Anyone using testosterone?

[Tightwad2020]

Hello. Menopausal - well, probably post-meno nowadays, but hard to know the difference because of medication. I had a Mirena coil inserted 5 years ago and (I think) it's supposed to last for 10 years. So that takes care of the progesterone part of the equation. I use a 50mg Evoril patch (oestrogen) and have prescription cream to help with vaginal dryness. Hot flushes, sweats, insomnia, joint pain and tendonitis, which were my principal symptoms, all gone. Mentally, in a good place, pretty calm.

The only thing is, my libido is on the floor, and all the stuff that used to work between me and DH just doesn't seem to get me fired up anymore. It's like I've gone numb in the important bits!
I have a telephone appointment with a menopause clinic this month to discuss what to do and I'm going to ask about testosterone.

Bit nervous, in case a) I grow a beard and b) they just dismiss what I think are pretty legit concerns.

Does anyone have any experience of this (testosterone or anything helping with reduced sex drive)?

I asked my GP about it and was told they don’t prescribe it. No menopause clinics where I live.

I can’t afford to pay for it. A poster on this thread

If I add up the consultation fees, blood tests and the potion itself I reckon it works out at something approaching £1200 per year
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/menopause/3991057-Testosterone?msgid=99202499

Well, yes, the reason I've been referred to a menopause clinic is that GPs don't prescribe testosterone for meno symptoms. However, use of T is in the NICE guidelines:

Altered sexual function
1.4.8Consider testosterone supplementation for menopausal women with low sexual desire if HRT alone is not effective.

Given that lots of OP appointments are being done by phone these days anyway, could you ask your GP for a referral to a meno clinic for further info?

Will do some more research - I can't see myself paying £1200 a year for something that the NICE guidelines direct the NHS to at least consider.

That’s about £23 for one bonk a week, per year. Sounds reasonable when you put it that way.

Yes it does! You have to factor in the opportunity cost as well: what am I not going to have as a consequence of paying that money (assuming I have to). Or: how can I earn an extra £23 per week (which is a better problem to solve)?

Anyway, appointment is next week, I will see what they say. But if anyone does have any tried and tested solutions to raising the rev count, would happily hear them!

I was prescribed it by a gynae during a chemical meno. You only use a very small amount, it will cause hair growth on your leg but nothing unmanageable.

I've now found that thread from last year - and a couple of posters had it prescribed via NHS (Tostran and Androfemme). So looks like it is possible. Possibly. Knowledge is power anyway.

No wonder we menopausal women are grumpy: just getting the basic information requires effort. My GP initially kept going on about black cahosh. I looked up the NICE guidelines, went back to her and said, "NICE say that black cahosh is all very well, but oestrogen really works. May I have some please?' Seemed to break the log jam.

I was prescribed it by the menopause clinic. Its so hard to get the dose right as its not made for women and comes ready for mens use. If i use too much i get very aggressive (but increased libido) and not enough makes no difference so im a bit lost. Wish they would regulate it for womens use and sort out dosage!

Presume you have had routine bloods sorted now but if not vit d and b12 deficiency can cause lack of libido

Are you sure your mirena coil is supposed to last 10 years? I've never heard of that. I've just had my most recent one removed after another 5 years and another one inserted, which will be due to come out in 2026.

@Tightwad2020 I am taking testosterone, prescribed privately as my situation was quite complicated, but I do hope eventually to get it on the NHS. Each area is different but mostly it’s a controlled drug which only a menopause specialist can prescribe. So sounds like you’re going to speak to the right place.

I’ve been taking it about two months and the difference is very subtle but there. It needs to build up gradually. I’ve not had any issues with excess hair growth. It is slowly improving my libido. I hope over say a year I see greater benefits including with muscle strength which is one of my biggest issues.

@Tightwad2020 I know (of) women using testosterone who has one private appt and then the consultant wrote to their GP recommending it for long term use. The single appt cost around £250-£300. It's not necessary to have lots of appts always.

Thanks for the responses. I don't know about the coil - I will check that too. It's the kind of thing that might have been picked up by the GP, but not in the current climate.

If only there were a clinic where one could go for contraceptive advice, menopause, cervical smears, mammograms.. you could call it, I dunno, a women's health clinic.

You can keep the mirena in for longer if you are over a certain age and menopausal, the 5 year thing is for contraception purposes in younger women.

The coil I'm sure is 5 years for hrt purposes. I use testogel sachets - issued originally 4 years ago by meno specialist like a pp said above - they wrote to gp and now I get 2 boxes of 30 sachets a year. One lasts approximately a week.

Oh I forgot. It has made a MASSIVE difference to not just my libido but general well-being, muscle tone and energy. The icing on the cake! I have no extra hair growth I put it on the inside of my wrist and smear up towards elbow but don't run it in. Good luck!

My GP told me you can leave the Mirena in for longer if you have it put in after 45, it actually works for at least 7 years but is only officially licensed for 5, so my mistake I was talking about contraception.
I need to get mine taken out, been putting it off, i have to make a decision about HRT and would need a new one. I've been thinking about testosterone too, i can cope with a lot of DH and I are feeling close and sex is the easiest way to achieve that but my libido is shrinking (although it came back on holiday so it may be partly in my mind).

Yes I'm using Testosterone. I asked my gp for it and she referred me to a gynae. He then prescribed me Tostran. Its definitely increased my libido but I haven't really noticed any other benefits. I put it on my tummy and there is a marked increase in hair there!

thought I"d come back and update as I've just got off my call with the consultant at the meno clinic. She's going to be writing to my GP with the following plan:

1. Mirena coil will not be delivering any progesterone at this point, so I need to switch to nightly oral progesterone. I can leave the coil in place for now until I can get an appointment to have it removed. The progesterone at night is often helpful for insomnia (I still get insomnia, not as badly as before, but anything that helps me sleep more securely would be good).
2. Up the oestrogen patch from 50mg to 75mg.
3. 0.5mg of testosterone gel a day. Blood tests after 3 months to check my hormone levels and tweak the dose if needed.
4. Keep on with the Estoril cream, increase the dose to 4/5 times a week .5) Recommendation for a better OTC lube.

She was really, really nice! The letter will probably take a couple of weeks, but with luck I will be on a new regime by mid August, all NHS-funded. I will now be using quite a few prescriptions, so getting one of those multi-prescription passes will probably be more cost-efficient.

For those of you who are struggling to get NHS treatment, I would say, keep on at your GP, wave the NICE guidelines in their face, point out that having no menopause clinic locally is irrelevant in these days of telephone and computer consultations, and basically, don't take no for an answer.

Thanks for responding to my original query. Good luck to all us sweaty, sleep-deprived menopausers!

I’ve not heard of a menopause clinic. Is this something through the NHS?

Yes, menopause clinics are usually part of gynae. An afterthought (the one I was referred to does not even get a mention in the menu of options on the gynae outpatients telephone reception) but they are there in increasing numbers. And even if your most local trust doesn't run one, there will be one somewhere to which your GP can refer you.

Getting someone proper treatment for menopause has got to be cheaper than dealing with the fall-out from osteoporosis, heart disease, arthritis, tendonitis, chronic insomnia and assorted and associated mental health issues, surely?

I live in Buckinghamshire England, i have been on HRT for 5 years -Femoston 2mg- but always felt HRT plan doesn’t just get limited to oestrogen only as testosterone is very important in women. Last year i felt my libido had totally gone, my GP has prescribed me Trostan, i use half a pea size on my inner thigh each morning, it has been enough to regain all my libido and more ! Yes i am totally rampant now, i have noticed i can be quite contrary and somewhat argumentative with anyone really, also i have energy through the whole day, you know its like that morning fresh energy you feel in the morning when you have slept well, i feel it all day now; before testosterone my energy would wane adter about 3-4pm then bed at 10pm , not anymore; i do mot feel hyper active, i just feel awake, energetic and also stronger; it reslly worked for me; i have NOT grown a beard and no hairy arse or thighs ! Maybe if i used too much i don’t know ! Also Tostran bottle will last me a year, it costs the normal price of a simgle prescription , it was all done in the NHS; ladies, this is a NICE requirement and has been recognised and accepted that some women need it, i am sick and tired of these doctors who have had 2 hours training on menopause then refuse either oestrogen or testosterone, allow themselves to tell us it is dangerous, make many women feel inadequate, my GP is very Pro HRT thank goodness, she is a friend of Louise Newson (look her up-change your life !), along with Davina McCall who herself uses testosterone for regained energy and sexual desire; why do only men get prescribed testosterone i will never get it( women produce testosterone all their life but are refused this very important hormone , as important as oestrogen. You do NOT need to pay hundreds of pounds at a private clinic, i live in England and i go to a normal doctor surgery in the countryside so don’t get fobbed off and demand what is your right even if you have to print off the NICE guidelines to your GP. Sorry long post ut very passionate about this subject.

I am prescribed testosterone (Tostran) on the NHS. I was referred to the menopause clinic (yes, this exists - I live in Surrey) after having a hysterectomy to deal with endometrial cancer, after which my libido was completely non-existent. My initial referral to the menopause clinic was actually via the hospital gynae team, but GPs can also refer you. They prescribed Tostrans without any problem - I have been using it since last December and am still on my first bottle, but they are happy for me to continue.

It has definitely made a difference; I am no longer dead from the waist down, and am having quite amazing orgasms for the first time in my life (!)....I don't think it's changed my mood at all. I do grow a little more hair where I rub in the gel (inner thigh) but it's very fine and pretty easy to deal with.

I'm not taking any oestrogen, though - in an ideal world I'd be on HRT in conjunction with the testosterone, but unfortunately I went through the menopause too long ago.

@Discoisabelle

I live in Buckinghamshire England, i have been on HRT for 5 years -Femoston 2mg- but always felt HRT plan doesn’t just get limited to oestrogen only as testosterone is very important in women. Last year i felt my libido had totally gone, my GP has prescribed me Trostan, i use half a pea size on my inner thigh each morning, it has been enough to regain all my libido and more ! Yes i am totally rampant now, i have noticed i can be quite contrary and somewhat argumentative with anyone really, also i have energy through the whole day, you know its like that morning fresh energy you feel in the morning when you have slept well, i feel it all day now; before testosterone my energy would wane adter about 3-4pm then bed at 10pm , not anymore; i do mot feel hyper active, i just feel awake, energetic and also stronger; it reslly worked for me; i have NOT grown a beard and no hairy arse or thighs ! Maybe if i used too much i don’t know ! Also Tostran bottle will last me a year, it costs the normal price of a simgle prescription , it was all done in the NHS; ladies, this is a NICE requirement and has been recognised and accepted that some women need it, i am sick and tired of these doctors who have had 2 hours training on menopause then refuse either oestrogen or testosterone, allow themselves to tell us it is dangerous, make many women feel inadequate, my GP is very Pro HRT thank goodness, she is a friend of Louise Newson (look her up-change your life !), along with Davina McCall who herself uses testosterone for regained energy and sexual desire; why do only men get prescribed testosterone i will never get it( women produce testosterone all their life but are refused this very important hormone , as important as oestrogen. You do NOT need to pay hundreds of pounds at a private clinic, i live in England and i go to a normal doctor surgery in the countryside so don’t get fobbed off and demand what is your right even if you have to print off the NICE guidelines to your GP. Sorry long post ut very passionate about this subject.

I use Tostran too. The consultant I saw referred to it as the vava voom hormone. I’ve experienced similar benefits to you regarding energy. I feel great. Really good sleep. Better stamina.

Also when it comes to exercise, I can exercise at greater intensity than before. I’m also lifting quite heavy weights. Oh and my waist reappeared.

We’re never told the importance of testosterone for women and that our ovaries produce more of it than oestrogen.

Oh and I’m the most assertive I’ve ever been.

COintreau and Deux : so good to hear from you both that like me you are benefiting from testosterone prescribed on the NHS.