Chemical castration side effects and acquisition

[avigor (imported)]

First, what would be my best bet to get anti-androgens in the US? Would a general practitioner be in over his head or would the family doc be able to handle it? As for what kind of anti-androgen, I really don't like needles. I tend to get nauseous after being stuck with them. Please note that I'm only listing this first because I expect the answer to be shorter then the next question's response.

Second, what negative side-effects can you think of, and what counter-measures are you aware work and to what degree? So far, all of my info is from http://www.geocities.com/sherrylanina/C ... fects.html and as such I really wanted to ask here. The negative side-effects that I'm aware of include, in the order on that site:

Depression?: I'm not sure, but I'm guessing this is case-by-case and related to the psychological effects of knowing you are infertile. I am not talking about the surgery now, however; I'm talking about a chemical test-run, so I don't think I need to worry about this.

Hot Flashes: I'm not sure how much of an inconvenience this one could cause. As this varies from person to person, I'm hoping I'll just get lucky here. If I do experience this however, I'm not sure what to if anything is possible. Please advise.

Loss of physical strength: I'm pretty certain I can live with this - I am a computer geek after all, so I don't have as much to lose as some and I don't use it as much. Anyone think I should do some exercise first, or get into a regular exercise routine when I start out?

Decreased Energy: Again, I can live with this, especially if it's primarily physical.

Weight gain?: Hmm . . . maybe I should put this off until the mini "biggest loser" competition my mom and sis dragged me and my dad into finishes to decrease the odds that I'll lose $100 and increase the odds that I'll gain $300; if nothing else, it'll give me more time for reading up and asking questions. Other than that, I'm good here.

Body Hair: Uhh . . . I really don't care about this one.

Physical Appearance: Ditto.

Head Hair: Didn't I already cover this?

Voice: I am not transgender, so I really don't care.

Shrinking Genitals: As long as I can still piss standing up, I'm good.

Mental Effects: I don't like the sound of these. Anyone experience these? What should be done here?

Health Risks: Already planning on calcium supplements every day starting one week before anti-androgens start. Weight bearing might be a good idea. I'm going to try and increase my dental health practices beforehand. As for the rest of it, I'm thinking that I'll take my chances, as I don't smoke and if I ever do drink it'll be wine or champagne at special occaisions or in small amounts (a drink a month or so) for the health benefits of red wine.

That's all from that website, so I guess I'm waiting for responses now.

[kristoff]

You have obviously not done any research in these archives. Do be active. Read. A LOT.

Here is a good, very basic place to start:

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10173

[avigor (imported)]

Thanks. Let's see here:

So depending on the guy, the potential mental side-effects include spatial reasoning, emotions, and reduction in the drive to do things in general in addition to the memory and concentration issues listed on the page I linked. Yeah, definitely glad that I'm going to aim for chem trial, possibly using estrogen later on to see if some minor HRT can counter any such problems that arise before making it irreversible.

There isn't much there about countering or taking the edge off of any of the side effects other than HRT can help. Any other ideas, like a cold wet cloth if there's a really bad hot flash?

Diabetes . . . Yuck. I *really* hate needles. Hopefully I won't have to deal with this problem. If this can and does appear due to a chemical castration, is it countered by discontinuing the intake of anti-androgens?

Is Depo-Provera the only needle-required anti-androgen? If so, then good, I'll just stay away from that one.

Also, the doctor question was not answered. Should I approach my general practitioner, someone at the local mental health institute, my chiropractor cousin, or someone else altogether? Either way, it won't happen for at least a while, so I guess I don't need it answered quickly.

Mostly, I'm just not sure where to read, if these questions are answered elsewhere.

[sport1317 (imported)]

I don,t know how mine started born with a micro penis and small testicles along time ago and some how never developed look like a 9-10yr old.When older 70 dr put me on meds now nothing works also lost most all my body hair.I now think of myself as chemical eunuch.

[sftineun (imported)]

You have obviously not done any research in these archives. Do be active. Read. A LOT.

Here is a good, very basic place to start:

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10173

The link doesn't seem to work any more.

[sftineun (imported)]

You have obviously not done any research in these archives. Do be active. Read. A LOT.

Here is a good, very basic place to start:

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10173

Hi Kristoff, The link seems to no longer work. But you're right, EA has a lot of good information. More than 10 years ago, I learned a lot about chemical castration through EA, and went through chemical castration myself. (My old user ID here was HKEUNUCH.)

So avigor, I would also encourage you to search through side effects of chemical castration on the EA Forums.

[sftineun (imported)]

Avigor, Here are a few responses from my own experience with chemical castration, which I got to permanently castrated without surgery. However, as often warned in this forum, everyone's mileage is different.

Depression?: Low testosterone itself can cause depression. Things were fine with me throughout the 4 years during which I was taking Androcur, except that I start crying very very easy. However, when I faced a serious life changing experience (losing my spouse to cancer), I got serious depression. When my doctor got me started on a low dose of testosterone, my mood improved significantly. As such, since, I assume you, like me, consciously and willingly self administer chemical castration, our depression had nothing to do with our loss of "manhood."

Hot Flashes: I experienced minimal. I've read that some other people got it bad.

Loss of physical strength & Decreased Energy: It got so bad for me that I just did not want to get out of bed. Also, loss of focus on doing my job.

Weight gain?: This is linked with the above side effects.

Body Hair: This was part of what I wanted, so I was happy with it.

Physical Appearance: The key was shrinkage of penis and testicles, which was my objectives, so I was fine with that. However, low testosterone also causes development of breasts and big nipples, with a lot of discomfort along with it. As feminization was not what I wanted, I supplemented Androcur with Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen that helps avoid feminization.

Head Hair: It's a good thing for me.

Voice: No voice change happens with castration.

Shrinking Genitals: This was my goal. So I was happen.

Mental Effects: Crying and depression are the bad side effects. Eunuch calm is the good side effect.

Health Risks: You're right we should take steps to prevent osteoporosis. After I stopped Androcur, I continued anti-estrogen for this purpose, changing from Tamoxifen to Evista. I also take high dose of Calcium and Vitamin D supplements. If possible, getting a bone scan would be advisable, though I could not convince my doctor to order one for me.

Like I said, these are just my own experiences. I would encourage you to use the search engine in the EA Forum to do more research and find out what others experienced.