Testosterone gives transmen incontinence, bladder & bowel problems

So, we have this. We have some research that indicated that children on puberty blockers score lower on IQ tests and don't regain the lost cognitive capacity later on. We have the damage done to physically healthy female bodies by binding, including putting young girls off taking exercise and keeping fit, because it's so difficult to breathe. We have the risks of general anaesthetic if they have surgery. We have the possible loss of sensation and nerve damage from a medically unnecessary double mastectomy, plus of course the permanent loss of the ability to breastfeed a baby. We have male pattern baldness, facial hair and deepened voice, which I think are permanent even in a female patient who stops taking testosterone. And we have all the co-morbid mental health conditions and neurodivergence going untreated and unsupported because taking T is supposed to be a miracle cure. I could weep over this.

This part of the article is really shocking:

“Wetting yourself is something that just is not socially acceptable, and it stops people from exercising, it stops them from having intimate relationships, it stops them from travelling, it has work impacts,” she said.
“The impact a bit of leaking has on these young people’s lives is huge. It really needs to be properly discussed within gender clinics because I would expect that almost 100 per cent of female people that take cross-sex hormones will end up with these problems.”

And then if these young women do happen to become pregnant at any stage, who knows how the baby will be affected. Sharron Davies has talked very movingly about the terrible things that happened to the Eastern European athletes who were unwittingly given testosterone. Tragically, it didn't just ruin their lives. Many of their children were still born or had disabilities or chronic illnesses. And this is when the women were only on T for relatively short periods.

It's heart breaking that the NHS is devoting so many hours of time in policing language to make transmen who want to have kids feel more 'included', while doing absolutely nothing to help these women understand the huge risks that they might face.

Here is the citation of the research article cited in the Times article in case anyone wants to look it up:

da Silva, L.M.B., Freire, S.N.D., Moretti, E. et al. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Transgender Men on Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. Int Urogynecol J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-024-05779-3

It's experimentation isn't it.

It strikes me from the evidence so far, that transmen are fairing much worse in the experiment. Whether that will change only time will tell.

Archive link for the article in the OP

https://archive.ph/2bdC3 it'll see you over the paywall

I think it's the same article. Quotes Elaine Miller and the LGB Alliance.

Do these young women really anticipate that their authentic self will be doubly incontinent?

Twenty years ago, in a northern city, transitioning was being sold as the "cure", to young women who had substantial psychiatric history. They were, at least, told that testosterone was likely irreversible, but the dangers were not expressed. The woman I spoke to declined "treatment " about a month prior to beginning testosterone injections.

And it’s not even “an increased risk”.
At 95% it’s almost guaranteed.

“Experts analysed 68 transgender men who were taking the cross sex hormone to change their identity from female to male and found that 95 per cent had developed pelvic floor dysfunction.

The participants, who were as young as 18 and had an average age of 28, had bladder and bowel symptoms that medics would expect to see in a woman after the menopause.”

Cross posted Signalbox. Absolutely.

I remember Keira Bell talking about vaginal atrophy and how her doctors just sort of shrugged and said they didn't know what to do about it.

This is why long term follow-up studies are so vital in this area. Both for the effects on physical and mental health, both positive and negative.

As you can't suddenly magic up a study with 10-year follow-up - especially in an area as politicised as this - it's absolutely vital that researchers are able to obtain and analyse the existing long-term data on people who have transitioned. The data that adult clinics refused to give to Cass.

Having said all that, the fact that blocking all your female hormones causes post-menopausal issues at a younger age is a bit of a "no shit Sherlock" finding that really should have been expected and checked for. Not "here's your life changing hormone treatment, off you go".

Of course they are getting post menopausal symptoms. How is this news. We’ve known for years that a reduction of oestrogen during menopause causes bladder and bowel issues and vaginal atrophy. Why is nobody telling them?

#BeKind.

Living Your True Self.
Being As You Really Are.

This is so sad to read. Particularly because it seems that these female people are largely not told of the high risk of this.

I also wonder if a study is being done on the other significant side effects of testosterone on this generation.

'Experts said the impact of the sex-changing drugs on bodily functions are under-researched and under-reported, with people “not being informed of the risks at gender clinics”.'

That's how. Bastards. Bastards.

Jesus fucking christ. How has this happened?