Hi,

I run an animal advocacy forum which has a pro spay-neuter focus, recently a woman posted a flood of maniac material on a spay-neuter forum I subscribe to. Before the lady removed and banned, she was ranting on and on how terrible castration and spaying is and that if people thought it was great why not do it to themselves. Another comment made was that castration etc "destroys the endocrine system"

I have seen on some of the pages associated with this site and have noticed that while sex drive is reduced, the ability is not eliminated, and that some take a small dose of hormone replacement.

I thought of this forum here and have see it and a few web sites put up by those who selected castration for their own reasons and thought I would come and post to see if anyone here would like to help me out?

I am sort of looking for personal comments, stories and information on the benefits as well as health benefits, any bad side effects etc. How about the hormone replacement too?

I would be happy to read whatever anyone has to say, I know this isn't an animal related forum and most here are unlikely to know much about comparing castration of themselves with an animal, but I'm looking for the answers on the hormone loss, any health benefits and so on. I also know various prostate and testicular diseases are treated with castration in some cases just as they are in animals, that includes cancers, prostate enlargement and so on.

My forum is at www.asairs.com/forum I would be happy to accept subscriptions from those wishing to post about the issue, or alternately, people can mail me at asairsinc on aol.com or post here and "specify permission granted to repost" and I would be happy to repost it on my forum either anonymous or with your handle or name as you prefer.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Every Eunuch will have different effects from his castration. Some of this may depend on whether he is an “elective” Eunuch or not. YMWV = Your Mileage Will vary. Some side effects of castration are:

Infertility, in all cases.

Many (but not all) elective eunuchs develop “The Eunuch Calm”, with reduced or eliminated thoughts of sex, aggression, and ambition. In the words of Dr. Spector, “either case of TS or eunuch, a deep, calm serenity develops which, from then on, makes life far more worthwhile.” This has happened to me, but again, YMWV. This is less likely to happen to non-elective eunuchs.

Reduced libido, erections, and nocturnal emissions, sometimes to the point of total asexuality.

Weight gain, including subcutaneous body fat. This thin layer of fat causes the skin to become softer and smoother.

Loss or thinning of body hair, but male pattern baldness slows down or stops. Reduced body odor.

Loss of lean muscle mass (hence muscle weakness, increased fatigue, and loss of stamina). Your shoulders will become narrower and you will lose muscle definition in your upper torso without a VIGOROUS exercise program.

Little to mild breast development (gynecomastia), and mild fat redistribution around the hips and thighs.

The penis may shrink.

Hot flushes and night sweats in some cases, lasting up to 5 years.

POSSIBLE moodiness and tearfulness. Do not be surprised if you start crying far more frequently over what may seem to be trivial matters.

There MIGHT be cognitive losses, mostly in spatial orientation and short term memory

Post-surgical depression is common. Possible chronic depression SHOULD be a major concern, and may require professional therapy. This is far more likely to happen to non-elective eunuchs.

The WORST side effect is osteoporosis. You should take at least 1,500 MG of calcium and 400 IU of Vitamin D daily. Shortly before or after castration, you should have a bone density scan, and after that a scan every two years. A proper diet and exercise program will help in the battle against osteoporosis.

Most Physicians have no experience in caring for a hypogonadal man. Consider finding a Physician who has a thorough working knowledge on the problems and treatments of menopausal and post-menopausal women. Whilst the biology of a Eunuch and a post-menopausal woman are not identical, there is some overlap.

Thank you much Andrew, I am wondering what might be applicable to dogs and what isn't, that's the difficulty in extracting this!

Of course, for dogs the idea IS eliminating infertility, but it also is done for behavior reasons as well as reducing risks of testicular, prostate cancers, cancers that depend on male hormones for growth (such as peri-anal gland tumors) and aggression either towards people or other dogs.

Would you say most all of the side effects you mention are fairly easy to manage? for example, you mention increasing calcium in the diet, that isn't a problem, neither would libido being reduced/eliminated or the like, that is a desired effect.

I think some degree of osteoporosis due to aging is to be expected in any case, I wonder if anyone has studid if there is a measurable difference in men who are and arenot castrated. Probably not

You mention weight gain, curiously some say dogs castrated and spayed gain weight, but this is attributed to a lower metabolism and can be managed with correct diet, I don't see that as a side effect that is difficult to manage.

I have not seen loss of body hair in dogs, so that too may be a human male only related side effect.

I think the post surgical depression would only be applicable to men, dogs don't even seem to miss a thing after surgery.

The only other possible negative side effect I see that might apply to a dog would be loss of muscle mass IF indeed it even occurs in dogs, this may be a human only related side effect. If so, how do you folks deal with that particular side effect? extra excersize?

Another thought occurred to me Andrew, with this elective surgery in men, and this forum, web sites etc., is there a similar one for women or is this pretty much a male only issue?

I am aware women do need surgery in the case of disease, cancers and so on just as some men must undergo the knife for cancers or diseases, so I am questioning about a totally elective form of "castration" for women.

Thanks!

Mike