Hi,

I had surgery for moderately severe gyno almost three years ago that occurred in my early 20s during a workout and weight gain kick where I was consuming lots of whey, soy, milk and possibly some other things that might have thrown my hormones out of whack.

Recently, I was taking a couple servings of whey protein on a daily basis for a couple weeks and my nipples suddenly started becoming sensitive and slightly painful, and I've had some moderate gland development in my left chest again. After the pain and sensitivity started, I stopped taking the supplements. It's now been about two weeks since I stopped, and the periods of pain and sensitivity are occurring far less often than it was.

My question is this: is there a possibility the new glandular development will retreat? I'm guessing there were high levels of estradiol or something similar in the whey and my system is gradually filtering it out. The lump isn't so severe that I would go get an expensive surgery with a long recovery time again, but it is visible and this seriously sucks.

Thank you for your help.

Linkback: https://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php?topic=29412.0

Oh man, I really hope whey isn't the cause. I don't want to have to give that up.

Well, I'm having surgery tomorrow so I guess I'll ask the doc what he thinks.

Some people make the connection between dairy products and the fact that milk comes from the breast. They then suppose that milk could cause Gynecomastia. This line of reasoning is totally false.

The placenta produces Estrogen. At the time of delivery, the sudden loss of the placenta results in an equally sudden drop of the Estrogen level of the mother. It is that drop, with other things, that start the milk production.

Using Estrogen in dairy herds would be counter productive and could actually stop the cows from producing milk.

If you are looking at dairy product like whey as a source of your gynecomastia, you are looking in the wrong direction.

Some plant products, like soy protein, are good sources of Phyto-estrogens, Plant compounds that are similar to Estrogen. In general though, Phyto-Estrogens are incredibly weak when compared to the animal produced Estrogen.

i used to post on that subject occasionally when it came up as paa_paw probably recalls; see for example https://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/1/what-i-do-to-minimize-my-gyno/msg131868/#msg131868 .  but basically, phytoestrogens are about 1/500th the effect of regular est, AND they compete for the same receptors and therefore probably mitigate the effect, so probably no soy tie. 

i however am still VERY skeptical of the effects, if you read that link, of the hormone cocktails they inject into american cows, which go beyond just normal est, and am not convinced they're completely filtered out of things like even whey powder. 

do an experiment.  eliminate it and see if there's any effect after a week.  if it progresses too far there might be no change, but can't hurt to try.  also of course consult with your ps if you get the chance too.  good luck.