Is it really true that we need hormones?

[WheelyCurious]

Well, I will have no choice but to go back to estrogen

I still don't understand why many eunuchs were centenarians if they didn't take hormones

There are some issues that males are more subject to than females, which is why you see females living longer currently - castration especially pre-puberty, possibly as late as the 30's, less so later avoids many of them....

Also bone health is impacted by physical activity - and just the basic functions of staying alive before the industrial revolution took a LOT more physical activity when we didn't have all the modern conveniences... A few other factors, I'm not sure how much they played into it, but there would have been an inherent filtering for healthier sorts just by who SURVIVED the surgery w/o modern infection control, and surgical techniques.

I also suspect that there is a certain amount of reporting bias in that the eunuchs we have records about will be the "upper class" ones that were important enough to have something written about them, and that presumably means they had the 'better things in life' like better diets, healthier living conditions, better medical care (such as it was) etc. I don't think we have much data on the lower grade slaves / harem guards / etc. that probably had lifespans closer to the average non chopped folks....

So no question that SOME historical eunuchs had far longer lives than average, but I suspect that the records are seriously skewed in their favor and don't do a good job of reflecting reality...

WheelyCurious

[wanasoso2 (imported)]

I completely agree with the two uper posts from erikboy and DeaconBlues. I my earlyer post I mentionned the basic activity of T for healty bones but it is true that, as it was said, you won't fall apart without it and the consequences of living without sex hormone is different for each individual. As an exemple my wife menopaused from more than ten years never took replacement hormones and she is monitoring the quality of her bones with her doctor. With a quite good program of exercise and Calcium supplements she's stable and recently even gain a bit of strenght. Only very hasardous sport like skating should be avoided.

[WheelyCurious]

I completely agree with the two uper posts from erikboy and DeaconBlues. I my earlyer post I mentionned the basic activity of T for healty bones but it is true that, as it was said, you won't fall apart without it and the consequences of living without sex hormone is different for each individual. As an exemple my wife menopaused from more than ten years never took replacement hormones and she is monitoring the quality of her bones with her doctor. With a quite good program of exercise and Calcium supplements she's stable and recently even gain a bit of strenght. Only very hasardous sport like skating should be avoided.

I agree Wanasoso although I'm definitely on the side of encouraging use of T or E rather than going 'hormone free'... However on the flip side, it is worth noting that 'worst case' osteoporosis can leave bones so fragile that you can get fractures just from sitting, or so my doc claims...

Because I am already at risk for bone health issues in my hips and legs because of my SCI, it was the biggest challenge I had in convincing the doc to OK even starting chemical castration. I had to make a definite agreement that I'd do T or E and plan to be on one of them for life. Same thing in my recent shrink appointment before she'd agree to do the surgery letter, and I expect it will keep popping up at every doctor appointment for as long as I live...

WheelyCurious

[wanasoso2 (imported)]

I agree also with you WheelyCurious that in a situation with higher risk for bone health issues you have to work that out on the safe side and give the Ca a hand with the hormone of your choice. Personnaly if one of these days I'll have to choose I think I would go on the E side. After all those years living on the T wiht presure and the evorwelming sexual desire it would be nice to be human in different way.

[Lenkusov (imported)]

I recently had a NO-HRT baseline blood test done and, for me at least, I'm medically fine to be clear of hormones basically indefinitely. I've been a eunuch for north of a year now and apparently things have adjusted well, cause my levels on HRT bloodwork have always ended up higher than normal for my weight and dosage and after one test came back alarmingly high, I went off for 2 months (with no ill effects - not tired, same libido, no hot flashes, etc) and got a baseline reading of approximately the same E and T levels as a 35y/o woman. Definitely gives me peace of mind with how my state's going, politically, wrt trans stuff...

[WheelyCurious]

Glad to hear you are doing well and having hormone levels you are happy with, may that continue... However I would still suggest that even with seemingly good levels, you consider getting a 'baseline' bone density (aka DXA) scan soonish, and then monitoring every few years... I believe most insurance will cover one every 3-5 years w/ little debate, and I doubt that your doctor would disagree with you about requesting one.

WheelyCurious

[Lenkusov (imported)]

Oh I definitely could if I wanted to, although yesterday I finally decided to just quit procrastinating and take my E shot again. It's not like I have a shortage, a vial at my dosage lasts 6+ months continuous but I get refills every 3 so I've got several vials sitting around unopened AND a gram of analytical-grade E valerate powder I can compound with castor oil if I run out of the pharmaceutical stuff. It's just nice to know that if I have to go off (legal reasons, get arrested, stranded without my supplies, etc) or decide I'm happy with where my body's at, I can go cold-turkey and be fine. As for the bone density I wouldn't worry about it too much, my diet's pretty good in terms of "things that make your bones not be styrofoam" and I work a physical job with a fair amount of high-impact exercise, which is also important for bone density. As an aside, I also haven't lost any muscle mass either and when I went off E I actually managed to GAIN muscle. Apparently enough so that I am stronger than a Harbor Freight crowbar...