I have some kinds of lumps under my nipples. HELP.

[iMsoLucky0]

A couple of months ago, I had a lump show up under each of my nipples. They very hard, and hurt to be touched. Some days they are rather small, and some days they are rather large, but they haven't gone away since they appeared.

A friend of mine said that he had something similar happen to him, and that he went to the doctor and the doc told him it was from too much caffeine. Well, I drink 3-6 diet Mtn. Dews a day, so I suppose that could be the cause.

On a related note, they showed up just after I started working out on a daily basis. Working out as in hardcore weightlifting daily, not riding an exercise bike. I was thinking maybe the increase in testerone could have been the result, but I just don't know.

And yes, I know that I need to go to a doctor, and will go fairly soon. My fiance (a pharmacy school student), and my mother (a registered nurse), both told me that if it hurt, then it was most definitely non-cancerous. The main reason I want to get it fixed (or at least know what it is), is because it makes my nipples look puffy. GROSS. But I will definitely be going to the doctor sometime soon, I just wanted to see if anyone here knew what it was.

[InchoateHand]

The doctor told him it was from too much caffeine?

Quick, find someone with a serious condition and send them to this doctor. Any physician as moronic as your friend's will make a serious misdiagnosis, and the two of you can coast through the medical malpractice lawsuit to easy riches.

Without looking at it, palpating it, or possibly biopsying it, I seriously doubt the VERY few people who would have any clue will give you an answer.

Thank you for the story though.

[Dead]

Gynecomastia?

[eastbay]

It's called gynecomastia and it happens when your estrogen levels are raised. Every male has "dormant" breast tissue under their nipples which will swell and grow when stimulated by estrogen. The disfigurement (puffy nipples which can progress into small breast development) is almost always permanent and I suggest you see an endocrinologist immediately if you are concerned about it at all.

Ironically, raised estrogen levels in a male are mostly due to raised testosterone levels, which can be converted to estrogen through a process called aromatization.

My first suspicion would be that you are taking hormones (testosterone or anabolic steroids) or prohormones (androstenedione), because hormone levels typically do not change enough to produce symptoms like this without being introduced exogenously.

So: get off the roids or "supplemenents" if you are taking any. Second, get thyself to a doctor and insist you be referred to an endocrinologist even if you've never touched steroids or supplements.

There are anti-aromatization agents that anabolic steroid users often take to block this conversion to estrogen, but it seems unlikely that a doctor will prescribe them for you (although you can certainly ask). If you're doing black market roids, you may as well try to get your hands on black market aromatase inhibitors to try to stop the process.

eastbay

[STLantny]

eastbay is pretty much right on. you probably have what is commonly known as "bitch tits". Get some clomax from a doc.

[Dead]

Wow I called that [censored]. I'm impressed.

[iMsoLucky0]

Nah, absolutely no supplements for me. No roids, no creatine, no anabolics, nothing. Definitely sounds like what I have though. The only reason I can think of that would have caused it is that I did absolutely no physical activity for about 3 years, and then all of a sudden started a very rigorous weight-lifting program. I'm getting married this summer and wanted to get in shape.

You say its permanent, but can it be removed? Looking into it it seems as though it may grow back anyways, but is removal even an option?

Thanks Eastbay, I appreciate the input.

[iMsoLucky0]

Reading on the subject a little further, I'm not convinced that it is what I have. The lumps are more like rock-hard balls. They are about the size of dimes or so. The material doesn't really seem to be breast tissue at all.

The term seems to refer to "breast development" and I definitely don't think that that is what I am experiencing. It is more of a tumor than that.

Thoughts?

[Rob Blackburn]

Its more liekly Lipoma than gynecomastia.

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
Nah, absolutely no supplements for me. No roids, no creatine, no anabolics, nothing. Definitely sounds like what I have though. The only reason I can think of that would have caused it is that I did absolutely no physical activity for about 3 years, and then all of a sudden started a very rigorous weight-lifting program. I'm getting married this summer and wanted to get in shape.

You say its permanent, but can it be removed? Looking into it it seems as though it may grow back anyways, but is removal even an option?

Thanks Eastbay, I appreciate the input.

[/ QUOTE ]

It can excised through surgery. This is of course a serious step and should only be considered if the problem is very troublesome.

eastbay

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
Reading on the subject a little further, I'm not convinced that it is what I have. The lumps are more like rock-hard balls. They are about the size of dimes or so. The material doesn't really seem to be breast tissue at all.

The term seems to refer to "breast development" and I definitely don't think that that is what I am experiencing. It is more of a tumor than that.

Thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am not a doctor and all that, and you should definitely see one.

However, what you describe is consistent with my understanding of gynecomastia - especially the tenderness and puffy nipples. Lipoma is typically painless. The breast tissue in question doesn't have to be soft.

It won't look like "breasts" until it reaches a very advanced stage.

Here's a web page with people who are posting pictures of their gynecomastia - not for the faint of heart. But you might be able to generally correlate your condition with what you see there.

http://www.gynecomastia.org/cgi-bin/gyne_yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=11

Bottom line: see a doctor. Now. Don't be embarrassed.

eastbay