Tamoxifen and Gynecomastia
What's Tamoxifen and Gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia is the enlargement of breasts in males brought about by abnormal development of large mammary glands.
Experts are still baffled what causes this condition although they suspect imbalance of sex hormones.
Some drugs are also known to cause gynecomastia, such as Aldactone which has a 17% rate of developing it. Furosemide and Digoxin are also known to cause the condition.
Gynecomastia has different classifications. Puffy nipples, for example, are the most common form of gynecomastia.
This can be exclusively confined to the areola, or it can also extend to the outside – forming a dome shape appearance.
Pure glandular is another classification.
This commonly happens to bodybuilders and athletes as a result of taking steroids. This is often treated through excision of the tissue, as liposuction is only rarely needed.
Gynecomastia can be diagnosed through a physical examination. Your medical practitioner would also take a medical history to make sure that they know what they are dealing with.
In cases where breast cancer is suspected, a mammogram will be ordered by the doctor.
In most cases, this condition goes away on its own, usually after about six months.
Surgery Gynecomastia Treatment
Surgery is also a common gynecomastia treatment, although many doctors prefer giving medications before actually resorting to an operation.
There are a lot of medications considered for gynecomastia, but one that we’d like to focus on is Taxomifen.
Tamoxifen was originally developed for treating breast cancer. It works by preventing estrogen from binding, thereby stopping breast cancer cells from thriving.
Tamoxifen has been used in several applications for gynecomastia
Nolvadex is a popular brand name for it. It is generally used for men who have developed gynecomastia from prostate cancer treatment.
A study made on ten patients with gynecomastia showed that they had smaller breasts after taking Tamoxifen for a certain time period.
Bodybuilders who developed man boobs due to taking steroids have also shown to benefit from taking Tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen is known to have a number of side effects. Patients taking it as a medication have shown to have reduced semantic memory and cognition scores.
On the other hand, Tamoxifen is also shown to have beneficial side effects. One of these is the prevention of bone loss by acting as an entrogen receptor.
This means it mimics the effects of estrogen in a cell type, preventing osteoporosis.
Effect Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia is not harmful, but it may be an indicator of an underlying condition. In some cases, the breasts could be painful due to hormonal stimulation.
If you suspect that you are going through gynecomastia, it’s best that you talk to a physician right away.
While the physical aspect is less of our concern, possible conditions that could be hidden by gynecomastia such as testicular cancer should be checked for right away.
Aside from the physical check-up that that would be given, as pointed above, additional tests such as a blood test to check the kidney, liver and thyroid function might be recommended.
Gynecomastia is nothing to be ashamed about. Visit your doctor right away if you see any of it’s signs or feel any of its symptoms.
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