ask an endocrinologist

[makarina]

my son is 8years/7months (born in april 2000) he is normal average weight and heigt few months ago his boobs had become slitghtly bigger his doctor said it is fats he did a hormonal profile all the tests were normal(estrogen-progestrone- Testosterone-FSH-TSH-Prolactin). only LH hormone was low normal.  he has no more symptoms .Do I have to be concerned? many thanks.

[Deanna L Aftab Guy, MD]

it sounds more like what we call lipomastia, which is fatty tissue in that area, the importance is to rule out gynecomastia which can be simply prepubertal effect from the estrogen that starts up at this age and the low level of testosterone that is not available to counteract the female hormone effect in boys, another test to look at is thyroid but your doc did a good workup, I would monitor closely. There at times can be a familial tendency in boys to have extra tissue there.

[a378]

A related discussion, Possible Breast Underdevelopment Concern was started.

[tm63]

I have been hauling my 17 year old son to the doctor for a few years now, checking back with his pediatrician when symptoms worsened.  He began having chest pain when he was about 12, but sporadically.  Things worsened in the past 2 years to chest pain w/ numbness in his left arm, weakness in his legs, and arms, occasional pain in his back or jaw, and then the other night it included numbness and tingling in his face and pronounced twitching of his cheek and lip. He said he felt like he was losing control of his body, and was about to cry, which he usually never does. Generally, when it passes in sometimes 10 or 20 minutes, sometimes longer, he is very fatigued, and will often sleep for hours after.  He has had several ekg's, echocardiogram, holter monitor, cardio-pulmonary stress test, nuclear stress test, and ct scan.  All were normal results, and his basic bloodwork, including creatinine and thyroid  were also normal range. I would like some direction as his pediatrician doesn't seem to understand it, and I'm wondering what I could suggest or talk to her about next.  Since he is cov'd under an HMO, all referrals must go through his pediatrician. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. This is really restricting his quality of life.  He'd like to get a job and a car and things, but he was already let go once because of these "attacks". I'm feeling more and more protective as the events have increased again to several days a week, with 1 or more per day, of varying intensity.  

[tm63]

I have been hauling my 17 year old son to the doctor for a few years now, checking back with his pediatrician when symptoms worsened.  He began having chest pain when he was about 12, but sporadically.  Things worsened in the past 2 years to chest pain w/ numbness in his left arm, weakness in his legs, and arms, occasional pain in his back or jaw, and then the other night it included numbness and tingling in his face and pronounced twitching of his cheek and lip. He said he felt like he was losing control of his body, and was about to cry, which he usually never does. Generally, when it passes in sometimes 10 or 20 minutes, sometimes longer, he is very fatigued, and will often sleep for hours after.  He has had several ekg's, echocardiogram, holter monitor, cardio-pulmonary stress test, nuclear stress test, and ct scan.  All were normal results, and his basic bloodwork, including creatinine and thyroid  were also normal range. I would like some direction as his pediatrician doesn't seem to understand it, and I'm wondering what I could suggest or talk to her about next.  Since he is cov'd under an HMO, all referrals must go through his pediatrician. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. This is really restricting his quality of life.  He'd like to get a job and a car and things, but he was already let go once because of these "attacks". I'm feeling more and more protective as the events have increased again to several days a week, with 1 or more per day, of varying intensity.  

[makarina]

Thanks for your fast answer .- yes his dad has fatty boobs now but he didn't remember how was he when he was young- do I have to follow up or no and what are the best excercise for him (he is doing swimming twice a week) do you recommend any other kind of sports or special diet ? he is slim but I want to know if this lipomastia could be reduced or not and how?
many thanks.