I was on a small dose of Lupron, but quit due to the risks that go with Lupron. Next I tried Spiro with great results, except I was tired,,, actually exhausted. Now I am using using estrogen (injections and topical) to override the testosterone, with good results. I like what is happening; it is great, and I want to go the the next level. I have been approved for castration and plan to follow through by the end of the year, but the question remains; will I be tired/exhausted?? I have a high stress and somewhat physical job, and an active life otherwise. The testosterone has to go! I need advice. Newdayle

If you'll retire after castration there shouldn't be much problems, the result should be same as chemical castration. A castrated man is a deminished man so don't expect to go on living and acting like an intact men. I was chemically castrated while I was working in office and I was fine but when I switched job to field work I couldn't do it anymore I had to use TRT. I'll probably try to stop when I'll retire.

There is a notion that goes by the name, "theory of miind." As I understand it, theory of mind is the belief that one person can understand another person accurately without communicating meaningfully with the other person.

Being autistic, I never developed a theory of mind, and so do not project my self-image onto other people as though my doing that would be decent.

My ability to do strenuous physical work did not noticeably change when I abandoned usual male testosterone levels in 1986, and I can work at strenuous tasks very adequately now, at past age 73.

Muscle strength is largely a function of using muscles such that they are strong. For people who are motivated passively to be active, drastically lowered testosterone levels may greatly diminish passive drives for being active.

However, my muscles move because I, and not testosterone, decide to move them.

I am able to move things that weigh about a much as I do, and to move them up and down stairs without help from anyone else. Being able to do this is a choice I consciously made, one that I will continue to make as long as my body gives that choice to me.

Because my orchiectomy was one of several forms of "draconian" surgeries that I underwent with the purpose of living a longer and more active life than I expected would be possible otherwise, I have lived quite a bit longer than my dad did, and much longer than my brother did; they died, and my dad nearly died at about the age when my brother did die, from conditions my surgeries have been done to prevent.

I find the belief that one human genetic male may respond to castration in a particular way is a useful indication of how another human genetic male will respond to be a belief fraught with terrible perils of treachery.

What do I do to remain usefully physically strong? The activity of my brain that may usefully be called my "mind" sends neurotransmitters to synapses the post-synaptic membranes of which are of the axons of motor neurons, and activating motor neurons will activate muscle fibers.

Not being a person who could be taught, or could otherwise learn, the ways of living life passively, I make decisions that allow me to avoid becoming a "diminished man" in response to my orchiectomy, or for that matter, to my colectomy or other cancer-preventive surgeries that I have undergone..

I do not qualify as being a diminished man.

Sorry about that.

I had my surgical castration in 2005 and have not noticed a significant loss of strength, however as regards stamina I feel quicklier exhausted than I used to feel before the operation. I didn't change my sports activities.

Its coming on 1 year sense my Orchiectomy, I've not use one bit of HRT, I've actually upped my physical activity and been able to loose weight in the process. Riding my bike 50-60 or more miles in a single day is no problem for me, in fact I will be doing my longest ride in one day this Sunday, over 130 miles.

My goal by August of next year, "My 50th" birthday will be to finish a sprint triathlon, and I have a long term goal of by 55 to have finished a full Iron Man triathlon. There is no stopping me.

I guess I could be the exception, to the rule when it comes to this???

Ken

I feel just fine, I am getting older but do not feel that I have lost stamina or strength from being castrated. Stay active and see how you compare to your uncastrated peers. I find I am quite strong and active compared to many of them.

Eunuken (imported) wrote: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:35 pm Its coming on 1 year sense my Orchiectomy, I've not use one bit of HRT, I've actually upped my physical activity and been able to loose weight in the process. Riding my bike 50-60 or more miles in a single day is no problem for me, in fact I will be doing my longest ride in one day this Sunday, over 130 miles.

My goal by August of next year, "My 50th" birthday will be to finish a sprint triathlon, and I have a long term goal of by 55 to have finished a full Iron Man triathlon. There is no stopping me.

I guess I could be the exception, to the rule when it comes to this???

Ken

My best hunch, from the nature of human biology, is that "you are the rule," and not "the exception."

Skeletal muscles are capable of being consciously/willfully contracted. Contracting muscles tends to strengthen them.

In terms of hormones, it may be decently accurate to allow that I transitioned from male (testosterone in usual amounts) to female (Premarin and Provera in usual amounts typical for post-menopausal women at the time I was taking them, and from typical hormone-level female to post-menopausal female (no HRT).

How did I manage to accomplish traveling this pathway? Simple. I told the truth about my life, life experiences, and plausible needs. That got me to a safe orchiectomy, to implants (to not tend to "freak out" castration-terrified men in public swimming pool showers), to Premarin & Provera (at first, prescribed by a major research university endocrinologist of formidable national repute), to Alendronate for bone calcification and no HRT (same endocrinologist) to prostheses removal due to a foreign body reaction (done by a urologist of national repute at another major research university), and I am as I find it best for me to be.

I have been married since 1975. My wife has a genetic condition which makes her walking up or down the stairs into the main floor of our house a really foolish activity. So, having found a way to acquire a decent, slightly used, stair lift (weighs something like 150 pounds), the preferred method of installation is with two people. However, I "willed" my muscles to contract as needed to accomplish the installation, and they did so.

If a person is mainly motivated by testosterone, I suppose muscle and bone strength may diminish seriously after castration. If a person is motivated mainly by consciously, willfully activating motor neurons enough, I surmise that muscle and bone strength need not be diminished by castration.

When I was well past 65, a severely disabled person (cannot walk without assistive devices) asked me to help get personal property located in storage near the gulf coast, and, in the heat of the midday summer sun, I loaded the property into a 20 foot cargo trailer and the bed of a pickup truck (both of which my wife and I own), working about 10 hours each day, the whole load weighing around 10,000 pounds, without becoming uncomfortable, tired, or in any way nearing exhaustion. The person I was helping was, to put it mildly, quite astonished my my stamina and endurance.

Perhaps muscles need to be adequately informed that they are needed. There is a name for that way of being adequately informed. "Exercise."

My, oh my! It works for me!

Alas, the person I helped cannot exercise as I do; the physical disability of the person would make what I do severely life-threatening for that person.

That takes me to the "Archive Mantra." Your mileage may vary.

Nonetheless, my hunch is, if it is safe for you to exercise to maintain muscle and bone strength, then it is unsafe for you to not do so.

newdayle (imported) wrote: Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:37 am I was on a small dose of Lupron, but quit due to the risks that go with Lupron. Next I tried Spiro with great results, except I was tired,,, actually exhausted. Now I am using using estrogen (injections and topical) to override the testosterone, with good results. I like what is happening; it is great, and I want to go the the next level. I have been approved for castration and plan to follow through by the end of the year, but the question remains; will I be tired/exhausted?? I have a high stress and somewhat physical job, and an active life otherwise. The testosterone has to go! I need advice. Newdayle

I've noticed a slight decrease in strength, but if you keep active there should not be any major changes. If you are not active you will notice the change.

_g