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Thanks everyone for your advice. I usually have time to thank everyone
individually, but I received a lot of emails about this and they came at a
time when I'm crashing on a couple of projects. Here's what folks said,
broken down by category:
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Your theory is right
You were starving to death prediagnosis. You body was not absorbing enough
nutrients--vitamin E, zinc, and others, are essential to make hormones on
the body. Once you started absorbing these, your body has the ingredients
to do what it should have been going all along.
My body did the same thing...except I felt like I was pregnant & my joints
got loose & & waddled for a while. Everything eventually sorted itself
out.
As for the growth spurt...While you may grow out, don't count on growing
taller since the growth plates on the long bones close in the late teens.
I've decided that the a big factor to avoid being overweight is growing tall
last! Unfortunately, that's not the way it usually works.
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Your theory doesn't sound very far fetched to me. It is my experience that
almost anything can happen with this crazy mixed up disease.
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One of my friends said she grew 2 inches after starting a gluten-free diet
due to celiac disease, and she was in her mid-30's, so she believes it's
true that you can grow. My 3-yr old son and I were recently diagnosed, and
I've been having breast pains too. Not sure if I'll grow or not, but my son
appears to be growing already, which is great to see.
Due to the celiac disease, you were not getting the nutrients needed. Now
that you are, you seem to be going through developements that you would have
as a teenager if you had the nutrients you needed. It'll be interesting to
see your summaries, and see just how frequently this happens.
I think your theory in eminently resonable: that eliminating gluten has
allowed or facilitated changes in your metabolism that have led to increased
estrogen.
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I had the same thing happen to me
I think that I've had a simailar experience with more normal levels of
hormones kicking in. Of course, they are a little different since I'm a
woman. I had lost my period due to losing hormone imbalance from
malabsorption. When I went GF I began to gain weight and my period
back.Strange that body fat came back in different areas since going GF.
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I have celiac disease and gynecomastia also. I am not sure if there is a
link. I have considered cosmetic surgery to get rid of my "man" boobs.
HaHa! It can be awkward at times. I am 5'10 and weigh 172.. It is all
kinda interesting to me.
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I too eat lots of hormone-free beef. I'm female, but I developed painful
swollen breasts when I reintroduced milk (kefir) into my diet a few months
ago. I went overboard & drank over a quart a day. I gained 5 pounds in a
month & most of it was in my boobies. (Dolly Parton here!) Milk is loaded
with many female hormones including prolactin, the famale hormone that
stimulates breast development & milk production in all mammals. Are you
drinking more milk or eating more cheese than before? When we lose a major
calorie source from gluten foods we sometimes end up substituting with
increased amounts of other foods such as dairy or beef. These foods do
contain hormones regardless of the source. Even hormone-free, organically
raised beef contains hormones because cows are mammals and produce hormones
on their own without supplementation.
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Could be a problem w/Prolactin
Although I don't know much about it, I believe that Celiacs often produce
too much prolactin which can cause gynecomastia. Too much prolactin can also
produce pituatary tumors (benign usually I think). Also it can cause the
breasts to secrete milk. I think maybe you should continue to look into this
and also have your prolactin levels checked.
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Don't know if there is a connection but have you had prolactin levels
checked? I beleive that elevated prolactin levels will cause breast
enlargement. Are you having any discharge from the nipple.
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Chinese Herbs could be causing the problem (BTW, this is the same thing my
surgeon said)
Alternative products are not regulated by any US agency. It may be possible
there is contamination or some other product in the Chinese herbs you take?
Years ago people were developing severe symptoms that were later traced to
contaminated tryptophane, an amino acid. The product was being used in a
hospital where I worked as a "natural" sleeping aid and had to be removed
from the formulary. As I remember, the source of cantamination was traced
to a few foreign sources.
Have you shared this information with your surgeon? Many people do not
consider supplements, herbs important to mention....ex. ginsing can cause
bleeding problems, also Vit. E and these should be stopped prior to
surgical procedures. We don't think of them as medications.
You might try discontinuing these and see if the hormone stimulation in your
breasts disappears.
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My son has autism and is on the gluten free and dairy free diet since age
3...he is now 10 1/2. Two years ago, right after turning nine, I notice a
"lump" under one of his nipple areas. It was firm. It was a breast bud.
Then, in a matter of a day or so, he had one on the other side. I was very
upset. He could not be going through puberty. He was way too young. My
pediatrician sent us to an endocrinololgist to check all of the hormone
levels. We had ultrasounds to rule out adrenal and testicular tumors, and
we did blood work to see what was wrong. Long story short, no tumors and no
reason for the breast buds. The doctors confirmed it was not precocious
puberty because he had no other signs of puberty and he was too young. At
the time, I was giving him many supplements, vitamins, minerals, etc, that
did not need prescriptions. I was just reading and researching and buying
his "meds" from online sources. I stopped cold turkey a few of them to see
if the breast buds went away. They did. As it turns out, it was being
caused from one or two of the supplements I was giving. Either they were
contaminated from their own source with some hormone containing product also
made at that company, or they were causing a side effect of hormone
imbalance. I really will never know for sure. But, if you are taking
supplements, you might stop for a couple of weeks, see if the soreness and
lumps subside any, and add your supplements back in one at a time.
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Check your thyroid
believe you might be correct but it is important to see an endocrinologist
before you go digging for cancer. Often low thyroid is associated with this
gynecomastia and Celiacs are prone to low thyroid & autoimmune thyroid
diseases .
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Check your pituitary
Find a doctor to check your pituitary function. You may have a small or
large pituitary tumor. Trust me, they are much more common than you think.
This gets tricky as these tumors can be anywhere between the pituitary gland
to the nasal cavity. If you are growing breasts, it is because you have too
much hormone of some type in your body.
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Check your liver
Gynecomastica in a man is caused (at least in the situations I know of) by
elevated estrogen levels. The liver is responsible for breaking down
estrogen so in cases of reduced liver function, estrogen levels may be
elevated because of the 'lag' in degredation. I don't know if this relates
in any way for your case but it is an important factor to consider.
I don't know if you could be "going through" the growth spurt you were
supposed to have at 16. I agree with the doc that it sounds odd/unlikely.
The best diagnostic tool for a doctor is a very thorough history and
physical exam-- leading any necessary tests. I personally would be checking
your liver with symptoms like this-- have you had any liver enzyme tests to
see if your liver is functioning properly?
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What else it's caused by (BTW - my surgeon told me this too)
I had a friend who was not a celiac but had gnynomastia at 19. He is 6'5"
and been that way for few years. One day he felt soreness in one of his pecs
around the nipple area and felt a lump he went to the doctors and that
diagnosed it with gynomastia which they said happens when men have do too
many drugs or even steroids or sometimes it just happens. My friend is one
of the most straight laced people around and has never done drugs in his
life. The doctor said the only reason to remove it would be for cosmetic
reasons that it wasn't necessary to remove. I thought I would share this
with you. I don't know if it is of any help.
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Stop eating beef
I am a female that had the same thing happen. I stopped eating alot of
beef.
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Richard Paul
Washington, DC
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