Man born with an extra chromosome reveals main symptom to look for
One man shares his experience after learning he had an extra chromosome
Klinefelter syndrome, otherwise known as 47, XXY, is the medical condition where males are born with an extra X chromosome, and one man has shared the key symptom that he has that you might want to look out for.
Having an extra X chromosome can lead to developmental delays, learning difficulties, social-emotional issues, and potentially ADHD, and can also come with a number of issues later on in life too.
Primarily it means that your body doesn't produce testosterone, and this can not only lead to an increased risk of erectile dysfunction but also issues surrounding infertility which most don't realise until they are trying to have a baby later on in life.
It's not typically spotted until after boys have gone through the process of puberty, affecting roughly one in every 550 men, yet there's one key symptom that could help you identify whether you too have been born with Klinefelter syndrome.
Advert
As shared by ABC Science on YouTube, Seamus Denison is one of the many people that were born with an extra X chromosome, and he only noticed when he was well past the point of puberty.
"That was a big turning point obviously. I felt at that time like someone had died," he recalls. "It was a really hard tie because it was like, now I can't have children. Maybe I've got osteoperosis.
"When you say syndrome or you were diagnosed, those words are very strong and you feel like, 'what, there's something wrong with me?' That was very hard."
While he was met with that initial shock and fear, he has managed to grapple with his condition as time passed, and genuinely feels as if his life has been changed for the better because of it.
Not only is he taking testosterone injections every 12 weeks, but he's actively working out and it's made an incredibly positive impact on his life now that he's aware of what was causing his issues before.
The one thing that initially alerted him that something might be 'different' about him though was the size of his testicles, which only became apparent once he became sexually active in his early twenties.
"So I knew I had physical differences when I was 23 when I was sexually active and meeting other people, and I knew I looked different," Seamus explained.
"Guys would say something, you know, 'oh why are your testes smaller?', or 'why are you so sensitive there?'."
This is one of the key symptoms among people that have 47, XXY, and he indicates that it translates to testes that are "kind of like a grape size," which is a key reason why it's also typically associated with infertility.
"Guys, get your crown jewels looked at," remarks Seamus as a valuable piece of advice, "because honestly it could change your life. It definitely changed mine."