Looking for advice - do you think I have gynecomastia?

[Beeches]

Hello everyone,

(This is my first post here, though I did try posting back in December. I think something may have gone wrong with that attempt because it just shows up as ‘Awaiting Approval’. This post is substantially the same as my earlier attempt to see if now appears correctly on the forum - my apologies if this constitutes double posting)

I have been browsing this site and the forums for a while and have gained a lot of valuable information and comfort from what I have found here. I am hoping that you will be kind enough to give me your advice about my condition. I am desperate to understand what is going on with my body, and am seeking advice on whether or not I have gynecomastia. If it is, I don’t think mine is very advanced, but it has got to the stage where it is becoming a problem that I want to deal with.

I am a 67 year old living in the UK, and have gradually become aware that there was something unusual going on with my chest. This has developed slowly, over a couple of years. About three years ago I was diagnosed with low testosterone (9 nmol/L or 260 ng/dL) and after several blood confirmatory tests was put onto testosterone replacement therapy. The TRT has made a huge improvement to my life, but I’m beginning to think that it may also have had consequences in the form of slightly enlarged breasts and nipples. I spoke to my doctor about it who just said that it sometimes happens on TRT, and that the only real solution was to come off the therapy. I felt so bad before I started TRT that I decided it was a risk worth taking

The changes started after a few months on TRT, when I became aware that my nipples were getting very itchy and tender, and they also started to get a lot bigger. They always used to be small and insignificant, but are now permanently rather prominent, and have become very sensitive, which they never were in the past. I still get bouts of itching around the nipples and sometimes under my arms.

I also seemed to be gaining some fat on my chest, which I had been dismissing as general weight gain. I’m overweight (BMI 26) and try to take exercise and diet to control my weight. I walk a few miles most days to help with this, and had been having more and more trouble with sore nipples. They were rubbing on my shirts and got really painful. To try to help with this, I bought a couple of compression shirts, and what a huge difference that made! The chafing and abrasion just stopped.

But there was another thing I soon became aware of. While walking, I had been experiencing a sort of ‘thudding’ sensation in my chest each time I took a step and also a dragging, aching feeling in my chest and shoulders. When wearing a compression shirt this was noticeably reduced, and it occurred to me that maybe was due to breast tissue now being supported and immobilised instead of jiggling around. Intrigued and a little concerned, I started reading up on the possible causes, and soon found my way here.

I would really appreciate your opinion on whether I have gynecomastia. It seems to me that I may have it, but could it just be a buildup of fat? The tissue feels quite solid around the nipples, but I can’t feel any distinct hard lumps there. I very much hope to find out where I stand regarding possible gynecomastia so that I can to come to terms with my situation and do what I can to deal with the changes. I have (hopefully!) attached four photos to show how my chest looks - please let me know what you think.

There is a such wealth of experience here on the forums, and any opinions and advice on what I do from here would be gratefully received.


Thanks!

Beeches