The desire for muscle can backfire. What are "steroid nipples" and how are they related to unwanted male breast growth?
Whether or not you've come across the term "gynecomastia", it's quite possible that you've already picked up on this problem visually - perhaps in other men. This is because it is the unwanted growth/enlargement of malebreast tissue. Of course, it is not necessarily just a result of steroid use (genetics, sudden weight gain, side effects of medication...), but the truth is that one of the reasons why men - popularly speaking - start to "grow breasts" is hormonal imbalance. And this can be closely related to steroids.
From hard nipples to breasts...
Unfortunately, science is quite clear on the link between steroid use and gynaecomastia. "Many cases of gynecomastia are caused by hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, steroid use can trigger this imbalance and cause gynecomastia. This is because some steroids turn into estrogen in the male body," the experts at the Los Angeles clinic that specializes in gynecomastia removalstate directly. Basically, then, it can be said that the increase in testosterone levels due to steroid supplementation can upset the balance of testosterone and estrogen in the body, in a number of ways. One is that testosterone can be directly converted to estrogen in the user's fat cells. Alternatively, a sudden influx of testosterone can force the body to cope with this very condition through an increase in estrogen. Either way, the increase in female hormone encourages the body to "go to work" on perfecting secondary female sex characteristics - from swollen, stiff and round nipples to the development of female breast-like tissue in the case of men.
However, while enlarging breasts are already the "final stage", it is these "steroid nipples" that can precede it and draw attention to the emerging problem. Clinical studies report that the main symptom of gynecomastia is an enlargement of the breast tissue around the nipples, around which there is a palpable firm, symmetrical and rubbery mass. And it should be stressed that the defining symptom is not the deposition of body fat in the same area (although gynaecomastia is also accompanied by it). But clinical studies may seem too remote to some - and so let us recall the famous scene from the movie Fight Club, which thematises the issue of gynaecomastia in several contexts (including that of imbalanced hormone levels in purely medical terms), with one of the scenes even saying the following in another context on the subject: "Bitch tits, yeah, your nipples get hard, they get swollen...it hurts and you take Nolvadex."
The cure for gynecomastia cancer...
And what is Nolvadex? It is actually one of several "solutions" that steroid users are trying to prevent those "steroid nipples" and gynecomastia. However, this "solution" is not exactly a hit parade either - Nolvadex (and other products used for this purpose) is from the same category of anti-estrogen drugs that doctors prescribe to breast cancer patients. The principle then is that the drug binds to cells and prevents estrogen from entering them - this in effect causes the estrogen-dependent cells to die. Another variant is to take drugs that prevent the conversion of androgen to estrogen (perhaps it is obvious enough how vicious a circle steroid users can then get into).
Steroid gynecomastia does not go away on its own...
In the case of gynaecomastia that has already developed, if it has arisen in any of the above ways, it will often resolve itself after the primary cause has been removed. However, this cannot be said of gynaecomastia that has developed as a result of steroid use, which can take many forms. Bodybuilders can thus suffer from one or more of the manifestations of gynecomastia - from enlarged and stiff nipples to enlarged areolae and, of course, an increase in breast tissue as such. Yet, as already indicated, the very breast tissue that develops as a result of steroid use does not disappear on its own (even with diet or exercise). The only solution is surgery, which is not so easy, and the gynaecomastia associated with the use of steroids is glandular in nature, which makes, for example, the otherwise used liposuction a rather problematic procedure that can lead to recurrence, bleeding and other undesirable side effects. Thus, only direct excision of tissue can be relied upon...
Thus, although the use of steroids is not an automatic route to the diagnosis of gynecomastia, at least in some cases it does occur. And so it may be quite appropriate to consider the risks in advance of their real manifestations...
