Castration Effects

The elimination of testosterone causes a variety of physical and emotional effects in each person.  Many of the effects are common, although they do vary from person to person.  The effects can be a blessing to those who wanted castration yet devastating to those who don't really want to become a eunuch.

I went without any hormones for more than two years since my castration and can testify to the effects.  However, each person is unique and your own effects, particularly regarding changes in weight and hot flashes, may turn out to be very different from mine.  I do focus on what I myself have experienced between the time of my castration and the day I started taking estrogen, yet I have included the experiences which I have heard from many others, because not everyone will have the same effects that I had, and some will experience things which I did not.

DECREASED LIBIDO -  One of the first things I noticed in the days following my castration was the drastic decrease in my sex drive.  I was hoping for this to happen, and it happened quickly.

My sex drive did not go away entirely, but it did decrease to a weak level.  I have experienced what most eunuchs have also experienced: my libido is under control. I went from masturbating once daily (sometimes more) pre castration to not at all post castration.

I still have occasional nocturnal erections at night, and less often I even have orgasms in my sleep.  About half of these are dry orgasms while the others are accompanied by only a small amount of clear fluid.  Otherwise I don't feel aroused unless I want to.  Many eunuchs also report being in complete control of their sexuality.  If I did want to get an erection I could, but it would take more effort.  I don't have erections only because I don't want them.

Eunuchs who do remain sexually active usually have sex much less often, but report that when they do it is more special, and some of their spouses feel the same way.  Because the eunuch does not arouse so quickly, he can take more time on the foreplay and afterglow.

INFERTILITY - One thing is certain: castration will make you infertile, and this effect is absolutely irreversible.  It is still possible to orgasm and even ejaculate, but your body will no longer produce any sperm.  Any ejaculation that does occur will be clear and probably in smaller amounts.

The only way to reproduce after castration is to bank some sperm prior to castration.  I opted not to do this, because I do have gender issues to deal with and I am relieved that I don't have to put a wife or any kids through this.  Both of my parents were outcasts in school, and I too suffered from outcastism.  I don't want to bring any children into this cruel world.  Since I can't reproduce the female way, I won't reproduce at all.

FEELING CALM - Four days after my castration I was walking across downtown Philadelphia to meet someone new, and as I walked it seemed that waiting for traffic lights and other little annoyances did not bother me so much.  Was this an effect of castration?  Six days post castration I returned to work.  This workday was unusually hectic becuase it was a Monday and the plant had just installed some new lines but didn't yet know how to run them smoothly.  All of this happened while I still felt some pain where the surgery was done, and yet I still felt so calm when the day was all over.  I was definintely feeling the effects of castration and most certainly felt better all the time without testosterone.  Ten days post castration I felt as a feather floating around everywhere.  I just kept feeling better and better.  For me the serenity was the strongest of the castration effects, followed by the decrease in libido.

POST SURGERY DEPRESSION? - Many eunuchs who do in fact benefit from castration do experience a temporary depression shortly after their surgery.  Many people go through this depression after any surgery.   Interestingly I did not experience this at all.  I did feel depressed on the fifth day after, but that was because I left Philadelphia that day and was leaving behind several newly met friends, and I usually experience that feeling upon returning home from any overnight vacation.  I experienced the same thing five months later when I returned home from a trip to my relatives in Phoenix after meeting some transgendered sisters there, and I also feel this whenever I start driving back home from an electrolysis sessions in Dallas.  These post-vacation depressions do feel stronger since my castration, so I think the lack of testosterone does allow more emotion to surface.  I never suffered any depression directly related to castration.

HOT FLASHES? - This definintely varies from person to person.  Some eunuchs have written about sweat dripping off of their head at random times, while others seem to have no problem with this.  I was one of the lucky ones in spite of not taking any hormones, as I experienced nothing more than feeling a little warm occasionally.  I did lower my thermostat a few degress that first summer.  Later on I did feel cold a little more easily as my metabolism slowed, and became more sensitive to variations in temperature.

LOSS OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH - I was not expecting this at all because I had little upper body strength to begin with, yet I was noticably weaker after a few months.  Even before castration it often amazed me that all of my male peers seemed to have much more strength than I, and I felt as if they could just push me around as they wished.  Now I am definitely weaker then before.

I got into some trouble at work seven months post castration when I was expected to do some heavy lifting and found it to be more difficult than before, though I never should have been put in that position anyway because of my obviously small size.  Eventually I transferred out of that department and I now work where nobody expects me to lift anything.  Any heavy lifting wears me out much more quickly than it used to, and I also have difficulty with opening jars.

The more muscular you were before castration, the more you will lose after castration.  As testosterone levels drop, muscle mass does decrease.

DECREASED ENERGY - In addition to losing physical strength, a eunuch will often experience a decrease in metabolism and energy.  Doing heavy lifting and other efforts do wear me out more quickly than before.  I also feel chilly more easily than before and have become more sensitive to small changes in temperature.

WEIGHT GAIN? - The few sources of informatin about castration that I could find indicated that eunuchs tended to put on some pounds after castration as energy decreased and metabolism slowed.  I did experience the decrease in metabolism and energy, but my appetite seems to have decreased with it.  Consequently I have actually lost a few pounds since castration.  Before castration I used to average around 130, and I weighed 134 at the end of 1998.  But I did lose a few pounds after castration, and now I average around 125.  The amount of weight gain will vary from person to person.

BODY HAIR - Many eunuchs have reported that their body hair became softer and finer after castration.  This is something else that varies from person to person.  I hoped for mine to decrease, but this is one effect that I have not been fortunate with.  I have noticed some decrease in body hair density, though not as much as I had hoped for, and it has been more than two years now.  Still, I am passable as long as I shave the hairs on my hands and wrists, as my body hair is still above the female average, but I have seen women with more arm hair than what I have.  Even those who do experience significant thinning of body hair usually experience little or no change in facial hair densitiy.  My own facial hairs remaied as dense and numerous as before, but they did seem to grow more slowly after castration.  Underarm and pubic hairs did not change with castration either.  I am currently getting electrolysis to lose the facial hairs, and I hope that eventual estrogen replacement will thin out my body hairs some more.

PHYSICAL APPERANCE - As testosterone levels drop, muscle mass either fades away or turns into fat, and some fat redistribuion occurs.  The more muscular you were before castration, the more you will lose.  I didn't have much to lose, and I lost some anyway.  My limbs do appear smoother, and my friends in my PFLAG group tell me that my arms do appear feminine.  My hips appeared more flabby a few months after castration, and I think that was the first purely physical effect that I noticed.  However, the body will not feminize to the same extent as if you were taking estrogen.  Bone size does not shrink, but bone density can decrease.

HEAD HAIR - I started to lose my hair when I was only 19, and this continued unabated until my castration at age 31.  Since my castration I don't see so many hairs on the shower floor anymore, and the elimination of testosterone has prevented further hair loss, but I have had practically no regrowth of all that I lost before castration and will certainly need a hair replacement system for transition.  Hairs not affected by baldness have grown thicker and longer.  If you did not suffer hair loss before castration, it is very unlikely you will ever go bald after castration unless you take testosterone replacements.

Castration is a bad idea for anyone merely seeking to treat or prevent hair loss because it causes so many other effects that the vast majority of men dislike.  Using Finasteride or Minoxidil can arrest most cases of MPD without causing the effects of castration.

VOICE - Contrary to popular belief, the voice does not rise after castration.  Not even female hormones will raise the voice (although male hormones will lower the voice), and even voice surgeries have been mostly unsatisfactory for the male to female transsexual.  Non transgendered men seeking castration don't need to worry about their voice because it will not change, but transsexuals and transgenderists will need to retrain their voice to sound more feminine.

SHRINKING GENITALS? - I personally have not noticed any shrinkage of my own genitals, but many eunuchs have reported that their penis did shrink after castration.  It seems that those who have no erections at all after castration were most likely to notice genital shrinkage.

MENTAL EFFECTS - Toward the end of 1999 I noticed some decline in my memory and concentration, and I also became disoriented more easily.  Many eunuchs and post-menopausal women have also reported similar effects.  Upon starting a low dose of estrogen in November 2001, my memory has improved to what it was before castration.

HEALTH RISKS - Many eunuchs not on hormones experience decalcification or loss of bone density.  Males tend to start out with stronger bones (than females) before castration, but once hypogonadal they can lose bone density as any post menopausal woman.  The younger a person is castrated, the greater the risk.

Some sources cite increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and digestive problems, but I have seen dsiagreement among different sources.  While there may be an increased incidence of such problems in eunuchs and post menopausal women, the only thing I've seen proven without a doubt is the increased risk of osteoporosis.  Eunuchs may wish to study the issues of post-menopausal women as they face many of the same issues.

Anyone considering castration and not planning on taking any hormones afterwards needs to consider the possible risks of hypogonadism and determine if the benefits of castration for them will outweigh the disadvantages.  I was aware of the risks beforehand and I determined that I wanted the impotence, serenity, and other effects of castration badly enough to take these chances.  To date I have not had any bone density scan done because even if I did find a problem I still would not take testosterone replacement since I am too happy without male hormones.

UPDATE: On November 6th, 2001, with the help of a certain therapist, a doctor in my area has now started me on a low dose of Estradiol.  I still retain the benefits of castration such as reduced stress, impotence, and feeling calm.  I felt a lot better after castration, and now I feel even better on estrogen.

My cholesterol levels have remained at healthy levels.  My blood pressure was normal and healthy before castration, averaging 120/80, and this decreased after castration.  Now two years post castration my blood pressure averages around 100/70.  I strongly suspect that castration did reduce my blood pressure, though I am not sure if it was a direct reaction or if because I was emotionally antagonistic to testosterone (please do not get castrated just to reduce high blood pressure, there are less drastic ways to treat that).  I do not smoke or drink, so I feel that I don't need to worry too much about the other possible risks besides bone density loss.

I did start taking 1200mg Caltrate daily starting the week after my castration.  Some eunuchs perform weight bearing (not weightlifting, but walking and running) exercises to help maintain bone density.

If there are health risks, there are also a few trade offs.  Once the testicles are removed, it is impossible to delelop testicular cancer.  Castration also decreases the risk of prostate cancer, and some men have an orchiectomy performed to treat this cancer.  The younger a person is castrated, the lower their risk of prostate cancer.  I had my orchiectomy done at age 31, so my odds of ever getting prostate cancer are now astronomical.  Best of all, my stress levels have been reduced after I eliminated the testosterone from my body and I think that decreases the chances of a variety of ailments.

Curiously I did experience an increase in dental cavities the year after my castration.  I am not sure that castration had anything to do with that, though it's possible.  For now I believe that was a random fluctuation in dental cavities which may have happened to me anyway were I not castrated.

In summary castration causes a variety of effects.  For those who wish castration many of the effects such as impotence and feeling calm can be beneficial.  If you are thinking about castration I would urge you to consider all of the effects and whether or not you really want this for the rest of your life.  Castration is a minor procedure, but it is a permanent one and is something you can never change your mind on.  You need to proceed with caution.


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