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I Really Want To Understand Macromastia

Okay, so here is a short primer:

"macro" = big or large; "mastia" = the two soft rounded organs on each side of the chest, hence, in street parlance: "big breasts"

macromastia (MM) is a disorder of the endocrine system; generally defined as a woman's abnormal reaction to estrogen and prolactin hormones.

MM is also known as breast hypertrophy or gigantomastia (GM). These terms are employed with a lack of precision--some assert that GM is a more extreme version of MM, but there is no unanimity in medical circles on the precision of the terms.

MM is different than "having curves," or "being busty." It is an actual disorder in which the size of the breasts often interfere with a female's everyday life.

When MM occurs around the onset of puberty, it is called juvenile MM; when it occurs during pregnancy, it is called gestational MM.

MM can also affect one breast (unilateral) or both breasts (bilateral).

MM can cause physical discomfort: back pain, shoulder pain, headaches, neck aches, soreness in the chest area, spontaneous lactation.

MM can cause mental distress: lack of self-confidence, social ostracizing, isolation, depression.

Although large breasts are fetishized in our modern culture, the MM female is often embarrassed and even ashamed of how she looks.

There is no "cure" for MM. It can reoccur without warning in sudden "spurts." Breast reduction surgery provides relief for some MM females, although, in a true MM female, the breasts may regrow even after surgery.

The only final, definitive way to stop MM is to have a complete mastectomy--removal of all breast tissue.

Now you understand macromastia.

You're Welcome. ☺
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Bryguy5446 · 41-45, M
Is there a genetic predisposition for MM?
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
@Bryguy5446 Maybe, but we just don't know. Not enough good medical research has been done.
Bryguy5446 · 41-45, M
Well that sucks. One would think that would be something to look into
doodlebug2013 · 41-45, F
@Bryguy5446 If there is that makes me even more of a bad luck weirdo because I'm the only one in my family history anything like this has ever happened to. Sorry, woke up in a cruddy mood today.
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
@doodlebug2013 Same for me. Not the cruddy mood (although that could change), but the only one in my family diagnosed with macromastia.

My own feeling is that there might be a genetic predisposition to macro in some families (bustyness runs among women in some families), but there are many environmental factors that can either induce it or trigger it: the foods we eat, meds taken, even traumatic head injuries.

Work backwards: breast growth is caused by hormones (primarily estrogen and prolactin); these hormones are regulated by the endocrine system--mainly the pituitary gland; anything that disturbs the pituitary gland (tumor or injury) could cause it to go haywire. That disturbance could be influenced by either nature or nurture (or both).
RPFeeder · 36-40, M
@veeceekay1991 i knew a woman who said her great aunt also had it. She had been told it ran in the family. It may be a rare recessive gene.
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
@RPFeeder That's very possible. But serious research into either macro or gigantomastia (they're really the same thing) will probably never be done unless gene mapping and genetic diagnosis becomes very common.

Coming up with medical answers for disorders requires studying a large pool of sufferers and the numbers just aren't there.

And, lets face it, a lot of doctors don't think large breasts is exactly a medical emergency.
MrFrog · M
@veeceekay1991
so is there any point whereby a medical expert says to a woman with MM/GM to have an operation in order to remove excess tissue/reduce growth permanently?
Or is it a case of the breast tissue will still grow at an exponential rate even after surgical procedure, so a consultant on such matters deems an operation as ‘not worth the (health) risk?
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
The only surgery guaranteed to stop the growth of a genuine MM/GM woman is a radical mastectomy which terrorizes most women for obvious reasons.

Anything short of a radical (complete) mastectomy runs the risk of seeing the breasts resume their growth. I know one woman who had this happen and her post-surgical growth was even greater than the pre-surgical rate.

Some MM/GM women get caught in a "catch 22" situation. Surgeons usually will not perform surgery when a girl is growing but by the time the growth stops, the breasts are sufficiently huge that the reduction surgery becomes much more dangerous due to possible bleeding and the amount of tissue that is removed.
MrFrog · M
@veeceekay1991
so not to seem pessimistic but once you have/get diagnosed with MM/GM that’s basically it in terms of a ’viable cure’?
Please note that I am reluctant to use such a negative term however from the limited knowledge I’ve gained on this subject, MM/GM seems akin to having an incurable disease.

Or is that thinking wrong and way too strong?
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
Mmm . . . All women reach a point when the growth will end. The farthest endpoint, I would think, would be menopause when estrogen and other female hormones drop off. There are some hormonal treatments out there for younger MM/GM women. I've had only limited contact with those. There are other women who could speak with much more authority to that subject. The primary problem with hormonal treatments is that you are already dealing with a subject whose hormones are messed up (please forgive my specialized medical terminology 🙂). Will the treatments just mess her up in other, even worse ways?

Personally, I don't like to think of MM/GM as a "disease." I think of it more as a disorder--of the endocrine system.

The worse thing about MM/GM, I think, is just the uncertainty. When will it end? Will it reoccur? Just about every MM/GM woman I know can adapt to growth and lead very rewarding and full lives. But the uncertainty can drive you a little batty.
MrFrog · M
@veeceekay1991
I bet. And yes that’s the term I was seeking...disorder rather than a disease.
So are there any other characteristic in regards MM/GM?
You briefly mentioned menopause. Does the disorder of the endocrine system prematurely bring on menopause? Are there fertility issues? Is it genetically linked to generations thereafter? Would female offspring inherit that gene? Or is it an anomaly that is accidentally triggered?
I’m sure if the medical field is worth their weight in research gold they would’ve documented/followed the life of someone with the disorder and assessed the female child of a woman with GM/MM to determine this one way or another.?

I’m sure I’m boring you with these questions...
Maybe I should try google. Ha!
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
Well, first, realize that I am NOT a medical person. What I am telling you is based on my personal experience and info gained through conversations with a couple of dozen women who at least claimed to be MM/GM. Thus, much of what I am writing here is purely antecdotal.

The questions you are asking above have no good answers that I am aware of. There has been almost zilch serious research done on the causes, duration, and treatment of MM/GM. As one who lives with it, I wish more was out there, but I'm not expecting the reality to change in the near future, if at all.

The only reason I would think there might be a genetic component is that large busts often run within families. But at what point do large breasts become MM or GM? In my experience there are other factors that distinguish the disorder:
1) spontaneous and chronic lactation; 2) continued growth beyond the general range of adolescence; 3) hypertrophy of the clitoris; 4) growth that presents itself in violent spurts; 5) some of the characteristics of PMS and/or menopause: sweating, hot flashes, mood swings.

Now, having said all that, a MM/GM women might exhibit some, all, or none of these characteristics!
MrFrog · M
@veeceekay1991
Thanks. Very interesting,
So many unanswered questions. Medical science needs to up their game.
veeceekay1991 · 31-35, F
I agree with you, but I doubt if it will.
MrFrog · M
@veeceekay1991
All it takes is funding.
But I doubt MM/GM is glamorous enough to obtain that funding.