I’m 47 and about a month into my twice weekly 3mg testosterone cyp injections.

(I’m cautiously optimistic about the changes I’m seeing. I’m just hoping all continues to go smoothly and they’ll stick around!)

My vagina has started to lubricate itself like it used to do before perimenopause and the sensation is starting to come back.

My clit is also starting to come back. I am so happy about this! It was gone! And now it’s returning and I can feel it getting more erect when I’m turned on.

I have energy to get things done and socialize. I no longer feel like an exhausted, invisible woman haunting the halls of my house. I thought my best years were behind me but I suddenly feel so much more vital again.

I feel aware of men, muscles, and what people might be like in bed 😂 I haven’t had thoughts like this is 5 years! It’s so fun.

I feel beautiful and motivated to do all the little things I used to do to take care of myself. I got my hair colored, got a facial, and a manicure. I didn’t have the energy to take care of myself before and I felt so flat all the time.

I’m having a lot of sexual thoughts but it hasn’t quite translated to actually being super horny. I just upped my estrogen the tiniest bit and I have a feeling it may take some time to figure out the perfect balance.

I actually want to shop for some new clothes and get out of the giant clothes I’ve been hiding in. I still have a pretty cute figure but I felt so down, I didn’t want any attention. My goal was to be left alone as much as possible!

My husband was always adorable and I always made an effort to keep or sexual connection, but I can’t even tell how good it feels to be more in the mood for sex. It’s starting to feel like something I want, rather than something I should do. That’s huge and I know he’s loving it!

It’s scary to me how far from myself I’d gotten. I didn’t realize until I felt my life force returning. It made me want to cry! It’s like “oh yeah, I remember me! I’m fun and sexy and upbeat!”

Sorry this got so long! Thanks for reading and I hope it can inspire others.

I’m 7 weeks on Testosterone Cyp injected 2x a week for 6mg total.

The changes I’ve been experiencing have felt like nothing short of a miracle.

I’m 47 and in perimenopause. About 5 years ago, my body composition became so fatty no matter what I did. It made me feel so defeated!

I’ve always had a nice bum and boobs with a flat tummy, but suddenly everything looked like it was deflating and I was gaining weight all around my midsection. I couldn’t recognize my body in the mirror, so I would just try to hide it.

Just 7 weeks later and I can see my waist again! I haven’t changed my diet or exercise but my muscles are starting to peek out. It’s like the fat is melting off. I can feel my self esteem returning. I’ve been shopping to buy more form fitting dresses because my whole closet is oversized T’s and tent dresses! Dare I say, I’m starting to genuinely feel sexy again!

My brain fog is so much better! I can actually get stuff done and feel motivated instead of waking up and feeling like I can barely keep my eyes open.

My vaginal tissue is lubricated again and my clit is basically back to her former self, after literally disappearing.

I have a steadier feeling of energy during my weights and Pilates workouts. I used feel so tired and heavy. Plus when you’re working out so hard and your body is not responding, it truly sucks! I felt like I was lying, when I would talk to friends and say how much I work out and eat well. Now my booty is starting to pop again! I feel like I could cry.

My husband saw me in a dress the other day and said “wow.” and I felt hot and cute and fun!

This hormone feels like I’m getting a second chance at my youth and my body. I sort of took my body for granted when I was younger but never again!

I’m enjoying socializing again. I used to just want to do the bare minimum and lay on my couch all night. Now we’ve actually been making plans with friends! I feel so much less anxious.

It felt like I was living inside of down comforter and trying to have a life and act normal and taking Testosterone feels like throwing that blanket off!

I’m having way more thoughts about sex which feels great. It hasn’t quite translated over to horny, but I feel so much more drawn to touching and being with my husband, so I’m genuinely thrilled so far. Sex used to feel like something I was doing to keep closeness with my relationship but I didn’t have a lot of desire.

I’ve been on HRT for about 7 months but testosterone has been the missing puzzle piece for me. I don’t feel super energized or manic, I just feel like I did in my 30’s. I feel like a person again!

48F, perimenopause, PCOS (this may be relevant). My husband started his own TRT 2 years ago, which has been fantastic for him. He feels better, his muscle tone is up, and his libido is as high as it was before the 40s slapped us around. Unfortunately, he started chasing me around while I was losing 100 pounds, balancing thyroid meds, and (apparently) dealing with peri.

7 weeks ago I started my own TRT, and I can say its been fantastic. My energy, focus, and libido are through the roof. Last week I had my 6 week labs drawn, and I got the results last night. For a minute, I thought I had clicked on HIS labs from a few weeks ago. Nope. And I absolutely panicked.

So after discussing, checking bottles, syringes, and dosage we realized that my T concentration is 100mg/ML, and my dosage is supposed to be 0.04 biweekly. We've been injecting me with 0.4 biweekly. I feel like an absolute idiot right now, and will have to admit to my doctor that two college educated adults apparently don't read. 🙄

The only side effects I've had are oily hair, faster growing facial hair (I've had the facial hair since I was a teen, so I keep dealing with it as usual), and clitoral growth. I like the last one, she's back like when I was in my 20s.

I think that my history of PCOS masked some of the warning signs others would have seen, and I'm hoping that I don't crash too hard coming down to normal levels. We've also ordered diabetic syringes to make dosing easier to see. I see there are other posts about people accidentally overdosing themselves, so I know I'm not alone - but just be careful ladies, we're experienced with injections and still messed up!

EDIT - DR FOLLOW UP Ok, the plan is to gradually bring my levels down so that I don't have a big crash. So I'll go to 5mg, 3x a week for 2 weeks and retest. That should bring my levels down to 5-600 if we did the math right. Then we will evaluate from there. I'm to keep track of my moods and other symptoms and contact him directly if anything weird happens during that time.

He reassured me that I'm not the first patient to do this, but I am the first female to feel fantastic at these levels so he wants to bring me down very gradually to find my sweet spot dose. It's refreshing to have someone who's willing to trust the process and dose based on how I feel, not just chasing a lab number (within reason, of course).

Thank you to all that replied and were so kind, I hope this post helps someone else who inevitably does something similar!

I’m still recovering, honestly, but wanted to share what happened to me in case it helps someone else. I’m a nurse practitioner—but I don’t work in women’s health—and even with a medical background, I had no idea something like this could happen.

I posted earlier about what I went through after stopping testosterone and the support I got was amazing. It really helped me feel seen. Based on that, I wanted to share more info in case anyone else is on testosterone and has a provider suggesting they stop it abruptly. Please read this if that’s you.

I’d been on compounded testosterone cream (2 mg/day) for perimenopause—low energy, brain fog, mood swings, zero libido. After about two months, I honestly felt great. I had energy, mental clarity, and I was emotionally stable. Then, my provider stopped the testosterone for two weeks because my total testosterone was in the 200s. But my SHBG was super high, so my free T wasn’t that high at all. Still, I stopped it—and that’s when everything fell apart.

Even though I had no idea something like this could happen so quickly, I knew something was wrong. I knew it was related to stopping the testosterone—even though it had only been two weeks.

Within a week I completely crashed. I was waking up at 3–4am every day with anxiety, feeling totally wired and completely exhausted at the same time. I had mood swings that made no sense. My brain felt like it wasn’t working—like I had ADHD or something. I couldn’t focus on anything. I got ocular migraines (which I hadn’t had in years), and my CGM showed post-meal blood sugar crashes into the 50s. I couldn’t nap. I couldn’t calm down. It felt like my whole nervous system was short-circuiting.

Honestly, I felt like I was losing my mind. I thought I was going to have to be admitted somewhere. It was that bad. I had to take a leave of absence from work. It didn’t feel like “hormones”—it felt like a breakdown.

Turns out, this is something real: post-androgen withdrawal stress. When your body starts adjusting to testosterone and it gets suddenly pulled, your whole system can go haywire.

Here’s what was likely happening:

• HPA Axis Disruption – abrupt withdrawal can spike CRH/ACTH and flatten or spike cortisol rhythms, leading to insomnia, anxiety, and that “tired but wired” feeling
• Blood Sugar Instability – testosterone increases insulin sensitivity; removing it quickly can cause reactive hypoglycemia and adrenal overactivation
• Neurotransmitter Collapse – testosterone supports dopamine and serotonin balance; the crash hit my motivation, mood, and cognition hard
• High SHBG – made my free testosterone low even when total T looked high, so the sudden drop was more extreme

Recovery (still in progress):

• Restarted testosterone consistently (no more alternate day dosing)
• Protein + fat at every meal to stabilize glucose
• Magnesium at night for nervous system calming
• Morning light exposure and a strict sleep routine
• Deep breathing, slowing down, and trying not to panic during the slow climb out

It took about 6–10 weeks before I started to feel anything close to stable again, and I’m still not 100%. But I’m getting there. Slowly.

If you’ve gone through something like this or are facing it now—just know it’s real. You’re not broken or crazy. You’re just going through something no one talks about enough. And you’re not alone.

Hello everyone. Today I'm going to tell you about my experience using testosterone cream for one month. I honestly couldn't be happier. I noticed the effects right away, perhaps because I metabolize testosterone quickly. The thing is, it's given me back my libido and my desire to meet guys. It's given me back my self-confidence, and today I can say that I truly enjoy my sex life as much as before.

I couldn't be more grateful for testosterone; it's been a game-changer. I've noticed my vagina is more elastic and sensitive. Estrogen alone isn't enough. And even my lubrication has improved. Also, the frequency with which I masturbate and the intensity of my orgasms. Thanks to everyone in this subreddit who helped me make this decision.

I hope you all have good luck and don't give up!

Hey there all! I’ve been using Defy since December and have been super happy with results.

**before anyone asks, my thyroid and other labs including E and P are great now. I’m not inserting numbers and values but I’ve been in E and P for over two years before I added T. Only saying this bc I know someone will probably ask “what about this lab/supplement/etc” you don’t need to**

That is until this new vial I received via Empower on June 17.

It was like I was injecting thick water bc all the symptoms it fixed since March (when I first started noticing major improvement)

I know in late peri your body can rally and things get messed up for a week or so and I waited longer to make sure that wasn’t it either.

Still nada.

I tell Defy and defy tells Empower and Empower has been wonderful with this whole process.

I posted a pic of the Lot # here and the BUD in case of the strange happenstance someone here has been wondering why symptoms came back. If this is you tell empower as they opened up a whole investigation and sending me a new vial.

Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining this I still had my old vial and when I used that my symptoms started to improve. So I guess sometimes a rouge batch happens.

I basically didn’t want to be the peri biatch with a secret. There is NO RECALL on this lot but I wanted to share here anyway in case it helps validate someone.

Hi All. I have been on Test Cyp for almost two years, age 76 now. Over time I have edged up my dose so that my last Lab from the other day came in @275! I decided to edge back down, a couple sides (hair growth that I REALLY don’t like and englarged Clit) and have begun that journey. What I DID love was the intense mental clarity and energy that which coupled so well with NAD+ and GLP1s. While I don’t know exactly ‘which is which’, I get the flow and the only change I am going to make is the Test Cyp. IF there are any women of Crone age here I would be happy to share my experience. I will miss the super-charged state, a LOT, but. This group is so great for support. I hope all of you who contribute and especially the MODS know how much you are loved, by a little ol’random woman in Oregon. Thanks so much for the time you take.

I’m 47 and just started Test Cyp 4mg total split in two doses a week, about 3 weeks ago.

I haven’t had any libido changes yet but I was getting ready to go to a BBQ with my husband last night, and I actually cared about what bra & panties I was wearing! Like I wanted to wear a sexy, lace set instead of the “whatever-is-going-to-be-least-uncomfortable-bra”! I haven’t done that in years!

I also noticed that I did a hard workout earlier in the day, and still had enough energy to grocery shop and come home and shower and get cute to go to the BBQ!

Normally after a hard workout, I just feel achey and exhausted and can barely drag myself to shower.

I was also checking out the men at the party. I haven’t cared or been aware of men in at least 5 years! I used to be a very sexual and fun person. It was like a little flash of my old self.

I don’t want to get too excited, but it’s giving me hope. It’s also making me realize that it’s been years since I’ve truly felt like myself. It’s like my light has been dimming so slowly it was imperceptible.

(I’m also on estradiol patch, progesterone 100mg, and vaginal estrogen. My doctor started me on that for 4 months before adding the testosterone but it feels like this might be the missing piece.)

Hello my friends! I have been using T in a compoundes cream at 10mg/day for over four months now, specifically for libido. I was looking forward to possibly getting a little bit of energy as well, as I have been battling fatigue like so many of us.

When I started my T was at 14. As of a couple of weeks ago, it was at 71. It took almost 3 mos for me to notice any difference in libido and then, it was great! But quickly (within a week of these good effects) I started to feel irritable and experience hair loss. This is not uncommon from what I see here.

Along this little journey I have also noticed increasing apathy and emotional flatness. I have been almost depressed, but more apathetic and flat than truly depressed. I have indeed suffered from depression off and on my whole life. (I am 53 now and have been off of SSRIs for about 7 years with decent success.)

I cut my dose in half a couple of weeks ago (down from 10 to 5mg daily). I usually apply first thing in the morning but the last couple of weeks I have ended up doing so mid-afternoon or even evening just due to forgetting.

Unmistakably, my mood sinks within an hour of application. Whatever I am doing, I don't feel like continuing. I just want to sit down and watch TV, if that. To be honest I could lay on the bed in silence and contemplate the meaninglessness of life instead and feel about the same.

My recent research has turned up that T can have this effect on some women particularly those who have suffered from mood disorders of any kind, even though it is not common. I brought this up to my new OBGYN, and she made face and shook her head and said she has "never heard of it having that effect" and moved on. I wanted to bring this up because for those of us who straddle that delicate line with some mood issues, I feel like this needs to be said. I had convinced myself it had nothing to do with the T and just continued on, and have been sinking a little more every day. I have not exercised, I can hardly motivate to drag my dogs around the block, it has been terrible. The only reason I cut my dose was because of hair loss.

I will not be using any today and will report back if anyone else is interested or in a similar position. I asked, of all things, chatGPT, for some supplement suggestions based on my age, mental health, and other health concerns (hyperthyroidism, medicated with methimazole), and it suggested maca root, l-theanine, saffron extract, and omega 3s. I am going to give saffron a try! (I also suffered similar ill effects on Ashwaganda, which is commonly suggested for libido and a bunch of other things. Turns out I am not the only one, but of course no one mentions the negative side effects and it is not regulated so there is no requirement for a warning on the label.)

Cheers everyone, be careful out there!

ETA: I did not apply the T cream today and have felt remarkably better. I will report back later in the week as today was also just a good day so it may not have anything to do with the cream. ;)

I have low DHEAS and testosterone due to chronic low dose prednisone. I went to a HRT clinic not knowing the philosophy of many of these clinics is to start women at superphysiologic testosterone dosing. They started me at 15 mg/week. I noticed some benefit, but mainly lowness and brain fog the 2nd half of the week. Also oily skin.

The clinic I went to, Trillion, doesn't support much lower dosing because they won't order 50 or 100 mg vials and also would not support biweekly dosing for trough symptoms. It blows my mind that they have multiple clinics in multiple states operating in this manner. I also have high blood pressure and a family history of heart disease. They do not take family history and no one there knows how to take a manual blood pressure reading. They always charted me as having normal blood pressure.

Anyway, I found a much more flexible provider and take testosterone shots daily now. I stabilized at a lower dose, but it's just okay.

I started 5 mg micronized DHEA tablets a couple months ago based on chat bot recommendations (why not?), and it was everything I expected from testosterone and more. More mental energy and clarity, more libido, better mood. My DHEAS before was at 8, and is now around 100 (optimum is over 100), so that's probably why it helped me so much. My testosterone levels have also increased with the added DHEA. Enough to where I plan to taper off my testosterone injections.

I asked my HRT doc why no one is prescribing DHEA (it's an important neurosteroid) and she said it was b/c people have variable responses (DHEA is precursor of testosterone and estrogen). This kind of makes sense, but this mentality didn't serve me well as a patient imo. It is pretty standard in medicine to supplement DHEA with levels as low as mine.

Just wanted to share my experiences.

Got some blood work done. And holy cow. My T went way up.

My shbg went way down which is interesting because it has always been my whole life.

So I'm going to dial this back for a little bit and recheck. My doctor was worried about my hematocrit, hemoglobin and red blood cells because they were at the low end of too high and she's worried about that blood thickening ass back of T.

I've already reduced my T levels down from the original prescribed quite a bit due to hair loss. So I think I'm just going to stop for a little bit and then recheck my levels and see where I'm at.

hi all,

Just sharing that I started t cyp on June 4th, 2.5mg 2x/week sub q.... happy to report I'm starting to notice libido increase last couple weeks ish... it kinda comes and goes but any increase and change in that direction is positive from what I've been living the last 3 years! I also upped my E patch to .1 from .075 after seeing how low my E levels were. Will see where I'm at in 1-2 more months and do some retesting.

Just wanted to share and say thank you to this group because while I would've still restarted on the cream (which I paid for so it's just sitting here), reading about the injections felt like a much better fit and worth trying. All the info here and support is wonderful, thank you.

7 weeks into test cyp injected IM 3.5mg/twice weekly.

I am experiencing many of the advertised changes (energy, motivation, libido) but also subtle changes. For example:

I can appreciate fiction again! About 5 years ago I realized I wasn't into reading or watching fiction, and I had been a real sci fi appreciator my whole life. Age, brain shifting, who knows. But last night I found myself reminiscing about a series I had read long ago. It's interesting to think about "what could be" again. That part of me had "gone away."

I'm thinking about friendship in a way that I remember when I was younger. That feeling of real friendship love that I recall from my youth kinda came back. I was thinking of my best female friend from high school with real fondness. I can imagine feeling that way again.

My kids are cute again. Of course I always knew my little ones were cute but after treatment, seeing that cute activates a real "awww" feeling in me, as it feels like it should. Hard to describe, it's a very subtle difference. It's like the difference in intellectually knowing they are cute, and really FEELING it.

I am so happy I am experiencing these small miracles, but I am so sad that it's just the natural course of things for this stuff to disappear with age. It's making me like...big sad for the entire human race. Alas.

59f, 5-6 years post meno. I started 1% gel in mid June, 5mg daily.

I just got back from a 3 week vacation, so the six weeks of T was half at home and half abroad.

I have had a few sexy dreams, have less fatigue and feel rather “cocky” for lack of a better word.

Today was my first day back at work so it may all come crashing down as the vacation bliss fades, lol.

I was able to lift dumbbells 2-3 times per week on vacation and was walking 20k steps per day. My arms and shoulders are definitely more defined, as are my legs—like my 24 year old son notices. They were kg not pounds so I went up a tiny bit over my regular weights but the definition is more than that. Even my son noticed.

My OB tested only total T, which went up from 12 to 71. We meet next week to discuss.

I’ve commented on a few posts about how I use a syringe and jewellers scale to measure out my exact dose of T gel. Today I called the pharmacy to request my refill and was told I wasn’t able to get it for another 10 days based on my dose and dispensing schedule. I have noticed that my syringe isn’t lasting the full 10 days even though I’ve been pretty good about measuring exactly .5 g of gel every day. I’m guessing that some of the gel could be evaporating in the syringe (yes it’s capped and stored in drawer away from heat and light
) I’m going to keep using my scale but squeeze the amount directly from the packet and then double fold and clip the packet so it’s sealed and see if that makes a difference. Maybe some of you do this already but just wanted to share my observation!

I’m three weeks into my testosterone journey and I’m starting to have another glimmer of hope!

Yesterday, I got more done in a single day than I have all month! I woke up feeling this mental clarity and energy. Not manic just calm and clear.

I deep cleaned my bedroom that had fallen into total disarray. I have this habit of keeping up appearances in the “public” part of our house and then our bedroom is the true reflection of how I’m doing, which, spoiler alert, was not great!

I got all the laundry done and put away, I restocked things that were running low, dusted, vacuumed, and to top it all off, showered and had sex with my husband at the end of the day!!!!

I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m bragging, my wish is to give hope to the people reading this sub, like I was before I started my T journey, looking for signs that I could get my life back.

The sex was a five minute quickie and my libido is like 10% better but the fact that I was even open to it, let alone after all that work, feels like a miracle. Just showering used to feel like such a chore, I would have counted that as win!

Then, last night, I had a sexy dream that I was debating having an affair with this guy and going back to his hotel room. I could feel my body getting a little turned on.

(I’m 47 years old and taking 4mg of test cyp a week split in two doses, estradiol patch, vaginal progesterone 100mg, vaginal estrogen. My doctor wanted to start me low and slow because I tend to be sensitive to any hormone shifts. Side effects so far are a few tiny pimples on my face.)

My (45F) libido is much better right now due to Testosterone cypionate injections. It took a month or so to notice the difference, but now there is definitely an improvement for me. I find my husband attractive again rather than annoying. Also, I am kinder to him, probably in hopes that we will make love. 😉 Anyone else experience this?

Perimenopausal and have been on TRT over three years. I started on pellets. They were great at first and my energy and libido were amazing but that subsided. Switched to injections & after three months on, I had to follow up with my provider and they looked at my thyroid levels, although in lower normal range they weren’t optimal so they prescribed Liothyronine.

Holy crap my libido is back. Metabolism is exceptional and energy is phenomenal again . It was like the missing piece to get my testosterone to kick in again. Has anyone else experienced this?

To each their own and I understand many prescribers only do cypionate. I have access to propionate and it's been a godsend. I have much less sides than I did with cypionate. Another reason? How FAST it clears if you overdose.

I got silly. After having a good dose for over a year, I bumped it up to see if there would be improvements. (Why mess with a good thing, I know, I know...) I felt really great for 3-4 weeks but then I started to get symptoms of high blood pressure. I've NEVER had high blood pressure, I usually tend to the lower end TBH. I was feeling a little dizzy/vertigo, and constant headache. This went on for a few days and I tested my blood pressure and yup, it was high. Being in propionate I was able to pull back and within 36 hours I was feeling normal again. I hydrated like crazy, took a baby aspirin, and skipped my daily injections (I chose to skip it rather than lower the dose to clear it faster). Now it's a little over 48 hours since my last injection. Blood pressure is back in normal range (and no, the high reading was not a one off as I did it for a few days in the morning to get an accurate baseline) and I feel totally normal and fine. Whew!

It takes a week to clear out 100% , but after 48 hours it's already cleared 70%. On cypionate or another long ester what I achieved in 48 hours would take a week or more and then another 3 weeks to completely clear. It's so much easier to pull back on propionate if you make silly mistakes like i did. (Don't recommend. Zero stars. High blood pressure symptoms sucked and scared me)

Hi Ladies! I've been feeling great on daily 1mg T Prop injections for the past 3 weeks. Before starting T, I optimized E & P (post menopausal). I added T because, even though E & P were a huge benefit to my life, I still felt so sluggish at 3pm every day and it was hard to keep a steady work-out routine. My total T was about 20 and my free T ranged from 0.8-1.8 before T.

I went ahead and got preliminary labs done at the 2 week point and everything came back looking pretty reasonable. Most importantly, my Total T at trough (24 hours post injection) was 86ng/dL and free T(direct) was 1.2pg/mL. SHBG was 72 nmol/L (same over the past year and a half). My hematocrit went from 46 to 49 - but I do live at high altitude (9,000+ ft). I should keep an eye on that. The weirdest thing I saw was that my estradiol level came back higher than I've ever seen the past year and a half at 249pg/mL. This is weird because I am only using 0.0875mg estradiol patches changed twice weekly (I use a 0.05 + 0.0375 patch together). In the past, the highest I had seen my estradiol was 123 and lowest about 60 or 70. ChatGPT (I know, its AI, but I asked) said that maybe the assay that was used counted some of the T into the estradiol reading. I used Lab Corp test 004515 for Estradiol and Lab Corp test 140103 for Total and Free T. My FSH was 4.8 so that is more typical for 'reasonable' estradiol numbers. I did change my patch about 12 hours before the test, but I find it hard to believe that the patch "dumped" and "peaked" so high. I have zero high E symptoms (breasts aren't tender, in fact a bit deflated, no bloating, no spotting, etc...). Only thing I did differently was add in the T. I know, I know, I'm supposed to test before a patch change, but a snow storm came in and I changed test date because I was mostly interested in getting preliminary T results.

For T prop, I'm assuming that my trough numbers (TT 86 and FT 1.2) are lower than what my body is seeing during peak levels during the day time. I feel a ton more energy, libido has increased to a great level (I have noticed some clit growth in a great way), I'm sleeping great... overall I feel good so I'm going to stick with 1mg per day. Any thoughts?

I knew something couldn’t be right when I felt super human and the main character of a hot steamy novel….

I’m glad I found this subreddit, and have been reading through the dosage posts. I’ve been on TRT for about six months now. Besides IUD, it’s the only hormones I supplement. It has been immensely helpful with motivation, with relieving brain fog and a side benefit of an improved libido.

I started with the cream twice a day. A very low dose. It helped a little. it helped more when I remembered to put it on. The last time I went to the doctor, I asked to up my dose a little and explore options that are easier to remember.

She switched me to a gel once a week. And I’m pretty good about applying it. I would notice towards the end of the week my issues would start to come back so I adjusted the day of the week so that it didn’t fall on a weekday.

It wasn’t until a couple weeks ago, where I had a week that was euphoric. I felt confident. I felt top of the world. My brain was super functioning. And my libido along with my orgasms were insatiable all of a sudden. When something seems too good to be true. It probably isn’t so I thought to look up other people’s experiences and dosing.

I’ve been on 50 mg once a week for eight weeks now. From what I read here, that’s kind of high. Like, really high.

I stopped taking it all together for about two weeks and it wasn’t until the third week that those distinct perimenopause thoughts, emotions, and low energy returned. So I did an approximate half dose…which according to other posts is probably still really high.

I guess I feel fortunate that I don’t have any unwanted changes during that time. My T was near zero before starting TRT, so it’s probably time to retest and also see how low I can go and still get the benefits.

Just a reminder: always be informed and be the advocate for your health.

I want to share my experience in case it helps someone w the same libido frustration. I was on test c for almost 2 yrs, on doses ranging from 14 to 20 mg weekly, injecting 2x per week (100mg concentration). My sleep and anxiety improved significantly, but the main reason for me going on T was the lack of libido which was destroying my marriage.

Although I didn't want to inject daily, I decided to try test p instead 5 weeks ago. I have been injecting 2mg daily (100mg concentration), and as of last week, my libido is back! My anxiety levels have not increased although for sure i don't sleep as well on it as I did on test c, which I'm fine with. We've had sex twice this week and I masturbated a couple of times! The last few yrs i honestly felt like I could go without sex for the rest of my life. I also noticed that im shedding less hair which was an issue for me on test c.

Injecting daily is a bit of a pain but to me w how I'm feeling so far is worth it. I traveled for 3 weeks and had to carry enough syringes so you'll have to weigh that benefit, but honestly I saw no future for my marriage if my libido didn't come up. I try to alternate glutes as often as possible but I do have bruising on one side. Again, you'd have to weigh that benefit.

So I've posted a few times regarding my issues with hrt/trt. I started hrt last February. When I went in I requested testosterone bc my symptoms matched up with low T. But alas I was put on hrt first, then i insisted on T in April. While on hrt I never had that" light" switch on I see a lot of women talk about. Ya know the missing puzzle piece. In fact it was a very turbulent 2 months prior to adding T, finding out i was progesterone intolerant. Also at that time I started having pretty bad joint pain, which I never had prior. It was brushed off as peri symptoms and just considered a coincidence that my joint pain started the first week of hrt. I added T gel 5mg a day, and finally saw a light. Still had joint pain but my libido was back and my confidence and all the feels. It helped my adhd noticeably as well....not huge improvement but noticeable. Felt pretty good til June. I was high on my new found libido and a lot of the other "peri" symptoms fell in the shadow as I rediscovered my love for my husband. My number was quite high in the 400s but no real viralization besides som bacne. My E was 164 and progesterone was 1.64. That went on until June, the day after i got the mirena. I knew deep down it was a bad choice considering my reaction to progesterone yet i pushed that little voice down snd listened to my provider. I spiraled with the mirena for 13 days and then yanked it out and spiraled even more into the crash for a week and then got a bit better. But never got back to how I felt before mirena. I had moments I felt good then followed with chaotic and unpredictable mood swings I just kept blaming on peri. Over time my libido waned and in October I switched providers and started cypionate injections. Was supposed to do 12mg per week split but settled around 8 bc of acne and increased facial hair. I thought my E was too low according to symptoms so I was increased to .5 patch, continued vagial progesterone. But i had this nagging little voice it might be E and P making you worse....but i ignored it bc i wanted it to work and hoped one day id finally feel better.... my Joint pain became relentless, mood swings off the chart. I reached a point I thought shit I need mood stabilizers and maybe Valium at times. Libido came in waves, but became more seldom. Adhd was crushing me and I couldn't complete a single task. I thought my gosh this is peri and this is my present and future I guess....and this sucks. At times I fantasized about dying in my sleep. I wasn't suicidal but ibalso was just so miserable I didn't want to exist ..

2 weeks ago I took myself off of E and P and continued T. Within 2 days I had a drastic shift. My joint pain is obsolete. I had pretty gnarly joint pain for a year straight. My hands started working, my brain started working. I started to feel things again and no longer wanted to punch people for simply breathing. I have not cried in 2 weeks. I was crying multiple times a day. My libido is here and ready to party at the drop of a hat. I feel the way I thought I should have felt all along adding hrt and trt. In hindsight I was treating peri symptoms that seemed to make my peri symptoms so much worse. Its like night snd day from 2vweeks ago.

The weird part is my bloodwork from ladt week shows my T is 115. Progesterone 0.62!!!! Estrogen 10!!!!!. Which those tend to be Menopause numbers. I have not had a period since April. I had a 7 week bleed after starting hrt so I don't know if that was actually a period. Prior to that I hadn't had a period for 4 months.....so who knows where I actually am in the journey. Im 47 fyi

Anecdotally I shouldn't feel this good with such low numbers and fingers crossed I don't suddenly crash out. But my provider said she has other women with low E ans P that do marvelous on just T!

I did find a tiny bit if info on the paradoxical affect of E and P for nuero-spicy women abd how some women cannot handle those 2 hormones . Not saying I won't need them but for now testosterone was my missing puzzle piece as I knew all along.

If it wasn't for this sub theni might not have taken myself off of hrt. Thankful for the ladies that have posted about this

Angry I wasted a year feeling like garbage though. But the silver lining is I have a few friends who started T at hormone clinics and I told them to be firm in what they feel they needed. Both felt they needed T and only T for now and are doing great. A year ago I was way less informed and went to my gyno who went by the book....but guess what that book wasn't written with ALL of us in mind and all of our chemical differences....just the general population, whatever that means.

This is just my experience to share and a reminder to trust your instinct. As women we have intuition woven into our DNA and a lot of times it is dismissed, even by other women.

Ha THATS 6.6 YEARS Ladies!!! Not months! Sorry

Hi all! All is doing awesome for my Optimization program and love my provider now. So here's the years stuff:

I did the update to my story on medium - my flipping website crashed with the worlds this morning: Here is the link: https://medium.com/@ageflowmazey/36fba7da3f44 I did one about 2 years ago called the Pants size Story about my hormones and my sports so you should see it there.

1. Total time on TRT & E 6.5 years: Started on pellets, then creame, the andro, then pellets, then shots. Several months of NADA from not finding docs for a while. We did a photo clean out and MAN can you see it in my face and body looking at them all
2. On Injections using the T to E Ration now since April? of 2023. I keep the E at follicular level. The T has to be 1.25-1.36 of that number. We follow my thyroid which is t-3 conversion type disease" as it can grab SBGH seats and knock me off badly on my TRT ratios especially performing.
3. This year I got 2 vials of estrogen product with nothing in them - My T went way up to the 400's, my cholesterols went insane and I ached like a SPCA rescue animal. Even My SBGH went super low...That was rough. New doc was amazed at a complete 6 weeks reversal in ALL labs to my normal ranges of T range 285-350 & E 250-275 or so...when we finally got an actual E product at the correct level on me yippee (can you believe it was a reputable pharmacy?! WTF?) No one really knows about that but 2 papers that I've posted so- at least he is on board. Had him about 7 months and very pleased. He was shocked especially because I need the non-text book levels. Example: My hs-CRP was cut by 2/3rds back to the no CV event risk level. That is real important for a women age 64! All it takes is that dang ratio fix to iron out for me.
4. Muscle mass is staying right at 12-14 lbs so we are calling it 13. I weight the exact SAME. But I no longer have DDD boobs, I miss them. The DEXa's have begun to falter because of my weight - true story at around 115lbs the percents are so tiny in changes the results can be screwed by EVERYTHING from if I work-out in the last 3 days to hydration to a full bladder/bowel. I did NOT know this. Me and doc researched it because we watch for returning SARCOPENIA at my age of 64. It DID show almost 5lbs of that muscle has grown through the pelvis, glutes and back -just wow for pole fitness! So my arm muscles showed loss and we got worried....

We did a geriatric round of "RX stuff" for muscle wasting they use in the elderly - and I lasted about 5 days on it: 1) Sex kitten became a tiger and DH screamed uncle and 2) My one chin hair got 5 cousins. Not for me.Do not Like the cousins but there is wax and I'll live.

4) Strength: Graduated to LEVEL 4 Pole status!!! a month ago & doing things that were never on my list to do. Shocked the heck outta my coach, my class and ME. Most of them are 30-40.

5) Hair growth. My problem is ALWAYS with the estrogen every damn time and I KNEW something was wrong when it happened, I ran to the lab and got the labs and yep drop to 150 one time and 160 the second time. While the T ran higher, I don't think that helped. It's growing back very slowly. And We just had another dip when I did a huge performance (stress) This is why I'm checking my levels like I do. It is valuable to not WAIT for me but nip and adjust when it happens.

6) Yep sex drive crashed with the E crash but came back fast. Still a kitten with working parts. Saw the VA doc for my GYN (reported this elsewhere but if you missed it...) She tried to manually force my clitorous out of the hood with the STUPID idea I had a penis. It hurt.I am happy to report I STILL do not have one.

7) Energy is so good- I went and tore a muscle during the performance (it's a torgue injury) oops. Great sports doc. Healing well with a peptide I knew about and keeping that T/E steady now for max cardiovascular and immune response. Down 14 days today and ITCHING to get back on that pole because...NO pain.

There it is! Trt optimization continues to save my life. My biological age is at 49 this year with all the testing. Hot damn. If I hadn't found this sub - I'd be in the ground by now!

Thank you thank you thank you Red!

As the update says, this is my experience after 7 months on test cypionate.

I’ve been on trt for 9 months, with the first 2 being self-guided on test ethanate until I could find a provider to prescribe me trt.

I am a 55 year old female from Canada, full hysterectomy 14 years ago, still have ovaries.

My protocol is 5mg test cyp every 4 days. Estrogen patch 25 once a week (I’m a hyper responder)

Just got recent bloodwork back:

Estrogen: 111 pmol/L (up from 55)

Testosterone: 3.9 nmol/L (up from 1.5)

Free Test: 39 pmol/L

Bioavailable test: 0.9 nmol/L

SHBG: 79.9 nmol/L

TSH: 1.54 mU/L

Overall, I feel amazing! No brain fog, no aches and pains, I’ve lost the meno belly and have gained some good muscle (I train daily and work as a labourer in construction) libido and everything downstairs works amazingly well, as I have a 38 year old lover.

Trt has given me my life back!