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)?

@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.

Great news! May I ask how old you are? I'm 65 and feel I'll be written off! Are older women allowed a sex life?

Ohbladeeoblah
I have just turned 54 and started HRT at age 50; by the age of 45 i was done, knckered, not confident, felt invisible to society, no libido, dry as a bone, putting on weight, miserable and overwhelmed over daily tasks. HRT saved my life and my marriage, testosterone being added recently has ended my search for wellbeing; because like it or not we are ruled by our hormones all our lives including men and it is all very nice to tell is to eat well, sleep well, exercise and reduce stress without a good amount and balance of hormones everything goes to pot and that’s a fact, let us not be scared or ignorant, let us read, inform ourselves and demand - if needed - what is our right to have .

[quote JinglingHellsBells]@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.[/quote]
Does this mean that the future prescription charge is an NHS one?

@Tightwad2020

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?

Yes, you would think so. NHS has routine referrals to clinics dealing with teeth, eyesight, hearing, dermatology, podiatry, but not menopause, it's crazy. You aren't made to feel like some irksome entitled nuisance for asking your GP for help with failing hearing, are you?