18 and still Not gone thought puberty? Undecedied testicals?

Alright, basiclly I have looked all over the internet and I cannot really find people that have the same problem as me, so I decided to post her.  I am 18 years old and first off I look like I am 12, I have no facial hair, I bearly have any hair on my legs, It seems like bascily my body decided it was not going to go through puberty, I thought I was just a late bloomer but im 18 how long could I wait.  Now I have NOT seen a doctor lately as this is pretty embarassing topic to begin with, but I now think its time to do something.  Here are my problems, I am pretty sure I have had undecended testicals as long as I can remember, yet I went to a doctor every year til I was 15 so, If there was a problem I am wondering why it was never found? Secound, Like I said I look like a 12 year old boy, I have no facial hair at all, some hair under my arms and little hair on my legs. Third I have not gone through my muscle growth at all, I gotot he gym often, whithout any results and its really fustrating.  I was always pretty short, although as of late it seems im still grown each year so im about 5'7" 145 pounds. I have not had any genital growth at all, so as you can tell thats my number one concern. So basicly the research of have done it pretty much looks like I have no going through puberty at all, now im guessing this has to do witht he lack of hormones I don't have, from what I am reading I shouldve had some kinf od hormone treatment?.  O, and lastely no matter how much I work out it seems I have small man breasts with are not big but they are annoying and they don;t seem to want to go away but I have read that is also some kind of side affect of pre puberty or whatever.  Basicly one question would be what happen what went wrong where?  2. How do I fix it and can I become normal and lead a normal life?. 3. Will I be able to have a normal sex life, will I even be able to have kids, after I seek treatment, and any idea how long it will last?  I have some more questions, I don;t mean to be bitter I am just looking for answers and advice on what to do I just want to know if I could be normal, and in reality my goal is to get this takin care of and joint he Army within the next eyar I was just wondering if that was a reasonable goal?  ANy information you have is greatly appreaciated thanks again.... I will hope to hear from you soon, also is there anyways you can email me so we can talk there at all?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

One possibility that you may want to discuss with your physician would be delayed puberty.  This is normally caused by a variety of hypothalamic, pituitary, and gonadal disorders that results in inadequate steroid seceretion.

Here are some tests that you may want to discuss to further work this up:
1) LH, FSH levels to determine whether there is adequate testosterone secretion.
2) TSH to evaluate for hypothyroidism
3) serum prolactin level - there is a tumor known as prolactinemia that can result in "stalled" puberty
4) Xrays that are suggested would be bone films to evaluate skeletal maturation, a pelvic ultrasound to see if the testes have descended and a head MRI to evaluate a hypothalamic or pituitary disease.

For questions as to treatment and prognosis - that would certainly depend on what is found during workup.

I would suggest a referral to an endocrinologist that can be arranged through your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[nurse12hr]

0

[confused2]

0

[bugsy15]

0

[writing7]

0

[muchai]

0

[writing7]

0

[antler]

0

[writing7]

0

[jsh4real]

0