How severe is my gynecomastia?

[Lightbulb Sun]

Some infos: I weigh about 130lbs







Feels very glandular to the touch, the gland seems to have a big donut shape and isn't behind the areola.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

The question should be do I have gyne or not? -- not how severe (only you can determine if it is severe or not).  And yes, you do appear to have gyne and if it has been present for more than two years without change, then it is likely to remain.  Trying to feel for gland or not doesn't work -- some gland feels soft and some fat feels firm -- it can be deceptive.  Gyne is basically a visual diagnosis -- if your breasts appear larger than they should be, then you have gyne.

You then have a choice to live with it and camouflage it as best possible with compression garments or to have surgery.  There are no diets, exercises,injections, creams or other means to remove it.

If you decide on surgery, take your time and do your homework.  Seek the opinion of a plastic surgeon who is experienced in gyne surgery.  If there is no one who meets those criteria in your local area, then consider traveling for the expertise.

Welcome to the forum!

Dr Jacobs

[Alchemist]

Hi Lightbulb Sun,

There is an option Dr Jacobs doesn't mention.  Just plain accept it and live a normal life.  Be comfortable with your chest and not hide it with uncomfortable hot compression clothing.  You don't have to go through life with a girdle around your chest. Women were liberated from girdles decades ago.  Go swimming, have girlfriends and so on.  You don't have to go into a self imposed exile or trying to hide all through life avoiding all the things you want to do.  To get some help accepting yourself go join a nudist club and learn to accept your body and others.  You will have more fun that way and live an unrestricted life.  After some experience you will realize it is not your problem if somebody somewhere doesn't like your chest. I live my life for me and my loved ones, not for the possibility of some bully somewhere.

[steven618]

agreed, honestly it seems once your say 25 and older people just quit giving a damn. its a shame so many people are shoveling out thousands to get surgeons kids some new shoes and suits for picture day lol. I'm 28 and have went from nothing to a b cup in around 5 months. 4 doctors and 2 endo's later and they have no clue as to whats going on (shocker) i am 12% body fat though my breasts im sure make up a decent amount of that and my gf doesn't care. I've come to the terms of wearing sports bras when i workout now and run and while its taken time to get used to and wear regular bras around the house and such for support (seamless and not padded and wireless, hides a lot better without the smooshing) point being, our society likes to point fingers at whats male whats female and anything in the gray zone for men is just gay and gross, which is ridiculous. I know its easier said than done, but trust me 1) your chest looks fine, a lil contoured but fine nonetheless, workout a lil and people woudl no doubt assume its just pecs and 2) accept the body you got and work on the areas you can and middle finger to those who dont like it, don't create a lump sum debt over what strangers may think and shallow women may say.

[Paa_Paw]

They said it all, I have nothing to add.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

The prior comments are honest and true -- not everyone needs surgery.  These comments represent one side of the coin.

However, there is another side of the coin in which men of any age are naturally concerned with their own appearance -- be it hair loss, a big belly, or breasts.  These guys, both young and old, oftentimes alter their lives to accommodate their problem. They do these things to please themselves -- not to please others. Surgery to correct these problems is not for everyone -- but it is available for those who decide upon it.

I think the purpose of this forum is for an equal exchange of ideas and viewpoints.  From a doctor's perspective, one of my many jobs is to help guide men into making the right decision if they decide on surgery.  We have seen too many posts from unhappy guys who chose the wrong surgeon based on price, convenience, etc.

Dr Jacobs

[Alchemist]

Hi Dr Jacobs,

I agree with basically everything you say.  I spent 30 years overseeing group medical plans in various ways including especially group member complaints.  And getting the most experienced surgeon in the needed surgery is a big factor in satisfaction.

What is especially troubling about strictly cosmetic surgery is that the potential down side of cosmetic surgery is so much larger than on medical surgery.  I HAD to have my gall bladder out.  How it was supposed to look afterwards was never discussed, and some can't be controlled. 

Mine set out to be one kind of surgery and then turned into a traditional surgery, so I have 4 scars, one large one.  Below that I have a triangle of skin that has never gotten the feeling back and has visible neuropathic changes in texture, coloration and hair.  My navel was put together crookedly so the hair line going through it takes a 30 degree bend.  The surgeon was not concerned with how it was put together.  He got the gall bladder out in a surgery that ran 3 hours over the allotted time.  And a few years later I had my abdomen muscles split and I have a full length hernia.

Not all of those are risks in the procedures you do but all procedures have their risks and unintended side effects.  However, I had no emotional trauma over these side effects since I wasn't counting on an improvement in cosmetic effects.  I wasn't invested in it.

The people I dealt with who were most affected by undesired outcomes were those such as we see here, very invested in having a specific cosmetic outcome because of cultural considerations that are not necessarily rational.  Missing the mark cosmetically can be devastating to those highly invested in achieving a culturally specified outcome.  And when you are dealing with something so taboo it can't even be talked about with friends and family, there is a problem there that is especially vulnerable to dissatisfaction.

I have no good solutions.  At 22 surgery, if good surgery had been available, would have been attractive after all the hell I went through, typical of many others here.  Two years later everything changed when my life was changed by a red light runner. After 45 years of health problems and nudism and half the guys I know have enlarged breasts now and nobody at all cares, all that breasts amount to is a footnote of no consequence. 

I think the best solution is getting rid of cultural based body shame, male and female, as the kids are growing up.  I think they would be far happier considering everything.  How do we change our society to one of rationality about the body?   I don't know.  Good luck.

[liton2k]

How tall are you? at 130 you seem fat

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Alchemist -- I understand where you are coming from.  However, as a surgeon who operates on cosmetic patients, I have to disagree with one of your statements:

[quoteWhat is especially troubling about strictly cosmetic surgery is that the potential down side of cosmetic surgery is so much larger than on medical surgery.][/quote]

While there are exceptions, most surgery for "medical" reasons is done to remove a cancer, fix a heart valve, relieve intestinal obstruction, etc, etc.  It is necessary surgery which oftentimes must be done expeditiously.  There are risks and potential complications and not every operation turns out perfectly.

Cosmetic surgery, on the other hand, is elective surgery.  One is not rushed into surgery and therefore one has the opportunity to do research, seek the opinion of several surgeons and make an informed choice.  Once a surgeon is chosen, then a discussion should be held with the surgeon to explore all possible risks and complications.  Cosmetic surgeons will only operate on healthy individuals -- I will even postpone surgery if my patient has a cold!  Properly done on a healthy patient, most cosmetic operations go very well and patients are satisfied -- there is NOT a large potential downside to cosmetic surgery.  

After surgery, most patients just go on with their lives and rarely mention it to others.  The big brou-ha-ha occurs when the rare patient who does have a problem becomes vocal on the internet, etc.  This gives more credence to this person's rants than it actually deserves.

I find my biggest problem is that a few patients have unrealistic expectations of their results -- they expect perfection and nothing other than perfection is acceptable. Despite all my discussion and warnings, they fail to accept that Mother Nature is the big 900 pound gorilla in the room.  I find it interesting that a patient with a 98% excellent result will instead dwell on the remaining 2% which isn't exactly perfect.  There is no arguing with these folks.  I do my best to try to identify and weed out these patient prior to surgery -- but I am not perfect and occasionally I end up in endless discussion with them after I have operated on them.  

Bottom line:  cosmetic surgery, performed by an experienced surgeon, on a healthy patient who has realistic expectation about the results will usually end up quite favorably.

Dr Jacobs

[Alchemist]

Hi Dr Jacobs,

As I mentioned, my view may be tilted by dealing only with those who are dissatisfied, and then only when covered by insurance. It's the people that I run into outside of business, when they hear what business I'm in, with endless stories of dissatisfaction that make a lot of impression, and they don't want to hear it from me, or anybody, that they look just fine. The impossible to satisfy person is something difficult to deal with.  Good luck.