Q: What is wrong with me because I have Turners?A: You are a girl who happens to be missing a small piece of genetic material which, because it is lacking, does not give you average height and functioning ovaries. Female hormone pills, containing progesterone and estrogen, taken orally, will replace what your ovaries would have produced. Ovaries cannot be created, however, so you will remain infertile.
Q: What is the life expectancy for a girl with Turner's
A: There is not really enough information to say for certain, but it appears that some girls with Turner's may have a slightly shorter life span than average. This could however, be due to some of the medical problems associated with the disorder, and not a necessarily as a result of the disorder itself. With proper supervision by a doctor, there is no reason that a girl with Turner's can't have a long, full life.
Q: How long will it take for my periods to start and my body to change after I start taking my estrogen medication?
A: Menstrual periods should start anywhere from one to six months after starting estrogen therapy. You should be aware of changes within six months to a year. Each girl develops and changes on her own time schedule.
Q: Will I always need to take Female Hormone Pills?
A: Yes. Taking these pills will become a habit that will become second nature to you. You should take the pills at the same time every day. Your doctor should continue to see you on a regular basis to make sure you are always on the right dosage.
Q: What are the conditions that allow some girls with Turner's to concieve and others not?
A: A very few girls have a mosaic condition with some normal cells, and may have functioning ovaries. This is unusual, however, and should not be counted upon with certainty.
Q: Who makes the decision as to whether or not I should have hormone medication to make me grow?
A: Your doctor, your parents, and you should all discuss and decide if you should take male hormone derivatives, and if so, how long.
Q: What criteria is used for the decision to start and stop taking the growth hormones?
A: If your doctor recommends the male hormone, you will probably start on hormones two or three years before you reach adolescence and before your body stops growing. The criteria for reaching the decision to stop taking them is what will be more important for you - immediate sexual development or the chance for another centimeter of growth. If you start the growth hormones at an early age, you should probably be ready to start estrogen/progesterone therapy when you reach adolescence.
Q: Will I always be short?
A: You will always be shorter that average. However, with successful growth hormone treatment, your height may be slightly increased.
Q: Will I always have a thick neck, or a small jaw, and will these features get worse.
A: They will not go away by themselves, but neither will they get worse. A plastic surgeon and an orthodontist can do a lot to alter these areas if they are of real concern to you.
Q: Will I ever act as grown up as my friends?
A: Yes. By the time you are a young adult, you will feel and appear to be much like them.
Q: Whose fault is it that I was born with only one X?
A: There is no "fault" involved. There is nothing either parent could have done at the time of conception to have prevented the omission. The error could have occurred during the formation of either the sperm or the egg.
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