Puberty BLockers

     Puberty blockers buy prepubescent kids some time to figure out who they are before they go on to develop secondary sex characteristics. Some of the puberty blockers are started in children who are intersex .

     Boys with Adrenal Insufficiency Syndrome [AIS] or Klinefelter Syndrome [KS] may develop breast tissue and girls with 5-Alpha-Reductase Deficiency may  experience facial hair growth. In these situations, some are treated with puberty blockers, but not everyone with KS or AIS go on to accept treatment.

     There is a school of thought that is growing in numbers with trans advocates and parents stepping up and discouraging parents from agreeing to puberty blockers.  Why would a trans person who has gone through medical transition or surgical transition discourage parents from agreeing to accepting puberty blocker treatments for their kids?

     Some of these individuals have had lived experience from having been treated with puberty blockers and went on to opt for gender affirming surgery [GAS] to end up with complications. While they may have been treated for complications and received revisions, they came to understand that these complicatons may never have occurred had they developed secondary sex characteristics that limit the risks of undergoing Phalloplasty [construction of a penis] or Vaginoplasty [construction of a vagina].

     Please make sure you meet with an experienced pediatrician who specializes in gender affirming care [GAC] who consults a pediatric endocrinologist specializing in pediatric GAC. A good pediatrician will encourage the child and family meet with a gender affirming therapist. Providers who bridge care make a difference in the child’s life because they communicate with other providers. 

     Gender-affirming therapists can be helpful to parents and families needing direction and support. They often will work with pediatricians and specialists once they receive the parents' approval.

Information about puberty blockers