I have always loved reading the stories in Eunuch Archive, but I never thought I'd nearly end up a eunuch myself.

It started a couple of years ago, when I had a series of rather grave sinus and upper respiratory infections.

The only way the doctor could keep me alive was to prescribe massive doses of Prednisone, a powerful steroid, for several months.

Oh, my balls. My wonderful, large-as-duck-eggs, loved-to-be-played with testicles. They begin to shrink. Quickly.

I was astonished at just how fast they shrank. From large duck-egg to medium duck-egg to ... quail-egg size. What once was over 2" in diameter is now just under 3/4". It took maybe a couple of weeks.

But there was more. The skin on my penis thinned to the point where I couldn't tolerate it being touched. Sex was an impossibility, because my dick always felt raw, like it had just been skinned.

Fortunately, the steroids also decreased my testosterone output, so my erections grew less frequent. I didn't even have "morning wood" when I awakened each day and needed to pee.

After a couple of months, I noticed that my penis had shrunken in length by a good 1/2" ... I presume now it was from atrophy. No erections (including night hardons) = organ atrophy.

Eventually, I was weaned off of the steroids. The skin on my penis thickened slowly, but I never regained the lost length, and my testicles never regained their former size.

A year or so later, I went to the doctor to see about reversing my scalp hair loss. He prescribed Propecia, warning me I needed to try it for at least six to nine months to determine if it was effective.

After a month on Propecia, I noticed my erections were a lot softer.

Within two to three months, my erections were gone. I could take Viagra or Levitra, but even if I was horny, I couldn't get an erection without them.

The blowjobs my lover gave me in the shower every morning turned into emotional torture for me. I was ashamed because I couldn't get hard, no matter how valiantly my partner tried, and I lost track of how many times I reassured him that it wasn't anything he was doing wrong.

At the end of five months ... even Levitra wouldn't get me a firm erection.

I realized then that I hadn't had an unintentional or night erection since just after starting the Propecia. My dick now looked incredibly small and shriveled-up. At this point, I started to imagine it was being reabsorbed into my body, it looked so small.

So I had a choice: hairy head or working dick?

I chose to discontinue the Propecia. After a couple of weeks, I started getting weak night hardons.

A few days ago, I finally managed a full, firm hardon on my own, and immediately grabbed a ruler.

My dick is over an 1.5 inches smaller than it was before all of this started. Where once I had nearly enough shaft space to put both hands ... my dick has been reduced to a puny enough size that the glans barely clears my first. My balls are under 3/4" in diameter. My genitals look like those of an underdeveloped teenager.

I'm not sure if I'm delighted or horrified.