Someone e-mailed me asking me questions about my surgery. I'm transgendered and had orchiectomy with Dr. Reed on May 3rd. I'm very happy with my surgery, but had complications with my hormone therapy that required me to temporarily stop taking estrogen. Anyway, this is the response I sent to this person. He has told me he wanted to get a burdizzo or a cutter or something. Though this was meant for one person, I think it applies to everyone thinking about having something like this done. Caution is key.

My Response:

I don't know what my t-levels were pre op, but I was taking estrogen and finasteride to inhibit its production. My surgery was done under sedation. What I remember of it amounts basically to saying "ouch" when he cut into a not-numb area. I had my done solely to stop testosterone production because I am transgendered. There was nothing sexual, fun, enjoyable, etc about it. It was like having a tooth pulled.

DO NOT use a burdizzo or let some cutter "operate" on you. You can bleed to death, suffer massive infection, and the pain would be unbearable. I don't know what your motivations for surgery might be, but I don't think hardly anyone should even think about getting this done. Right now, I'm suffering severe fatigue, headaches, and weakness because I had to stop taking my estrogen (It was giving me migraines.) I'm going on the patch soon, but right now it's hard. If you plan on having surgery and not taking hormones afterwords, horrible things can happen. Your bones become brittle and start to break in only a few years. You'll have hot flashes. You'll have trouble sleeping. I'm going to have to take hormones forever to prevent these symptoms.

Think long and hard, and wait a few years, before you decide to have anything done. If you must have surgery, let a legitimate doctor operate on you. This isn't a game. The consequences can be devastating.