which showed a T-level of around 300.  Both numbers suck, but the second could be considered in-range (and consequently “normal”) depending on the lab.   

Apparently, T-levels are highest in the morning and can vary quite a bit over the course of a day.  You might want to do a follow up test to see if there is a difference. 

[abcdefg120]

I didnt get the exact figures but my GP said my testosterone was “bang in the middle of normal range and my Oestrogen was so low that it would be a cause for concern if I were a female” (not sure what he meant by that though or what the normal male and female levels should be). He also said its not uncommon in fatter guys to develop bigger boobs due to fat the increasing the Oestrogen levels ,and that he saw “nothing to suggest that I would end up being big like some guys who need a bra” (his words not mine). The blood test was done at 9:30AM and im not on any medication at all.

[hammer]

Well, I'm not sure where you need to go from here, sorry I can't help but when it came to me I knew exactly where my gyno came from! I wish that I could help more, but I'm sure that their might be someone else  on the forum with some idea. However, I do know that there are others on here that are or have been in the same boat as you are with no explanation of where their gyno was coming from!

[abcdefg120]

Thanks Hammer and Paul for your comments. I dont need a doctor to tell me I have gynecomastia, that has become very clear to me from the symptoms I've been experiencing lately. Forgive my ignorance on this subject though but am I correct to assume that gynecomastia is ALWAYS caused by a hormone imbalance but often its not possible to find what the cause of the imbalance is? or can it happen with no hormone imbalance?

[hammer]

We have had some members that have not been able to get an answer for the why! However you are correct that it is caused by a hormone imbalance, and that imbalance may be caused by a variety of problems.

In my case I had gynecomastia as a teen and it stayed with me though my 20's all the years I was in the military and then in my early thirties I had a vasectomy after my wife was pregnant with my 5th child (2nd child with the 2nd wife). Two years later after going through a ton of pain I lost my testicles so my breast grew like well watered weeds!

Almost thirty years later, still happily married and don't even miss those testicles and don't really give a darn about the breast as there is so much more in life that is more important!

[Paa_Paw]

I am 81 and I have had the condition since a youth of about 12.   Last year I had heart surgery and  they really do not like to do surgery like that on people my age.   They spent three months running tests on me to make sure I was healthy enough to survive the surgery.  Even so, I think I had everyone of the bad side effect of that surgery except that I did not die.   I had multiple organ Failures and Pneumonia.  One outcome was a period of breast growth.  It did not last a long time and everything slowly came back to pre-operative levels but in the interim, I added a cup size if my measurements are to be believed.  The culprit may have been my own organs or it could have been one of the many medications that I was on temporarily in that time of stress. In any case, it was an event, not an ongoing process.  A blood test now is not going to show what happened last year.  

[abcdefg120]

What Ive learned recently is that gynecomastia can often be treated successfully with medication (such as tamoxifen for example) providing the gyne started less that 2 years ago and there are no other health issues that could be responsible, (am I correct?) because both of these scenarios do appear to be true in my case.  My problem is going to be convincing my doctor that although my blood test results were fine I do actually have gynecomastia which is still growing. Should I simply demand another blood test and this time make sure its taken later in the daytime or failing that are home test kits accurate I wonder?

[hammer]

From my understanding, surgery is the only way to remove it, and there no way to just stop it. You wouldn't want to do surgery  until you were done growing! However, I'm not a doctor so I could be wrong.

[abcdefg120]

Hammer. I have read conflicting information on the subject but I don't believe there is a magic potion out there to make the disappear (I wish there was) but I am lead to believe that  in some cases growth can be halted or slowed right down. I know it will never go away without surgery but I can live with being the size I am at the moment, but the prospect of getting larger bothers me. Im keen to act quicklly because obviously the sooner I do the sooner this growth might stop. 

[edward79]

don't forget to test for prolactin, It also causes breast growth.

[hammer]

don't forget to test for prolactin, It also causes breast growth.

Edward,  knows about this is all to well!!!

[abcdefg120]

Ive got the full test results today.
Tests were carried out for:
Creatinine level
GFR calculated abbreviated MDRD
Alanine aminotranserase level
Alkaline phosphate level
Total bilirbin level
Albumin level
Free T4 level
TSH level
Total HCG level
Prolactin Level
Testosterone level
LH level
Oestradiol level


Everything was in the normal range except Oestradiol level which was below the low reference limit. (I THINK the lower limit only applies to females so for a male its a good result isn't it?)
The blood samples were taken in the morning at 10:51AM.



So were to go from here, maybe my diet? Its not unhealthy really other than a bit too much coffee and wine drinking which my doctor said wasn't going to cause any problem.