Lively Women

Lively Women Q&A: High Testosterone and First Gyno Visit?

by Kristen King on September 17th, 2007

You ask…

I recently got my results back from the doctor after a blood check. He said my testosterone level was high, actually quite high. I am 17 years old will be turning 18 in January and the reason i got this checked in the first place is because i have not gotten my period since last January. I have acne very minorly on my face, more on my chest and a little on my back. However i dont have facial hair, or hair on anywhere else it shouldnt be, and i don’t have a deep voice.I have quite a small frame with size C cup breasts. The doctor doesn’t know the reason for my high testosterone level so he is sending me to a gynocologyst. I am very nervous, so any thoughts as to why my level is high or what i can expect from going to the gyno would be very helpful.

Lively Women answers…

Great questions. I’m so glad you’re going to the doctor and that he referred you to a gynecologist. You’re so smart to take a proactive approach to your health at a young age.

I’m not a doctor, much less an endocrinologist, so I can’t really speculate as to why your testosterone levels may be high. What I can tell you, though, is that it’s very normal for hormone levels to fluctuate, especially in your teens, so this doesn’t make you weird or “a freak.” There are any number of elements that can affect those levels, including your growth and what you eat. I’m sure you and your doctor will get it straightened out. And especially since you’re not having any unusual or adverse effects from the high testosterone levels, it sounds like it could just be nothing at all. Some people’s “normal” is just higher or lower than “average.”

Now, as far as your first gynecologist visit goes, I bet you’re feeling pretty freaked out. I remember my first visit, and I was so nervous that I thought I was going to throw up. And afterward, when it was all over and I relaxed, I felt like kind of a dork for having been so nervous, because it wasn’t bad at all.

Every doctor’s office is a little different, but this is generally how it goes down:

1. When you arrive at the office, you do the same check-in, fill out the same paperwork, and read the same boring waiting room magazines as any other doctor visit while you wait to be called back for your appointment.
2. When they call you back, an assistant or nurse will generally weigh you and take a brief medical history (When was your last period? Do you smoke? Are you sexually active? Have you ever been hospitalized? Etc.). Sometimes they may draw blood and/or get a urine specimen, too. They will probably do both for you since they’re checking out your hormone levels.
3. You’ll be taken to an exam room where you’ll change into one of those fashionable paper gowns for your exam. When it’s your first visit, you’ll often meet the gynecologist before you even change, and he or she will see if you have any questions and tell you what to expect.
4. The actual exam usually begins with a breast exam, for which you’ll lay back on the examination table and the doctor will check your breasts, uncovering them one at a time, for abnormalities. The doctor will gently use his or her fingers to press on your breast tissue (which extends to your armpits) and feel for bumps, lumps, or anything else that shouldn’t be there. It takes about 30 seconds a breast. This is also an opportunity for the doctor to teach you how to do your own breast self-exam.
5. Next, the doctor will probably check your stomach for any tenderness by pressing down in various spots and asking if you feel any pain. You’re probably used to this from your pediatrician.
6. Last is the pelvic exam, the part that most women dread leading up to their first gyno visit. You’ll lie back on the exam table, scoot your butt down to the edge, and put your feet in the stirrups that stick out from the end of the table. This keeps your legs out of the way so the doctor can see what’s what. The exam will generally last less than 5 minutes. First, the doctor will probably insert what’s called a speculum, a metal or plastic instrument that looks like a duckbill. This holds your vagina open so the doctor can see inside and also to allow him or her to take a swab of cervical cells for your Pap smear. Most women report feeling a little pressure when the speculum is in, which makes sense because its job is to press on the vagina walls, but it’s not painful. Then, once the doctor removes the speculum, he or she will probably insert two fingers into your vagina to make sure everything feels right and may also press gently on your stomach at the same time to check for any pain. And then that’s it!

Be sure to let them know when you get there that this is your first appointment. The gynecologist and nurse or assistant will tell you what’s coming every step of the way so you’re not startled by anything.

I know it’s scary, especially since women make kind of a big deal out of not wanting to go and what a hassle it is and everything, but it’s really not that bad, honest. The worst thing that’s ever happened to me in 8 years of annual exams is that the doctor was running late last time I went and it made me late for my next appointment that morning.

So, relax, and give yourself props for taking care of your body.

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POSTED IN: Body, Encouragement, Health, Hormones, Prevention, Real life, Wellness, Women's Issues