Shift work , gyno and hrt ?

[Let"s_grow]

Hey everyone ,

Definitely a bit outside my realm of comfort posting all this publicly, but in hoping I can get some intelligent responses here for my particular situation

Background
Age 25
Occupation - paramedic
Medication history - none ! Two bodybuilding shows as a "natural" bodybuilder. Never have touched a hormone altering substance


Everything was going great for me this winter , I finally nabbed my position as a paramedic, which I've been planning to keep as my career focus . My current job position with the company I work for is a "casual " position. Although this means I can take as much time off as needed, it also means there is no real structure to my work schedule , and many times am fatigued by night shifts running over 12 hours and having no solid sleep schedule. However also there are many nights where I am not busy and am able to catch sleep during my shift . There is no rhyme or reason to how I get my hours one week could be 4 consecutive nights at 3 different bases in our province ( lots of driving just to get to work )and the next week could be 5 day shifts . (All shifts are 12 hours but frequently can run way over depending on how the shift runs).

Sometime in March I started to feel a pain in my left nipple , at the time I disregarded this ( I wish I had seen a dr ASAP now) . Basically at this time I was at the peak of my "bulking " phase (where I was about 28 lbs over last contest weight ) and decided I would switch gears and do a dieting phase. Before the dieting phase had even started the pain in the nipple had subsided and I could tell some sort of growth had formed. I was t sure what to do here except for carry out my mini diet and see what happened with the lump after I had lost some fat . As I researched gynecomastia I learned way more and realized the only way to remove it wad thru surgery, and that instances of gynocomastia were common for overweight teens and in older men with decreasing levels of testosterone. Me being a healthy , natural , 25 year old I certainly didn't fit the bill . However to add to this , growing up I believe I also had a bit of gyno from puberty( you can see a small amount in my profile pic, on the right side )

Since this has all happened I've seen a surgeon and I have a surgery date to remove the gyno, and I've also booked an appointment with my doctor where I will get blood work done to see how I stand currently.

The kicker here is that , if things in my blood are obviously off and I have to go on some sort of medication to correct the problem , I can't compete in natural federations any more , as any sort of hormone altering substance is going to be banned. This sucks for me because it was a goal of mine to win an overall at a natural show , but in reality might not be hard for me to give up , if going on medication improves my overall health and we'll being .


So my questions for the group are :

1-would getting on trt for someone who is going be doing shift work the rest of his life be beneficial ? I personally believe if I didn't have this schedule I'd be 100 percent fine , my blood work might even come back 100 percent fine as if I say i take a week off work , get on a normal sleep routine, I feel awesome. But changing careers now isn't something I'm willing to do , as I do love my job.

2- anyone have any guesses why I all of a sudden got gyno? I know the "bulking" part of the story may raise an eyebrow or two of suspicion , but when I think of logically , I've been waaaaaaaayyyy fatter Before with zero of these issues . I can post pictures of my peak bulk condition if needed.


Very odd case/story I know , I hope some of you can take the time to read this and type back a response !

 

[Drift Wood]

Shift work and shift work disorder can wreak havoc on the body both physically (hormones, recovery, and what not) and emotionally. I spent 3 months working 8p to 8a and it was by far the worst 3 months of my life...

It's hard to believe one could develop gyno in the absence of abnormal hormone levels.

While I can not say with certainty, personal experience tells me that no amount of test will replace a normal nights sleep that is in line with our natural circadian rhythm.

Additionally, having gone through 2 shoulder surgeries and on the verge of neck surgery, I cannot stress enough the value in exhausting all non-surgical interventions prior to going under the knife.

Hopefully, someone else can offer more specific and insightful feedback.

Good luck,

D.

 

[Let"s_grow]

Shift work and shift work disorder can wreak havoc on the body both physically (hormones, recovery, and what not) and emotionally. I spent 3 months working 8p to 8a and it was by far the worst 3 months of my life...

It's hard to believe one could develop gyno in the absence of abnormal hormone levels.

While I can not say with certainty, personal experience tells me that no amount of test will replace a normal nights sleep that is in line with our natural circadian rhythm.

Additionally, having gone through 2 shoulder surgeries and on the verge of neck surgery, I cannot stress enough the value in exhausting all non-surgical interventions prior to going under the knife.

Hopefully, someone else can offer more specific and insightful feedback.

Good luck,

D.

Thanks man ,

Went into a walk in clinic today, looking for a blood work requisition with endocrine markers and the doctor wouldnt even sign the paper work to get those markers tested for,because he didn't think it was needed. I don't understand at all.
What a waste of time

 

[Drift Wood]

Do you have health insurance??? If you do, there's definitely value in establishing a relationship with a PCP... If not check out Buy Lab Tests Online | Private MD Labs you can get labs done of your choosing and then take those results to a walk in clinic...

 

[Let"s_grow]

Do you have health insurance??? If you do, there's definitely value in establishing a relationship with a PCP... If not check out Buy Lab Tests Online | Private MD Labs you can get labs done of your choosing and then take those results to a walk in clinic...

Should of mentioned that I live in Canada, health care is free to a certain extent , still seeing my new pcp on the 19th , hoping he will be more receptive to letting me get blood work , lol I think walking into a clinic looking for a trt script is one thing, but all I wanted to do was see where levels are at , and this guy refused to check off the endocrine markers on the form

 

[WrightStar]

Should of mentioned that I live in Canada, health care is free to a certain extent , still seeing my new pcp on the 19th , hoping he will be more receptive to letting me get blood work , lol I think walking into a clinic looking for a trt script is one thing, but all I wanted to do was see where levels are at , and this guy refused to check off the endocrine markers on the form

Best of luck to you mate with this.

I'm about your age and was an offshore engineer in the oil & gas and so spent two years doing shift-work.

I can only speak from my own personal experience, but it wreaked havoc on my body and mind.

Now I'm back on dry land and eagerly awaiting going on my first cycle