Natural breasts

General talk about CD/TGing and gender topics that aren't necessarily fun things we do while en femme, or for gender-driven discussions.

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MsMike
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Natural breasts

Post by MsMike »

Hello,

One of the reasons I joined this group was to find out if anyone else is, or had this issue I am having.

And yes this is happening to me.

I am 50 years old. Just started cross dressing regularly about a year ago.
I am in good health and trim.

My concern is:
Since I have been cross dressing my girlfriend and I have noticed that my breasts are developing... IE non typical "man boobs". They have grown to almost an "A" cup bra. I take nothing to have caused this.

Is this normal? Would this be due to my feminine side coming out, hormonal changes? Is there anything I can to to prevent this from continuing? Or, if, as my girlfriend would like to know, if we wanted them to continue to grow, what can I do to enhance them?

Thank you for your time!
Merinda
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Post by Merinda »

OMG ! , I'd be tipping that you were going through some sort of severe hormone change , but I'm not sure.
I would be inclined to seek advice from your doctor , he/she will be able to have your hormone levels tested.

P.S. if it turns out to be something you've eaten , please let us know what it is , so the rest of us can follow suit. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Merinda
Susan
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Post by Susan »

Mike,

this does not sound ordinary, I am in my 50's too and I have none of your symptoms. May I suggest you go and see your doctor, just in case. If you have found the Magic Pill, please tell us first.
Susan

I know some things.
Carolynn
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Post by Carolynn »

One of the things that can happen as some men get older is that their testosterone drops considerably. If that man is already producing more than male average amounts of estrogen from the adrenals, or if there is mild androgen insensitivity, then some estrogenic effects can take place, with smoother skin and mild breast development among them. You may also find you need viagra or something similar for a statisfying sex life -- or as time goes on, any sex life at all. After all, that is one of the reasons those little pills are so popular and are advertised so heavily. (Just remember, if you use them and have an erection lasting longer than 4 hours, be sure to call the doctor! Sorry, the idea of a man with a 4 hour erection being able to call a doctor seems highly amusing to me. :oops: I would think that there would be so little blood left for the brain that he would be in a faint.......) #-o

So, if you are worried and want to check it out, one thing you need to have an endocrinologist check is your relative hormonal levels, E vs. T. If they are out of whack, reatively speaking, that could explain your breast growth, but should be accompanied by a reduction in sex drive too.

Breast tissue does not grow in all men that arrive at what some people have called male menopause in the 40's and 50's, but seems to in some. Male menopause often shows up as an emotional change rather than a physical, but that has been suggested as being due to hormonal shifts in the brain. Some people claim it is not physical at all, but my endocrinologist disagrees (her husband went through it and she was as persisent as a vampire in drawing blood to chart the changes.) As we age, the brain signals different and often lesser amounts of old hormones and triggers small bits of new hormones that tells the body it is aging, slow down and start getting ready to be grandfather. It can start as early as the early 30's for men. If you think back, by the 30's you kinda settled down or matured out of the risk taking of the late teens and 20's of late puberty. That is a hormone shift. At least most guys do! People usually just say the guy is maturing, but that is often the reason for the behavioral shift. Those little bits of chemical are powerful beyond all proportion when they act on the brain!!!

Body mass index can have some effect on man boobs, and if you had well developed pecs in times past, then muscle conversion to fat cells could happen too. Excercise to make fat to muscle can help there. If a formerly well excercised body has been allowed to "go to fat" then you may get man boobs too, or being overweight and losing it fast.

Other groups that may grow man boobs in later life includes people who smoked a good bit of marijuana in their youth, and those who are mildly intersexed.

A version of Kleinfelters syndrome, an intersexed condition that may affect one in 500 males to one degree or another, could be responsible. It's a trisomy birth defect where the genetic karyotype (as revealed by blood tests) shows 47xxy sex chromosomes or some variant due to uneven splits during egg, sperm or later foetal cell division (most usually within the egg or fertilized egg, as when it occurs in the sperm the head is too large to gain access to the egg interior). The actual birth defect may be in the enzyme that unzips the two strands of chomosomes before the cell division. In any event, this birth defect produces an outwardly normal male 46xy pattern or normal female 46xx pattern, but at the genetic level the foetus is 47xxy or more.

Sometimes the defect continues to affect cell division within the foetus and a mosaic pattern where some cells may bexy, xxy and some xxxyy or xxxyyyxy or other variant. Most people who have a 47xxy and variant condition never know nor are affected but a very, very few may find themselves with late onset secondary partial female puberty (usually happens in the 40's but one case in England happened to a 63 year old male). I do know of three cases (2 Aussie, 1 California) who I have talked with, and they sent me to two others in Aussie-land. I grew up with one friend who had a mild episode with it in his late 30's and had a mastectomy, and a colleague at my work who also had a mastectomy in his '50's as the developing breasts were embarrassing to him. He also was sterile. Both are 47xxy or variant, as am I.

You may have seen on the tube or read that in Mexico, there are a few villages where secondary sex characteristics shifts seems to be common, but that may be due to Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or the 5 alpha reductase birth defects since the onset is often at puberty.

Having Kleinfelters is not life threatening (I am 66 and counting) though a lower than average sex drive and smaller male phalus and testicles and lower than average fertility or sterility seems common. There may also have been an early correction of a hypospadia in ones medical history, but if they are mild, they are usually corrected immediately after birth and may not even be recorded. Any breasts that may form are usually not considered a danger, though the tissue could (low probability) become cancerous, and as long as the individual isn't bothered by it, it is usually left alone. Short of masectomy there really isn't much treatment for it. You can get T shots, but those will not do more than slightly reduce developed mass.

I get the idea though that you are not too concerned whatever the cause since it helps your crossdressing.

One thing to check for is to feel carefully behind and around the nipples. If there is actual breast tissue then there could be something like the above going on. Most of the time, man boobs do not have well developed breast tissue (though your mileage may vary (YMMV), just the fatty deposits that make them rounder and more prominent, kinda droopy and soft enough to scoop into a bra cup and make a bit of cleavage.

Another thing you can do is stand in front of the mirror, and raise one hand over your head. As the flesh stretches out there may be a more solid though soft mass around the nipples, about 3 inches across for an A cup, larger for a B cup, etc., often with small nodules if your fingers are sensitive, with the off hand. That is likely breast tissue and not just man boob fat.

Men have small amounts of nodular breast buds (which is why men can take certain forms of hormones and lactate some), but if it is more than a silver dollar size at your age, have your hormone levels checked out. If low testosterone and/or higher than normal estrogen is present in your blood work, you may need to go ahead and have the genetic karyotype run. Your endocrinologist should know. If it is breast tissue, then you need to consider self exams for tumors periodically at least, and if breasts and tissue continue to develop, then mamograms.

At least so I was told in 1995. Good luck.
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Carly
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Post by Carly »

MsMike,
Any new medications? Aldactone (spironolactone ) can cause increased breast tissue. If any other new drugs check with your pharmacists.
Carly
Carolynn
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Post by Carolynn »

When gynecomastia occurs in adult males, it is usually caused by another condition, such as liver or lung cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, overactive thyroid, or by hormone problems, such as cancer of the pituitary gland , adrenal glands , or testicles. Alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin use also may cause gynecomastia.

Use of certain medicines may also cause gynecomastia, including:

Steroids, such as prednisone or dexamethasone.
Medicines used to treat ulcers (such as cimetidine).
Medicines used to treat epilepsy (such as phenytoin [Dilantin]).
Digitalis and other heart medicines.
Chemotherapy drugs, especially alkylating agents, a family of anticancer drugs that interfere with cell DNA and inhibit cancer cell growth.
Antiandrogen drugs (such as flutamide, cyproterone, and spironolactone).
Antianxiety and antidepressant medicines (such as diazepam [Valium] and tricyclic antidepressants).
Products containing tea tree oil or lavender oil.

http://www.bing.com/health/article.aspa ... 57b75de.ht

plainer language on htpp://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/gynocomastia
"It’s not given to anyone to have no regrets; only to decide, through the choices we make, which regrets we’ll have,"
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Absaroka
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Post by Absaroka »

Wow Carolyn you've certainly done a lot of research. Thanks for posting all that.

MsMike it's probably a good idea to get all this checked by a doctor, just to make sure it's all benign.

Carolyns comment about muscle turning to fat rang a bell. All those push ups in HS turned to boob later on. However more exercise and weight loss turned them into normal guy pecs/breast tissue.

Any chance they were always there and you didn't notice till you started wearing a bra?

Zari
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but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
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Carly
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Post by Carly »

MS Mike,
Another issue is contact with female hormones. Does your SO use a estrogen gel? It can transfere with contact.
Carly
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MelodyPerkins
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real breasts would be unusual

Post by MelodyPerkins »

As part of the aging process, there is a deterioration of connective tissue, which causes the chest to sag in both men and women. Men who have either been over-weight or muscularly developed may experience some loose breast-like tissue.

Additionally, as men and women become older, there is a decline in their dominant hormone compositions. Hence, men have a decline in testosterone, women a decline in estrogen. Both men and women also posses the hormones of the other sex, but in a smaller amount. As we age, and our balance of hormone composition changes, women will sometimes begin facial hair growth, they may become more sexually aggressive, etc. Whereas many men become more softer, family oriented, and may appear to have a softer skin. In addition, both sexes begin to loose pubic hair.

Lastly, there are foods, which I have heard may alter hormonal levels,...such as soy,...which I have heard enhances femininity. There are also medications which have as a side effect increased breast size.

However, if the change in you is unexpected and dramatic, I would suggest contacting your physician. If it is a disease process, you will want to catch it early before it becomes a true health hazard.
You're only as feminine as you feel.
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MsMike
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Post by MsMike »

Hello,

Thanks to all for all of the great information! Many good comments and things to consider.
I do not take any medications, nor been in contact with any type of female hormones, and while they are more pronounced with a bra on, they are clearly visible without a bra on. My initial thought was age and sagging… But I have always been slim and they have developed in a very short time.

I have made an appointment for a checkup and I will share back the results in a few weeks... Especially if it is something I have eaten or a magic pill :)
Thanks to all!
Ms Mike
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