Last updated on September 15, 2020
Question:
Hello.
I am an 18-year-old male who has some concerns about how my body is developing. I would like to ask you. Please, bear with me. First, a few years ago I went through an immense emotional trauma, which obviously led to some hormonal excesses. I fear these might have affected my development. Currently, I have some facial hair, and if I don’t shave for some weeks it grows into a somewhat thin mustache and a little hair on my chin — in some ways similar to a very thin and ridiculous goatee. I now have a little acne, just the occasional zit here and there. My chest has only begun to grow some thin hairs earlier this year. Additionally, my pubic hair has started to spread to my navel region, much like a thin rope of hair. I have no hair on my inner thighs, but my pubic hair resembles that of a grown man.
Now the point of this email: I feel my testicles are still not as low as they should be, nor are they as big as they should (+/- 4,1 cm along the long axis). They produce sperm and that natural lubricant (described here as a “clear fluid”). Should I fall into despair and start taking hormones or should I hold on to the thin hope that I’m not an adult biochemically?
Answer:
You describe a man who is in stage 4 of development. A person should not take hormones except at a doctor’s orders. The doctor would do so because he has proven that you are short of some hormone. All you have is guesswork that appears to be unfounded worries. You just are developing later than the average man, but you are still in the range that is considered to be normal.