Hormone blockers: Osteopenia and Osteoperosis.

[RainWithSunnySpells]

I had a scary thought in the night.

When I was a child, I would sometimes see old ladies (and less often old men) 'bent double' due to their crumbling spine. This then became less and less over the years and now it is a very rare thing to see.

Do you think that this will rise again due to people who were unable to lay down bone mass during puberty due to being on puberty blockers?

Yes. Though hopefully not by much at least in the UK, because not many young people have been given puberty blockers here and with any luck more and more people will become aware of the dangers so that the legality, acceptability and even popularity of puberty blockers will plummet.

Do you think that this will rise again due to people who were unable to lay down bone mass during puberty due to being on puberty blockers?

It will. In fact, a lot of older people, women in particular, do still get osteoporosis. There are about 12,000 deaths a year, I think - typically they fall, they fracture their hip, that leads to complications, and then they die. That's why women past the menopause should take preventive action such as taking HRT and engaging in weight training to build muscle mass.

But generally you get osteoporosis in your 60s and 70s, not in your 20s and 30s, which is what we are now seeing with young women who have been on puberty blockers.

Yes, that's exactly what worried me. I remembered that documentary with the 15 year old female (identified as a boy, possibly used the name Leo) who had osteopenia as a result of hormone blockers.

15 years old!

Yes, there's a trans- identified woman called Finn the Invincible who is a social media influencer and an evangelist for blockers, hormones and surgery. She has done the full set of treatments herself. Her physical health has been collapsing slowly since the hormone treatments and she now needs a mobility scooter to get around. She's in her 30s, I think, with no pre-existing mobility-linked conditions before going down the trans medicalisation route.

That's really heartbreaking.

The cost of this 'life saving' treatement is so high. You can start with a healthy body and end up in a mobility scooter, and you still haven't actually changed sex because that is impossible.

Certainly a possibility. I have developed osteoporosis as a result of oestrogen blockers for breast cancer. Diagnosed with cancer at 46 had ten years of hormone therapy, now on treatment for osteoporosis. Why anyone would want to do that to themselves unnecessarily is beyond me!

I'm so sorry to read that Missy. 💐

Weird isn't it. I'm 60-odd, female and I don't have a problem being female. But I'd be quite pleased to wake up in a body like that of a much younger man - from a health and fitness point of view I'd be more than happy to switch. I'd not have osteoporosis any more either!

But here are all these young healthy people so desperate to be a different sex they'll age themselves prematurely in the attempt. I suppose they don't really understand what they're letting themselves in for. More worrying, neither do the adults who should be looking out for them. So many people flying blind into the mountain.

If you look at footage of TRAs at protests there are often some in their 20s/30s with walkers or mobility aids and the like and it’s assumed they have osteoporosis

or similar puberty blocker/cross-sex hormone induced issues.

Yes, osteoporosis is horrible when you are in your 40s or 50s, let alone your 20s.

Another part of the story they haven't bothered to explain in their drive towards 'gender affirming care'.

I had early menopause due to hysterectomy and ovaries being removed and now have osteoporosis although I am 70 so not that rare at my age. I don't have any symptoms though and doctor is just monitoring with recommended Vitamin D and calcium.

Just to add I've lost 1/4 of an inch in height which is apparently not bad at 70.

I'm also horrified at the bone density loss in such young people. It's one thing dealing with it in later life, but so young! Dreadful.

There was one of the case studies in Hannah Barnes's book where this 20 or so year old said they wouldn't need 'super strong bones' because they weren't going mountaineering or anything, just planned on playing computer games (for life, possibly). They didn't seem to realise it's about their every day life, not mountaineering! It's about walking reasonable distances, not breaking bones if you stumble, just getting on and doing normal stuff.

It makes me weep sometimes.

I written about this before. I have a friend who had cancer in her twenties and, as a result, has osteoporosis in her forties. As well as having to take medication for the rest of her life, she has already broken bones, is in almost constant pain and has had to curtail her activities. Just being a bit crushed at a concert or falling over on a hike could give her life-changing injuries. Going up ladders or lifting anything is a risk. She basically has to act as if she is a frail, elderly person. The person who claimed they wouldn't need 'super strong bones' is obviously so ill-informed about their choices that they don't realise having weakened bones means you can end up in a wheelchair from just slipping on frosty pavements or falling over on the bus. Unfortunately, I think there is a strong crossover between young people who identify as trans and those with eating disorders, self-harm issues and the tendency romanticise illness and death.

It's horrible isn't it. I had breast cancer at 36, and now have osteopenia at 46. I'm terrified of slipping on icy days in case I break something.
And these poor deluded children will be the same, even younger than me.