Jameela Jamil just tweeted this....

I have total sympathy with any family whose child expresses any issues with their gender identity but PB's are so problematic and so much misinformation is being wilfully spread by celebrities and 'official bodies' on Twitter.

This report by the BMJ ought to raise some alarm bells as it shows that puberty blockers DO NOT assist in alleviating harmful thoughts in dysphoric children. That and the known side affects ought to be enough to stop people in their tracks. Where's the safeguarding?

"Women fear drug they used to halt puberty led to health problems...

For years, Sharissa Derricott, 30, had no idea why her body seemed to be failing. At 21, a surgeon replaced her deteriorated jaw joint. She’s been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Her teeth are shedding enamel and cracking.
None of it made sense to her until she discovered a community of women online who describe similar symptoms and have one thing in common: All had taken a drug called Lupron."

www.pbs.org/newshour/health/women-fear-drug-they-used-to-halt-puberty-led-to-health-problems

There was a brilliant article on the Economist a few weeks ago saying that not much research has been done but despite this they give puberty blockers like cookies. And that lots of women who had taken puberty blockers due to early onset of puberty are now suing the drugs companies because they think that the blockers have been responsible for brittle bones and patchy memory in adult life. Puberty also affects overall developement, not just sex related issues!

Can you give evidence of this?

My goodness. That was a bit of an eye opener.

As an aside my wonderful friend had EDS. Horrific disease which can lead to cancer. Most people with EDS die at a fairly young age. She is very much missed.

I had gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues for endometriosis.

I was about 22 at the time, had had a failed surgery and these were a last resort. I was only allowed to use them for 6 months because of the risk of harm

Far from her claim that they are just fine for "cis" people, women with menstrual health issues know that a lot of the treatments being thrown at children these days are ones we begged to have to end our suffering and aren't allowed.

this is a physically reversible treatment if stopped

By analogy - the contraceptive pill is a physically reversible treatment, unlike a hysterectomy.

But if you take the contraceptive pill from age 16-35, then stop taking it to try to conceive, you will not start with your age 16 fertility.

This "reversal" is not you getting a delayed second chance. There's no "undo" function. You're on a different path.

Not ‘all drugs’ have effects such as bone density and ligament issues. And this is when used for precocious puberty. The misinformation you are sharing is dangerous.

Just for info on the Dutch protocol:

• only 30% of children referred to the Dutch doctors get blockers at all. The rest get the watchful waiting approach. Numbers are increasing but nowhere near what other countries show. You can't just get a referral, it takes time.
• the Dutch protocol will not give blockers to children who have shown no sign of gender dypshoria prior to puberty as puberty is too confusing for kids and chances on misdiagnosis is too great
• there is strict follow up. 70-80% desist, the rest go on to cross sex hormones.

It helps if you can read dutch and can read the interviews with Steensma who is appalled at how other countries abuse his research and hand blockers out like candy.

Thanks necessary I do think many people are under the impression that when / if they are stopped, then you do get to re-do what was blocked.

I love Jameela in The Good Place but she has shown herself to get quite muddled about some of the things she tweets.

Just to repeat:

"
Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria.

Although the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) advises this is a physically reversible treatment if stopped, it is not known what the psychological effects may be.

It's also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children's bones. Side effects may also include hot flushes, fatigue and mood alterations."

This is an experimental treatment being given to kids.

there's almost no research evidence on the overall effect if someone stops taking them in an attempt to resume puberty.

Correction - this is quite well studied for use with blocking precocious puberty, so stopping blocking at "normal" puberty onset age. But I seem to recall reading that those studies have shown enough problems that they're actually much less keen on doing that? Any sources?

What's not really been studied is stopping blocking if you've been blocking "normal" puberty as per the "Dutch protocol". What effect does a half-blocked normal puberty have?

Most patients end up fully-blocked and cross-sex hormones, so not a "reversing" case, and there are some studies done there, but there don't seem to be nearly enough.

This is what the NHS has to say about puberty blockers:

"The NHS has quietly changed its trans guidance to reflect reality

... those words I’ve quoted about, the nice ones about ‘fully reversible’ treatment, are not, in fact what the NHS website says. Not any more, anyway.

That’s what the NHS used to sayy about hormone therapy for children. Then, last week the guidance on the site was quietly changedd to something very different.
Here’s what the site now says instead:
“
‘Hormone therapy in children and young people

Some young people with lasting signs of gender dysphoria and who meet strict criteria may be referred to a hormone specialist (consultant endocrinologist) to see if they can take hormone blockers as they reach puberty. This is in addition to psychological support.

These hormone blockers (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues) pause the physical changes of puberty, such as breast development or facial hair.

Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria.

Although the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) advises this is a physically reversible treatment if stopped, it is not known what the psychological effects may be.

It's also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children's bones. Side effects may also include hot flushes, fatigue and mood alterations.

From the age of 16, teenagers who've been on hormone blockers for at least 12 months may be given cross-sex hormones, also known as gender-affirming hormones.

These hormones cause some irreversible changes, such as:

breast development (caused by taking oestrogen)

breaking or deepening of the voice (caused by taking testosterone)

Long-term cross-sex hormone treatment may cause temporary or even permanent infertility.

However, as cross-sex hormones affect people differently, they should not be considered a reliable form of contraception.

There is some uncertainty about the risks of long-term cross-sex hormone treatment.

The NHS in England is currently reviewing the evidence on the use of cross-sex hormones by the Gender Identity Development Service.’

www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-nhs-has-quietly-changed-its-trans-guidance-to-reflect-reality

She’s a compulsive liar. I also think she’s a bit of grifter tbh. She just jumps on whatever social justice bandwagon is trending on Twitter. Also I think we need to acknowledge that liberal feminism isn’t feminism. Shouting that sex work is real work doesn’t empower the women trafficked all over the world.

The reliability of her Internet announcements can be assessed by googling Jameela Jamilbee attack.

The initial medication though is reversible. Yes the side effects make a difference however all medication does that.

Wasn't there a previous discussion around the meaning of the word reversible and the medical and mainstream meanings being slightly but significantly different.

They are "reversible" in the technical sense that the "puberty blocking" effect is not permanent. When you stop taking them, puberty is no longer blocked.

An irreversible puberty blocker would be one that has a permanent blocking effect.

Stopping taking the blockers - "reversing" the block - doesn't mean you will resume whatever path of development you would have been on. You don't get a redo on that blocked development period. As far as I've seen there's almost no research evidence on the overall effect if someone stops taking them in an attempt to resume puberty.

(The consensus seems that such experiments would be unethical, whereas just giving them to children with no evidence and not as an experiment is fine. )

"NHS adviser to review hormone use on young

A warning over the health impacts of giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to young people struggling with gender identity has prompted a call for a review of their use in Scotland.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said that existing studies of the drugs were small and “subject to bias and confounding”.

It follows research published in the British Medical Journal that described how children prescribed puberty blockers experienced reduced growth in height and bone strength by the time they finished their treatment at age 16....

The effects of the drugs have been promoted in Scotland as “fully reversible” but NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde withdrew a pamphlet on gender dysphoria last year and apologised after receiving a complaint that the potential long-term effects were not made clear."

Article

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a79b75dc-94ca-11eb-8d6e-90b9b6b1f793?shareToken=f0d4dedcb5cdfbce4fc3f78579a89a64