Some Finasteride-related questions: gyno?

[razzmatazz91]

Have been taking finasteride for two months now. Since a couple of months before that, I ate a terrible diet, and also boozed four-five times. So obviously my body fat increased.


I've always (since the age of 16 I guess) had trouble with chest fat. Recently, I've been wondering if I have gynecomastia. It is not large, and has only in the past few months become a slight bit larger, along with my belly.... so I'm guessing it's just fat. I can't feel any lumps, and I've never really had a great diet before. I've also recently taken an anti-depressant and anti anxiety drug (right when I started finasteride) for a month. Yes, I've had depression.

My question is: how valid are my fears of gyno? Do I have it? Should I drop the finasteride, drop body fat and see? Or should I do that while I stay on finasteride?
I'm getting a little paranoid of course, but I'm not blaming the pill.... I've not been living healthy or the past few months; eating junk and getting no exercise at all.

I also had (a year ago when I checked) low levels of testosterone ( under 300 ng/dL). Is it a very bad move then, to have started finasteride? My doctor didn't see the tests.... all he said was finasteride is generally safe, so don't knock it before trying.

Please help me out, ye brethren with experience
Anyone here had trouble with gyno?

 

[ctrl]

I had a mild gyno since puberty. Been taking Propecia for 15 years and never had a problem.

 

[davesmith420]

I'm always super paranoid that I'm getting gyno but I'm totally not (knock on wood). From what I have read from others online gyno is one of those things that you don't have to ask yourself if you have it, YOU WILL KNOW right away if you have it.

Big warning signs:
- Itchy nipples (it's normal for your nipples to itch here and there like any other part of your body, but with gyno it is excessive)
- Lumps under the nipple
- Pain in the nipples (hurts when your shirt rubs against it, etc)

From what you said, you probably don't have gyno.

 

[whatevr]

I'm always super paranoid that I'm getting gyno but I'm totally not (knock on wood). From what I have read from others online gyno is one of those things that you don't have to ask yourself if you have it, YOU WILL KNOW right away if you have it.

Big warning signs:
- Itchy nipples (it's normal for your nipples to itch here and there like any other part of your body, but with gyno it is excessive)
- Lumps under the nipple
- Pain in the nipples (hurts when your shirt rubs against it, etc)

From what you said, you probably don't have gyno.

Hmm, when I started taking propecia, I got puffy nipples and they were very sensitive. After a few weeks sensitivity has gone away and they feel normal, but they still look puffy. Been that way for the past 12 months that I've taken propecia. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, I don't have any pain or lumps under there. So, what's that then? "Pseudogyno"? I suppose they would return to normal if I stopped taking finasteride...

 

[g.i joey]

Hmm, when I started taking propecia, I got puffy nipples and they were very sensitive. After a few weeks sensitivity has gone away and they feel normal, but they still look puffy. Been that way for the past 12 months that I've taken propecia. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, I don't have any pain or lumps under there. So, what's that then? "Pseudogyno"? I suppose they would return to normal if I stopped taking finasteride...

after i fought off my gyno with letrozole, the puffyness came back when i got back on finasteride (although the gyno tissue subsided for good). BUT after taking it for 5 months and then taking a 2 month break recently i noticed the puffyness went down. Dont have any problems with tissue or glands anymore whether im on or off finasteride. But ya, my best guess is our estrogen is up, but not high enough to give us actual gyno, instead our fat gets redistributed to our chest and we have some trouble there, but pseudo gyno is exactly that, and im sure if we werent lazy ****s and got our body in great shape, it wouldnt even be noticeable.

 

[razzmatazz91]

whoa..... even if we don't get gyno from finasteride...does that still mean we'll have excess fat because of estrogen... and that fat redistribution will result in more fat in the chest??

 

[whatevr]

Possibly, yeah.

At least that kind of gyno can go away though, it's the glandular stuff you have to worry about - can't remove that without surgery.

But, being low body fat like 10% would definitely help with estrogen related side effects. But those damn last few pounds are so hard to lose. One binge day and bam, out goes the whole week lol. I'm about 158 lbs @ 5'11''. Not too bad but I could certainly cut more.

 

[TransientHair]

I'm always super paranoid that I'm getting gyno but I'm totally not (knock on wood).

Same here. For the first couple of months on finasteride I was really concerned that I was developing Gyno due to a perceived sensation near my nipples. I tried several different finasteride doses e.g. 1.25mg daily, eod and mwf. Eventually I just stuck 1.25mg every day and just accepted that I would have to grow breasts to keep my hair. The years ticked by, but my chest remained the same and I came to the realization that it was all just in my head.

 

[razzmatazz91]

That's nuts. So finasteride= higher estrogen = more fat, especially on the chest.

Guys, and more inputs on this? How dangerous is the higher estrogen for us really?

 

[whatevr]

Higher estrogen isn't going to cause more fat... I suppose it could by a slight slowing of metabolism, BUT you could just eat 50 kcal less per day to compensate. Or walk like 10 minutes a day.
What it could do is cause more fat to be redistributed to feminine areas like chest and hips. But I think if you are lean this should not be noticeable at all.

 

[g.i joey]

Higher estrogen isn't going to cause more fat... I suppose it could by a slight slowing of metabolism, BUT you could just eat 50 kcal less per day to compensate. Or walk like 10 minutes a day.
What it could do is cause more fat to be redistributed to feminine areas like chest and hips. But I think if you are lean this should not be noticeable at all.

damn bro, you're light, im 5'11 at 210 pounds, really trying to get rid of another 20 but its so damn hard, im eating at restaurants at least 4 times a week. some things i noticed while on finasteride, the estrogen may cause some water retention, if you binge eat, you definitely gain weight alot faster while on propecia. my chest and love handles are def the first place i notice any weight gain now. It is a little harder for me to lose weight. If you are prone to weight gain or just eat alot, it might be smart to monitor your calorie intake a little more while on finasteride.

- - - Updated - - -

also, i think dht might help burn fat, thats why its harder to lose weight while on finasteride and easier to gain.

 

[whatevr]

Yep, I think finasteride can make it a bit harder to lose weight, but when I see people using Propecia as an excuse for why they gained 20-30 lbs, man...

I watch my calories already as I'm trying to lean out some more. I fear I may have to jump on dutasteride soon so I really need to be like well cut to make sure the estrogen is as low as possible.

You being 210 lbs, are you a weight lifter, any of that muscle mass or just excess fat? Maybe you could tolerate finasteride better if you were around 170 at least.

 

[g.i joey]

yep, well indirectly it attributes, i mean a finasteride pill isnt 3000 calories lol. Ill share a personal experience just to give you an example. I quit finasteride end of december for about a month and a half. Within the first 3 weeks i managed to drop 20 pounds, yes this might be because my body might have OD'd on the rush back of dht and i just burned a bunch of fat, while semi-watching what i ate (was still going out to restos and all that). Now its almost 2 months im back on finasteride and i gained 5 pounds back. So yes, the increase in estrogen for some may cause weight gain especially if you werent really watching what you ate and continued on with such a diet when you get on finasteride. I have reasons to believe the 5 pounds is just water retention which is probably caused by finasteride.

I do lift, but nothing crazy but i do workout 3-4 times a week, but im def high up on the bodyfat scale. TBH, i noticed a big difference from when i was taking finasteride at 230 pounds and now that im taking it at 210, i dont have the sides i used to have, like at all. Is it due to the weight loss? id think so, but only because when i was fatter it probably upped my estrogen count. I wanna stay on finasteride and drop another 20-30 but i know it would take alot of dedication, i eat so well during the day but when i get home at night after a couple spliffs i literally eat almost anything in my fridge lol.