Testosterone Therapy for Gynecomastia

Treating gynecomastia with testosterone therapy may or may not be a good idea, since testosterone therapy can potentially increase the size of a man's breasts, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Explanation

• Gynecomastia is a condition in which males develop large breasts. Gynecomastia can occur in one (bilateral) or both breasts (unilateral). Other names for this condition are lipomastia and pseudogynecomastia, according to emedicine.medscape.com. When a male develops gynecomastia, a firm or a rubbery mass will extend from the nipples. This condition can be the result of an imbalance between estrogen (female hormones) and androgen (male hormones) in his body. If there is too much estrogen, a man can develop female characteristics just as a woman can develop male characteristics if she has too many androgens (testosterone) in her body.

Causes

• The Cleveland Clinic explains that breast tissue can increase in men due to testicular and adrenal cancers, liver, kidney or thyroid disease, hypogonadism and malnutrition. Certain medicines can also result in this condition, including antibiotics, tricyclic antidepressants, heart medications, AIDS medications, chemotherapy drugs, ulcer medications and anti-androgens, which are used to treat cancer and prostate enlargement. Street drugs such as heroin, amphetamines, marijuana and anabolic steroids, as well as alcohol, can contribute to gynecomastia, the Mayo Clinic says.

Testosterone Treatment

• Undergoing testosterone replacement can have some undesirable side effects that any potential patient should consider. Testosterone can shrink the penis and testicles. Although the hormones may increase your sex drive, your genitalia are going to be smaller and your breasts may get larger, which is already an issue if you have gynecomastia.

Other Possibilities

• Some physicians treat gynecomastia with tamoxifen and raloxifene, which are medications used to treat breast cancer, as well as other conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not specifically approved these drugs for this purpose.

Types

• In the event there is an actual testosterone deficiency in a male, which occurs as a result of such illnesses as Kleinfelter's syndrome or when the testes have failed to secrete male hormones, testosterone therapy may be an option, according to ringsurf.com.

Considerations

• As noted earlier, testosterone therapy can backfire and make gynecomastia even worse, because extra testosterone is converted into estrogen, which is the female hormone and which stimulates breast development. On the other hand, understandinggynecomastia.com notes that true gynecomastia, and not that which is caused by obesity, which is called pseudo-gynecomastia, may respond to testosterone treatment , tamoxifen, oral contraceptives, clomiphene, bromocriptine, GnRH agonists or testolactone. As with any other condition, you should discuss your options with your physician.