I've tried asking a doctor about my gender more than once and I've been ignored. So I need to check with someone who knows more about this.
I also have severe health problems and, for this reason most of all, I need to know if I should push this point with my doctor.
If you are willing to read this and can help out instead of automatically saying I should try again with the doctor I'll be forever grateful. I'll be as brief as possible.
Is it possible I am CAH Intersex? (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.)
I've always felt like a male, but appear female.
About to turn 36 and have some odd symptoms with no real diagnosis.
Father has Addisons Disease - an adrenaline and cortisol illness.
I have necessitated several tests for Addisons Disease due to bizarre symptoms over the years (I don't have it).
I have had only vague, unhelpful diagnoses since my health nosedived at puberty.
I had a two-stage puberty. Not sure if this is normal.
Have a very wide ribcage.
Breasts were full sized, a UK cup size F by age eight.
Approx age 12, periods started. They were abnormal. Would have bled to death unless put on hormonal contraceptive, so was put on The Pill.
My voice broke rather than stretched.
My medical records from age 12 and below are sealed.
Have inverted nipples.
Had abnormally high sex drive at an unusually young age.
Periods became rare, were always irregular.
Can go years without periods and do not take contraceptives anymore.
When periods do come, they are abnormally heavy and cause "PMT" that floors me for up to 3 days and nights (being unconscious and feeling like flu) before bleeding very heavily.
Have a partial moustache. Cheeks a bit fluffy.
Pubic hair appeared very young, to my then distress.
Facial features are androgynous.
Have had topical alopecia three times in life.
Still have full-on acne. Nothing gets rid of it. Face and shoulders.
Get fight-or-flight adrenaline rushes at the slightest worry, and so suffer tremors, shakes, etc.
Have been hospitalised with low potassium and other odd symptoms (such as something that looked like chemical burns) a number of times.
Have low cholesterol.
Urinate abnormally high amounts of protein.
Crave unusual amounts of salt and sugar, especially salt.
Always feel thirsty, more so if I've not had enough salt, and don't have diabetes.
Have a large clitoris. (Haven't seen any others that look like mine so far.)
Clitoris can get erection so looks like very tiny penis. Again, don't know if normal.
Have very large labia. Not seen one like mine yet.
Have some sort of abnormality inside vagina but shocked doctor did not explain what it was. Only know there are thick ridges in there that aren't normal and it's quite tight.
Have a crap immune system.
Have been pregnant once, but pregnancy had to be terminated due to a severe abnormal reaction - it was killing me.
Healing from termination also almost killed me. Hospitalised "an hour away from death".
Lactation should not have happened, but did, and for a year even with medication to stop it.
Have chronic pain, fatigue, no real explanation why.
Hands/fingers swell, cannot figure out a pattern.
Noticeable, but not huge, Adam's Apple.
I've probably missed some important things out but it's hard to list this sort of thing.
It's going to be very, very difficult to get taken seriously if I try, yet again, to bring up this sort of subject with a doctor. I suppose I need to know if there's anything to this before attempting to bring up the subject in any way again.
I don't really know what else to say and I don't know if I'm just being stupid. Don't know who else to ask.
But any replies would be a help.
Thanks if you've read this far.