I Hadn't Gone Through Puberty In My 20s: 6 Hellish Realities

The doctor prescribed hormone therapy, but thanks to a mix of shitty insurance, the already intimidating transition to college, and my fear of needles, we put therapy off for about a decade. And without testosterone supplements, your puberty pretty much permanently stays on hold.

Can you imagine dealing with all the downsides of puberty in your mid-20s? Your voice cracking during the big presentation? Your mood swings flying into full rage during the morning commute? Having to hide your constant, unprovoked boner from Gary in accounting?

It affects your social life as well. I remember watching Basic Instinct with some friends in college. They would get all excited over Sharon Stone's legs, and I just didn't get what the big deal was. I was like a 9 year old seeing a mildly sexual situation in a PG-13 movie. Armed with sex-ed training, I could understand why situations were "adult" in nature, but I didn't understand why everyone got all hot and bothered over stuff. When you just don't "get" sex, it alienates you a bit. I was effectively asexual.

After hormone injections, I was the sexual equivalent of a deaf person getting a cochlear implant. Suddenly, my world was alive with the sound of comical, boner-suggesting slide whistles. My friends were pretty weirded out, watching me go through mental puberty as a grown-ass man, but I didn't care. I was like a poor version of Billy Madison. Fortunately, I leveled off before I could hit Grown Ups-era Adam Sandler.

Because I looked like I was 12 for the better part of a decade, my social development could not have gone much worse. My voice didn't drop, I didn't get any taller, and I didn't grow any facial hair. In high school, this was a nightmare. Doogie Howser's awesome, but nobody in his grade thought he was a sex symbol. I was offered the kiddie menu at restaurants until I was about 17.

You remember getting carded back in the good old days before age ravaged your fragile meat-suit. But, that was probably for alcohol or rental cars. Me? I had a criminology class in college, and a professor asked to see my I.D. so that she could verify that I was old enough for the subject matter. I also enjoyed acting in college, but the only parts I could land were of kids in their early teens. However, I did end up with a lead in The Outsiders, because I was the only person who looked the same age as Ponyboy. So ... worth it?

Kallmann Syndrome doesn't just wreck your sex life; it attacks your senses as well. It forced me to deal with hyposmia, which means I couldn't smell a fart even if it was the day after Taco Bell and Pabst night. I can't smell myself, so I have no idea how bad I reek. Unless my clothes have visible stains, I don't know when to wash them. I'm not a caveman; I still do laundry weekly and wear deodorant, but, without any scents to aid me, it all feels a bit pointless.

It's not just smell, either. Kallmann Syndrome can also erase your hearing. It's been a slow process, but now, in my late 20s, I'm losing the ability to pick up on distant sounds. I've got the hearing loss trajectory of a professional death metal guitarist, and it's only going to get worse. Oh, and you can also go colorblind. So, you're a smelly, deaf 12-year-old-looking adult who has trouble recognizing red lights. The world couldn't be any clearer about hating you.

As soon as I got a job and decent health insurance, I decided to go in for hormone treatments. The quickest method of hormone replacement is straight injections of testosterone, but doctors warn that this can shrink your testicles. Mine were already small enough thanks to Kallmann Syndrome, so no worries there.

That first testosterone injection hit me like a freshman year bully. Take every mood swing you had in high school, and cram them into about 24 hours. All at once, I was spouting facial hair and acne like some kind of prepubescent Hulk. In my 20s, I was finally becoming a teenager. This injection-induced puberty is rapid-fire; most cases are finished with it in anywhere from a few months to a year. I'm still a little short, but I have enough weight on me that I at least look like an adult. I have a beard, and I can do a pretty solid Barry White impression (ladies). Some of my friends didn't even recognize me afterward. My own grandmother hung up the phone a couple times, thinking I was a stranger. Or, maybe she was just mad that she no longer had an eternal grandkid ...

Some people with Kallman Syndrome have decided not to seek treatment for those reasons. Jimmy Scott, a jazz musician, never went through with the therapy so he could sing like an angel well into adulthood. So, while my early years were bogged down in social awkwardness, at least I'll age like Keanu Reeves. That's something, anyway.

Evan V. Symon is the interview finder guy at Cracked. Have an awesome experience/job you want to see as a Cracked article? Hit us up at tips@cracked.com, and we can make it hap'n Cap'n!

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