Hey so I'm dealing with a bit of confusion. For ages I thought I had CAH, after hormone tests and other investigations my doctors agreed it was likely and gave me a diagnosis. I had to switch doctors after moving recently and during an emergency and some hospitalisation they discovered I have ovotestes. Was my previous doctor wrong or is it possible to have both? I only went through a short female puberty after medical intervention (which I revoked consent to as soon as I was old enough to make my own medical decisions) and I definitely have non-typical afab genitals and hyperandrogenism. I have no real clue what's going on anymore but I've been told I'm still safe to access HRT as I'm transmasc and that's all that really matters but I still just wish I knew for sure what variation I have. I've openly mentioned my supposed CAH before and now knowing that it mightve been an incorrect diagnosis I feel like I've been lying to people and it's a really terrible feeling. Like. I'm still intersex. But I'm worried people won't believe me now.
Hi anon 💜
I haven't really heard of people being diagnosed with both CAH and ovotestes before, or read about it in literature. Usually what I've seen is doctors taking the previous diagnosis of CAH off the record and replacing it with CAH after the diagnosis of ovotestes is made. But honestly, based on my understanding of how CAH functions in the adrenal glands, it might be theoretically possible to have both at once. That's something I definitely think would require talking to a doctor or geneticist to find out more about.
Also, it's honestly a really common intersex experience to get misdiagnosed with something before getting another diagnosis. I was misdiagnosed with PCOS before I got diagnosed with CAH, and I know someone else who just found out that they don't have CAH, they have another variation. So you're not alone and you definitely aren't lying--you're intersex whether you have CAH or you have ovotestes, and I don't think you did anything wrong when you were talking about your supposed CAH. You belong in intersex community and if people don't believe you, that reflects on them for not being supportive of how intersex diagnosis is really confusing and can be a long process.
Best of luck to you, anon <3
-Mod E
