freshwater pearl
03-19-07, 05:18 PM
I’ve been lurking for a few weeks and I registered recently. I think that I have an intersex condition but I’m not sure – I’m seeing an endocrinologist, but he has a really long waiting list for appointments.
Before I start, I’ll mention that I’m a 20 year old woman who has never been diagnosed with an intersex condition. I feel very uneasy because I had a really bad experience confiding in someone I trust, so I may obscure a few identifying details.
I went to see my doctor for hirsutism, which has really accelerated in the past year, and blood tests indicated that I had abnormally high levels of DHEAS and testosterone. I went to seen an endocrinologist and he tested me for (nonclassical?) CAH and adrenal/ovarian tumors. All of them came up negative.
It’s worth noting that besides the hirsutism I don’t have a very feminine body shape – I have a waist to hip ratio atypical for women (0.82) and I have a hard time finding bras with small enough cups and a wide enough band. I haven’t lost the feminine body contour because of body weight – I’m not extremely thin or overweight. I do have more muscle than most women although I don’t work out.
I was never much of a tomboy – as a kid I liked to play with barbies and dressed up as princesses and fairies for Halloween, as a teen wanted to be a fashion designer, and as a young adult, sold women’s clothes and beauty products for a living. In spite of this, all my life kids have teased or rejected me for being unfeminine; I’ve been disparaged for having a flat butt, small breasts and body hair or exhibiting “masculine” behavior. When I was a toddler and when I was preadolescent, I developed an extreme fear of “turning into a boy”, something I’d forgotten about until now.
Also, for reasons that I still don’t know, I’ve never been able to wear tampons. I sought help for this a few years ago and was told to “stop clenching”; I did and it was still excruciatingly painful (like sticking a tampon in your eye), so I gave up and continued to wear pads. After reading a little bit I think that I have a variation of MRKH syndrome – I have regular periods but maybe my external anatomy might be intersex. I really have no idea what normal external female genitalia looks like, other than a few drawings in physiology and health books. In the meantime, I’m still waiting on that doctor’s appointment!
I’m still pretty confused. Although I have high levels of androgens, a lot of body hair and an unfeminine body shape, I don’t have amenorrhea, male pattern baldness, acne, a deep voice or other symptoms of virilization. I could be wrong but I think that most women with MRKH syndrome have typical hormone levels (unless they have AIS which I do not have), so having androgen excess and MRKH syndrome seems like an odd coincidence. But does anyone else with MRKH syndrome or another intersex condition have a hard or impossible time wearing a tampon?
*Thanks for listening and I hope I haven't stepped on any toes in the process :)
Before I start, I’ll mention that I’m a 20 year old woman who has never been diagnosed with an intersex condition. I feel very uneasy because I had a really bad experience confiding in someone I trust, so I may obscure a few identifying details.
I went to see my doctor for hirsutism, which has really accelerated in the past year, and blood tests indicated that I had abnormally high levels of DHEAS and testosterone. I went to seen an endocrinologist and he tested me for (nonclassical?) CAH and adrenal/ovarian tumors. All of them came up negative.
It’s worth noting that besides the hirsutism I don’t have a very feminine body shape – I have a waist to hip ratio atypical for women (0.82) and I have a hard time finding bras with small enough cups and a wide enough band. I haven’t lost the feminine body contour because of body weight – I’m not extremely thin or overweight. I do have more muscle than most women although I don’t work out.
I was never much of a tomboy – as a kid I liked to play with barbies and dressed up as princesses and fairies for Halloween, as a teen wanted to be a fashion designer, and as a young adult, sold women’s clothes and beauty products for a living. In spite of this, all my life kids have teased or rejected me for being unfeminine; I’ve been disparaged for having a flat butt, small breasts and body hair or exhibiting “masculine” behavior. When I was a toddler and when I was preadolescent, I developed an extreme fear of “turning into a boy”, something I’d forgotten about until now.
Also, for reasons that I still don’t know, I’ve never been able to wear tampons. I sought help for this a few years ago and was told to “stop clenching”; I did and it was still excruciatingly painful (like sticking a tampon in your eye), so I gave up and continued to wear pads. After reading a little bit I think that I have a variation of MRKH syndrome – I have regular periods but maybe my external anatomy might be intersex. I really have no idea what normal external female genitalia looks like, other than a few drawings in physiology and health books. In the meantime, I’m still waiting on that doctor’s appointment!
I’m still pretty confused. Although I have high levels of androgens, a lot of body hair and an unfeminine body shape, I don’t have amenorrhea, male pattern baldness, acne, a deep voice or other symptoms of virilization. I could be wrong but I think that most women with MRKH syndrome have typical hormone levels (unless they have AIS which I do not have), so having androgen excess and MRKH syndrome seems like an odd coincidence. But does anyone else with MRKH syndrome or another intersex condition have a hard or impossible time wearing a tampon?
*Thanks for listening and I hope I haven't stepped on any toes in the process :)