Hi Katymac
At first sight that testosterone dose could well be too high. Is this what the GP or private consultant prescribed?
If you look at the product info here:
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/8919/smpc#gref"2. Qualitative and quantitative composition
One gram of gel contains 16.2 mg testosterone. One pump actuation delivers 1.25 g of gel containing 20.25 mg of testosterone.
Excipients with known effect: Ethanol.
For the full list of excipients, see section 6.1."The BMS recommend a dose of 5 mg per day - but I don't think this is based on research, just I think that the dose should be 1/10th that prescribed to men presumably because on average we have 1/10th the level of T that men do? (Sorry haven't looked this up recently)
From BMS:
"
Most testosterone products are off label/license for female usage and may not always be available.
The regulatory advice regarding use of compounded medications advises against their use unless
an equivalent alternative is not available. In most countries and settings there are licensed male
testosterone preparations that can be down titrated to female doses (typically 1/10th)."
However although they say to start at this dose - I for one started at a much lower dose. OK we all absorb differently and have different hormonal requirements but with T replacement I would always want to err on the conservative side. It's not like oestrogen - we want to maintain the T:O ratio that keeps us female and don;t want to become T dominant and risk androgenic side effects.
Well I know I'm older than most, but even in 2015 when I was a youthful 62 year old (!!) I still used a lower dose of T. For example my (now discontinued) Testogel 1% sachets which, like Testim contained 50 mg T, were intended to last 10 days. I would say using a pea-sized blob mine probably last 3 weeks - so more like 2.5 mg T that I am applying and the effects are everything they could be. Not sure what would happen if I took more - as my levels haven't been measured recently.
I don't know what a third of a pump of your Testogel looks like and how you dispense it, but if it's bigger than a normal pea-sized blob then I would suggest trying to reduce to that but do talk to your practitioner as they should be flagging this up (ie your slightly high T levels). An alternative would be the Testogel sachets which are the same concentration and easier to squeeze out a small blob and put a paper clip over it. I must emphasise that even that ie a pea-sized blob of testogel from the pump pack will give you more T than I used over the years - because mine was/is 1%.
You haven't said whether the T you are taking has alleviated the symptoms you were seeking to relieve, or whether you have had any side effects such as increased hairiness, deeper voice, enlarged clitoris etc though I doubt this would happen with only marginally above the ref range for your age, if you're over 50?
In any case actually one could argue that the ref range for over 50 is unrealistic because isn't the whole point that T is falling as we age and can be associated with undesirable symptoms, so T replacement is intended to boost that? If that is the case then perhaps the ref range for under 50 is more applicable (if one is replacing T) - if you see what I mean.
Even so it would be at the upper end and sensible perhaps to reduce a little without compromising your symptoms?
The other thing is, that I understand measurement of T in the way it is done, is unreliable for women as values are at the lower end of the range and more inaccurate - because the test is designed for the much higher T levels found in men, so subtle differences in our levels are not being picked up.
Hope this helps
Hurdity x
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Topic: Started testosterone and just got 3 month blood test results (Read 2751 times)