Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Pinkcam]

I'm 58 and post menopausal for 21 years. I was referred to local NHS menopause and HRT clinic by GP as had asked about taking testosterone. Consultant prescribed Testim (1 tube to last 10 days).

Blood test to check testosterone level was done in Sept 22 before starting to use it and was 1.2 nmol/L (normal range < 2 nmol/L. This was the only test done for testosterone.

I finally got a supply of Testim in December 22 and started taking it January 23. I had telephone review with consultant a few weeks ago and as I'm doing well on testosterone (libido has improved a little and no side effects) he has discharged me back to GP to have repeat prescription for testosterone with 6 monthly testing.

My GP is not happy about this and has called me in to discuss as she wants to set out all the risks (cancer etc), as testosterone treatment for women is off-licence and not enough studies been done on long term effects of women using it. She said that I can't be on it long term :-( Her view seemed to be that it's a short term medication.

I've just had another blood test and testosterone is now 3.3 nmol/L (normal range < 2 nmol/L) and has been flagged up as 'abnormal'.

I know that this is going to give her even more ammunition to stop prescribing it. What do I need to do to get her to continue prescribing it? What was the point of referring me to the specialist and getting it prescribed for her to go against his recommendations? It's ironic that the NHS specialist is a man and happy to prescribe and my GP is a fairly young female who isn't!

Do I need to ask for SHBG test which I have seen mentioned on here?
Have others been in this situation - what did you do?

Please can someone help?
Thank you 😊

[laszla]

Pink yes you absolutely need to get SHBG measured in order to know what your free testosterone is - ie. the T that's actually circulating and therefore having an effect as it's not bound up in the SHBG protein.

Interpreting the T result without the FAI (free androgen index) is futile.
Eg I have a low-normal T reading (am on testogel) but a sky high SHBG therefore a woefully low FAI
Sorry you have a clueless GP

[Pinkcam]

Thank you for your reply laszla, which is really helpful.

I'll explain this to my GP. But if all else fails there's a Private HRT/Menopause clinic near me which my friend uses, so if gp refuses to prescribe for me anymore I'll book myself in there.

[Ermin2trude]

Hi Pinkcam,

This paper released in 2022 might help when speaking to your GP. There are some very good points re levels in blood etc and the benefits of testosterone.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331845/

[Suziemc]

Hi Pinkcam,

This paper released in 2022 might help when speaking to your GP. There are some very good points re levels in blood etc and the benefits of testosterone.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331845/

Fairly near the beginning of this paper it states "In England and Australia, testosterone has been licensed for use in women for more than 60 years"  I thought that testosterone wasn't licensed in UK which is why most of us can't get it from our GPs?  Have I misunderstood?

[Ermin2trude]

Hello,

Testosterone is licensed for use by women in the UK, but unfortunately there are currently no licensed testosterone preparations for women here, leading NHS clinicians to prescribe products licensed for men off-label at physiological doses for women.

In 2020, AndroFeme cream (1% testosterone; Lawley Pharmaceuticals) was licensed for female use in Australia and is currently imported to the UK for private use under a special Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) licence.

Hopefully the UK will get its act together and license Androfeme.

[Suziemc]

Ah, thank you. I had totally misunderstood the licensing!

[MabelBabel]

I'm interested in this too.
I had Testogel prescribed privately via Newson's. I have since asked to have this prescribed via my GP.
I'm doing well on Testogel, it's really helping me. I have my first testosterone blood test next week and am worried that if the results are high my GP won't prescribe it, where as Newson's prefer to go by symptoms and how you are feeling.
I can see me having a battle on this too so will be interested to know how you get on.
Good luck!

[laszla]

Hi Pinkcam,

This paper released in 2022 might help when speaking to your GP. There are some very good points re levels in blood etc and the benefits of testosterone.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331845/

Extremely useful paper Ermintrude - the reluctance to prescribe testosterone beggars belief when one is reminded as in this review of all the benefits it confers

[Pinkcam]

Thank you all for your replies and Ermin2trude for the very helpful link to the paper 😁
I will post here after I have seen my GP and let you know the outcome 🤞

Interestingly the NHS consultant's secretary rang me today to confirm that the consultant had rung GP to say that as I had been having issues getting Testim (that he'd originally prescribed) could the GP now prescribe Testogel.
I explained to secretary the reluctance of my GP to prescribe testosterone on ongoing basis. She said that if GP refuses to prescribe it then GP should write to consultant explaining her reasons as consultant had discharged me back to GP asking for testosterone to be prescribed as repeat prescription.
We shall see what happens!

[Pinkcam]

Just an update following my appointment with GP. She is reluctant to prescribe testosterone on an ongoing basis, due to lack of studies etc on long term effects from using it etc. She's also not happy about my high testosterone level from recent blood test. I explained about SHBG would be a better option to test, but she said that the lab won't do it 🤔

She is going to write to the NHS consultant to tell him this and suggest that if he's happy to prescribe it then he should issue future prescriptions for me. In the meantime while she does this and waits for a response she won't issue any more prescriptions for me.

However, I had a bit of luck - I recently got a prescription for Testim from another GP at the surgery, following the consultant letter to GP. That GP just issued it without question. Testim was out of stock and Boots Pharmacy said unlikely to get it. So I had to request GP issue prescription for Testogel, which started this issue of my GP not wanting to issue any Testosterone. But a few days ago I got a text from Boots to say prescription ready and it was my 30 tubes of Testim 😊 Making a tube last 10 days will give me nearly a year's supply. But as blood test showed Testosterone level high I will eke out a tube for 14 days and see how I feel. This will give plenty of time for GP to sort out with consultant and if needs be I will go to a local private clinic.