Long-term implications of lacking sex hormones

[thesmallone (imported)]

My apologies if this question has been asked to death before.

I am looking for a discussion on the long-term (anywhere from one year to lifelong) health impacts of living without sex hormones in the body.

I am in my early 20's, if that changes things at all.

I plan to speak with my doctor soon, but I value personal lived experiences just as much, if not more. Is it really as bad as they say?

Thank you.

[JesusA (imported)]

Some of this is covered in the Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] of the Archive. While the old version is still available through the link at the top of the page, we are working on a new and updated version that should be much more informative. It is in an active thread that is still open for input:

Updated FAQ- Need Input

http://www.eunuch.org/forums/showthread ... Need-Input

I hope that other members here will chime in with further information to help you with your question.

[graylayer02 (imported)]

My N=1 observation (transfeminine here, but some of this might apply for transmasculine people too):

At first it was a huge improvement over having testosterone, to have no sex hormones.

Over the course of a year, though, I gained about 5 extra kilos of watery fat around my belly; my metabolism slowed down a lot; and I would occasionally just run out of energy at weird moments.

And I got osteopenia bordering on osteoporosis.

Moving to a low-ish dose of estrogen righted things with respect to fat and energy. Bones--got to see in the long run--the German medical system doesn't treat osteoporosis, and so I'd have to do something on the side somehow to repair things.

[JesusA (imported)]

There is some relevant information in the threat Estrogen and Male Development:

http://forums.eunuch.org/showthread.php ... evelopment

[tugon (imported)]

As a 16 year non T eunuch I have little information to offer. I would say I gained weight but my weight has fluctuated since puberty. I can say the weight is in a more feminine pattern now. I do not seem to have the lack of energy that some experience. I have immense energy if I am doing something I enjoy such as my trip to Paris. I walked all day, every day carrying a heavy camera bag. I should be cleaning my apartment but no energy. No seriously I have shopping to do and cheesecakes to bake but my point is my energy is linked with my enthusiasm for an activity. I have a beagle and since I am enjoying a break from work our shortest walk is about an hour and a half.

As far as mental acuity that is tough for me to judge. Granted I am not as sharp as I once was but I am not as young as I once was. Castrated at 41 and now 57 years of age. I have had head traumas throughout my life. As a child my sister hit me so hard in the head with a brick the brick broke. I broke a windshield with my head. While bike riding on a trail I lost control and tumbled 12 feet down a hill hitting all the trees in my path. I was told I had been out for 10 minutes. The last great head trauma which has created some deficits was walking up the stairs to my second floor flat with my dog. When in mid step to the second floor something caught his eyes and he bolted down the stairs. I had my hands full and could not grab a rail so backwards and head first I fell down the steps. Thump, thump at every step. I was also punched in the head and head slammed into car windows numerous times over a 17 1/2 year period. So once again nothing much to share since I do not know if it has been aging, lack of T or trauma that has changed my ability to process.

Physically I did lose much of my body hair, skin is drier and I do not shave as often. Penis has shrunk in size but I can still get erections with stimulation. I am a diabetic but I was hypoglycemic before and so I knew I should be watching. My father's side of the family had been diabetics for generations. Some think you are predisposed to diabetes as a eunuch but I knew I would have become one even if I had not been castrated. As far as diabetes is concerned I am not my own best health advocate. I do have to say I have none of the external physical issues diabetics have but my numbers are higher than I like.

I did have sex many years after becoming a eunuch. I had a year on and off again relationship. He was able to stimulate me to orgasm and I took care of his needs. I do not want to bother with relationships anymore. I still have erotic dreams and masturbate. Some eunuchs lose all interest but that has not been my case. Of course I was also a sex addict before castration so that may have something to do with it. Some of my dreams are not any more positive than how I lived so castration reduces the needs to fulfill fantasies but does not fix the brain.

I had a wild ride on the emotional roller coaster when first castrated. Everything was happier or sadder. Hallmark card commercials could start tears flowing. I was all over the map with my reactions to things and events. As my levels dropped and I was having hot flashes like a menopausal woman I all of a sudden wanted a child. This desire to have a child so strong that women I did not know would hand me their children. At a previous job while sitting at my desk a woman came in and handed me her baby. After she left my boss asked me who she was and I had to say I honestly did not know. After four years that desire faded and I was glad I had not acted on it.

Once the initial changes were over there has not been anything new to surprise me. The emotions have settled down to a more normal range. I have the eunuch calm which sometimes feels like eunuch boredom but not always. I have always found it tough to give answers since my castration happened at the end of my adult physical and mental abuse.

[Mac (imported)]

Some of this is covered in the Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] of the Archive. While the old version is still available through the link at the top of the page, we are working on a new and updated version that should be much more informative. It is in an active thread that is still open for input:

Updated FAQ- Need Input

http://www.eunuch.org/forums/showthread ... Need-Input

I hope that other members here will chime in with further information to help you with your question.

Your link does not work.

[fhunter]

This one should work

: http://forums.eunuch.org

/showthread.php?25201-Updated-FAQ-Need-Input

Forum changed address a bit, if you encounter link to the www.eunuch.org/forums/ just replace "www" with "forums", and "remove forums/" from after a eunuch.org/

[daifu-orchid (imported)]

It seems possible that eunuchs last a little longer than the intact. It does seem that watching for bone health is wise, and its need varies widely. Check in with the doc.

The usual advice regarding weight and sensible things for any life. The last eunuch in China, Sun Yaoting (?pinyin) punched his ticket with a fine innings of 94!

-But if one wishes to nitpick dietary minutiae, it is fortunately not necessary to be a eunuch to be neurotic. Seems most eunuchs, inc this one do just fine, enjoying life and getting on with it. There's lots more to life!

[tugon (imported)]

Seems most eunuchs, inc this one do just fine, enjoying life and getting on with it. There's lots more to life!

I could not agree more. I certainly enjoy other sensations since castration. I love good food, wine, art and music. I recently had some rare seared duck breast in a maple glaze with orzo and asparagus and a nice wine. What a pleasurable time. If I was watching every calorie I might have had a salad. I love my art I have collected and the stereo I have assembled to allow me to enjoy the music I love. I think for me the pleasures of the brain are now more important than the pleasures of the body. Sight, sound and taste are what drives me now.

[plix (imported)]

Well, it has been a little over one year for me, and while that may not be long compared to others, it's the longest I've ever gone without hormones.

I haven't gained too much weight - a few pounds, but not as much as many eunuchs gain.

I couldn't tell you how my bones are doing because I have not had them tested and really can't afford to do so (I am working on getting health insurance, so maybe that will change soon), but I am worried about the potential for osteoporosis if I go too much longer without hormones.

My energy levels are not good right now. I can't be out and about for too long without feeling completely exhausted. This was not the case when I was on T.

Aches and pains seem to be a lot more frequent for me now than they were in the past.

What is worrying me a lot right now is what seems to be going on with my mind. My short-term memory is just terrible! I seem to forget what happened just moments ago. I don't know if this has anything to do with the lack of hormones, but from my understanding it is possible. I don't think it was this bad before I stopped taking T. Since I am still young and have a lot of aging to do, I am definitely worried about how much worse things could get upstairs.

Other than that, I haven't noticed too much in the way of negative health effects. In some ways I would guess things could have actually improved. I know that my HDL was freakishly low when I was on T (way more on TRT than on my natural T), but even though I haven't had it tested, I suspect it's a bit higher now.

All of these things aside, I absolutely love living without T!