When I first started taking hormones, my sleep and mood almost changed overnight. The combination of applying a bi-weekly oestrogen patch and taking a nightly progesterone pill was transformative - my hot sweats disappeared and my anxiety improved tenfold.
But there was still something missing. My energy still felt a bit flat, my motivation was sluggish, and my libido was not what it used to be.
Friends had told me that testosterone might be the missing piece - with actress Kate Winslet singing its praises last year. I live in America, where testosterone is not approved by the FDA (the US government's Food and Drug Administration), however, compounded testosterone products for women are available. That means it is custom-made to the right dose for you by an independent pharmacy.
So I did some research, spoke to a doctor about my symptoms and concerns and explained that I wanted to try it out.
She advised me to have my bloods taken to check my testosterone levels, and to rule out anything else that might be causing my symptoms. Turns out my levels of testosterone were a little low, and I was prescribed a testosterone cream.
What happened when I tried testosterone replacement?
I was told to apply two clicks from the dispenser daily onto clean dry skin, and within just a couple of weeks, I noticed that my mood was a little brighter, my sex drive had turned up a gear and that general low-lying tired feeling that I have been experiencing since hitting 45 was lifting.
I was worried about side effects, because the doctor had mentioned that I might grow excess body hair, or I might even lose hair on my head. But six months on, I can safely say I have had no negative side effects. Yes, I do have a little bit of extra hair where I apply it on my leg, but that's it.
Testosterone benefits
The benefits of taking testosterone are endless for me, and I believe that it's helped me up my game in all areas of my life. I work out a little bit harder at the gym, and have the muscles to prove it. My energy is so much better - I have never been a morning person, but I get out of bed with an extra spring in my step now. My mood is brighter and more positive, and I embrace life with a lot more clarity.
A doctor's take
When I interviewed menopause expert Dr. Louise Newson about my experience with testosterone on my podcast, she wasn't surprised at how the hormone made me feel.
“Testosterone is a very biologically active hormone, and it affects every single cell, tissue and system in our body. It helps our brain to function, it helps our heart, our bones, our muscles, our gastrointestinal system, our cardiovascular system - and we've known for many decades that it can improve mood, energy, concentration, stamina too.”
So, given its importance to our health, why do so many women not know about testosterone? “We as doctors haven’t been taught about it, and honestly, I couldn't have had this conversation with you 15 years ago, because I didn't even know women produced testosterone then,” Dr. Newson explains.
“Yet we've had studies in the 1940s showing that it's a beneficial hormone for women, and more recent studies have shown it can help improve libido in women, and of course it does, but we've also known for many decades that it can improve mood, energy, concentration and stamina too. Yet somehow those studies are ignored, because we don't have enough data for women.”
Dr. Newson’s frustrations over the lack of education and data on testosterone therapy for women haven’t stopped her from prescribing it, though - and she also knows first-hand just how transformative it can be.
“I couldn't function as a doctor, mother or wife, or in society, if I didn't have testosterone, and I actually wish I'd started taking it about 10 years before I did,” Dr. Newson explained. “I just thought a lot of my symptoms were due to life and other things.”
Positive experiences like ours aren’t unusual, and Dr. Newson says “thousands” of women in her private practice - Newson Clinic - praise testosterone, not just for boosting libido but their overall mood too.
“Menopause societies and groups have said it can only be used for libido, but I can't even begin to tell you the number of people I've seen who have had really awful psychiatric pasts, and they've had some hormones and felt a bit better, but the testosterone's been the game changer. It's woken up their brain.”
Myth busting
Testosterone still has a bit of an image problem in women’s eyes - and Dr. Newson believes most of it comes down to its name. “Testosterone was actually found in bulls' testis, and that's why they labeled it testosterone, but they should have labeled it something else, because then people would realise that women produce it in our ovaries too.”
There are many other misconceptions surrounding the hormone, other than its name, so I asked Dr. Newson to give us the facts surrounding the most common ones:
Is testosterone safe?
“Testosterone is very safe,” Dr. Newson reassures, stressing that she is so confident in its efficacy that she thinks more women should try it. “Women tend to underuse it rather than overuse it,” she adds. “But it's about choice. My work is not saying everyone should be on testosterone, but it should be an option for those women who want to try it.”
Does taking testosterone make you hairy?
“The most common side effect of testosterone is hair growth where you rub it, because it can stimulate the hair follicles,” Dr. Newson explains. “If you use it as a gel or a cream, you're applying it every day. So if you don't like it or you get side effects, which as I say, are very uncommon, you just stop using it.”
Will my doctor prescribe me testosterone?
Until recently, one of the biggest barriers to getting testosterone on prescription was that there simply wasn’t a licensed product for women - which made some doctors hesitant to prescribe it. If you live in America, like me, you can make an appointment with an insurance-covered healthcare clinic, such as Midi Health, and they will prescribe it if they think it's suitable.
In the UK, it can be prescribed on the NHS and privately, and as AndroFeme® 1, a testosterone cream designed specifically for women, has recently been licensed, more doctors may be happy to prescribe it, as it’s formulated in the right strength for women.
“This is such an important step forward in helping women access the treatment they need,” says Dr. Newson, while caveating her positivity about the new testosterone license with realistic optimism. “I think you need to find a doctor who understands testosterone is more than just a libido hormone, and if you don't get the right help, advice or support treatment from your first, second or third doctor, you can go and see someone else.”
Do I need to take bloods to know if I need testosterone?
“It's not necessary, but I think it's useful,” explains Dr. Newson. “Often we take bloods to make sure that there isn't another cause for that tiredness for example. Because even if someone's got low testosterone, they might also have something else going on.”