Klienfelters Syndrome.

Klienfelters is a genetic condition, caused and characterized by having an extra bit of gene make up. Where most people have either a 36 YY or 26 XY Genetic make up depending if they are male or female, some people have variations of the standard. Klienfelters Syndrome people typically have a 37XXY Gene. Technically this makes them neither male or female. Klienfelters Syndrome people appear and are accepted as male. In many cases, people who have the condition may not realise they have it.

Some symptoms of Klienfelters include:

• Slight outward turning of legs, similar to Downs Syndrome.
• Slight to significant brain retardation and hence slow learning.
• Problems with linguistics; reading and language skills
• Short attention spans.
• Development of breasts at puberty
• Wider hips than normal
• Appear to be overweight from puberty (some Internet sites say the opposite)
• Infertility
• Short life spans.

The best and most definitive way to work out if a person has Klienfelters is to have a test for the 37XXY genetic makeup from a blood sample.

I won't give much more information than that, there are other web sites that give more information elsewhere on the Internet

My experience with Klienfelters.

I grew up in a large family, so I was not diagnosed with Klienfelters till I was in my twenties. This was as part of a study To see why I had developed breasts. The initial blood test that I had done showed no signs of any significant abnormalities. Or so I thought. What I did not realise was that the hospital managed To mix up the blood tests and completely miss diagnose me. Over a year later, I was contacted by the hospital and asked To do a re-test. They did not tell me until after the test that they had mixed up the first test. As a result they confirmed I had a 37XXY Gene. Not that it surprised me, and not that I really had a desire to know.

But it did explain a few things. It explained why I tended To have trouble learning things. And of course it explained why I had Gynecomastia.

To read more about how it affected my life, read about my childhood and teenage life.