Testogel users - how on earth do you split the dose?

[NoMoreLimbo]

I had an appointment at the menopause clinic yesterday and saw the most amazing female doctor. Came away with tweaked HRT prescriptions and Testogel! Am nervous about it but really hoping it will resurrect the old libido and feel less meh and like I don't give a sht about things I do care about. Been on HRT for over a year and that feeling has not gone despite.

The doc suggested I put the contents of one sachet into an old put and syringe up 0.3 ml to make the sachet last for 8 days. Sure, thought that would be easy but this morning when I went to put some one (first dose yesterday) I noticed the gel is now more like liquid!

What do you other users do to divvy up your doses?

Will it have lost its effect by going liquidy?

I keep the gel in the sachet, I close it with a kitchen clip. Each day I squeeze out a pea sized amount onto my finger. It’s not very precise.

I have the bottle rather than sachets, and a pump is roughly 4 days, so I tend to dispensed approx half a pump every other day.

You could do a full pump roughly twice a week?

Not precise at all and I’m a nurse, I just do a pea sized blob each day, aim for each sachet to last 9-10 days. If a bit too much comes out one day, I miss a day.

I’m hopeless at keeping track but my last bloods were within the right range.

I couldn’t be bothered with faffing with a syringe to to be honest.

I have these sachets and don’t use them for that very reason.

I started out squeezing the sachet into a tiny jar and using a small syringe, but the syringe is a faff and there's always some left inside it.
Now I just use the jar, and scoop a bit out every day for 8 days. When I put a new sachet into the jar I cut open the sides of the foil packet and wipe that straight on my skin, which is about 1/2 a dose.
If you use a syringe for a bit, you'll learn what the right dose looks like. You can buy a syringe from a chemist, make sure you get a 1ml one, not 5ml or 10ml.

The syringe didn't ever work for me either, I lost more than I used.

I was on a 10th of a sachet. My way might sound over complicated but it honestly wasn't..!
I would start a sachet, and each day mark it off on a bit of paper like a tally chart... so if the sachet had to last me 10 days, I can quickly and visually see how long I need to eke it out, or if I need to be using more. It meant some days I'd be over the dose, some days under, but over the 10 day period it balanced out.

In the end I had to stop taking it but I hope it works for you!

Thanks all. @SpikyHatePotato do you find the gel turns to liquid when you have put it into the jar? I think the syringe I got was a 1 ml 🤔 It seems ridiculous that the nhs cannot give women the product with the right dosage in the packaging but ‘allow’ the men’s version to be prescribed.

It’s not licensed for women so they won’t make a women’s version for dosing.

I use it and apply a small blob each day. It’s not very precise! Basically I have a recurring calendar reminder and know that every 8 days I start a new sachet, so have got a rough idea of how much I need each day. If I finish my sachet a day early I just skip a day until I start the new one.

No, it stays as gel.

@SpikyHatePotato oh really?! Mine is all liquid sloshing around in the little jar now. I thought it might be a temperature thing so put the jar in the fridge overnight but it’s still liquid??!

The sachets are a pain.

I spoke to the pharmacy nurse about them. Apparently - and this will no huge shock to any women out there - the packaging is designed only for men, who take a whole sachet in one single dose. It's not designed for us, and apparently no firm plans to change the design even though we are huge users and have no way of accurately dosing. So, yet again we aren't important enough to change the world for.

FFS. Made me grind my menopausal teeth.

Did you all have to go private to get this? I’ve been on HRT for 8yrs and my testro was measured as negligible 2yrs ago but GP wouldn’t prescribe it. So I gave up as had other stuff going on but honestly my libido is so low I need to revisit trying it as my oestrogen and coil are stable again.

I work in a pharmacy and we give it out regularly so it can be prescribed by the NHS.

Thanks @PlumFairies I’ll try asking GP again.

I squeeze my sachet into a little tub, keep it in the fridge and dab my syringe in it each day and wipe it on my thigh. Not very scientific but works for me!

I get mine via superdrug online having had blood tests. Hoping for a referral to an NHS menopause clinic as I’ve paid privately twice now for my oestrogen to be changed and don’t want to have to keep paying.

My gynae told me to guess over 8 days
If it gets to day 5 and it's all gone I've used too much so start a new sachet on day 9
If I get to day 8 with more left I pile it all on

😂 it's not scientific but at least I get the same amount over an 8 day period every time
Just not every day

What kind of symptoms is this gel used to treat?

Mine was prescribed by my GP.

Can I just jump on here and ask if you've managed to get this through the NHS? Or did you have to go private? And has it made a big difference? Thank you!

Mine was an NHS Gynae but my GP didn't seem amused

@fourelementary for me it was loss of libido and fatigue.

As I understand it GPs use NICE guidance to say that it needs to be prescribed by a gynae specialist/ HRT clinic first. Once they have then a GP is allowed to continue to prescribe it on repeat.

I have periodic blood tests to check my new background levels too and the GP adjust dose accordingly.

It's a ludicrous situation as it should be offered as a standard part of the protocol if symptoms warrant, with the woman making an informed choice.

But then again we are only women so what do we know?

Luckily for me I have a progressive GP service (NHS) who are sensible, but I know many women don't.

GPs don’t have to prescribe it; some do some don’t. Mine sorted oestrogen first then was happy to prescribe on the NHS. I found it transformational for libido but it’s crucial your oestrogen is right before it can work. Not everyone gets good results from it.

After using it for a few years now I find a rough small pea sized guess is good enough.

When I’m going through an organised phase I start a new sachet on the 1st of the month, then make sure it’s all used up by the 8th; start a new one on the 9th and so on. If i run out early in the 8-day stretch I skip a few days, if there’s lots left on the last couple of days I splodge on a bit more to make sure it’s all gone in that 8-day stretch.

Mine is private prescription.

I was given the choice of a dose dispensed testosterone gel or sachets with the advice that the dose dispenser is wildly more expensive for the same product!

I’m tight, I went for the sachets. I just don’t overthink things, a pea sized blob a day and that’s me.

Nothing to do with being important enough.

Testosterone is NOT LICENSED for women. Until it is, it won’t be packaged accordingly.

NHS GPs are not obliged to prescribe it. They may agree to do so under a shared care agreement once initiated by a specialist. They may choose to decline.

In my area I cannot prescribe testosterone, must come from a consultant but referral waiting times to menopause clinic for said consultants are over a year currently and only for women with “complex menopausal needs” eg cancers, premature ovarian insufficiency and so on. Women are encouraged to seek private management if they want testosterone.

It should only be issued once oestrogen has been optimised too.

@sidge. I disagree. If we (women) were deemed important enough then the ludicrous situation of it not being licensed in the right medical circumstances would have been addressed a long time ago.

It clearly works. Many Women want it and feel better on it. With informed consent ( ie understanding about the risks) it should be available to us. If a gynae consultant can prescribe it, then why can't a fully trained GP?

It's just another set of flimsy excuses and lack of funding.