Alcohol

[vaio]

The whole alcohol causing gynecomastia thing scares me. I usually drink once or twice every two weeks.
Will doing this post op. cause the gynecomastia to come back?(im have surgery very soon) I have no hormone imbalances. My gyne developed from taking asthma steroids (prednisone, Beclavent inhalor etc.) in my teens.

[serg]

I've been advised by my surgeon "to reduce alcohol" for 2 weeks pre or post op, so i've been avoiding it completely.

Drinking infrequently as you do is very unlikely to cause your gyne to come back, esp if your hormone balances are all ok. Have a word with your doc to put your mind at rest.

Best of luck with the surgery.

s.

[Paa_Paw]

vaio,

I would agree with serg.  Heavy drinking can cause liver problems.  As I understand it, Liver disease is sometimes a predisposing factor in gynecomastia.  The key word here is Heavy which I presume may also include binge drinking.  I do not believe that moderate drinking should be a problem.  

One important reason for the pre and post op restriction on alcohol is that the liver deals with the anesthetics just as it does with alcohol.  If the liver is already burdened with alcohol, the anesthetics may act a bit unpredictably.  Also, alcohol is a diuretic which may contrbute to dehydration.

[hypo]

Moderation is key.

Moderate drinking is not a problem as long as "moderate" is defined in the medical sense.

Swap in the beer for red wine that contains reservatrol (most likely a cabernet sauvignon high in tanins) and in moderation you even get an anti estrogen effect as well as the protective benefits of antitoxidants and anticoagulants that protect the heart as explained by the French Paradox.