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help with giving advice to other asexuals re: hormone imbalance?


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i run a blog called iamasexual on tumblr, where people can submit their experiences of asexuality. it's not an advice blog per se but naturally i do get some questions from people who are questioning their identities or want help with terminology etc. normally i don't have a problem answering them myself (i am the only mod on the blog) but i got one recently that i'm really struggling to answer. before i try to answer it and make a mess i was wondering if anyone here had some useful input. so here is the question:

I'm asexual, and I know it's a valid orientation, but should I still get my hormones tested? What if there is something medically wrong with me? Are there people in the asexual community that have hormone imbalances?

my instinct is to be like nooo don't do all that stuff but at the same time obviously hormones etc can have an effect on libido and i'm sure there are people out there who are asexual because of it. however i feel like if you discovered it was a hormone imbalance and there was no appropriate hormone replacement therapy that could be very damaging as you might come to see your asexuality as an illness.

essentially i'd love input on how to respond in the most pro-active way possible and also contributions from anyone who may have experienced a link between a medical condition and asexuality. thanks in advance!

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Astrochelonian

I'm asexual and do have a hormone imbalance (abnormal sex hormone binding globulin results). Whether it's related or not, I don't know or care. It is good to have the health information though, as it could become an issue if I were ever to be concerned about pregnancy or athletic competition, and it is sometimes known to be related to thyroid issues.

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Totally abnormal

I am an aro ace female and have a few hormone imbalances. I have heard that estrogen imbalance can cause loss of libido but I am now starting to be happy so it makes no difference to me!

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I think the best answer would be "Do you have any other health problems that may be the result of a hormone imbalance?" Asexuality on its own is not enough to diagnose anything but if there are other problems, then it's worth getting checked out by a health professional.

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Are there people in the asexual community that have hormone imbalances?

Yes, here's one. *waves*

It's worth looking into if you feel like something may be wrong, not even necessarily because of anything sexuality-related. When I got myself tested, it was actually due to more depression-related issues: I was wildly mood-swinging, much more than before, and was grasping at straws toward a possible cause.

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My advice to people who want to get their hormones tested is: If YOU want to do it for your health, then do so. However, do not expect it to change anything about your orientation. Hormones are more likely to impact libido than attraction. There is a chance things may change with treatment, but some have had treatment of imbalances and not even had a change in libido, let alone attraction to others. And plenty of people are asexual with perfectly normal hormone levels.

So: long story short, do it if you want to, but don't do it in the hopes of "fixing" something.

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It's also worth noting, in my case: I was found to have low testosterone, among other sorts of issues, and they put me on testosterone shots for a while. They brought about no change in me that I could tell, sexually or otherwise.

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Hormones can indeed have an effect on libido, but not on orientation. And no one suggests that sexual people have their hormones checked -- so it's just another assumption people make that asexual people have some medical issue that needs treatment.

I remember someone's post on AVEN to the effect that if an asexual has a hormone imbalance which causes low libido and they start hormone treatment, they may end up being an asexual with a high libido. Which isn't exactly a wonderful state.

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Are there people in the asexual community that have hormone imbalances?

Yes, here's one. *waves*

It's worth looking into if you feel like something may be wrong, not even necessarily because of anything sexuality-related. When I got myself tested, it was actually due to more depression-related issues: I was wildly mood-swinging, much more than before, and was grasping at straws toward a possible cause.

i personally relate to that, i was going through blood tests and stuff bc of depression and then sort of ducked out when it came to getting the results because i was worried about finding stuff linked to my libido etc.

thank you so much for all the help everyone, i'm going to respond to the question now and i'll post a link to what i have said when i'm done in case you guys think it could do with further editing!

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