IamA 20 year old male with a hormone disorder who hasn't gone through puberty. AMA

Hey justin im not a big fan of your music but i respect what you do. Its cool that you have so many fans.

2edgy4dis

Hey dude! Just wanted to say that things can and will improve, I had similar issues at 14/15. The doctors noticed I wasn't developing normally and it was because I wasn't naturally producing the testosterone needed. I went through 6 months of testosterone injections (which are fun, they totally freeze up your leg muscles for about half an hour!) and it really helped kickstart everything. I'm 23 now and still look super young, but everything's good now. Definitely get the treatment if you can! Feeling outcast because of your body isn't nice. You'll probably still not look quite like other guys (I'm still pretty skinny and I'm only 5'7 and still can't grow a beard!) but you'll feel better. Just thought I'd throw my story out to show you're not alone and that the treatment works. Best of luck with everything dude!

Thanks man. That actually means a lot to me. I'm a bit nervous.

I was diagnosed with the same thing at 19. Started treatment at 20 (am now 24) and my confidence has since sky rocketed. I used to be extremely self-conscious. The worst was answering phone calls. The 'hello ma'am' would bum me out for the rest of the day. Anyway, that's all in the past for me now and, if you go ahead with your treatment, it'll be your past too. If you have any questions about the treatment (I'm using the gel) feel free to AMA.

fuck yes, thank you.

Im 24, no hormone troubles still small, can grow no beard! Also a bit on the fatty side. I think in the end I am jealous at you and not the other way around :).
Apparently being the 3rd son in a row has lowered my testosterone a bit. But w/e.

Edit: 3th => 3rd

I'm the third boy in our family. I went through puberty at a normal age but I'm not nearly as hairy or masculine as my brothers. It is normal or the later sons to have less testosterone?

Also more likely to be gay.

You got to do roids legally. I bet the ensuing rush of manliness felt great

lol well considering that they will only give him enough to get to "normal" levels, I think it is safe to say he shouldn't feel anymore manly than anyone else. Although he will feel much more mainly compared to his former state.

I wants to feels the manness.

I'll ask what we're all thinking:

How's the sex life?

Still a virgin. It's a bit more complicated than just the hormone thing. I've had a few opportunities to lose it but I figure I got to get comfortable with myself before getting laid.

1. There are many people just as skinny at your age
2. Are you flexing in that photo?

I weighed 49kg before I started going to the gym at the beginning of the year so I was pretty skinny and underweight then. Now I'm 54kg.

I'm also totally flexing.

Im also really skinny, atleast in my opinion, I have quite wide shoulders but what im self concious about is how skinny my body is. Legs, hips, wrists and waist in particular. I used to swim constantly as a kid up to like 13 years of age. Now I havent been to a beach/indoor swimming pool in over 5 years.

I weigh 65kg and Im 177 tall

I would love to be 65kg but I guess we all got our insecurities. I would just keep gymming and eating man.

What about the sex drive?

I don't think I've ever been 'horny'. The way guys described it I always thought they were crazy. I can get turned on and of course I get urges but the way some guys talk about it it's like an itch that won't go away.

I believe testosterone is to blame for that.

This will be funny.

After they give you drugs to boost your testosterone, you'll be like ... 'now I get it'.

;)

You're a smart man. Cherish that while it last. I fear that when your body does climax into puberty, those brains may fade away for a few years while you let the compose between your legs point you from one mistake to another.

I like to think I'll be ready but It's probably going to be a bit crazy for the next few years.

How has this affected your secondary sexual characteristics? Do you have regular facial hair? Has your voice broken properly?

I can't grow any facial hair except a seedy stache. My voice hasn't really broken properly. Over the phone I get mistaken for a girl or a teenage boy. It's pretty disheartening. I'm hoping testosterone therapy will help fix that.

You could use it as an advantage and train as a countertenor. They are in high demand and very well paid.

I'd rather have a deep voice with shitty pay personally.

I'm 19 and developed a whole lot slower than most people my age. I went through testosterone injections for about 6 months. I still remember being on the phone with xbox live support for an hour finishing the call with "thank you for calling mayum". Pissed me off more than anything. The injections undoubtably helped give me a jump start, my voice has 'broken' and I'm feeling a lot more confident. It will work out.

That's awesome. I want to feel that feel one day.

As a 22 year old male who cant grow a decent beard, does the fact you can't hurt you as much as it hurts me?

deep voice > beard.

As a 22 year old male who can't grow a decent beard but has a deep voice... Thank you. I hope the replacement therapy works for you! I don't know much about it but from what I gather stuff like this is pretty effective.

thanks man :)

How tall are you? Are testosterone and growth hormone correlated?

I'm 182cm. I actually have no idea if they're correlated.

Can you build muscle? Does the lack of testosterone afects the growth of your muscles?

I can't build any muscle. I'm incredibly skinny and my muscles are soft and weak.

What do you mean 'soft'?

Like the actual muscle still feels squishy when it's flexed?

Yeah, it's kinda like a hard sponge even when flexed. My muscle is small and not dense at all.

Do you get muscle fatigue when you work out/exercise? I understand that when your muscles begin to "mature", you need to stretch more, get more muscle and joint aches, etc. Have you noticed any changes along those lines?

Takes forever for my muscles to repair. Injuries also take forever.

Did you have a rough time at school or did no one really notice?

I was tall for my age in high school so most people didn't notice. It was only after I graduated that it got a bit rough

25 male here. I hope this does not get buried. I am secondarily hypogonadic myself. PLEASE go to an endocrinologist, not a urologist, not an internist. Check your LH and FSH levels. PLEASE. If you are suffering from secondary hypogonadism (a pituitary issue, the boys work fine, they just are not getting the stimulation they need) HCG is a much better option than exogenous testosterone!!! Message me if needed.

Yeah, it's idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism which I believe means that my pituitary doesn't release the right hormones? I got an appointment with an endo on wednesday and I'll talk to him about it.

So, as a 21 year old guy, I'm wondering, how often do you masturbate? Is the growth of your sexual organ (& hair around that area) linked to your hormone disorder?

Pretty much every day. And yeah, my penis and testicles are slightly smaller than average. Testosterone therapy should make them bigger.

How is your behavior? Honestly. Do you still behave as an adolescent or child? Throw tantrums? Are you impulsive, easily distracted? Do you still partake in activities or games that would be considered for kids?

I'm a nursing student, and work in child psychiatry, so that why I want to know.

Super interesting question. I would consider myself very impulsive and also easily distracted. I also am pretty quick to crying. I can control it pretty well but my first instinct to confrontation is crying. Like when I get into an argument or when I'm physically hurt I can immediately feel my tear ducts hurting.

Other than I lead a pretty normal student life. I sold all my video games a few months ago and now I just drink, hang out with friends and listen to music.

If I may continue...

How is your relationship with your parents, or whoever raised you? Do you feel they are overly protective of you? Do yall fight often? If so, about what kinds of things?

Also, even though you are 20, I would recommend you don't excessively drink, as most 20 year olds do. I imagine when you get some testosterone therapy and your body goes through puberty your brain will also develop more as with normal children going through puberty, and alcohol use could hinder that process.

It's a pretty normal. My mum worries too much but I reckon that's normal. We do fight often but that's because my mum worries and I don't really care about even important things.

Once I start the therapy I'm staying away from alcohol and drugs for at least 6 months to see how it goes.

Following that...can you make yourself cry? I've always had problems with crying easily in confrontations...but can't get myself to cry for theatre no matter what I do.

I actually can't do it on command. It's weird.

I think I may suffer from the same genetic disorder! I'm 20 as well. 6 foot tall and about 140 pounds. The thing is, whenever someone confronts me I feel like crying. It was a lot worse when I was younger, now I can hold it back better but it still happens. I also, have no mass to me and my dad said he grew the same way. Maybe this is part of the reason I have ADHD? I'm just starting to get a crustache, but no other hair really. Pubes grow like a forest, and my left armpit doesn't have all the hair. People always tell me I look like I'm 15-16. And my voice cracks ALL THE TIME.

Yeah man. I would recommend getting checked just to make sure. That sounds enough reasons to just get a blood test.

He deserves gold just for the one edit about not joining the choir

Someone get on that.

If this is apparently a genetic condition, do your siblings if any have this, or your parents have it?

My mum has it and she didn't tell me until I told her about my low testosterone. She didn't want to embarrass me but I could have used the news sooner.

1) How did you find out you had low testosterone?

2) Did you suspect you had a condition like this before?

EDIT: numbering

1) couldn't gain weight 2) I should have suspected it.

How does this affect you on a daily basis?

Well I look pretty young. I regularly get comments from people about how I look about 14 or 15 years old. I'm also pretty tired a lot of the time and don't have that much energy.

Do you get I.D at a bar or club? Or do you just get denied service straight away because you look so young? Do you find it to cause many problems?

I get I.D'd at every club but it's pretty standard where I live for everyone who looks under 25. I have got some shitty bartenders who've commented on my looks but nothing too bad.

I remember one time I walked into a bottle shop and the guy ran from behind the counter before I even started looking to check my ID.

He's not even 21. You make it sound like he's 30.

He's from Europe, I'm assuming the UK. He's over the legal age there.

Straya.

Though it may sound creepers I enjoy men who are excessively thin, less hairy, and young looking. I think I may be a gay man somewhere inside of this lady body.

Oh I've definitely met a few guys and gals who like the thin ones.

How does this work, like, when will you finish puberty?

What prompted the diagnosis? 20 years old seems pretty late to find something like this out.

I don't know if I'll ever fully develop but testosterone injections will help. I also just thought I was a late bloomer.

T injections should develop everything except height and hands / feet size, since those only grow while you are younger. At your age, even those things still might be able to change.

You serious? I think I'm pretty much done with height and hands/feet. Apparently my hands are disproportionately big for me.

Seconded. 27-year-old trans guy here finally starting the "right" puberty with the aid of weekly subcutaneous testosterone injections. I'm about as skinny as you and also often mistaken for a teenage boy. Assuming you don't have some sort of androgen insensitivity but are simply not producing enough testosterone on your own, you'll be shocked at how much testosterone will shape your body. Voice tends to start changing fairly quickly, typically dropping significantly within the first few months. If you're working out, you'll notice your muscles growing much more quickly, and even without lifting, you'll likely pick up some extra muscle mass. Body hair will crop up slowly but surely. It may still take some time to grow a decent beard, but with enough time...You could check out some FTM timelines to see what kinds of changes occur with testosterone injections and at approximately what rate. Dosages for FTM folks tend to be whatever will get their testosterone levels to normal male levels, and at that level, changes tend to occur more quickly than typical male puberty. I'd guess you might have a similar treatment and experience.

That's awesome. Makes me hopeful for therapy.

At college, a girl in my hall started test therapy. She grows a better beard than I do.

dude.

I get the idea you are handling this quite well , my question is what age of friends or people do you feel most comfortable with?

20 year olds are doing a lot of things due to their high hormone levels, do you feel the need to act more your age ?

I'm handling this pretty well because I finally understand what's going on. For the past few years I would wake up and look in the mirror every day and just get so anxious about myself. I truly hated myself some times and I thought I would feel shit forever. But now that there's a something I can do about it I'm cautiously optimistic.

And for your question, I did used to feel a bit out of place at parties but I would drink and talk and have fun. I personally hate hanging out with teenagers but just because it reminds me that I'm so much older but have the same physical body.

Medical student and have a endocrinology test in about 2 hours. Do you know what your LH/FSH levels are?

My results just say my FSH is 2< and my LH is 1<? My pituitary is fucked.

Right so usually when the testicles aren't producing any androgens they send messages to the hypothalamus/pituitary to stimulate LH/FSH in an attempt to correct the testosterone and sperm levels. In your case since all levels are low, and you never went through puberty, it is called pre-pubertal hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. From what we've learned, hormone replacement therapy can increase libido and secondary sexual characteristics. Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you the best.

Are you serious? I would love to get secondary sexual characteristics. I just want to lower my voice and get a bit bigger.

Again, just a medical student, but I believe giving you testosterone will produce those desired effects. Also, and this is probably beyond the scope of my what I've learned so far, but since the problem is not with your testicles, fertility in the future is possible for you. Ask your endocrinologist about this. Keep me posted?

Fuck yeah. added you as a friend. I'll message you if anything interesting happens/questions?

What are your plans for the future? You must have thought about a partner, maybe having children someday. Does this condition affect your outlook on this?

Stay strong buddy.

Thanks buddy. Testosterone therapy should make me fertile but I wouldn't want to have kids seeing as my hormone disorder is apparently genetic. I don't really see myself wanting kids anytime soon anyway.

Isn't there a school of thought that puberty puts a brake on brain development? Are you particularly bright and/or do you have a good memory? Are you "baby-faced"?

I have pretty average intelligence but a symptom of low testosterone is anxiety and lack of focus which I definitely have. I'm pretty androgynous and baby-faced.

Will you be getting injections of testosterone all your life through?

Yeah.

Ok. Is there a chance of you reaching and maybe surpass normal levels, and therefore maybe get superior muscle growth?

Always wondered...

I'm assuming they'll only give me enough T for a normal 20 year old.

I saw in a lower comment that you mentioned drinking. I'm gonna assume you meant alcohol. that being said, does the alcohol affect you more quickly than it does other people? or is it more or less the same because you seem like you're a pretty tall dude?

I'm a lightweight but it's not too bad. If I eat beforehand, drink water and take vitamins I can keep up with my friends. I have had some pretty embarrassing experiences though when I forget to eat.

Do you have hair under your armpits?

Yeah, got armpit and pubic hair. None of my chest or back though. Legs and arms are fine.

Are you looking forward to testosterone treatment? I'm guessing you've lived your whole life being skinny, mellow and pretty low-key? Are you worried about what kind of person you'll become if you're more stereotypically masculine?

Definitely looking forward. I think I will gain a bit of confidence but hopefully my years trying to avoid attention will keep me level-headed. But then again, testosterone makes guys do weird things.

[deleted]

It'll definitely be interesting.

How fit or in shape would you say you are? You mentioned earlier that you cant grow a muscle and they are soft and weak, but are you otherwise in normal shape? And I'm sorry to hear about your condition man, stay strong and keep your head held high!

I'm pretty much entirely out of shape. Going to the gym was jarring for me. When I started out I couldn't bench press the 20kg bar and I still can't squat with the bar either. It takes about a week for me to fully recover from the gym (especially on legs day). Cardio is daunting but I don't do it anyway because I'm trying to put on weight.

It's embarrassing because a lot of people assume it's my first day in the gym but I keep going because my friends go and it helps with my mental health.

What are your feelings about it since you only just found out?

Does it mean you will never go through puberty or just later on? What were the signs that made you want to check out if there was anything wrong.

Thanks for doing this ama, it's super interesting!

I'm happy that I figured out what's going on and nervous to start therapy.

I can get testosterone injections to help me go through puberty (gain muscle, grow facial hair, enlarge testicles).

I checked because I was at the gym for 6 months and I wasn't gaining any strength.

I hope you strength train when you get your testosterone :)

I will :)

Im 25 years old. I am 6'0 tall and weight 123lbs. I eat 3 meals a day, drink whole milk, and exercise off and on. Not much cardio, just push ups and lifts.

My voice does not get mistaken for a girls/young boys. It used to when I was in my teens, but it is just an ordinary voice now. Not super deep, but just a regular voice. I can't grow a beard/mustache. I still have to shave every few days because I get quite a few random hairs here and there, but is uneven and does not look good.

Other than my weight and my facial hair, I am probably just an ordinary guy. I am curious, is getting myself tested and hormone therapy something I should look into? I have been extremely self conscious about my weight for a few years now. I'm sure if I tried really hard to gain some, I would be able to do it, I just know that it will be tiring and pretty expensive. Gaining weight is so much more costly than losing weight. If anyone in this thread reads this, please give me some input.

Depends. Low testosterone also affects you mentally. If you have lethargy, anxiety, depression or no concentration then I would recommend it.

Also if you're skinny but have a normal amount of strength I wouldn't think you'd have low T. If you can get a test for on the cheap I would do it just to be sure.

I was never diagnosed as hypogonadal but I had my suspicions. I lifted hard and got a lot bigger, did a bunch of steroids too and that's when I finally went to the doctor. They helped me get to where I needed to be and I feel great now.

I still cycle on and off but know what I need to do to get quickly where I need to be again. Having regular hormone levels really helps. They'll probably give you an aromatase inhibitor or a topical steroid that you just rub on your body to bring you to where you need to be. It shouldn't be very tough.

I'm really excited. I can't wait to get into the gym and start lifting with actual results in mind.

How was the testing conducted?

Just a blood test.

Do plastic surgeons hate you?

they wish they were as beautiful as me.

i'm just as skinny as you, is this because of a lack of testosterone?

If you're weak and skinny then maybe. If you're just skinny then lifting weights and eating a lot will help.

I started going thru puberty when I was 7 (I'm a girl). But ended up being a late bloomer later on. Puberty is a weird thing. I'm glad you're handling it well.

Since your face was blurred, I respect if you don't want to answer. But do you have childish features... Or are do you just look like a teenager.

(I'm 26 and I look about 23, 24)

I'm both androgynous and have babyface. I look like 15 on a good day.

I am older than you and was diagnosed 3 years ago .the shots are a bitch but I feel way better

Damn. I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

You probably want to ask your endo doc about possible Klinefelter syndrome. Just a thought.

My mum's got idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism so we're like 99% I have that too.

dude do a cycle bro, get ripped bro, get pumped bro, fuck some bitches bro, beat up little pussies like you used to be bro!

totes bro.

Puberty is bullshit. Having sexual cravings isn't worth it!

I'll disagree with you on that one.