Cryptorchidism and dressing urges...

[Miss Mandy]

Just a quick question,

I was diagnosed with Cryptorchidism (i.e undecended testes) as a child. They did fall eventually (at eleven years old) but my male equipment is a little on the meager side and I have girl hands. Did this condition lead to my feminine urges to put on makeup, wigs, and thigh-high boots and smoke VS 120s instead of Marlboro Reds? Ha ha...

Seriously, I wonder if there is a connection here???

Miss Jessica

[NathalieX66]

Yeah, me too.
I was born with undescended testicles in 1966.....had them surgically put in their right place in 1975......really made me hate balls, it's too much baggage in one area. I was so much happier before the op, but my folks did what they thought was best, and so it went.
I can't say whether it truly relates to my wanting to be female sometimes......maybe it does/maybe it doesn't , who knows?

In the end game, all I want is good pizza, good sushi, or a good filet mignon on a charcoal grill...and some decent liquor. ....I like good food.

[STACY B]

Dont know about all that ,, Ive got enough for all three of us an I still dress , A grower not a shower ,, Comes in handy no tucking here ,,,lol,,lol,,

[Barbara Ella]

Mine did not fall till later, around 12 or so, also. I suspect DES, being born in 1946. Have most of symptoms except for the finger size, and not sure since records are gone. Who knows, really. I'm just glad to be doing what I am doing, regardless of how i got here.

Babes

[Miss Mandy]

Girl hands- check
Long arms- check
Gynocomastia-check
Womenly hips-check

I think I see a trend here...perhaps I should go for a k-test as well.

P.S. my Aunt always commented on my girlish hips when I was a teenager...

[Persephone]

Hmmmmm, I've always wondered about that. I don't know if I had childhood cryptorchidism or not.

What I do have is an odd memory. I don't know how old I was but I was quite young, say sometime before I was 7 or so, maybe earlier. My brother was a medical student, studying in Europe, and was home on summer break. I believe he conducted a general medical exam on me, but I'm not sure about that part. But I do remember being seated on our kitchen table and, at my mother's request, him examining my scrotum and verifying to her that my testicles had descended.

My suspicion is that since I was always trying to be a girl, and sometimes insisting that I was one, that she felt it might be caused by an absence of testicles and was having him determine if they were there, of the proper size, etc.

Since they have both passed away, there is no one to ask about this, and I can only remember the fragment.

Hugs,
Persephone

P.S. - As an adult, they are there, they seem to work, and they are quite willing to retreat inside me and to allow me to tuck with just a snug panty or light girdle, with no need for duct tape or rivets.

[Contessa]

I'm sorry I don't have any testicles. Starting over, i am sorry I have two testicles only one is small(due to atrophy) no other symptoms. Two children, two boys and two miscarriages and one femmale(me).

Tess

[sarahcsc]

Age 11 is rather old to be diagnosed... but I may be wrong. As far as I know, cryptorchidism is linked with testicular cancer but not feminization. Hmm...

[Paula_56]

DES

http://www.antijen.org/transadvocate/id33.html

[Laura912]

It would be interesting to read Kristi's review of the paper cited. The data are from a self identified group so the problem I have with it is not knowing the bottom of the fraction in order determine true incidences of the findings. For example, The adverse effects initially reported in the daughters of women who took DES, were over reported and some of the earlier studies (after a lot of lawsuits) were proven incorrect. Another example, four of the posters to this thread report some degree of cryptorchidism which "suggest" a high correlation with cross dressing but we don't know the overall incidence of cryptorchidism in the general population. OK, wake up everybody.......

[Sara Jessica]

Diagnosed here when I was in 4th or 5th grade during a Pop Warner physical (yeah, football, go figure). Was present when my parents were told to keep an eye on things and to see a doctor if it didn't drop (only one was undescended), that surgical removal of the hiding one might be required. Of course at that age I was knee-deep in my TG-ism but I'd be darned if I was going to let my parents "keep an eye on things", let alone have part of me cut away. So as time went by, I'd be asked how things were going down south and I'd reply "just fine". Little did I know that it was a golden opportunity to say at present, "one down, one to go".

FWIW, things eventually found their appropriate place but despite the tales of this condition coming out of the woodwork in this thread, I seriously doubt it has anything to do with anything other than the increased risk of T-cancer as has been mentioned already. There would have already been a correlation drawn and I'm sure there are plenty of manly-men out there who went through the exact same thing as children. And from what I recall, the DES myth has pretty much been debunked in studies based on my readings on the subject a number of years ago.

[elizabethamy]

I don't think the DES "myth" as you call it has been debunked. There's a dispute between some scientists and DES advocates as to whether there is causation of feminization, etc, in DES Sons. The big but self-reported sample of DES sons shows one-third having gender identity issues to one degree or another. Studies on mice show strong correlations between DES and similar compounds and various kinds of feminizations and non Marlboro-Mouse behaviors. This is one of those issues it's probably not possible to resolve -- one can't do a controlled study of DES-sons because it's impossible to get a random (not self reported) sample at this late date, and mouse data doesn't always transfer to humans. More studies will help, but I think there's very strong evidence that DES and its related compounds are causing and have caused all kinds of feminization, including cryptorchidism (me too).

For DES daughters, the reason the evidence is so compelling is the appearance of a unique form of cancer that had hardly ever been seen before, and thus the correlation was quickly drawn.

In the end, it doesn't really matter. The DES cause comforted me for a while (as in, I didn't completely "imagine" my gender issues), but whatever made us what we are, well, that's over and done with. Now the challenge is to deal with who we are...

elizabethamy

elizabethamy

[Sara Jessica]

Like you said, in the end it doesn't really matter. I have nothing to back up my DES statement other than the fact I researched it rather deeply several years back. I recalled hearing my mom talking about DES before I even knew of any sort of supposed connection with TG (or anything else for that matter) but that when I asked her as an adult if she took it, she denied it. I have no reason to believe she is telling me anything but the truth but if you count TG as being a potential result of DES, I also had two more of the common side-effects of this exposure. But regardless, when I researched this, I found the evidence against the connection between DES and TG to be as compelling or even more so when compared to the evidence for such a connection. Therefore, being unconvinced of the connection, I came to a personal conclusion that it doesn't matter in the least bit when it comes to trying to explain who or what we are. It does matter when it comes to cancer screening, to be aware of even a potentially higher risk factor. Given the fact I'm a cancer survivor (entirely unrelated to any documented DES risk factor), I take this to heart.

[JessHaust]

I have normal male parts from birth, I have gorilla hands and a very male body, but I still have all the desires to dress.

[Cheryl T]

Nothing unusual here except my birth certificate.
The original had and F written in the box for sex and then that was crossed out and M written in next to it.
Maybe they should have left it alone.

[Michelle55]

I think I was about 8 YO (1963) when I started getting shots for an undescended testicle. I assume they were some kind of hormone. That didn't work, so I had surgery at 9 YO. That testicle is very small and close to the body. I'm pretty sure it has not served much use my entire life. The other seems normal as far as I know.
Overall, I am slightly taller than average (barely under 6 ft), average shoulders, very narrow hips. Chest for suit coat is a 38 regular. I have about 31" waist. My hips at the widest part around my butt are at most 32". If I don't wear a belt tight with jeans, I walk out of them.
My feet are small at womens size 9. My hands are small too.
I've never been heavy at 160 mostly and 170 the heaviest ever. My arms are smaller than most men too, but most men (even much younger) have a hard time keeping up with me on the farm, logging, or running the sawmill.
No kids, but didn't try for any either. Once did a sample on a microscope and could see the guys wiggling around.
My older brother (15 years older) had the same issue with an undescended testicle. I think he had it brought down by surgery too. He was told he would not be able to have kids. He never did, but I don't know if that was the problem or something else.

[SuzanneBender]

1. The presence of feminized features in a current or former cryptorchidism patient may be a signal of some other underlying condition. (In my case, Klinefelters...)


What, if any, connection exists between XXY chromosomes and transgenderism I'm not sure. Maybe future research will shed some light..

Initially undescended until 10 and then a surgical correction. I also have small feet, thin frame, and smallish hands, but on the contrary; no hips and my four kids prove that I am fertile. I have seen research showing a linkage between Klinefelters and cryptorchidism, but as Danielle points out the linkage between Klinefelters and being transgender is anecdotal at best. I have never had the urge to have a kerotype completed because I really don't see the need and I am cheap.

BTW I am a DES son. There are numerous studies that cite a much higher incidence of transgenderism in males that were exposed to DES in the womb, but again most of those studies are based on surveys that loosely define transgender and are typically anecdotal in their approach. In the end it doesn't matter I am who I am regardless of the reason behind it.

[ReineD]

Now this is an interesting article. I know it's Wiki and I don't have time to verify the sources listed at the bottom, but you should all read this and note the Psychological Consequences section:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptorchidism

Also, how many of you were premature? According to the article, 30% of premature boys are born with at least one undescended testicle.

[LeeAnnRose]

Wow, I was completely unaware of DES and all the side-effects until today. Scary stuff!

[drushin703]

Interesting thread Ms Jessica: I too had an undecended testicle and around 17, when it finally dropped, it was clearly the runt of the other.I was
also born with larger breast tissue for my left breast and the formation of a nipple growing under my right breast.Cleary more effiminate that the
other boys my parents, with very limited resourses, looked for very limited answers. I was also uncircumsized until a naval doctor at an overseas
duty station did the procedure and made me aware of my physiology. I have small hands but large feet and as far back as I can remember, a true
love for crossdressing; silks and satins, panties and bras.


Now, fast forard to March of 2012. Good points have been raised here Jessica. Although ime not going to rustle any cattle this afternoon or
put another roof on my house, I think that I am FAIRLY manly (but if you saw me last night you would probably doubt it). Is their any voluble
truth ,( turning boys into girls.), indehiscent like a scrotum, closed at maturity?.

[Richelle423]

Mine didn't drop till i was about 13 or 14 yrs old.I didn't start puberty till my late teens. I was allways skinny and constantly told that my boney hips made me look like a girl.