Like Letrozole, Nolvadex is principally used to treat breast cancer by impairing the total function of estrogen in the body. However, it works in an entirely different manner. While Letrozole reduces the body’s actual production of estrogen, Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that binds to estrogen receptors in the body and impairs the effects of estrogen that is already circulating.

Tamoxifen is not to be taken lightly and is best considered in consultation with your doctor. Side effects can include liver problems and diminished sex drive. Furthermore, if you are considering tamoxifen as a treatment for gynecomastia, you should not dive in expecting the Holy Grail of man-boob reduction.

Any course of treatment such as this is typically most effective when the breast tissue is just developing. The longer the tissue has been around, the more time it has had to solidify and become a permanent fixture that will not disappear with drug treatments alone. Think about it. Tamoxifen will not simply make a woman’s breasts disappear. Bodybuilders who are experienced in body chemistry manipulation typically turn to treatments such as Tamoxifen or Letrozole at the first hint of tingling or puffiness in the nipples.

A couple years of stewing about the issue and tripling up your t-shirts will probably mean that the tissue you so despise has long solidified itself and made pharmaceutical treatments quite possibly not worth the slightest of health risks.

This course of treatment may be prescribed legitimately by a doctor or possibly acquired in the shadowy corner of the locker room by that guy with the sunglasses, track suit and tightly zipped gym bag that’s half-hidden behind his back.

Letrozole is taken orally and it is an extremely powerful aromatase inhibitor. Whereas Tamoxifen acts by interfering with the function and uptake of estrogen already circulating in the body, Letrozole prevents the production of estrogen by the body.

Letrozole’s primary legitimate use is in the treatment of breast cancer in women, and it is not without side effects. The human body (including the male body) does require a normal amount of estrogen to function optimally. Letrozole significantly affects the body’s natural balance by doing its best to obliterate estrogen…period.

Any prolonged use of Letrozole does run the risk of osteoporosis and kidney problems.

Its efficacy in treating gynecomastia in men is questionable. In cases of gynecomastia that has been established, with glandular tissue having developed and solidified, Letrozole is unlikely to get rid of existing breast tissue. Letrozole may temporarily shrink existing breast tissue as the body’s estrogen level plummets, but is unlikely to provide long term benefits.

In cases where gynecomastia is in the early stages of development due to steroid use (typically signified by tingling in the nipple area and extremely mild tissue development), Letrozole may be effective in halting and reversing gynecomastia if it is caught at this very early developmental phase. If you are at risk of (or fearful of) developing gynecomastia due to recent or current steroid use, you are advised to consult your physician about possible pharmaceutical remedies.

First off, I’ll say outright that no matter what products you try and how many, if you don’t want to live with gyno, you will almost certainly end up resorting to surgery in the end. Give some thought to whether you consider it a good, affordable or worthwhile option. Consider whether you are willing to go that route if all of the pills, lotions, diet and exercise don’t get rid of the gyno…because they probably won’t.

That said, if you have any excess body fat, then yes: diet down and work out and eliminate for yourself the possibility that you only have pseudo-gynecomastia caused by adipose (fatty) tissue. If you get your physique to a level of leanness where you should not have breasts and you are able to feel gland tissue, then you are probably looking at a stubborn case of true gynecomastia. It is a good idea to get it confirmed by your doctor.

There will probably be a couple of solutions floating around the gym, or recommended by the guy who provides the gymrats with their gear. The legality of these solutions will be questionable at best, as they will involve prescription medication, typically drugs used to combat breast cancer.

These drugs do have the potential to prevent gynecomastia tissue from forming (especially for those whose gynecomastia is caused by steroid use) but once the tissue is there, do not expect these drugs to go in and make the already-formed gland tissue vaporize.

That said, the drugs that are typically handed out in locker rooms (or by legitimate physicians) to fight gynecomastia are:

(1) Letrozole – This drug prevents the conversion of androgens to estrogens in the body.
(2) Nolvadex (Tamoxifen) – This drug prevents the estrogen receptors in the body from accepting estrogen and allowing it to function.

Be informed that what these drugs are preventing is typically normal hormone functioning in the human body and there are potential health consequences to prolonged use. It is not a good or healthy idea to make sure your body never has any estrogens in its system. The human body works on balance between hormones, not on flooding or complete absence.

There will be several other options out there, especially on the web. Maybe you will see DVD sets or books claiming to have “the cure” or “the solution.” If any of these had the cure, somebody would have read it, found that it worked, told everyone else “the secret” and then surgeons would be out of business. Surgery is usually not the first option anybody looks at with gynecomastia…yet it is usually where they end up. There is a reason.

Information is free on the internet. Anybody who is charging for “the secret cure” to gynecomastia is not likely to be providing a product or service that is worth your money. There is no “special workout” that will focus on gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is common among professional bodybuilders who develop the condition from steroid use. And if anybody knew the secret workout techniques that would get rid of gyno, it would be the professional bodybuilders who are able to maintain body fat percentages below 5%. And they typically end up turning to surgery.

In short, do your research. See what options are out there. Think very critically if you see something that appears too good to be true. Talk to somebody about pharmaceutical options if you like, but be warned that these options are probably illegal, probably ineffective and probably not worth the risk. Hope for the best but prepare for the likelihood that breast gland tissue is there to stay unless you have it removed.

Think of it like a giant crooked bump on your nose. You aren’t going to get rid of that with pills, lotions or books. It’s real, tangible tissue. Chances are it will require a real, tangible tool to remove it. But hey, that’s life. Solve the problem or accept the problem, then put it behind you and move on.