Ladies: Testosterone replacement therapy?

[surfgirl]

My BFF from college called me today and she was saying that her GYN has recommended Testosterone Replacement Therapy for her because her libido is rather low (she's very happily married for about 12 years, 2 kids) and apparently her testosterone levels are very low according to a test result she just got. She was sort of freaked out about it and didn't know who to ask and since I've no idea about it, I wondered if anyone here has had this, or knows a friend/relative who's had it, and was it a good thing to do or not? According to her doc, she might get some "chin hair" (lovely!) but not much more. I think it's really just to address her low libido and nothing else was mentioned as a reason to do this other than that issue. Apparently the therapy involved an initial injection to jump start her (supposedly it will give her more energy and over all feeling of well being, in addition to the obvious?), along with a cream/gel rubbed onto the inside of her arm to sustain the levels of hormone?

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about this? Oh, she's mid-40's, 2 kids...if that's important to know.

Thanks for any insights you might have...I'll pass them along to her.

 

[Lynn B]

I work in a hospital and one of our gyne's was talking recently about this for a patient he had in the same situation. If I remember correctly, hair growth is the most common side-effect, but the worst part of that is that even if you stop the testosterone, the unwanted hair does NOT go away.

That's what he said, anyway. Have your friend ask her doctor about that.

Otherwise, keep us posted... interesting subject.

 

[Linda W]

Well, I don''t know about the above, but I am on hormone replacement therapy and I get chin hair ICK. I pluck them out. ha ha ha ha ha

Linda

 

[surfgirl]

Linda, I feel ya on the chin hair...Seriously, nobody''s heard of this? I thought there''d be many replies on this. Maybe you all are too young?! An internet search doesn''t seem to yield much on this either...weird.

 

[Ellen]

Send her this link and tell her to have a look. There''s a hormone test you can take at the bottom. He''s helped thousands of women, naturally.

http://www.johnleemd.com/

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 2/16/2008 7:26:25 PM
Author: Ellen
Send her this link and tell her to have a look. There''s a hormone test you can take at the bottom. He''s helped thousands of women, naturally.

http://www.johnleemd.com/

Ellen, the hormone progesterone will have the opposite effects of the testosterone cream and would make things worse.

I have naturally very high testosterone levels for a woman and I will tell you what I can. We are not just talking dark nasty hairs on the chin, but the neck and in my case, on the breasts as well.

It also causes me to break out but at 40 I don''t think that will be an issue for you bff.

It does work well to increase sex drive. When I learned about my levels I did some research and higher testosterone doesn''t just make her more interested, it may also make her more sensitive and more easily able to reach orgaism.

 

[Ellen]

brazen, I wasn''t recommending the Progesterone Cream, just offering her information about natural remedies. He touches on all types of hormonal imbalances, not just Estrogen Dominance.

i.e. There is info on bioidentical hormones, rather than synthetic, which I thought might interest her.

 

[surfgirl]

ellen, I''ll pass the link on to her as well, thanks...I''ll read it too. I''m gettin on there and I might be next! HA.

BIH, thanks also for your perspective...From what I gathered, she''s just got the issue of going from "zero to anything", but once she''s there, the machinery is operational

. At least that''s what I think she said. This whole thing is quite interesting to me though. Playing around with hormonal stuff scares the crap out of me though...

BIH, did you ever take anything to supress your extra testosterone levels? If you dont mind my asking...and did it work.

Ellen, IIRC, you actually used the info from that link personally, did it help you?

 

[crown1]

i feel that the side effects of the testosterone might be a little hard to take. once those hairs are there they don''t go away when you quit taking it. i am with you surfgirl on fooling with hormones. i am not advising against them just advising to think about this a long time and do a lot of research before going on the testosterone.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 2/17/2008 2:16:44 AM
Author: surfgirl
ellen, I''ll pass the link on to her as well, thanks...I''ll read it too. I''m gettin on there and I might be next! HA.

BIH, thanks also for your perspective...From what I gathered, she''s just got the issue of going from ''zero to anything'', but once she''s there, the machinery is operational

. At least that''s what I think she said. This whole thing is quite interesting to me though. Playing around with hormonal stuff scares the crap out of me though...

BIH, did you ever take anything to supress your extra testosterone levels? If you dont mind my asking...and did it work.

Ellen, IIRC, you actually used the info from that link personally, did it help you?

Yes, I started using the Natural Progesterone cream several years ago, and it was a God send. I posted the symptoms it either helped relieve or eliminate entirely, in a thead Peoenix did on her Thyroid. And I''ve thought of a handful more of symptoms I left out.

I would also encourage your friend, and you even, to read his book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PreMenopause. Great book, chalked full of info on our amazingly inticate bods. While it may not have anything she feels applies now, it will arm her for the future. I would have LOVED to have known everything I do now, before I ended up with a laundy list full of stuff that my docs didn''t seem concerned about, but which were wreaking havoc on my life.

And yer welcome.

 

[Selkie]

There''s a book called "Hot Monogamy" by a writer and marriage therapist named Dr. Pat Love (yes, REALLY) in which she discusses her personal experience taking testosterone as a treatment for low sex drive. Your friend might want to check that out as an anecdotal account. I haven''t read the whole thing, just excerpts, so I don''t know whether she addresses side effects, but I''ve read others of her books, and found them very informative.

 

[lyra]

Okay, I was rooting around looking for some more info. I'm of the age where things are a changin'!

This article raised some red flags: testosterone therapy. The cream has less side effects. There are concerns over whether this experimental treatment is helpful enough. The oral meds can raise bad cholesterol, cause hepatitus in some individuals, etc. This is just some info to look over while making informed decisions.

I'm also one of those who is wary of taking hormone supplements, synthetic, natural, botanical or any kind. I have health concerns and a family history of cancers and heart disease, etc. Really wretched genes.

I'll try look into other alternatives. Has she tried anything else? I'll see if I can find more alternatives. Obviously she should listen to what her doctor says if she trusts him/her. If they've used the treatment on others to good effect and with little or no side effects, then fine. (Although I swear I'm always the one of the 1% that will get the adverse side effect--even my doctor knows this!)

ETA: harder to research libido raising, as we suddenly become inundated with male enhancers: cialis, viagra, etc. Argh. I think this is another instance of inequality in health care although to be honest, women have much more complicated reproductive systems.

The anti-depressant Wellbutrin helps some, while virtually every other AD causes low libido. And I can speak on this from experience. Has thyroid issues been ruled out as well?

 

[surfgirl]

Wow, so the more I check into this, the scarier it seems. I dont think I''d want this treatment for myself and some of the sites referenced say that your "new hair growth" doesnt stop once the treatment stops. That''s crazy. Along with possible deepening voice, and "enlarged" lady bits..no thank you! I like my bits just the way they are thanks very much! Yikes.

Ellen, I looked briefly at that guys site but I have to look further.

Thanks all for the insights and info, I''ll pass it along. If you find anything else, feel free to post it...There are plenty of us in the post 45 age group here so I''m sure others might find the info useful.

 

[VRBeauty]

Estratest is an HRT that combines estrogen and low levels of testosterone in a single oral treatement, if that''s an option for your friend. I''m sure the precautions indicate unwanted hair growth as a possible side effect; I''m equally sure I didn''t experience excess hair growth in the several years I used it.

 

[surfgirl]

MINIMS, thanks for that tip. I never heard of that in the online search I''ve been helping with. I''m not sure you want to share the details but if you do, what sorts of reactions, good or bad, did you experience? If it''s too personal to discuss on a board, no problem. Thanks...

 

[surfgirl]

Ladies..just in case anyone''s interested in this issue...an update from my friend...

She''s decided to try the therapy but only with the gel/cream. She said that you have to get it made special at a compound pharmacy and that it is a very low dose, meant only to balance the system so it''s nothing near what a bodybuilder would use, etc. Her doctor said that she''s not yet had any patients actually have any of the main symptoms (deeper voice, adult acne or excess facial hair) because she keeps the doses lower to counter act that. Apparently there was a guy MD on Oprah talking about this and he was recommending doses that were WAY more than what they should be and thus, now I''m not as surprised to see the side effects that are on many websites. My friend said she''d try it for a few months and see if it has any positive effect. Apparently it takes about 3-4 weeks for the intradermal (gel/cream) to reach the desired levels in the system. But her doctor said any side effects she might get would go away after she stopped using the cream...so any side effects are NOT permanent, as some thought it was. My friend also called the pharmacist and he was extremely knowledgeable and told her that he works closely with this doctor and she''s regarded as one of the best in this field and that he''s not had her patients come back to him complaining of side effects because her doses are on the conservative side.

If anyone''s interested in her progress, let me know and I can give you updates as I receive them from her. She was a bit afraid I think, of doing the "jump start" method of having an injection - which apparently gets your levels up to where they should be immediately - so she feels the slow gradual approach with gel only is more appropriate for her. I think I''d do the same thing if I were in her shoes...

 

[Miranda]

My sister''s friend had a hysterectomy a few years ago due to many girlie problems she was having. Her ovaries were removed as well. She was on a HRT oral medication with a higher level of testosterone. I don''t think she grew facial hair or any other parts grew, but, she did feel much more aggressive. She was much more irritable and had things come up such as road rage and she felt short tempered much of the time. Her sex drive did increase, but, she stopped taking those particular meds because the aggression wasn''t worth the perks of the drug. I wonder if her hubby agrees

 

[Ellen]

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 3/26/2008 2:50:51 PM
Author: Miranda
My sister''s friend had a hysterectomy a few years ago due to many girlie problems she was having. Her ovaries were removed as well. She was on a HRT oral medication with a higher level of testosterone. I don''t think she grew facial hair or any other parts grew, but, she did feel much more aggressive. She was much more irritable and had things come up such as road rage and she felt short tempered much of the time. Her sex drive did increase, but, she stopped taking those particular meds because the aggression wasn''t worth the perks of the drug. I wonder if her hubby agrees

Miranda, hopefully your friend''s situation is different from my friend''s because your was taking oral meds and probably it was a combination therapy? I think the stuff my friend is talking about is a gel/cream only, applied on the skin once a day, and it''s only Testosterone, and apparently it''s an extremely small dose...I hope it goes smoothly for her. She''s the most placid person so having her get aggressive would be weird indeed!

So did your friend''s sex drive maintain it''s levels once she went off the oral meds or no?

This whole thing is a lot like Frakensteining one''s body, isn''t it? I mean the playing around with hormones.

 

[Miranda]

Yes, it was combo therapy. Her drive was lower when she switched to a drug with lower (or no) testosterone. Playing around with hormones IS like Frankensteining! It''s scary to me since my mom recently had breast cancer. I guess testosterone is safer than estrogen, though.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 3/27/2008 2:31:18 PM
Author: Miranda
I guess testosterone is safer than estrogen, though.

Really? Who''da thunk it? Perhaps this explains psycho PMS...?

 

[Dreamer_D]

I thought the most recent word on HRT was basically don't do it? That's what I heard in Canada and my grandma recently stopped taking HRT because of the scares about how it related to cancer. But I'm not up on it...

I have nothing really informative to add, and I know nothing about your friend's situation surfgirl, but I do sometimes wonder about how women are often labelled as having a "problem" when their libidos are low. My own experience has always been that my feelings and psychology play a huge role in my libido. I wonder whether there are things that a hubby can do to increase a woman's libido without her having to take a drug? But I guess it can be really hard to say to one's spouse, "Look, I am sorry to say that I need more X, Y, Z from you to feel really sexy and in the mood." Especially if you don't even know what X Y Z is!

That said, I recently went off the pill and noticed a jump in my libido as well as other changes in my body that I think reflect healthy hormone functioning (I won't detail b/c it is TMI

). I will never go on the pill again because I can't help but think the changes it creates aren't great, especially the libido thing (which is a known side effect).

Surfgirl, I would be interested to hear updates on your friend's experience.


DD

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 3/27/2008 2:31:18 PM
Author: Miranda
Yes, it was combo therapy. Her drive was lower when she switched to a drug with lower (or no) testosterone. Playing around with hormones IS like Frankensteining! It''s scary to me since my mom recently had breast cancer. I guess testosterone is safer than estrogen, though.

Playing around with hormones (out of medical necessity, of course) also provides insight on how much what we consider to be inate personality traits just might be dictated by our electro-chemical make-up! This American Life (a radio program) had a fascinating show on this subject a few years ago, in which a woman talked about how her personality changed when she got too much testosterone, and a man shared his experience of having none:

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=220

Hijack over!

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 3/27/2008 4:47:02 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
I thought the most recent word on HRT was basically don''t do it? That''s what I heard in Canada and my grandma recently stopped taking HRT because Surfgirl, I would be interested to hear updates on your friend''s experience.DD

Hey there...She''s only considering the Testosterone cream therapy, which I believe it quite different from HRT. And you have a point about maybe it being simple a case of being older and needing more time to warm the old engine!

I''ll keep you informed. I know she''s very wary of it. Maybe I''ll let her read this thread and see what you''ve all said directly.