I am new to this site and would just like to share my experience.
I am from Germany and got castrated in February 2005 in the age of 34. Since I had already fulfilled my biological duties (married + kids), this obstacle for castration had become void. My wife doesn't know about this until now, because she doesn't know the difference between sterilization and castration
(I had already been sterilized the year before, so loss of fertility was no obstacle either any more). She had just expressed her suprise a few times why sexual intercourse has become so rare. Acutally we only had intercourse once since my castration, and that was about two years ago. But let's start from the beginning:Probably everyone here understands my motivation. I had sexual fantasies about castration since my puberty and I had a strong dislike of my testicles and the pain when they got hit. I also had an issue with my libido and I sought for its total or at least significant removal in order to control excessive masturbation. Before the castration the masturbation frequency ranged from once in two days to four times a day (on average once to twice a day). Besides, I also heard about potential health benefits, i.e. the stop of the balding process and the longer life expectancy up to 15 years (confirmed by recent studies on Korean eunuchs). The latter was not the main motivation, but helped me to make a decision. I had played around with some castration tools, e.g. I checked out the elastrator, but couldn't stand it for longer than 90 minutes before it became too painful. But actually do-it-yourself methods had never been a serious option for me.
After all obstacles had been removed and the decision had been made, I prepared for the operation. Since in Western Europe it is punishable for surgeons to perform a castration for non-medical reasons, I had to look for a surgeon somewhere else. At that time Dr. Kimmel was still operating in Philadelphia, that was the safest way. I made some preparations, i.e. applying for visa, booking flight and hotel. I told my wife that I would be on a business trip for some days, which was quite plausible since I had been on business trips every now and then. The price for the complete procedure and journey was about USD 4300. It was a bit more expensive than the standard price since the operation included the removal of the scrotum. In Philly I had a short interview with Dr. Kimmel before the operation started. He gave me a tranquilizer and local anesthetics. During the operation before the "final cut" he asked me wether to stop or proceed, and I told him to go on. The operation took about 40 minutes, and after it I had to stay in the doctor's practice for medical observation. When I went back to the hotel, I still felt a bit dizzy from the tranquilizer. In the night there was so much pain that I had to take the painkillers the doctor had given me. At the next day I had to get back to the practice for control. Everything was fine and I got some more painkillers for the next days. Back at home I got an inflammation and had to see my local doctor. I told her some weird (but plausible) story about the castration and got help by her. She also took out the stitches after a week. The wound took about four weeks to heal and was sensitive for two more weeks. Finally I had achieved my goal.
The long term effects of the castration pretty much correspond to what is being depicted in the FAQ of the board. The details are as follows:
- Infertility: Well, of course the castrations causes infertility, but since I had already been sterilized, I had already been infertile before.
- Eunuch calm: Since (of course) I don't take any hormone replacement therapy, I have indeed this feeling of tranquil contentment, with reduced thoughts of sex and aggression, and I enjoy it very much.
- Reduced libido: That was one of the main points I had aimed at. It is not completely gone, but reduced very much, from one to two orgasms per day to about three times a year on average. For this year I have challenged myself to avoid any orgasm at all and until now it stands. It takes (very) much longer to get an orgasm (before: 1 minute, now 30 minutes), and mostly I cannot get an orgasm at all. However I can plan beforehand if I intend to get an orgasm: I have to eat a lot about 12 hours before it and drink at least a liter of water about two hours before it. Only with these preparations it is possible for me to get an orgasm. It is much more difficult to get an erection, but amazingly it last much longer than before, sometimes even until half an hour after the orgasm. With the mentioned preparations I once had intercourse with my wife, so it is still possible though it takes efforts to achieve it.
- Ejaculations: There are no more unintended nocturnal emissions any more. After the castration the amount of the ejaculate got less gradually, and after one year the orgasms had become completely "dry".
- Weight gain: This is something that I have experienced as well. I had several ups and downs in weight, peaking at 20kg/45lbs more than I had at the time of castration. With the help of a vegan diet I am now back to my original weight.
- Loss or thinning of body hair: This is something that only lasted temporarily. Now my hair is as before.
- Loss of muscles: Well, I wasn't very muscular anyway, so I had no significant loss of muscles, but I definitely feel quicklier exhausted than I used to.
- Breast development: There is indeed some mild breast development. In the first six months after the operation I felt a bit pain in the breast every few days, but after that the pain ebbed away.
- Fat redistribution around the hips and thighs: My waist-hip ratio has changed and considering my BMI it is now exactly between that of an average man and an average woman.
- Shrink of penis: I didn't notice any significant shrink, however since it is almost permanently in a non-aroused state (which was rarely the case before), you could consider this a significant shrink.
- Depressions: I had no depressions at all, rather a long lasting euphoria. I think depression is an issue for those who are castrated for medical reasons, and not for those who seek it voluntarily.
- Moodiness and tearfulness: Yes, I am a bit more sensitive in that matter. I notice this e.g. when watching emotional movies.
- Cognitive losses: I had some losses in spatial orientation about 3-6 months after the operation. But this was only a temporary effect and has become normal again.
- Osteoporosis: As I am avoiding all the acid creating food (such as meat, industrial sugar, bread, noodles, rice) which is usual in modern industrial societies, this will probably no issue for me. But I will have that checked by my doctor once I have reached the age of 50.
- Hot flushes and night sweats: This started suddenly about two months after the castration. I was surprised by the suddenness and heaviness when they started, because I had expected the flushes to start immediately after the castration, and since there weren't any in the first two months, I expected that I would never have trouble with that. Obviously the body needs some time to prepare for the hormonal changes. The flushes were a bit disturbing in the beginning, but ebbed away slowly and after six months they were gone.
Looking back on the last years I would say that the positive effects outweigh the negative effects by far (the temporary negative effects can be neglected anyway) and I am very satisfied with my current state. That doesn't mean that I want to recommend this to anyone, it's just my personal experience, and finally everyone has to decide on their own.
Well, that was quite a lot of text for an introduction, so I'll stop for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.