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HE HIT PUBERTY AT 27
Tuesday,March 20,2001
By CAROLINE PEAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEN Baker hit puberty and his sex drive suddenly went from zero into overdrive - at the ripe age of 27.
The discovery and treatment of a brain tumor that was repressing his sexuality jump-started the writer's libido and provided him with an unusual view of the masculine sex drive.
Baker had lived through his teens and 20s with a hormonal imbalance and a sex life of virtually zero. His torso was soft and flabby and his nipples lactated.
Due to a tumor on his pituitary gland, the San Francisco writer's body was flooded with the female hormone prolactin - at levels almost eight times higher than those of a breastfeeding woman.
But when doctors treated this rare condition, Ken's male instincts kicked in almost overnight.
"It was amazing. It was like I used to have a '72 Buick with 400,000 miles on the clock and now I'd got this Maserati. I wanted to drive it all over the place and go so fast."
"My doctors called it a testosterone storm. I was in the middle of this hurricane, turned completely sideways, just holding on.
"I was literally asking myself, ‘How do people stop themselves from having sex constantly? How do they control themselves?' It was so extreme and pure instinct."
The fascinating and heartbreaking story of Baker's rite of passage is told in his newly published autobiography, "Man Made: A Memoir of My Body."
Born in Buffalo to a domineering father whose own health suffered because he was too macho to visit a doctor, Baker - one of five brothers - was in total denial about his bizarre illness.
Despite his condition, he had normal testosterone levels and "exercised really hard" to try to overcome his body's abnormalities.
He was a champion goalie for the Colgate University hockey team, and found women attractive. They were drawn to his chiseled good looks - and his unusually gentle nature. Actress Drew Barrymore made a play for him when they met at a party in L.A.
"I thought, if I can have sex with Drew Barrymore, then I'm gonna be over this. The fact that it was her and not Jane Doe just made the stakes so much higher. It was a test for me and, as usual, I failed."
Baker's symptoms included constant fatigue and severe headaches, brought on by the chestnut-size, prolactin-secreting brain tumor growing on his pituitary gland.
After the tumor was discovered in October 1997, doctors normalized his condition with drugs. But eight months later, surgery was necessary to remove the growth, and the procedure sparked Baker's sexual awakening.
The impact of his newfound libido destroyed Baker's relationship with Robin, the girlfriend who had encouraged him to seek medical help when his impotence ruined their lovemaking.
"I was like a different person, and I felt confused and guilty, trying to deal with the emotions of suddenly becoming male. I was 27, not 14, after all. It was a struggle between the impulses of maleness versus the higher ideals of manhood."
Another problem was that doctors were unable to tell him how he would be affected over the long term because there weren't many case studies like his. Although as many as 14 in 1,000 people have a pituitary tumor with recognizable symptoms - and prolactinomas, as Baker's type of tumor is known, makes up 30 percent of these cases - the incidences in men are under-reported, often because they are ashamed and embarrassed.
Baker, now a journalist at Us Weekly, says his story carries two special messages. "The first is, be honest. Don't keep secrets. They are so destructive. I've had gay people come up and say they totally relate to my story.
"The second is that we should all realize how powerful our innate biochemical drive is and how it affects our behavior. Hormones really matter, and we should be in touch with that."
Now married to former Time Inc. co-worker Brooke Ricketts, whom he started dating within six months of his surgery, 30-year-old Baker says his libido has calmed down somewhat.
"I think I have a real appreciation for it, more than the average person's. Now, it's not like the first year, or even the second year after the operation. Then, I was more sexually driven."
Baker has gained 20 pounds of muscle, and plans to start a family with Brooke have been put on hold for the next 12 months because he has returned to playing minor-league hockey.
"I got thrown out of a game the other day after I kicked a guy. It was the testosterone. That never would have happened to me before. I used to be so passive. It sort of made me feel like I'm a guy."
Tuesday,March 20,2001
By CAROLINE PEAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEN Baker hit puberty and his sex drive suddenly went from zero into overdrive - at the ripe age of 27.
The discovery and treatment of a brain tumor that was repressing his sexuality jump-started the writer's libido and provided him with an unusual view of the masculine sex drive.
Baker had lived through his teens and 20s with a hormonal imbalance and a sex life of virtually zero. His torso was soft and flabby and his nipples lactated.
Due to a tumor on his pituitary gland, the San Francisco writer's body was flooded with the female hormone prolactin - at levels almost eight times higher than those of a breastfeeding woman.
But when doctors treated this rare condition, Ken's male instincts kicked in almost overnight.
"It was amazing. It was like I used to have a '72 Buick with 400,000 miles on the clock and now I'd got this Maserati. I wanted to drive it all over the place and go so fast."
"My doctors called it a testosterone storm. I was in the middle of this hurricane, turned completely sideways, just holding on.
"I was literally asking myself, ‘How do people stop themselves from having sex constantly? How do they control themselves?' It was so extreme and pure instinct."
The fascinating and heartbreaking story of Baker's rite of passage is told in his newly published autobiography, "Man Made: A Memoir of My Body."
Born in Buffalo to a domineering father whose own health suffered because he was too macho to visit a doctor, Baker - one of five brothers - was in total denial about his bizarre illness.
Despite his condition, he had normal testosterone levels and "exercised really hard" to try to overcome his body's abnormalities.
He was a champion goalie for the Colgate University hockey team, and found women attractive. They were drawn to his chiseled good looks - and his unusually gentle nature. Actress Drew Barrymore made a play for him when they met at a party in L.A.
"I thought, if I can have sex with Drew Barrymore, then I'm gonna be over this. The fact that it was her and not Jane Doe just made the stakes so much higher. It was a test for me and, as usual, I failed."
Baker's symptoms included constant fatigue and severe headaches, brought on by the chestnut-size, prolactin-secreting brain tumor growing on his pituitary gland.
After the tumor was discovered in October 1997, doctors normalized his condition with drugs. But eight months later, surgery was necessary to remove the growth, and the procedure sparked Baker's sexual awakening.
The impact of his newfound libido destroyed Baker's relationship with Robin, the girlfriend who had encouraged him to seek medical help when his impotence ruined their lovemaking.
"I was like a different person, and I felt confused and guilty, trying to deal with the emotions of suddenly becoming male. I was 27, not 14, after all. It was a struggle between the impulses of maleness versus the higher ideals of manhood."
Another problem was that doctors were unable to tell him how he would be affected over the long term because there weren't many case studies like his. Although as many as 14 in 1,000 people have a pituitary tumor with recognizable symptoms - and prolactinomas, as Baker's type of tumor is known, makes up 30 percent of these cases - the incidences in men are under-reported, often because they are ashamed and embarrassed.
Baker, now a journalist at Us Weekly, says his story carries two special messages. "The first is, be honest. Don't keep secrets. They are so destructive. I've had gay people come up and say they totally relate to my story.
"The second is that we should all realize how powerful our innate biochemical drive is and how it affects our behavior. Hormones really matter, and we should be in touch with that."
Now married to former Time Inc. co-worker Brooke Ricketts, whom he started dating within six months of his surgery, 30-year-old Baker says his libido has calmed down somewhat.
"I think I have a real appreciation for it, more than the average person's. Now, it's not like the first year, or even the second year after the operation. Then, I was more sexually driven."
Baker has gained 20 pounds of muscle, and plans to start a family with Brooke have been put on hold for the next 12 months because he has returned to playing minor-league hockey.
"I got thrown out of a game the other day after I kicked a guy. It was the testosterone. That never would have happened to me before. I used to be so passive. It sort of made me feel like I'm a guy."
