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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Could Stimulate Androgens In A Fetus?

What could stimulate androgens in a fetus? my Mother has had Rheumatoid Arthritis for over thirty years, and before she was pregnant with me she was convinced to go to Mexico to see doctors there that put her on a number of drugs. One of which was cortisone. It wasn’t until she got back and had me, she saw an internal medicines specialist then found out she was on 60 – 100 mg of cortisone a day. She was on this high level of cortisone throughout her entire pregnancy with me. Cortisone is a corticosteroid and is closely related to Cortisol and other steroids such as Aldosterone. So my question is; what can a high dose of Cortisone do to a Fetus? Could It take a genetically (XX) Female, that without any interference would develop fully as a girl, and cause it to develop as a fully functioning male? Could it cause androgens to develop the wolffian ducts to be stimulated into growth rather than the Development of müllerian ducts? Then the fetus develops into a male baby. I am just trying to figure out why I feel the way I do. Please, any information or help you can give would be appreciated
Tue, 25 Aug 2015
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OBGYN 's  Response
Hello, and I hope I can answer your question today.

Cortisone is widely used in pregnancy for a variety of inflammatory and allergic conditions. It is COMPLETELY SAFE and has no cross-reactivity with any of the steroids you mention that can have androgen like activity. If your mother had androgen effects frontbencher isomer she herself would have grown facial hair, deepens her voice and have physical signs of male development.

There is a disorder where a genetically XY male may completely develop as female because their is a congenital absence of testosterone receptors. But this is not caused by drug exposure.

How you may feel inside about your gender identity and assignment is a complicated issue but is not related to congenital drug exposure. GID, or gender identity disorder, is when a person has a different sexual identity than the body or gender they are born with. In the U.S. patients have the option of gender reassignment surgery, like the now famous Caitlin Jenner.

If you are a genetic female (chromosomes tested) but totally phenotypically male, there are other diseases of the adrenal glands, called Congenital Adrenal hyperplasia, that can produce androgens and cause a male appearance, including growth of the clitoris.

If any of these conditions sound familiar to your situation I suggest you Google these terms I mentioned and consider seeing an endocrinologist who can test your hormone levels and hopefully help you make a diagnosis.

I hope my advice was helpful and best of luck with your situation.

Take care, Dr. Brown

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What Could Stimulate Androgens In A Fetus?

Hello, and I hope I can answer your question today. Cortisone is widely used in pregnancy for a variety of inflammatory and allergic conditions. It is COMPLETELY SAFE and has no cross-reactivity with any of the steroids you mention that can have androgen like activity. If your mother had androgen effects frontbencher isomer she herself would have grown facial hair, deepens her voice and have physical signs of male development. There is a disorder where a genetically XY male may completely develop as female because their is a congenital absence of testosterone receptors. But this is not caused by drug exposure. How you may feel inside about your gender identity and assignment is a complicated issue but is not related to congenital drug exposure. GID, or gender identity disorder, is when a person has a different sexual identity than the body or gender they are born with. In the U.S. patients have the option of gender reassignment surgery, like the now famous Caitlin Jenner. If you are a genetic female (chromosomes tested) but totally phenotypically male, there are other diseases of the adrenal glands, called Congenital Adrenal hyperplasia, that can produce androgens and cause a male appearance, including growth of the clitoris. If any of these conditions sound familiar to your situation I suggest you Google these terms I mentioned and consider seeing an endocrinologist who can test your hormone levels and hopefully help you make a diagnosis. I hope my advice was helpful and best of luck with your situation. Take care, Dr. Brown