Testosterone gel.... how much is a dose, and how do you apply it?

[Dorje]

Hi all, so my GP recommended I try out some testosterone gel from a sachet.
The gel is prescribed off license to me, as it's formulated for men.
It comes in a sachet, which amounts to 5g, a single daily dose for a man. There used to be a testosterone for women but they don't make it anymore.
I'm on a bioidentical hrt and don't want to take triblone, as I'm happy with the regime I'm on.

My GP recommends a small amount every day. But how small is a small amount? It sort of melts to a liquid when I squeeze it out on my finger, and it's difficult to see how much is there. She recommends I rub it onto my lower abs, but it's all drippy by then...

So, my questions are:

If you use it, how do you do it?

How much do I use.... should this sachet last me a week or 10 days? Obviously I won't need a sachet a day, but how do you measure your amount? Have you a handy spoon, or measure?

Where do you put yours!?

What are the time scales when I could see a difference in energy levels?

Has anyone had any side effects?
Beards, acne, bulging muscles, speeding tickets, toyboys, an appreciation for sports cars
You know, am I going to be able to join a barbershop quartet with my new basso profundo voice, or will I still be able to hit the high notes of Celine Dion not that I want to sing her stuff but you get the picture

Is there a long term higher risk of cancer.... if so what kind, and does anyone know any stats?

TIA fellow vipers ladies

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If you've found this page in your search of orgasm gels and orgasm lubes that have been recommended by fellow Mumsnet users, you might find our guide to the best orgasm gels useful. Hope this helps! MNHQ

I can reply to you on that score! I have found my arousal is quicker and more intense. Believe me after years of ZERO I am not complaining!!! I even went and bought one of those little bullet vibrators from Ann Summers which are just fab ( OK, too much information!) Also my bits are more 'plumped' instead of thin and scraggly (I'm so sorry but we are girls together right?) Yes, I did have a bit more in the way of body hair but nothing yettie-ish, no deep voice or balding tho.

Seeing Gp this afternoon.

After reading this thread, can I ask some questions to those that use testogel

I’m 61, periods stopped at 55.
Never been on hrt

I suffer from bad anxiety/ depression which got really bad around 7 years ago at age 54. On/off since then never free from it .
Libido is zero, really no desire.

Is it ok to just start it post menopause (not without symptoms) at 61
Any ladies this age on it, last time I ask Gp for bloods for hormones she said no because I don’t have periods so why bother.

Hi Granadagirl,
I would think you could have HRT at any time post menopause. However you can't take just testogel, it has to be balanced with oestrogen and, if you still have a uterus, progesterone. I would say to be cautious and ask lots of questions re progesterone if you have anxiety/depression as in my experience progesterone made mine worse. When I saw q consultant he told me i was intolerant to it. I take the minimum I can get away with and not every day like the combi pills but for first 10 days of calendar month.
Your GP doesn't sound too supportive, may be find a menopause clinic?

As janibabes said. You should not have T without adequate oestrogen levels. The best time to start HRT is either under 60 or within 10 years of menopause. If you are over 60 transdermal (patches or gel) are preferred and associated with least risk (notably cardiovascular) and in fact as I have probably said up thread for libido it is best to take T with transdermal oestrogen anyway as oral oestrogen reduces available T in the body.

Best to start the HRT and get your oestrogen up, and see how you feel before introducing T ( cautiously). Also many women find taking progesterone every day also dampens libido so I would recommend doing it cyclically as I still do, but you would have to put up with a withdrawal bleed which may not appeal at your age.

As you asked re women this age - for the record I am mid 60's and still taking HRT ( after 11 + years) and started the T about 3 years ago ( was over 60 then).

How did you get on at the doc?

Thank you both for enlightening me more😊

Mentioned to Gp, she wasn’t for it,. Said I could try hrt if I really wanted to, but would off thought I’d off tried it few years back and not now at 61.

So in a dilemma now.

Granadagirl,
Honestly? I would ditch the GP. Why should you suffer just because she has fixed ideas about who can and can't have HRT.
Find a menopause clinic near you. They will be much better informed and more supportive I'm sure.

I started on the Tostran pump about 5 months ago for non existent libido.. 1 pump per day. It worked after about 3/4 weeks.. Wow my libido came back like a raging bull! My poor husband was shattered lol I had never felt like this before and I loved it! I don’t know why but suddenly it started to wain. I am doing nothing different, and feel a bit let down. I can still climax. Anybody else experienced this?

Haven't experienced either extreme - just a welcome improvement in a hitehrto (since menopause) almost non-existent response - but that is a high amount of Tostran to be taking if it's absorbed. Have you had your levels checked and are you also taking oestrogen as part of your HRT?

I must admit when I was on tostran it didn't do much for me and I was on a quite high amount inadvertently. Testogel on the other hand is great in that I'm not desperate for sex all the time or anything like that but I have a normal response to stimuli. It feels more natural

Yes Iv had my levels checked. I’m being looked after by a menopause clinic. My levels were really low. And after 3 months they had rose to an acceptable level... I loved the feeling I had at 1st bit it’s disappeared... 😩

I’ve been on Testogel for two weeks and immediately felt all the positive results that people have spoken about. I am delighted. However after not having had a period for four years, I have started bleeding quite heavily. I haven’t been able to find anything about this side effect anywhere. I’d be so grateful for any advice before I visit my GP again.

Just wanted to share my story. I’m 62 and have been on testosterone since I was 54. Initially I had implants but after 1 year they became unavailable, so I was put on testogel as a temporary measure and I’ve been on it ever since. The reason being that when I hit the menopause at 53 my libido vanished. I use a pea sized amount morning and night. I’ve had slightly increased body and facial hair but nothing scary or unmanageable. My only obvious side effect has been an enlarged clitoris, which I like! Testogel made me feel young, vibrant and feminine again. When I have attempted to reduce the amount my libido has diminished again. I intend using it for the rest of my life. My GP and menopause clinic consultant wanted me to stop due to my age. They suggested that perhaps I should gracefully accept having no libido. What?! That would mean no significant other in my life and no doubt loneliness and depression. Fortunately I managed to talk them round. I’ve been emotionally on an even keel since using it. Not the emotional roller coaster pre menopause. I highly recommend it with supportive medical advice, which granted is hard to find.

Pinkslipper4,
Thank you, that's great to hear. Prof Studd has said there is no reason to come off it so I too intend to stay on it forever!

Iv stopped using my Tostran, for a few days now.. im Hoping that when I start again in a couple of weeks it boosts me again. I loved having that feeling back and I’m disappointed that it wasn’t there for good..

Pinkslipper4, thanks for sharing it, I'm very happy to hear that! It's a shame when doctors suggest to us women "embrace" having zero limit. I bet they woulnd't say this to a man, they would immediately offer to him the blue pills, or testosterone.
I ordered my testogel from Spain and I'm using 2 pea size daily. My libido is great again and can climax so much more easily! I definitely don't want to stop it. But my doc doesn't know about it and he woudl highly disagree, it's my own personal decision. And my partner is also happy ;-)

I meant libido, not limit, LOL

Diana65,
Bloody brilliant! Why should we accept all this crap from the GP. You're so right, they wouldn't say it to a man!
I adjust my dose to between 1 and 2 pea size depending how I feel. (Sometimes feel a tad aggressive) I checked with prof Studd and that's fine.
Hope you continue to feel fabulous x

Thank you! I envy you english ladies for having such specialist like Prof. Studd on your side, who really knows about hormones and menopause. I hope some day I could afford a short trip to London to visit him and to show him my blood tests. Janibabes, and other ladies too- do you know your testosterone levels? Would like to compare to my levels..

Diana65, I don't know my current levels but last time I was tested they were slightly high due to the fact I was on tostran. Now that I'm on testogel again I expect they're lower but it was 2.2 nmol/L and it should be between 0 and 1.8

Hi everyone, I' am very glad I found this tread. I hope you've had a merry Christmas. Like you, Diana65, I also want to try testosterone but I live in the Netherlands and no GP or physician will prescribe it to me. I've been on BCP's from the age of 14 for severe menstrual cramps. I'm 52 now and I still on them because if I stop I will get cluster headache. A few years ago my gyno prescribe bioidentical estrogen and Urtrogestan and it put me straight into menopause with, I suspect, all the symptoms known to mankind Including incontinence and pelvis prolapse. Which is bizar as I've never given birth and I am struggling to gain weight. And CH came back with a vengeance.Started BCP again and thankfully CH stopped but most of the menopause symptoms remained. I have tried every BCP available but besides minor changes it just won't help. So I want to take matters in my own hand now ( hope that's the right expression?). I had a blood test done for testosterone and these values came back:

Total testosterone. 0.8 nmol/l. 0.10 - 1.42 normal range
Free testosterone. not calculable. 0.02 - 0.08 normal range
SHBG. > 200 nmol/l. 27.1 - 128. normal range ( I've read somewhere that values of 60-80 are desired for women)

So I guess I'm on the right track. I'm a bit afraid about starting testosterone because I'm on BCP and I suppose my estrogen is down the drain to.
But if I understand correctly testosterone can be converted to estrogen. So fingers crossed.

I hope this information ( values) will give you some inside and Diana65, I would really appreciate it if you could give me the name of the pharmacy where
you purchase your Testogel? It's so hard to find..

For now I wish you all a very happy and youthful new year!

Forgot to mention:

Testogel ( Androgel) pump: 4 pumps contains 40,50 mg testosterone
Testogel (Androgel) sachet: 50 mg also contains 40,50 mg testosterone
So a sachet does not contain 50 mg

I've read this on a website for Klinefelter patients. It has to do with enhancers. Testogel pump is more concentrated.

Hi! I think that testo is not licensed for meno at Europe but I d like to give to it a try. How can I get it without a prescription?
I guess that it is very difficult! My gyn doesn’t agree and he is adamant that I don’t need it. It is used more at hysterectomies ladies and for libido.
My libido is ok but I want testo for my muscle tone and strength.

Hi Emerald13, I'm in the same situation as you, my gyn is refusing to prescribe testosterone for women with ovaries, so I'm ordering it online. Last time it was pharmaonline dot tv.

Hi Noess,
thank you, I'm wishing you also a happy new year! I thought in Netherlands the docs are more progressive then here in Germany.. Good luck with testosterone and let es know how are you doing! I will try to get my blood tests done in January to see how high are my testosterone levels. I'm using little bit more then a pea size of Testogel sachet. Libido is good again, but I'm gaining weight, on my belly and I don't know if this is testosterone or just menopause..

Diana65, I also gained weight, only on my belly but my testosterone is non-existend. And I'm not taking any testosterone just yet. Maybe your progesterone is to high.
Progesterone increases SHBG which binds testosterone (and to a lesser extend estrogen) so it's no longer available for your body to use. Did you also test your blood for SHBG? And Free testosterone or only Total testosterone?
Progesterone can also downregulate estrogen receptors so your estrogen will start to get to low.
Or maybe your testosterone is being converted to estrogen. Testosterone is the precursor to estrogen and is converted into estrogen by a proteïne or enzym called aromatase. Lots of men on testosterone therapy have this problem and they take pills like Arimidex to inhibit aromatase.
Complicated, isn't it!
It's all about balance. I'm not sure how long it has been since you started testosterone but from my one experience with hormones; it takes time. Especially
if you're also on HRT.