Menopause, Depression & Testosterone

After my hysterectomy I was lucky enough for my consultant to prescribe me testosterone.

Now - First disclaimer - this is me writing on my own experience with taking Testosterone for menopause. Dosage, side effects & reasons for treatment will differ from person to person; I'm just letting you into my world with & without Testosterone during this phase of my life.

Second disclaimer - not everyone with menopause or a hysterectomy gets this! Most women must fight for it, or go to a private specialist. They say there just isn’t enough research to say that we need it, so it can be tough to obtain.

---

The directions to administer my Testosterone is to pump it onto my upper chest & rub it into the skin. For the first 3 months I was told to do 2 pumps a week. At the beginning I can’t say I noticed much; I was post op and in pain, and I’m not sure I’d have noticed any changes. But once I'd healed from the op, I started feeling good; I had libido, I had energy, I felt like a teen again (in all the ways!)

After 3 months of usage, I had a blood test to check my levels; they were all good, and I was told to do just 1 pump a week for the next 3 months. During this time I started to feel a bit lower, with less energy. I wasn’t quite the horny teen I had been on 2 pumps a week, but that was to be expected; everything was still getting to a normal level.

After 6 months, my consultant told me to manage myself - 1 to 2 pumps a week depending on how I felt. So I've been juggling it over the last year, but I've got two main issues:

Forgetfulness! I forget if I have applied it on what days - did I do it once or twice this week?

Sensory Issues! I can’t stand the texture, its tacky, leaves a tide line, and has an odd grit in it. I don’t love

it. It feels like rubbing yourself in sanitiser!

But, when I take a break from it - God, I really notice it. After a week or two I start to feel really fatigued, depression creeps in & I start to wonder why life has changed so much. I then remember I haven’t been taking it, so I start again and I really notice the difference. The joy of consistency & creating a habit - something I really need to master, along with keeping a diary of my side effects & mood so I can track how the dosages affect me.

The thing I find ironic is that the horny teen phase I had when I first started Testosterone, has all but disappeared - which is why it's usually prescribed in the first place (to treat very low libido). Perhaps it'll return once I can be consistent!

If you have any HRT experiences, I'd love to chat about them - say hi over on Instagram and lets chat!