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I was just reading a story and it seemed to jog something in my memory. Ever wary of false memories, I am fairly certain that this one is the real McCoy.
I was a tiny, effiminate boy, in the 5th percentile on weight and 25th percentile on height at around 12 years old. I know that this was post pubescent because I started at 10, but Mr Wiggly required very infrequent attention.
Along about this time, Mom started bringing home "Vitamins", little gell pills about the size of a pea. By the time I was about 17 I was about 5'6" and around 135lbs, I think.
For almost all my adult life I was 140-145 until a three year stint on psych meds that made me balloon up like dumbo the elephant, and I eventually reached 215. I have been working really hard and am still struggling about 175lbs. Hopefully my summer bike riding and moderate vegetarianisim will get that back down to <150.
I know other authors here who were given testosterone as adolescents, so now I am wondering if that is what was actually in those pills? I already strongly suspect, owing to the word of a genetic researcher that I know, that I am likely XXY.
So, does any of this match up with your experience? I'd be interested in hearing from you.
Much peace
Gwendolyn
Comments
test.
A couple of years ago it was decided I should take testosterone because my hormones were "backwards" I was producing more estrogen than testosterone and the doctor thought that it was contributing to me having difficulty losing weight and keeping it off. I was giving 75mg but it was as a shot, not a pill. It would help to know what effects, side-effects that it had. I know that I was very antsy and also got the shakes in my arm if I was sitting down.
By the way, I would take a word of a genetic researcher who didn't run test to know if you have Klinefelter's syndrome
K.T. Leone
My fiction feels more real than reality
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
Testosterone
Its almost always an injection given IM. It stings quite a bit and I think you'd know as people would be beating themselves with their ripped off arms for saving you from being small.
Sayings like "soon you will be normal" would pepper people's expressions.
Giving you T* isn't something to hide from you... its a celebration for people who don't consider it a metabolic poison (thank you mr spock).
Dayna.
ps. And puberty starts on AVERAGE at 12-14... you could just have been early.
I would guess it to be unlikely
Being hypogonadic, I've been in TRT for a few years. When I started I did a lot of research. The people who started pre-gels and patches all appeared to be via injections. The way the digestive track breaks down foods doesn't lend itself to hormones as well as other methods. From what I've read on Estradiol/Estrogens, most of the problems like blood clots are the result of the liver breaking down the pills as well as synthetics like Premarin. From my readings on T, modern methods are mostly gels and injections. Some still choose patches, and there are even pellets that can be implanted under the skin. Virtually no mention of pills though.
Also, if you were on T for any length of time, it would shut down the testicles and cause atrophy, eventually leading to the possibility of sterility. I've also read in cases where a 'jump start' is needed it was usually done via injection. 12 years of age would be a couple of years too early to try and jump start a child.
{{Hugs}}
Testosterone in the 50s
If it happened, it would have been in the late 50s. Who knows what they used then?
Well... If you really want
Well... If you really want to know, there should be possibilities to find that out. There should be side effects and they might still be provable.
T.
I suspect the "steroids" I was given supposedly for the lung condition I didn't have included T, but I have no way of knowing. What I can tell you is that even though I'm 6'2", I'm the shrimp of the family (my father is 6'6" and my younger brother 6'5"), my rib-cage (apparently a testosterone indicator) is bigger than theirs. However, both of them can eat as much as they want and they never put on any weight, and I was the same until I stopped taking whatever it was, and I've struggled with my weight ever since.
My current doctor keeps having me take blood tests and tells me my liver function is all over the place, horribly inconsistent although I have no risk factors for that sort of variability (I've never drunk alcohol, for instance) other than the after-effects of damage from whatever the steroids were during puberty. She believes my liver issues tied to my weight problems.
Alternatively
Have you considered that you might have been given human growth hormone?
I know in the 'olden days' they used to give this to young persons who hadn't developed enough (in terms of height or body mass, etc, not sexual maturity) and a lot of the early ideas were distinctly hit and miss.
I know the same objection applies to HGH as to T, that it wouldn't survive passage through the gut, but people didn't understand those things then.
T isn't the only crap the so-called experts used to feed people back in the day.
Penny
Human Growth Hormone
I suppose that I will investigate that, but I don't know of a way that I can be absolutely sure. I know that I have no noticeable "Adams Apple", have Hirsuitisim, very heavy facial hair, lots of pelvic pain, and extremely sensitive, soft skin (could be fibromialgia but it was never verified). There are so many symptoms that could be attributable to other causation.
Gwendolyn
children
Do you have children?
K.T. Leone
My fiction feels more real than reality
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
children
Children are proven to give you hair on the palms of your hands. I don't know about anywhere else ^_^
Penny