I opening this thread for anybody to read about my Gyno experience.
When I was 19, I did my first cycle. I believe it was 400mg/week of Test C. I put on around 25 pounds, and then lost about 10 after PCT. At 20 years old I did my second and final cycle of Test C, Deca, and D-bol. I put on around 20 pounds, and lost about 10 after PCT.
During my first cycle, I did notice very small lumps beginning to grow under both of my nipples. I finished that cycle, and through PCT, the gyno went away. The gyno came much quicker and stronger in my second cycle. After I finished my second cycle, the PCT did not get rid of my Gyno. I ran C_Bino's (http://forums.steroid.com/showthread....#.T4YO19WxAkg) gyno reversal. It seemed to help some of the way, but I didn't plan well and did not have enough Letro to do the full process.
Within a year, the gyno in my right nipple had completely gone away, but the gyno under my let nipple remained. By this point, the gyno in my left nipple had basically maxed out in terms of size. It was a hard lump, somewhat painful to the touch, and I was very self-conscious about it when taking my shirt off in public. At this point, I went to a doctor to start discussions on how to get rid of it. I did not tell this doctor that it resulted from steroid use. She seemed to be worried that it wasn't just a benign mass. This doctor told me I should go talk to a surgeon about it and get it checked out/removed.
Because I was a stubborn 20 year old at the time, and felt sure that it was only a result of steroid use and thought that maybe I could try another C_Bino reversal, I decided not to go get it checked out by a surgeon. I also looked up the surgery and saw that insurance would not cover it, so I wanted to wait until I had the money saved up. About a year later, I tried another C_Bino reversal, but by this time, it did not work at all and was likely too late to use that method.
From then on, I just learned to deal with it - find ways to avoid getting seen without my shirt on, etc. The size had not changed much up to yesterday. During this time, the lump would have times were it was slightly more pronounced/more tender than other times. I believe the fluctuations were likely a result of binge drinking (I drank a lot - everyday up until about two months ago).
At the beginning of March, 2012, I went straight to a local well known breast surgeon. In the area that I live, there are few if any surgeons who do gynecomastia removal resulting from steroid use. This surgeon was confident that he could get the job done because he is very experienced in fatty tissue gyno and boob jobs. Although, he admitted that he had never dealt with a true glandular tissue case exactly like mine. I did admit to him that I believe it is a result of steroid use.
He was much more worried about getting the gyno out and getting it tested, over just getting it out and getting my appearance back to normal. Because he seemed to be concerned mostly about the possibility of it not being benign, I began to worry A LOT about it. At this point I had more than enough money to pay for the surgery myself. However, because my surgeon was concerned about it and had never really done one exactly like this, he was able to submit it to insurance as an "unknown mass", and they are going to pay for all of it. I could have flown anywhere in the country to get this done with a more experienced surgeon that probably wouldn't have made me freak out as much, and even though I had the money, I thought it sounded nice to not have to pay for it.
I had many blood tests done with him and with my regular doctor a few weeks before surgery. Blood counts, cholesterol, testosterone, liver, pancreas, and others, and all came back COMPLETELY normal. Keep in mind, this is five years of having this in my body.
I had the surgery on Monday. The process was very simple and overall was a comfortable experience. It was under general anesthesia and the surgery itself took about 45 minutes to an hour. When I woke up, I had some pain in the area, and was given additional pain medication thru my IV. I also have hydrocodone and promethazine prescriptions. Two days later, I would describe the area as not really pain but just more of an intense feeling of having the gyno still - kind of a dull discomfort. I have only a large piece of gauze taped over the nipple - my surgeon did not see a need for me to wear anything to keep the area compressed. I took off of work yesterday, and was back to my office job today for half of the day.
Mentally, it is a huge relief to have it out. I am still EXTREMELY anxious about the test results and anxious to see what it is going to look like. I will be able to take off the bandage tomorrow afternoon and take a shower. I am expecting it to not look good at all, as I have read that it takes a couple months for it to mostly get back to normal, and up to a full year for it to completely heal.
I am certain that I got this lump from steroid use, I have had it for 5 years now, I have no signs of illness, I feel perfectly healthy and workout five times a week, no family history of disease there, and all of my pre-surgery blood-work came back perfectly normal. However, I am still anxious to hear back on the testing results, mostly because my surgeon made me think that it could be very serious.
I am open to any thoughts or questions. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by JustJoe
