Today, bodybuilding is both a common hobby and a professional activity that leaves its mark. People, in pursuit of the result, use a wide variety of drugs - some of them are harmless, and some can harm your body, causing various side effects. Gynecomastia is one of the conditions that is prevalent among bodybuilders. In fact, it can also be found in other people, since there are various reasons for its occurrence, but this is most often found among bodybuilders. So, there is even an abbreviated name for this disease - gyno. What is gynecomastia, what causes it and how to treat it?
What is gynecomastia?
If you begin to engage in bodybuilding, then you most likely have heard such a term as gyno. What is this gyno? In fact, this short word hides a medical condition called gynecomastia. It is expressed in an increase in the mammary glands in men, that is, with gyno, your nipples and the area around them can swell. Around the nipples, the amount of fat increases, which leads to not the most pleasant appearance, but the disease itself causes discomfort in the affected area. But what causes this disease? Why is it manifested specifically in bodybuilders? How to deal with gyno? What is Tamoxifen? All these questions may come up with you if you read bodybuilder forums on this topic. Well, you no longer have to rely on data from the forums, because in this article you will find answers to all your questions.
What does not cause gyno?
So many people begin to blame a huge amount of various products, medicines and other substances for the occurrence of gynecomastia. However, not everything in the world is created in order to cause you gyno. What is bodybuilding? This is the process of building and emphasizing muscle mass. Some people believe that the bodybuilding process itself can cause gynecomastia, but this is not so. As you understand, the process itself is just physical exercise and proper nutrition, so it has nothing to do with your mammary glands.
Moreover, even those nutritional supplements that you use to increase the amount of protein in your diet are unlikely to have even the slightest effect on your mammary glands and cannot cause gyno in you. Accordingly, you should not try to blame everything that is around you for having developed gynecomastia - it is better to look for real reasons, which we will discuss now. After all, you now know what gino is in bodybuilding, so it's time to figure out the reasons why it can arise.
Causes of Gyno
What gyno is in bodybuilding, you already perfectly imagine - this is the formation of fatty tissues under the skin next to the nipple, irritation of the nipple itself, as well as an increase in the mammary gland. What could be the reason for this condition? Firstly, obesity can become a common cause, during which all the processes described above occur, but an increase in the mammary gland against the hormonal background is also added to them. Naturally, this is irrelevant for bodybuilders, but people should understand that everyone can have gynecomastia. Also, this disease becomes common during adulthood - again, changes in the hormonal background can cause this disease. In fact, any disease that is accompanied by a decrease in the level of testosterone in the body of a man and an increase in estrogen levels can cause the symptoms described above. However, in the case of bodybuilders, everything is much simpler, since the main reason for the appearance of gynecomastia is the use of steroids. That's what gyno in bodybuilders is the result of using steroids.
Bodybuilder Steroids
It's no secret that many bodybuilders, in an effort to achieve an ideal body, begin to use illegal drugs - steroids. And then they often have to learn from their own experience what gino is. Moreover, not only gynecomastia becomes a consequence of the use of illegal drugs - it is worth noting that most bodybuilders experience health problems precisely because they decide to help their body develop chemically, many of which are not approved from a medical point of view. But still it’s worth returning directly to gynecomastia. Gyneau is primarily an increase in the mammary gland in men, but what exactly can cause a similar effect in bodybuilders when using steroids?
Steroid action
In fact, steroids themselves cause a huge number of various unpleasant diseases, disorders in the body and so on. But gyno is not the result of steroids per se. The whole secret here lies in the fact that when creating steroids, special flavors that contain estrogen are used. And if you use very few steroids, estrogen does not affect your body. But it tends to accumulate, so if you constantly use steroids, the level of estrogen in your body will gradually increase, slowly turning you into a woman. Hence the enlargement of the mammary gland, and fatty formations of the female type. This is what you doom yourself when you decide to take steroids during bodybuilding. Gyne is something that you bring to your body yourself, that is, no one will be to blame for the occurrence of this condition in your body, except yourself.
Gynecomastia Symptoms
Now you understand, gino is what it is, but for confirmation, of course, you should consult a doctor. You should not make an independent diagnosis for yourself - you can only assume that you have developed gynecomastia, and the doctor will make the exact diagnosis. But first, pay attention to the symptoms that you should manifest if you are going to see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis of gynecomastia and prescribe further treatment. Firstly, this is a strong irritation of the nipples themselves and itching around them - this symptom is the main one, therefore it must be present to make you think of gyno. Secondly, a small seal forms under the nipple, which can ache a little. If it is palpated, then you have even more reason to believe that you have gynecomastia. Also, in some cases, a transparent liquid begins to ooze from the nipple, but this does not always happen, therefore you should not focus on this symptom, but if it is still present, then you can almost certainly say that you have gyno. And with this information, go to your doctor, who knows exactly what gyno is for men and how to treat it.
Gynecomastia Treatment
When you know what gyno is, the photo in the article confirms your concerns, you should definitely consult a doctor to get professional treatment. It occurs by taking special medications that block estrogen receptors in the body of a man and stimulate the production of their own male hormones. However, unfortunately, it is far from always possible to cope with this disease with medical methods - this happens in cases where the bodybuilder leaned too much on steroids and did not consult his doctor for too long. Naturally, in this case it is necessary to resort to more serious measures.
Radical treatment of gynecomastia
When conventional medication does not help, there is a chance that a person with advanced gynecomastia will have to go to surgery. The operation is the removal of subcutaneous fat formation - of course, the treatment does not end there. After surgery, the patient undergoes an enhanced course of treatment with drugs that suppress estrogen and stimulate the production of testosterone. The patient is treated until his body begins to produce testosterone in normal amounts and its level reaches the norm. Only after this, a person can return to normal activity, but after that he will have to rely only on his strength in bodybuilding, since even small amounts of estrogen can lead to a relapse.
Prevention
Naturally, gynecomastia is better to prevent than to treat. You can do this by taking Tamoxifen - 10 milligrams per day is enough for your body to block estrogen receptors and stimulate the normal production of testosterone.