Testosterone on its own and/or HRT

[Losingthewill8]

I wonder if anyone can advise me.

I have gone a year without a period, had the usual hot flushes, not sleeping great, I probably wake up 2/3 times a night, but my main thing is no libido, and dryness. This is really starting to get me down. I am not on any hrt, have not been on the pill for years, as husband had a vasectomy, and didn't have a great appointment with one dr in the surgery who is their 'expert'.

I had to have a polyp removed from my uterus about a year and a half ago, all fine, but at the time there was talk of doing an ablation, fitting a coil and hrt was mentioned. I went along to said dr with a list of questions and she basically said she wouldn't have time to answer them. She's horrible to everyone anyway so I wasn't surprised, but it put me off going again. In the end I just had polyp removed, no problem.

Having seen my male dr yesterday about a different issue, I explained how I felt, asked him if I could be referred to a menopause clinic. He didn't know if such a thing existed and we chatted about their inhouse 'expert', and that I didn't feel comfortable going back to her.

Can any of you tell me, is testosterone something that a gp would prescribe if I'm not on any HRT? I don't know why I didn't ask him at the time, but the next best place to ask is you guys.

He wrote me a referral letter to see if my private health insurance would cover it, to a gynaecologist, and if not, for me to come back to a new dr that has started with the practice.

And info greatly received.

Can I ask you your age?
I am a bit confused with your post but I think that you definitely have to change your dr and to find a more informed gyn.
According your age and your symptoms maybe you will need hrt.
About testosterone there are a lot of conflicting data, it is not allowed it’s use for meno in my country but first I think that you need to check your FSH, your estrogen and progesterone.

Testosterone is not licensed in the UK for women except at the discretion of the dr. You can get it from a private consultant but rarely from a GP (unless on repeat if they agree to work with the consultant.)

It's also unlikely your insurance will cover menopause. You need to phone them and ask.

The reason they don't is it's not an acute condition. I've been insured for 35 years but they won't pay for ongoing meno consultations. They covered my appts for a while when I first saw my gynae because it wasn't actually menopause I saw him about. Once it became menopause, I had to pay for it myself. To be honest, if you can afford it, £150- £200 or so twice a year is well worth it for expert advice and plenty of time to talk things over with a specialist. In my case I feel it's money very well spent.

Oops- also....you ought not to use testosterone until you have been on 'ordinary HRT' for a while. You may not even need testosterone.

Hi,
I'm 48. Sorry for confusion, it's probably because I'm not sure of things myself. Does HRT bring 'periods' back? Not sure I want that, but I don't know.

I didn't think I needed HRT full on as I haven't had any depression, much brain fog, irritability, and the hot flushes haven't been too bad.

My main issue is lack of sex drive and dryness.

I thought that everything had to be bad before embarking on HRT.

I agree £200 isn't too bad to spend a couple of times a year, but I have no idea where to start finding a good private clinic. I'm not far from London, live in the south east.

Is all HRT made from mares urine?

Of course not! New hrt is body identical and safer from old types.
For your dryness you can try a vaginal product as Vagifem. For libido...well I think that it depends on many factors... :)
I'd not use testosterone for libido, the only reason I'd try it is for increasing my muscle mass but I think that it isn't worth the risk!

Thanks Emerald. I literally just read about natural hrt, maybe it is the route for me after all!
I’m making an appointment next week to speak to a different dr at the surgery and if she can’t really help, I’ll ask to be referred to nhs.

Does anyone have names or experiences of private clinics. I have seen mixed reviews on Gluck clinic and also on a male professor whose name I cannot remember.

Can you see the little purple icon above My Mumsnet? Sent you a pm earlier today!

I didn't, but I have now, I'll just read them. Thank you.

Thank you everyone for your help. It's great to have people that help, rather than a dr., that basically made me feel like I'm wasting their time. I have some reading up to do. Thanks again.

Hi, just thought I'd give you an update. I went to see different doctor this morning at my surgery, before embarking private.

I had read lots and thought I'd ask about Tibolone. See if I could have that as it seemed to tick all the boxes for me.

Basically she said she couldn't give that as a first start and offered a HRT patch. She was trying to encourage the patch, but I said I didn't want a patch, so what about Orstrogel, a gel form of oestrogen, and then a progesterone tablet.

She said she can't give that without consulting a gynaecologist as she's a general practitioner rather than a specialist, and not sure of exactly Of correct dose etc. She's going to emaila gynae, and ask their advise then let me know in the next week or so. If that's not suitable, as in, if they don't think that's suitable for me, then she will prescribe Tibolone.

I'd need to use the gel etc., for a few months, then review. She said there could be spotting, period like cramps etc., but this usually settles within the few months.

She also said the spotting and cramps would happen with Tibolone.

Slightly odd that she is not confident or aware of gel plus progesterone. It's mainstream HRT and many women get it via GP. The dose re. both is on the leaflet, online, and also in Mimms which she can read.

No idea why. I thought it was general guidelines so didn't question it.

My GP has advised me to stay well away from testosterone because she can’t predict whether I will get side effects ( hairy face, deep voice, male pattern balding) and if I do get them these side effects are non reversable. Once she said that it was an easy decision for me.

Really? Never ever heard they are irreversible. If they weren't, men who were castrated would still have deep voices and male body hair.

I’m also surprised. Everything I read never said that. Would you need a ‘man size’ dose for that to happen?

Yeah, testo is an androgen and it isn't without side effects!
Side effects as acne, extra hair growth, weight gain, changes in mood as becoming angry or hostile, developing deeper voice, baldness or even clitoral enlargement are irreversible in some cases.
At my country it is not approved as hrt for menopause and there are not sufficient data for it's safety.
It can not be used for women who don't take estrogen replacement. It considered that after meno ovaries still produce testosterone and maybe is recommended for women with surgical meno at some countries. In Europe testo is not used widely.

I definitely wouldn’t want any of those side effects