Hello everyone - first post here.
My name is Kyle, I am 26 and I live in Massachusetts.
Let me start off by saying I'm not transgender - I was born male and was raised male. I simply cannot find another community with a focus primarily on AIS. Therefore, I'm sorry if this post is not 100% relevant to you all.
I have mild androgen receptor insensitivity - my body produces testosterone but the receptors are not very sensitive to it. My body tries to self-correct by producing 2-3x the normal amount of Testosterone but this only does so much and a lot gets converted into estrogen. As a result I was born with a small penis with hypospadius (urethra on underside instead of head) had this surgically corrected as a baby. At the onset of puberty I began developing female breast tissue and had it surgically removed (gynecomastia surgery). Both my cousin and uncle have my same condition (small variation in severity).
Ever since I knew about the disorder, I've been obsessed with "fixing" it. Why? Well, simply because I didn't feel confident and I was not happy with myself and the way I felt. Whether its societally driven, hormone driven, or mental, I'm not sure.
Regardless, I began scouring over medical journals and the internet to find a way of improving my situation. I found one study on the drug Tamoxifen (estrogen blocker for breast cancer patients) out of the Netherlands. I pitched my way into Mass General Hospital endocrine unit under one of the top endocrine doctors in the world. He had never really heard of the disorder or the treatment but was kind enough to try it with me.
Very little improvement under tamoxifen unfortunately. I was told testosterone replacement therapy would simply not be worth it since my body already had 3x the normal amount and the receptors were already overloaded. I theorized about using HCG which is known to stimulate Leydig Cell production the testes.
During this time, my wife and I were trying to conceive and ironically both had fertility issues. I had about 1 million sperm total and zero motility she has endometriosis.
HCG did not improve my sperm paramaters however we did IVF with ICSI and conceived!
She is due in February
Most recently I have been taking Arimidex (more common estrogen blocker for breast cancer patients).
Essentially, my low muscle growth, low sex drive, undeveloped male genitalia, low facial hair can mostly be attributed to my exccess estrogen in my body (Estradiol: 90+). Therefore, by blocking the estrogen from being received my body is more likely to receive the testosterone and take the traits from that signal.
As of 6 months in, im trying to nail the dosage but it seems to be doing something positive. I have more facial hair, more muscle definition, etc.
This is exciting news in the sense that Arimidex has the potential to be a game changer for many with my disorder and possibly Transgender people in general - I basically have a less severe form of it and thats why I'm not transgender.
sorry for giant wall of text - look forward to speaking with you all.
