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[Hurdity]

Hi all

As per last message about dydrogesterone - I've been busy and away etc on and off for several months but by chance read the MM newsletter today and read that:

"Androfemme--a testosterone cream for women has been approved by MHRA. It has previously been available in UK, but only by private prescription."

The article goes on to say:

"Dr Heather Currie said: “The issues around its use should still apply. It is not a magic bullet. It is only recommended for persistent low libido after all other contributory factors have been addressed. It only has a moderate effect and when starting treatment, this should be viewed as a trial and stopped if there is no benefit after 6 months.
 
“It is not recommended for other symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog etc.
 
“If after all that it has been agreed to have a trial of testosterone, then having this available is a great step forward. The reasons being that it is licensed and it is a correct measured amount. There is no need to use products that are licensed for men with fiddly instructions such as ‘use one eighth of a sachet.”

This is potentially amazing news for those whose GPs will not prescribe despite clear symptoms of low libido.

Not sure how long it takes from MHRA approval to being launched, but I assumed that its approval meant that it would be available on NHS but I'm not sure about this. Having googled I found on Louise Newson's website: "Since 2017 AndroFeme has only available to UK patients of private clinics under a special MHRA licence. This news means women should be able to access AndroFeme when the UK-approved version of the product becomes available in 2026. Until then the status-quo remains. Inclusion on the NHS has yet to be confirmed."

Something to look forward to?!

Hurdity x

[bombsh3ll]

Absolutely!

I would also take issue with some of the comments in that article, such as "it only has a moderate effect" - the effectiveness of any treatment can only be quantified by the individual user, and "it should not be used for...".

I am on androgen treatment to help with severe orthostatic intolerance, a decision I made after reading a case series of several similar patients improved by this, and in my case it is highly effective in reducing both syncope and presyncope and increasing my access to upright posture.

It is beyond ridiculous that I should have to pretend to give a crap about sleeping with men (because that's SO much more important than not passing out multiple times a day) in order to get it on the NHS!

[sheila99]

I thought Androfeme wasn't available on the NHS because of the price not the licensing? Seems it's another case of 'there is no evidence for' substituting for 'we haven't done any research so we have no idea if it does or not'. I wanted for muscle weakness, libido was non existent but not the main reason for me.

[bombsh3ll]

When a well informed patient asks for a treatment that they would like to try and hears "there's no evidence" it usually means;

a) I haven't looked at the evidence
b) I don't agree with the evidence
c) The treatment costs too much

Even just a couple of years ago my health board (Lothian) were putting out written material claiming that there was "no evidence" for micronised progesterone being safer and more metabolically favourable than synthetic progestins.

Funnily enough this changed when it went off patent and became cheap, without the emergence of any new clinical evidence.

I don't think the formal research will ever be done in regard to the non-libido benefits of testosterone because having sex with men is seen as far more important than female patients' health and quality of life, and also because patient-centered outcomes are subjective in nature, therefore collecting such data would involve women being listened to and believed.

The genie is also so far out of the bottle that we all know what we need to say to get testosterone, so neither the main indication for treatment nor the outcome are actually being recorded, which will really hamper observational studies, and nobody with significant symptoms of hypoandrogenism is going to volunteer for a randomised controlled trial where they could get the placebo.

[Dotty]

I read somewhere that Androfemme has to be approved by Nice before it becomes available on NHS and that could take quite a long time.

[MrsMitch]

This sounds encouraging. My GP is in the 'there is no evidence it helps' camp & having to split a sachet into 20 doses is impossible so I've had to stop using it.
My menopause specialist said it can help with bladder/urethra issues, brain fog, metabolism & joint problems.