#interquestioning

As an addendum to the the guide to intersex questioning that I assembled, here are some other guides and resources I've found that may also be helpful!

For intersex questioning:

I think I may be intersex by TIGERRS

How do I know if I'm intersex? by Hans Lindahl

ARE YOU INTERSEX? by versegm

Here are some resources for general LGBTQIA+ questioning:

Questions to Ask When You're Questioning Your Gender

The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook

My Gender Journey Workbook

When I was 14, I was told by my gynecologist that I had "more testosterone than a female should." So, this entire time I believed that I had hyperandrogenism, likely PCOS or NCAH because my symptoms matched up. I have thick, dark body hair, and I grow hair on my chest. I also have the other symptoms like irregular periods, acne, oily skin, and unfortunately ovarian cysts... A partial fused labia & well I accidentally tore my hymen.... while engaging in activities I won't detail. 🫠 I also had a very early puberty. I developed body hair before everyone else at around 6-7 years old and started suffering from premenstrual pelvic pain at 9, and had my first official bleeding menstruation at 10.

I was bullied a lot, called the h slur, the t slur and excluded a lot from things with girls because I was seen either as a freak, or a boy pretending to be a girl. I faced a lot of issues through my life for having androgynous features. When I was told that I had "more testosterone than a female should" by my gyno at 14, I was put on estrogen based birth control.

I've been active in intersex spaces and even said I was intersex myself. I was so sure that I was intersex because of my personal experiences and symptoms.

But now I'm confused. Apparently my PCP did a testosterone test on me without my knowledge when I was 18. I was not informed about this test, nor prepared to get any labs done. It was late in the day, and I had not fasted that day... which you're supposed to do before you get labs. I was also on estrogen based birth control. I just recently saw the results from these labs when checking my chart, and did some research. Based on the numbers recorded, I would have hypoandrogenism, not hyperandrogenism... and that doesn't... sound right??? I would not be this hairy if I had low androgens, right??? Right???

I plan on getting this retested because this doesn't sound accurate. Is it possible that my PCP deliberately fucked with my test results by not instructing me to fast and having me on estrogen? Even if I somehow turned out to have hypoandrogenism as a "female" (which I doubt) am I still intersex? Also, side note, is it possible to have normal testosterone levels while having symptoms of hyperandrogenism?

Thank you in advance for your response... <3 /p

Okay, this is long so let's break this down + yeah you're fine to ask for advice I practically solicit it in my FAQpost

So uh. Hey you just happened to ask for advice by someone who had hypoandrogenic total T levels while having symptoms of (mild) hyperandrogenism lol lmao. Get your SHBG (Sex-hormone binding globulin), albumin, free & bioavailable testosterone tested ASAP.

Hypoandrogenism CAN be an intersex trait, but you also have like... hyperandrogenic symptoms still. And faced direct intersexism as a result of that. If you're doubting you can contribute your voice, of course you can??? I'm so sorry your Dr.s seem to be Weird. I don't know much about estrogen messing with T levels much (if anyone can contribute info it'd ve appreciated), but I know a Bit about T converting into estrogens because. Happens to me. Nonbinary estrogen levels moment. Obviously get a proper retest of total T when you can, and yes estrogen Miiight fuck with your hormonal test results but just like. By default if you're on hormonal medications your test results are prone to being altered. Can't rely on my FSH and LH because I have the birth control implant lol

So am under the impression that I have (or at least had) congenital hypogonadism (specifically Secondary Hypoestrogenism) due to the fact that I went through incomplete puberty, am noticeably shorter than my family, and was at one point tested for Turner Syndrome(which I do not have) because of my physical traits. However when my hormone were tested at 18 so I could go on testosterone, all of my sex hormone were within normal range.

Is it possible for congenital hypogonadism to "go away"/ for hormone levels to "catch up"?

And would it be disrespectful for me to consider myself intersex given my situation?

I can't confirm anything for sure, but I think I've HEARD of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (what I believe you're talking about when you say "secondary hypogonadism") suddenly appearing when it previously wasn't there before? Maybe the inverse in turn? Because I was trying to research it for myself lmao. Hypo-hypo seems to have a million more acquired causes than congenital (acquired making it not (inherently) intersex afaik), but you can't always know everything and if your case WAS acquired somehow and then went away for whatever reason, you might be none the wiser. And sometimes hypo-hypo can straight up be idiopathic— meaning "we don't know why it's here" in layman terms. So who knows maybe your hypothalamus/pituitary gland had an inborn issue and then decided to randomly kick up again or something. I don't know, I'm not you and I'm certainly no professional in that field. So input from others who know more than me appreciated, of course.