I am trying to write a story involving administration of hormones.
There is a lot of easily available information on the effects of various hormones.
What I have not been able to find is information on the effects of the withdrawal of hormones.
Scene: 13/14 year old boy is given estrogen in medically approved dosage for about 12 months. Physical developments proceed as expected. The treatment then stops. What would the physical effects be - psychological effects are part of the story.
Would the physical effects of withdrawal be substantially different for a mature male, say aged 30-35.
It is a given that actual results will vary greatly from person to person. I'm looking for general information.
Thanks for reading.
Comments
Depends on other factors
Is the child being given Testosterone blockers? That is, ones that keep the male hormones produced naturally from doing anything -- it's usually the practice. Questions that have to be asked before yours can be answered as I see it:- Is the kid on Testosterone blockers?
- Are the Testosterone blockers withdrawn with the hormone stoppage?
- Has the administration of female hormones depleted the natural ability to produce Testosterone?
- Is the kid the kind to try to "sneak" them from some source?
- Has the person had the testes removed?
- Is this person on Testosterone blockers?
- Are the blockers being taken away, too?
For the child:
Regarding the adult (30-35)
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? Wait, no, that was God. Sorry, common mistake...
Other Factors
Thanks for your response.
Any author who happens to read this, please don't take it wrong way, but I see the attraction of magic "grin".
Obviously there is much research to be done.
For the child:
blockers would have been used and withdrawn.
Natural Testosterone would have been depleted.
Not sure of the "sneak" factor - my reading at the moment is that he/she wants to revert but then finds she can't always handle the results.
For the adult:
There would have been no surgery of any kind at this time.
Blockers would have been administered and removed.
Well...
The time that they were each on the blockers is significant, too. For the child, you've already decided that the testosterone is gone. This means that while there will be no further changes from the hormones being administered, neither will the changes already present fade. With no hormonal influence either way, the kid will stay as they are.
The adult, the time is important. If chemical castration has occurred, then the same situation. No further feminizing effects, but neither will the ones present "go away" without influence of the testosterone production which is likely to have been destroyed.
Also, keep in mind... hormones can add, they cannot subtract. For the child, this means that s/he will develop breasts, a girl's voice, very little body hair, wider hips, more of a gracile bone structure. For the adult, depending on when the HRT was started, breasts and hips, yes, but there will also still be beard and lower voice, as well as increased body hair.
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? Wait, no, that was God. Sorry, common mistake...
Setting?
Umm. Not at any time up to 2010 in Europe or North America, which is about all I've got information on. That's a never-happen, except for (infamous) cases like Dr. Mengele^WMoney. A medically effective hormonal reassignment for a thirteen to fourteen year old would be regarded as unethical, so the medically approved dosage in such a case (assuming no other physical damage) is zero.
Since sometime in the nineties, what has been regarded as acceptable (racy, verging on unethical at first, but more and more accepted) is administration of blockers, hormones that can prevent the onset of puberty or arrest it at its current stage (fourteen is kinda late to prevent it for most boys in north america). Stop blocking, the delayed puberty is resumed (well, more or less). In either case, the effect of what hormones are there are going to be potentiated and accentuated by growth hormones.
If what you mean is "medically effective dosage" by an unethical doctor, an abusive adult, or a child self-medicating (not "approved," but "effective"), the result is nonetheless somewhat similar. Pause, while the body tries to murder the mind when the hormonal regimen shifts radically, and then settle down as the remaining organs return to the production of hormones. Breasts may shrink in size slightly (prolly not much, though; they're not adipose tissue, so it takes a knife to remove them once you grow 'em yourself). Adipose tissue will redistribute (over time), muscle will change texture and density (over time). Skin returns to masculine norms, as does scent, and hair growth patterns (on the head and on the body). Nobody can tell you *exactly* what would happen if you did this to a thirteen or fourteen year old boy, 'cause doing so is regarded as evil, so if there's somebody out there engaged in it, they aren't likely to admit to it.
Effect on a mature male would be equivalent, accounting for age. Just as the effect of HRT would be less at that age (slow grow), so would the rebound effect be less (slow go). No growth hormones. All this assumes that No Organs Have Been Damaged In the Filming of This Motion Picture; break something and then the post-HRT subject would be on hormones of some sort to supplement what isn't naturally produced.
Amy!
Setting not yet set
I suspect a wrong choice of words - maybe medically appropriate would have been better.
My intent was to debar the use of massive overdoses.
I'm trying to understand what could be construed as "normal" safe regime.
I understand that currently in Germany the minimum age for a medically prescribed regime is 14 years.
For The Record
I believe there was a German boy named Kim(?) who commenced transition at the age of 12 with full medical approval.