Possible gynecomastia + stretch mark issues... help?

I have stretch marks too. Not sure why, but they are all over my waist area but slightly lighter in color than yours.

In regards to the gynecomastia, certain acne medicines can cause it. There are some class action suits going on according to what I saw on TV. My ex-bf had it much worse than you, but he said it got worse over time. This is a medical issue, and it's too bad your parents won't allow you to address it.

 

I would definitely bring it up with your doctor the next time you see him or her. One thing I can say is that anyone who cannot look past gynecomastia and some stretch marks isn't worth dating. Don't let it stop you.

 

Arfff

Gynecomastia is a common problem i saw in puberty patient. Assuming that you're honest about your written age in your profile (which says 17 YO) and in generally healthy condition, you wont need to worry. This was caused by imbalance of androgen/estrogen ratio during puberty. Usually it resolves after the adult ratio reached (around the age of 18) but it may persist in several cases.

About the stretch mark its also pretty common problem in growing person, by the color of the stretch mark, i'll assume that it appear recently. it will naturally fade overtime to lighter shade of color. But some certain medication like Tretionin (acne med) might help the process. but if the stretch mark is old then the tretionin cream won't help.

i hope this enlighten you a little bit
have a good day

 

sorry i my previous post wasn't mean exactly at 18. Most reference says 18 because most of men achieve adult ratio between androgen and estrogen by that time.

How long have you had those? Are you on certain medication?
AAFP says usually it regress within 2 years of onset. Anything further than that require further testing to understand the cause or the best treatment regiment. But so far in my study i rarely see any consultant give medication to treat gynecomastia for adolescent because most of the drugs affect hormonal balance.

if you have it more than 2 years i suggest you consult with your physician.

probably because you're still growing, stretch mark usually appears in the area where you gain size the most (abdomen/waist, hip, buttock, etc.). I'm not sure why it can appear on your crotch.

there are a lot of OTC cream that may lighten the stretch mark, but since you're still growing, i'm afraid that it will keep coming back until you finish your puberty/stop growing. better ask your pharmacist about the OTC meds for stretch marks... Sorry i cant help much regarding this, i haven't rotate to Dermatology yet.

 

Your parents really need to learn boundaries. You're not a young boy anymore. No, going in with a 17 year old is not normal. :hugs:

 

Increasing the muscle mass in your shoulders and chest will make the gynecomastia much less visible, it's actually fairly common to have your nipples visible as men if you work out your chest, it looks perfectly normal...

Start doing pushups daily, that should give you a start. Maybe view the gynacomastia as something to motivate you to develop your body and if later on in life you have an operation to fix it you will at least be able to look back and say, well at least it motivated me to work out and look at how amazing my body is now!

 

You could also ask that your parents do not entire the room with you since you often have to strip during a complete check up. You can ask whatever questions you wish while they sit in the waiting room.

Stretch marks are very common and nothing to be ashamed about, but wanting to get rid of them is completely understandable. Contrary to popular belief, although clusters of scars often fade overtime, they very rarely fade significantly enough to not be very noticeable without some effort on our behalf.

I would not recommend lightning creams because for two reasons. Stretch marks are scars within the skin. In order to significantly weaken them, the skin must regrow. Lightning the skin can make the scars less visible, but only so much. Lightning creams often contain a plethora of unnecessary chemicals and have not been tested by federal agencies. Here are some options to help weaken them as much as possible:

Exfoliation: There are an endless amount of positives to exfoliation. If you have never exfoliated, then you have no idea what feeling clean truly means. There are so many dead skin cells on all of our skin that we don't realize until we exfoliate. Etching off that dead and harden skin encourages growth and newer, healthier cells are able to replace the old. You will swear by it after giving it a chance. You can purchases very cheap exfoliation gloves for the shower. You can purchase a dry brush to use before showers at most department stores (You've likely seen one before). I prefer dry brushes because items that you use in the shower harbor much more bacteria.

Moisturizer/Oils: Forget stretch marks. Your skin will age horribly without using a daily moisturizer. You should be applying something to your face and body every morning at least. Preferably morning and night for the face as you should be washing it twice a day. For stretch marks, however, you are going to want something heavier than standard body lotion. The best choice is to use pure, natural oils at night before going to bed. There are a million different types of oils, but it can be as simple as coconut oil that can be bought at the grocery store. Coconut oil is amazing for the body, face, and hair, so if you don't want to tell people what you use it for than you can just say that you use it for your hair. At the very least, use body lotion with shea/cocoa butter/aloe after exfoliation and showers.

Working out: It is interesting because you hear of bodybuilders gaining stretch marks from working out, but that is only because they are attempting to gain quite a bit of muscle. Working out is extremely health for the skin. You will sweat toxins out of the pores, burn fat that can lead to breakouts and such, and it keeps the skin active by producing new cells in preparation for potential body changes. So, the skin overall will appear more tight, radiant, etc.

That is all I have off of the top of my head. It is very difficult to completely get rid of scars in general, but the recommendations above will give you amazing skin overall. Working out will obviously also help with your chest. Your chest does not look all that abnormal to be a hormone issue. Some males just natural store fat within their chest. Groin stretch marks are completely normal as well because the skin between the thighs and groin can be a little tight naturally.

 

Gen, that is good info for everyone. I really should get better at this sort of stuff. It's getting in the habit of that sort of thing as spending too much time on this sort of thing was always considered "unmanly" growing up.

 

Hello,

I too have some stretch marks (not as much as you) and I also have gynecomastia.

I have had a large chest since as far as I can remember. I finally got the courage to seek my doctor about it and she referred me to an endocrinologist.

The specialist broke it down for me about gynecomstia and what sartorious and Gen said is correct.

He told me that there is fat tissue and breast tissue and males and females have both. However, in men breast tissue is usually only in small amounts. There are three causes of gynecomastia:

1) excessive fat tissue which can be reduced by losing weight (some males just more easily gain fat in the chest region than others)

2) excessive breast tissue due to hormonal imbalances

a) during puberty there is lots of hormonal activity so anyone below 20 is told to wait until their older becuase in many cases the excessive tissue will disappear

b) even after puberty hormonal imbalances can persist and medication is persribed

3). Some males just have excessive breast tissue due to genetics and only plastic surgery can fix it.

After running various blood tests my hormone levels were found to be fine. He also did a physical exam and in the end determined that I have both excessive fat and breast tissue.

The fat tissue I can deal with by losing weight.

But the breast tissue is genetic and will stay there unless I get plastic surgery.

Also I'm not a doctor but your chest does not look excessive but if I had to guess you probably are under 2b). So maybe you should wait longer to see if it will go on its own.

Hope that helps!

 

In terms of products which may help stretch marks:

• Bio Oil
  I would reluctantly recommend Bio-oil. My dermatologist suggested it for some scarring that I had, and on the bottle, it says it can also be used for stretch marks. It worked well enough on my scars, and I've read a number of reviews online that say it works perfectly fine on stretch marks as well. However, it is kinda pricey, and you could probably find products with the same ingredients for cheaper.
  
  
• Cocoa Butter
  My mom used to always have a tin of this stuff laying around. I can't recall which brand she preferred, but I know that she used it for her stretch marks after having my sister and I.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head Good luck

 

Bats, where did you get this from?

 

Trust me, I know. Men are stereotyped as unhygienic and shamed for carrying for themselves "too much" at the same time. It never made sense.

I've tried it before and I would order it from Amazon.

I completely agree with with Bat though. Some people swear buy it, but it didn't seem worth the cost for such small bottles.

 

What exfoliators and moisturizers do you use, Gen? I admit that I don't wash my face much anymore. My parents didn't care once I killed my acne.

 

I bought it at Costco. I've heard that not many stores carry it, however my local Rexall does, as well as a number of drugstores I've been through. And of course, as Gen said, there's always Amazon.