Mild Gynocemastia On Finasteride Microdoses, Some Questions

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

Hello, (skip to end for TLDR)

My finasteride regime
I had tried 1mg EoD for 3 weeks in February but quit due to sexual sides. Shortly after I quit I noticed mild regrowth on the hairline and I was shedding much less, but within 3 months it all went back to baseline. Knowing how good it felt to not be losing hair I decided to try microdosing this time.

So I started in August with 0.05mg every day (dissolved 2,5 mg proscar in 50 ml vodka, drank 1ml every day). After about 5 weeks I noticed nothing, stopped a few days (had wisdom teeth pulled), then continued on 0.1mg every day (same thing, 2,5mg proscar in 25ml vodka, 1ml every day). I'm on my last portion of this batch and I'm glad to say my shedding has significantly slowed down, pretty much overnight some time last week, same way it did first time, but barely any sexual side effects.

Mild gyno issues
So I'm very pleased, and am curious to see how much regrowth I can get if I stick to it, except I do have some mild gynocemastia already. I've had it since I was a teenager. It's just a small lump under my right nipple, and it never completely went away but now it feels a bit more swollen and it's a little sensitive when I touch it - not painful, more itchy/sensitive.

For the record, I am 24/M, not very muscular, and very skinny, BMI = 16.5 (I know this is unusually skinny if not severly underweight, I have been like this all my life, have had bloodtests done and am otherwise a healthy person, but I am seeing a dietitian to try to gain some weight) so it has nothing to do with bodyfat.

That's really the reason I'm posting here, because it is barely noticable yet, but if it gets worse it will surely be noticable. I am not currently willing to consider stopping with finasteride, it just works so well.

TLDR + questions:

I have mild gyno (pre existing lump since puberty slightly exacerbated) after 2 months on 0.1mg finasteride daily, but am not willing to stop finasteride.

- Is it probable that it will get worse over time? Is it likely?
- Is it possible that it will subside over time?
- Is there anything I could do to stop gyno without stopping finasteride, and without surgery taking more medication?
- Any personal experiences with finasteride-induced gyno are very welcome!

 

[RU serious]

When I first took finasteride I was on 0.25mg every 3 days, I had many sides including pain and tenderness in the nipple area, which then went on to become a mild form of gyno with my nipples puffing up, so I had to quit the drug. I tried all sorts of stuff to get rid of them including aromatase inhibitors, but to no avail. Since then the gyno side effects have not gone away, and that was 2 years ago, if I didn't quit when I did it would have been worse.

What I am saying is you need to be careful because gyno is incredibly hard to get rid of once it starts to happen, look out for pain and tenderness around that area, because for me that's what indicated that gyno was developing.

 

[horunger]

I believe surgery is most often the only option for gyno... i had it since my teens and it actually went down a bit on Finn, not substantial but at least... hoping Dutt will have the same or more effect on me as Finn, i have gained weight and the fat is adding to it, i could end up with little man boobs if i get fat when im old. I believe i can be eligible for free surgery, worth checking out for you too, the younger you are the more chance it can be considered a way to improve life quality.

 

[michel sapin]

getting a gyno after 2 month seems strange .

 

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

Thanks for the replies. Since it's not really visible it's a bit early to be thinking about surgery. I will just keep an eye on it and see how it progresses. If it stays as it is there is no issue for me. If it gets bigger, well.. I'll have to see about that. I definitely want to stay on finasteride for at least a few months, unless the lump really noticably starts to grow. Worst case scenario it's still relatively easy to fix surgically, although I'd preferably avoid that.

getting a gyno after 2 month seems strange .

Like I said, I already had mild gyno leftover from puberty and it has become a bit more sensitive. I read some articles about finasteride and gynecomastia and it seems that 2-4 months is the usual time frame for developing gyno, another article said it could be anywhere between 14 days and >1 year.

 

[michel sapin]

is it puffy nipples or a hard gland ?

 

[Massive]

Hey , i was diagnoaed with a slight gyno which I got during puberty, thanks to my father's genetics. On top of the gyno I also have big areolas. I remember I really hated it and always wore big shirts. All that changed once I started lifting and now I literally have a barrel chest so I proudly can take my shirt off.
I imagine I could potentially get a surgery down to the road but that means I'll have to take 3 months off lifting, no thanks.

 

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

is it puffy nipples or a hard gland ?

It's a lump under my right nipple, not sure how to tell if it's a gland but it's quite hard yes.

 

[Ruby]

getting gyno after 2 month seems strange .

Unless your natural estrogen levels are pretty high.... (and yes, men do produce estrogens... everybody does)
Hell, I've been eating finasteride, spironolactone and estradiol intentionally trying to get gyno, and it's taken 6 weeks of doing that to finally arrive.

Getting a blood hormone test might be worthwhile if it's easily available in your location. Here in the US (well most states) you can go to PrivateMDLabs.com and get tested for reasonable costs without having to involve a doctor, and find out for sure what your T, DHT, and E levels are.

 

[Ruby]

I developed gyno in about 3 weeks.

f*****g A cups.

Had to undergo surgery.

Sorry to hear that.

 

[michel sapin]

3 weeks, damn man you might have a really high sensitivity to oestrogen.
The strange thing is that at first propecia raise testosterone and you have more free t , then after 3 month the hormonal change shift to oestrogen , you certainy had a previous mild gyno before.
i am sure that you had no body hair ?

 

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

Unless your natural estrogen levels are pretty high.... (and yes, men do produce estrogens... everybody does)
Hell, I've been eating finasteride, spironolactone and estradiol intentionally trying to get gyno, and it's taken 6 weeks of doing that to finally arrive.

Getting a blood hormone test might be worthwhile if it's easily available in your location. Here in the US (well most states) you can go to PrivateMDLabs.com and get tested for reasonable costs without having to involve a doctor, and find out for sure what your T, DHT, and E levels are.

There do seem to be blood tests you can order online here. Would it really tell me much? I mean I never had my hormones tested pre-finasteride so there's nothing to compare it to...

3 weeks, damn man you might have a really high sensitivity to oestrogen.
The strange thing is that at first propecia raise testosterone and you have more free t , then after 3 month the hormonal change shift to oestrogen , you certainy had a previous mild gyno before.
i am sure that you had no body hair ?

Not sure why you would think so, I do have body hair. Less than the average guy if I look at my friends, but not much less.

 

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

I developed gyno in about 3 weeks.

f*****g A cups.

Had to undergo surgery.

This thread will go around in circles with OP doing everything in his power to avoid the thought of surgery, when it's the only thing that works.

Go to gynecomastia.org

They have two sections: 'surgery' and 'acceptance'.

Choose yours.

It would have to get a lot worse for it to get to surgery. I still look fine. I'm just going to do my pushups, assume it can't get drastically worse and monitor the situation.

 

[Ruby]

There do seem to be blood tests you can order online here. Would it really tell me much? I mean I never had my hormones tested pre-finasteride so there's nothing to compare it to...

You could see what your testosterone(T), dihydrotestosterone(DHT) and estrogen(E) levels are and the ratio between them, and compare those numbers to typical values for what a healthy male with no hair loss problems should have.

I'm in no way any kind of expert in endocrinology, just a silly rank amateur layperson who's read enough stuff on the internet to be dangerous so don't take my word as any kind of advice, just a misguided opinion but from what I've read so far the situation seems to be something along these lines (and I could be completely wrong though)...

If the blood T to DHT ratio numbers show too high of DHT percentage over the free T, you get hair loss, especially with low E
If the T to E ratio numbers show too high of E, then you get gyno. But as I understand it, is even if you have fairly high E as long as you have high enough T to suppress the feminizing characteristics of high E, then you can get healthy scalp hair. The complicating problem being that in the male body, there are lots of things that rapidly convert free T into DHT, and one of those things that do the converting is the cells inside hair follicles themselves which causes a catch-22 situation, hence the usefulness of systemic 5AR inhibitors such as finasteride or dutasteride. But some guys unfortunately have "violent negative reactions" to systemic 5AR inhibitors and those bad reactions are called "AR upregulation", "Reflex Hyperandrogenicity", etc., which ruin the efficacy of taking systemic 5AR and cause horrible side effects.

Unfortunately getting the T, DHT, and E number ratios all correct without the hair follicles making and/or soaking up all the DHT and dying is like some kind of voodoo magic though.
​

Edited to Add: I just read something on one of the transgender HRT discussion forums that in the adult male body, an excess of free serum testosterone above and beyond what the body uses normally plus what gets converted into DHT, will get quickly converted into estrogen! I did not know that.

And could that maybe explain a possible reason why some men (with really high T) can end up getting MBP and gyno both at the same time, is that correct?

 

[horunger]

Ruby, that may be why steroid users can get gyno, or part of the reason, you may be right it could happen to men with high natural T but keep in mind that 17 year olds has a natural T production as high as a bodybuilders injection dose and 17 year olds dont usually get gyno. And we need enzymes for conversion of T to E, where do the excess enzymes come from? Its complex, even endocrinologists dont know whats going on, too many hormonal problems cant be treated due to the complex workings of the endocrine systems.

 

[RatherGoBlindThanSeeItGo]

Push-ups make gyno worse because they will push your gland farther, making it more obvious.

You should educate yourself about this issue. Don't rely on popular wisdom.

That makes sense. I've been thinking it over today and I'm really not sure what I want to do. I think I'll stop and maybe go back to 0.05mg in a few months to see if I can get the same effect without the sensitive nipples. I'm really feeling them burn on random moments throughout the day and I don't want the lumps getting any bigger.

This whole business is making me so angry and sad. Finally got to a sweet point where my shedding stops, without sexual sides, and this sh*t happens. If god hates me this much why doesn't he just come down and f*** me in the ***.

Ehm.. Sorry God, I didn't mean that, please grant your blessings unto histogen, replicel, brotzu, follica, samumed, and everyone.

So, guess I'm off Finasteride again.

 

[Alk]

The fact is once the gland formed and is no longer tender its over and surgery is your only option. But as u said youve had it already and it doesnt bother you and maybe it isnt noticable so its no problem; however, if ur nipple become more sensitive and seem to be a little bigger than they were, gyno is now active again and can grow more. While it growing there are some medications that can bring them back down to the way they were previoulsy ( your pre-existing gyno). Forgot the name of the meds, im sure you can ask ur doctor or look on a body building forum ( they will call it b**ch tits). Theres always a chance gyno can come back and even men wothout gyno have a chance of getting it as they become older (35+).

 

[SpikeCB]

The fact is once the gland formed and is no longer tender its over and surgery is your only option. But as u said youve had it already and it doesnt bother you and maybe it isnt noticable so its no problem; however, if ur nipple become more sensitive and seem to be a little bigger than they were, gyno is now active again and can grow more. While it growing there are some medications that can bring them back down to the way they were previoulsy ( your pre-existing gyno). Forgot the name of the meds, im sure you can ask ur doctor or look on a body building forum ( they will call it b**ch tits). Theres always a chance gyno can come back and even men wothout gyno have a chance of getting it as they become older (35+).

I never felt any tenderness but my nipples have become slightly puffy after 3 months of finasteride. Does that mean a gland can form without any physical sensation?

 

[Alk]

I never felt any tenderness but my nipples have become slightly puffy after 3 months of finasteride. Does that mean a gland can form without any physical sensation?

Yeah it happens