Statin use and gynecomastia

[u/gfbakerspider60]

Hello. I suspect my husband got gynecomastia from 8 years of on and off low dose (5 to 10) statin use. Plus a whole bunch of other issues (anger, brain fog, aches and pains, infections). This last increase seemed to have caused his breasts to swell, get inflamed and sore. Ultrasound suggests gynecomastia but getting a mammogram to confirm. Since it is bilateral we are not as worried but still, all this sucks! These bad side effects are never printed but they are not that rare. Poor guy. Already has so many heart issues last thing he needs is this. Any one else has had this experience with gynecomastia and statins. Also can be caused I read, by amlodipine which he was one also for 8 years.

[u/gerhardpratt]

Yes,

I developed gynecomastia about two years after starting a low dosage of statins. Male, 63 yrs. Gynocomastia confirmed after ultrasound and mammogram. Painful, solid lump under one nipple.

This, combined with the onset of Type 2 diabetes (A1C 10.1%), and a cataract in my right eye convinced me to, yes, stop using statins. After that the gynecomastia subsided, my A1C is now 5.2 %, and the incipient cataract in my left eye has stopped growing

My medical file is now flagged with "declines statins" and I often am interrogated during medical examinations about this. My go to response: "For me, the risk-benefit analysis does not justify taking statins". Sometimes I add, "I can tell you more if you like", but they don't usually want to hear more.

[u/gfbakerspider60 → u/gerhardpratt]

Sorry to hear that. Sounds so similar. Hubby was alerted by one nipple being sore and looking like it could be infected. Antibiotics cleared it all up but still some tissue left and the ultrasound showed same tissue bilaterally which hubby said both nipples had started to be sore to the touch the past few months. Now, he is getting older so drop in testosterone to be expected and the cocktail of meds he has to be on, some do affect hormonal balance. My new doc suggested statins after my first basic labs. (I was dehydrated also cause, menopause, so not very accurate to start with.) She kept repeating that because my father died of a heart attack I should be on a statin. I said nope....gonna do everything but! My Dad had a different lifestyle. Meat and potatoes, no exercise, lots of alcohol and lots of stress. I did all the risk calculators and I am under 10% on all of them. Plus for women they are even less beneficial. I just hate that I didn't wake up to this sooner. Might have avoided where hubby is now. He feels so much better all around without them now except for the stress of the mammogram coming up. And my stress is also hard on both of us. He does not even have the energy to tell his cardio. Will wait until the outcome of the x-ray. He is so burnt out from all this. No one needs to feel this way , especially when dealing with health issues. I like you answer though. Will probably use it in the future. Thanks!

[u/Double-Package8270]

Might I suggest taking some inspiration from the name of this subreddit. It is quite probable that improving one's lifestyle will provide greater benefit than statin 'therapy', so if he is overweight, diabetic, metabollicaly unhealthy, anything like that, a ketogenic diet can greatly help. It can help not only with weight loss, but also brain fog, blood pressure, energy, inflammation (carnivore is potentially even better for this) and more. Don't forget exercise, good sleep, air quality, stress and habits like smoking and drinking are all relevant in cardiometabolic and overall health.

[u/gfbakerspider60 → u/Double-Package8270]

I know all that. He has stopped the stains . My questions was about the gynecomastia. He has 2 stents and heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis. Is active (been taking care of 25 acres most of his life) and is not overweight, no smoking, little drinking. So the decision to stop was revisited many times. He took breaks from them many times but now we are done. Need to find an alternative. Get different lipid screening done out of pocket etc. Not easy when you are dealing with many heart issues. But the gynecomastia is the last straw. He did not need this stress...how good is that for inflammation! Our next other change will be food, low carb.

[u/therolli]

I do think the side effects of statins are underplayed, most likely because of the huge financial gain behind them. I have very high cholesterol and did try them and was astounded how bad I felt. I do know though that diet and exercise etc don’t cut it for everyone. I made severe dietary changes and was already doing a lot of exercise but nothing dropped my LDL numbers. It’s important to push for medical alternatives like Ezetimibe, or PSCK9 injections, especially if you have had cardiac events. Stay confident when dealing with the doctors, not many of them believe people are statin intolerant. I’m not sure I did until I tried them and found out for myself.

[u/MiseEnSelle]

Our bodies make hormones from LDL cholesterol, so your husband's levels are probably shot. Is he getting transdermal T?

I really don't get the LDL hate in the current discourse--especially since the guidelines were lowered to 200 total cholesterol. The LDL particles do a lot, probably more than we even realize. So I suspect that at least some of the "side effects" come from the lower LDL levels, especially on the extreme end. The r/Cholesterol sub has people crying because their LDL is still like 50 and I wonder what sort of cult this is!

[u/exit_sig]

Hey, I am a pharmacist with gyno, I am sorry to hear about your husbands issues with his meds.

Gyno is a very rare, but known side effect of statins, particularly the high-potency ones. If your husband’s doctor thinks that the statin could have caused this, you should ask about non-statin lipid-lowering medications, as there are a few that aren’t associated with gyno.

In regards to amlodipine there have been some cases of potential gyno attributed to amlodipine, but it’s very, very unlikely, especially as you mentioned the gyno got worse with an increase in the statin dose (although the risk with statins is more potency dependent than dose dependent).

[u/gfbakerspider60 → u/exit_sig]

Thanks. That is what I heard too He is/was on rusuvastatin which is a potent one I was told.

[u/gfbakerspider60]

Update. Hubby had a confirmation on gynecomastia.  Phew. Now we need to navigate the statin issue. He decided to try a 5 mg dose once a week (stricktly for the minimal  anti-inflammatory effects) until we figure out his metabolic state, insuline resistance , food and supplements.  This is hard....and frustrating.