I am a 22 year old male with a hormone disorder that started puberty nearly 2 years ago. AMA.

How did you manage to stop wanking in order to start this AMA?

I can multitask.

What was most surprising thing about hitting puberty for you?

The most surprising thing about puberty is how my taste buds have changed. It's true that kids prefer sweeter things. I now get a sickly feeling if I eat things with too much sugar. I prefer the taste of beer and coffee. I now enjoy more flavours.

I lol'd at beer and coffee. Welcome to adulthood man!

I already hate everyone.

Are there any side effects or complications that are expected with your condition now or in the future now that you are post-puberty?

I don't know if I have finished 'puberty' yet but according to my endocrinologist I am caught up with other men my age.

The main concern I have now is keeping my testosterone levels steady and high enough to get the most benefits while low enough to avoid the nasty side effects like acne and hair loss.

Also if I want children I would have to change my therapy and start taking something else to become fertile.

24/Male here. Also doing Testosterone replacement therapy. Super happy we don't have to do injections- they don't sound fun at all.

Started the therapy 3 years ago. My testosterone levels were pretty low (4.2). Now they're up, my confidence has increased greatly, I'm able to retain muscle waaaaaaaay better and I've reached my weight target (198lbs/6'5").

Just one thing. No beard :-( If you look suuper close you can see a few tiny mustache hairs, but no beard. Funny thing is, I have so much hair everywhere else (with just a little on arms and legs) What's your experience been with hair growth since starting the replacement therapy (I take the same exact pills BTW)?

Edit: Just read all the way to the bottom and I've seen that you USED TO use capsules. Why did you switch to injections?

Not OP, but I've been on TRT for 2 years now. Injections are by far, the most safe and most effective form of hormone replacement. Pills have to be 17-alpha-alkylated if you want them to survive first-pass in the liver, which causes liver damage when taking for long periods of time or in high doses. What method are you using, androgel? Unless you are deathly afraid of needles, I dont know why you think they dont sound "fun", they are basically painless.

I'd prefer to go back to gels or get more frequent injections to remain more stable.

In all seriousness, what did the therapy do to your sex drive?

in all seriousness, I now have a sex drive.

I have more of a libido since my last ama now that my testosterone injections are taking effect. My boyfriend can't keep up.

The problem is that I get a extremely large testosterone injection every 3 months which isn't the norm according to my research. This means that for a small period every quarter I have too much testosterone for an adult male my age and I get too sweaty, hungry and horny for my liking. I'd like to look at getting smaller injections more frequently to avoid that.

How did your delayed puberty affect your coming out? If you had no sex drive, did it take a while to realize you are gay? Did you only discover you sexual orientation after your therapy began?

I came out before I got diagnosed with my disorder. I don't think it affected my coming out.

I believe I would have realised I was gay sooner if I had a normal puberty earlier. In retrospect, I felt more emotionally attached to men. I wanted to be in a relationship with a man. It took me a long time to realise that though. It was a struggle to come to terms with my sexuality especially since I already felt like such a freak.

How old were you when you eventually came out?

Were you bullied in school for being behind on puberty?

Did you try any sports in high school? How did they go?

I came out when I was 18 to a girl from school who I didn't even really know. I was bullied relentlessly. I played tennis and basketball. I was quite good since they didn't involve much upper body strength compared to other school sports.

Did puberty affect your alcohol tolerance?

Oh, and thanks for answering all of these questions, man.

I can handle way more alcohol than before, the extra body weight works wonders.

Also no worriezzz.

Do you regret your username since you are no longer 20 years young and every year will be moving farther away from that number?

It keeps me up at night.

Hey! Congratulations on your progress. Has the onset of puberty made you question your current sexual orientation at all? Or are you still feeling the same towards your preferred sex as you have since the start of hormonal therapy?

I would say I am even more certain of my homosexuality than before I started therapy.

Did your dick grow?

It grew about 3 inches.

Did it really? Actually curious.

Yes, really.

Have you noticed that your parents have recently gotten a lot dumber and you find yourself rolling your eyes at them a lot now?

Source: Father of 14 year old.

I like humour.

How did other people react? Friends, school mates, strangers?

The first person I told was my mum who said that she has the same disorder. My parents were supportive and helped me find an endocrinologist as fast as possible.

My friends were all supportive as well and curious about the whole thing. Now that I'm on the opposite end of puberty it doesn't come up in conversation as much.

Sometimes I'll mention my disorder to strangers if I'm bored, want to share and I feel like they can handle it which leads to a lot of questions and answers.

I also feel like I should mention how my partner reacted when I told him. It was awkward at first as he was weirded out by dating someone who hadn't completely physically matured. I met him 6 months after starting my therapy, which is still quite long considering just how much an effect testosterone can have on the human body. It only took a few more months for me to look like the fully grown adult version of me. We've been dating well over a year now and I definitely look, sound and smell like a grown man so it's no longer an issue.

Wouldn't he have known by looking at you (and before dating you) that you hadn't gone through puberty completely yet?

How do you think you would be able to tell? There is a range of "manly" to less manly people, so I'm not sure what would be a giveaway.

The obvious puberty characteristics, of course... deep voice, stubble, etc.

After 6 months I had a deep voice and stubble.

Have you ever been denied alcohol at a bar because the bartender doesn't believe you're old enough?

I've gotten some incredulous looks but my I.D. checked out so they served me. The drinking age in Australia is 18 so there's a lot of young looking adults that can drink.

What is the most exciting thing about hitting puberty?

The most exciting thing is about how handsome I look according to my family.

If you are still around and answering, do you think you could re-upload the sound file from one of your earlier AMAs with you pre-treatment voice please? It no longer seems to be working

I'll work on reuploading it when I get to my laptop later today.

As someone that has seen both sides of the testosterone equation, you are unique in your ability to weigh in on certain questions. 1. How has testosterone changed your life? Maybe an example of one big thing, and one smaller thing.
2. How did it change your mood? Your outlook on life?
3. How would you explain to someone that doesn't believe that humans are generally alike (gender differences in society) , that hormones are the operating system of the body.

Thanks

Testosterone has immensely improved my life. It's fixed so many of my problems. I'm stronger, smarter and happier. I used to be a ball of anxiety but now I'm more resilient. I'm still an anxious person but I'm lightyears away from where I was before.

Hormones play a role in how we act. I'm more impulsive, sexual and assertive because of the testosterone.

Did people get weirded out having sex with you, or did you just recently start?

I didn't have sex until well after I started taking testosterone.

What is the thing about puberty that you heard/read that scares you the most?

Nothing scared me about puberty before I went into it but I was probably worried about just not developing properly and ending up babyfaced and tiny.

I just hope you don't end up with the acne I had. Good luck with this new stage of yours.

I did end up with acne, I'm over a month into roaccutane.

What has been the most confusing thing for you, so far?

Nothing is confusing since I've done so much research into sexual development. If I had to pick something it would he why I'm so moody.

I'm a guy about to turn 19 and have a sinking feeling I haven't hit puberty properly yet and have a few questions. Heads up, they are all over the place...

1. Did you look and sound young for your age? Do you still?
2. When did you learn something wasn't right?
3. Could you ejaculate properly?
4. How was your sex drive before and after?
5. Did you get taller?

I looked and sounded 11 years old. I looked up low testosterone/delayed puberty symptons online and a lot of them rang true with me. I didn't ejaculate before I started taking testosterone. I didn't have sex before the testosterone therapy so I don't know. I went from 180cm to 185cm.

What drugs are you on as a hormone replacement? I also have testosterone replacements but they knew about it from when I was born.

Testosterone undecanoate. 1000mg/4l injection every 3 months.

Do you have any before/after pictures of yourself?

I'm not posting them so I can remain anonymous.

What country are you in? Was there any problems in finding an endo?

I am surprised that you only get an injection every 3 months of T. As it seems like it is much more common to get one every 2 weeks (and a lot of people push for every week to smooth out the amount). How big in the dose and which brand?

I live in Australia. Most of the endocrinologists deal with diabetes but I found one who would see me within a week.

It's a 1000mg/4ml injection. I forgot the name of the brand.

What ester of the Test you are getting? If its not undecanoate, you are getting shafted in terms of blood levels.

It's undecanoate.

Do you workout or have you started? I figure with all that extra testosterone you are likely to be able to build muscle very well right now compared to earlier in your life.

This is one thing I wish I had understood when I was young and had all that testosterone. Now, at (1 day from) 39 and looking at a picture quickly fading in the rear-view mirror I can see that I'd have much more muscle on my adult frame had I been serious with exercise as a young man and not waited to my 30s to seriously think about exercise as something besides a way to not be fat.

I used to work out before I started therapy but it was frustrating with no testosterone. I don't work out now.

I work quite hard at my job even though it's only average about 2 shifts a week.

How tall are you?

6'1 or 185cm

Oh wow, I thought you would've been short... Were you short your whole life leading up to this?

I was 6 foot/ 181cm when I started the therapy. You stop growing when you hit puberty, which I didn't.

Just reading through the comments on this thread and your old one, would it be accurate to say that before hormone treatment you were romantically attracted to men and now you're both sexually and romantically attracted?

Yes, I knew I was gay but I didn't have a libido compared to the one I have now. I could still get turned on but I wasn't horny.

How did you know you had low testosterone? Or rather, what made you want to go in and get tested? Is it common for men to have low or below average testosterone? I have this weird feeling that my testosterone isn't where it should be and I don't really know how to go about getting that all figured out.

I had a high pitched voice and no facial hair. I went to the gym for a year and didn't see any muscle growth so I went to my local doctor and got a blood test for my testosterone levels.

Did you think you were gay because you had less masculine qualities than other males or were you aware of this disorder before you came out?

I don't think I'm gay because I had less masculine qualities and I think that's ignorant and homophobic.

I honestly think that's a valid possibility. Don't hide behind the "homophobe" card that everyone likes to play when asked a tough question. I haven't said anything disrespectful

I'm not hiding behind the homophobe card. It's also not a tough question. Sexuality is more complex than wanting what you don't have. I'm in the minority, there's many more homosexuals who had a normal adolescence. I don't know how you came to the conclusion that it's a 'valid possibility'.

You claim it's a lot complex than wanting what you don't have but it may not be. Have you ever taken that into consideration? Do you think they're a a possibility that that is true?

I have taken it into consideration. I thought about it when you asked me the question. I don't believe that being sexually developing later than other men made me gay.