Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Tulip256 on March 22, 2024, 10:00:11 AM
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Just got my first ever prescription for testogel and am a bit confused about how to use it.
The instructions say that each sachet is 40.5mg and I need to apply 5mg a day however it comes with a 1ml syringe. Is 0.05ml the same as 5mg. I googled it and it seems to suggest 0.005ml is 5mg butI can't see how I can do a dose that small?
Also the instructions say to apply to shoulders or arms but I am wondering if this is advice for men. I would rather apply it somewhere where I have existing hair as I read it may cause hair growth, would this be OK? I was wondering about under arm, pelvic area or inner thigh?
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I use it on the sole of my foot under the instep where it seems to work just as well and avoids the hair problem. Don't know about the syringe as mine didn't come with one but a sachet should last 8 days, should ba a pea sized blob.
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Lower abdomen near the public hairline, inner or outer thigh, or inner lower arms (rub in with the other arm so no waste) are the usual places. Dosage as sheila99 says, you soon get used to doing it by eye. Having said that, I nearly always get 9 blobs out of mine ::).
JP x
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Thanks both. @Sheila that is really interesting about putting it on your foot, I would never have thought to put it there. Do you put a sock on afterwards? How long do you leave it to dry first?
I am wondering if I should start with a lower dose and build up. How long did you both take to see a benefit and were there any side effects?
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I syringed the whole lot up then worked out on the syringe the measurements for each dose ie visually divide the syringe by the number of days you need it to last. I then decanted one dose onto a tiny stainless spoon I got from niod.com and now I just eye ball the equivalent amount using the spoon each day. I empty the sachet into a small pot with a lid. I hope that makes sense, it sounds more complicated than it is. I apply to lower abdomen. I did hear somewhere that the skin on the sole of the feet wasn't ideal because the skin is thicker therefore less absorption. Haven't tried it though and it sounds like it's working for others.
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Thanks both. @Sheila that is really interesting about putting it on your foot, I would never have thought to put it there. Do you put a sock on afterwards? How long do you leave it to dry first?
I am wondering if I should start with a lower dose and build up. How long did you both take to see a benefit and were there any side effects?
I do it before I get into bed, where i apply it it won't be rubbed off by the sheets. If you do it when you get up you might want to wait a couple of minutes till it's dry. Where I apply it is on the thin skin under the arch, perhaps there'll be absorption issues if you put it on thicker skin.
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Thanks Shelia, I think I will try this, still trying to work up the courage to apply my first dose! I was reading that it is less likely to turn to oestrogen if you apply it where their is no fat so under the foot seems ideal.
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Hi, thanks for this post, I’m getting my first Testogel prescription in 2 days so have exactly the same questions!
Agree the packaging advice to use upper arms is only for men - as it’s being given to women “off licence” one of the impacts is that the manufacturers instructions don’t apply to us….. I think I’ll go for thighs or maybe lower inner arms. I like the idea of using the other arm to rub it in with, that’s what I do with oestrogel.
What are your thoughts on timing of application? I’ve heard apply in morning as it will give you energy, apply at night because otherwise it wipes you out, and apply whenever you want but at the same time! I do my oestrogel at night because I have more of a standard time for bed than I do in the morning (not the same as most people I guess!) So I’d prefer to do the Testogel then as well but that would rule out using my forearms as I use them for the oestrogel!
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Hi.
I was told mornings because that’s when testosterone naturally highest.
That was after I was told nights fine by a different meno ‘specialist’ - you are right there’s a lot of different advice around for this as for everything.
But I’ve ended up incredibly luckily (and the hard way) with a leading specialist who says morning best. And also lower abdomen fwiw. I had also been told arms previously but (apart from the chaos it caused my blood tests) he says not arms but lower abdomen.
Hth and good luck x
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Thanks very much Hollyboll - hoping to collect it tmrw and will try in the mornings based on what you’ve said - will start on a day when it doesn’t matter if I’m tired…
Thanks for the other hints too. Lower abdomen doesn’t sound good for me as I have some rather large curves atm - so will prob go for outer thigh/ buttocks.
I know it’s meant to be at the same sort of time every day, but how important is that? I was on the pill for donkeys years and it really didn’t matter if it wasn’t at exactly the same time every day, and my oestrogel now is approx the same time but not v strict - but I recently had some breakthrough bleeding just because I took my utrogestan 4 hours later than usual…
My guess is Testogel doesn’t need a strict 24 hour cycle is that right? Ideally it will sort out my energy levels and then it won’t even be an issue because I’ll be able to get up in the mornings like a “normal” person!!!!
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Hi ... again, I'm no expert but fwiw:
- I've never ever heard of testosterone making you tired (should be opposite!) so mornings should be fine
- I've never been told any of the dailies (oestr/utrog/testn) needed to be exactly the same hour, just roughly same time of day
- I'd stay away from buttocks with testosterone. I started out on thighs but it caused me some probs there. Then I was told arms, which caused different issues as above. Best consultant told me lower abdomen; tbh I'd have thought curves only a good thing as more area to rub it onto :)
Good luck :)
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Hi Hollibob, just want to say belated thanks for the reply and sorry I’ve just seen it now. Was a delay with my prescription so I just got it today and thinking I will try it tonight….. bit scared to be honest!
No idea how I’m going to do it, don’t have a syringe, but going to try to muddle through - will go for fat tummy area!!
Also, hope OP is doing ok?
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Hi all, just to update I am now a week in to my testosterone. I have been applying it to my inside of my foot, alternating foot each day. I thought that might help with absorption as there are lots of little veins there.
I have syringed it out of the packet and think my pea sized blob will make the packet last around 10 days. I leave the syringe in the packet which helps seal it and I keep it in the fridge.
The best thing so far is that I think it has stopped my acid reflux. I got this around a year ago and I think it was due to the oestrogen relaxing the lower splincter. No reflex at all last week which is unknown for me. Hoping it is not just a coincidence.
I think it has also given me a bit more energy, I actually went and sawed down some trees at the weekend which is not a normal job for me, so all good so far.
Still battling on my other threads with bladder pain and cystitus though but can't expect testosterone to cure everything!
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Just got my first ever prescription for testogel and am a bit confused about how to use it.
The instructions say that each sachet is 40.5mg and I need to apply 5mg a day however it comes with a 1ml syringe. Is 0.05ml the same as 5mg. I googled it and it seems to suggest 0.005ml is 5mg butI can't see how I can do a dose that small?
Also the instructions say to apply to shoulders or arms but I am wondering if this is advice for men. I would rather apply it somewhere where I have existing hair as I read it may cause hair growth, would this be OK? I was wondering about under arm, pelvic area or inner thigh?
Did you ever get a reply to this elsewhere?
If not, the reason for the confusion is that amount in mg refers to the dose of testosterone, which is contained in a given amount of gel also in weight but as grams, whereas your syringe is given ml ie volume. Depending on the density of the substance. 1 ml may not equal 1 g for example - so imagine the same volume of feathers and lead - they aren't going to weigh the same!
So a sachet of testogel contains 2.5 g of gel and since it's quite runny, I suggest that to all intents and purposes this is approx equivalent to 2.5 ml.....if the instructions are to use 5 mg per day this means 5 mg testosterone. If the sachet contains 40.5 mg T then one sachet must last 8 days minimum. Divide 2.5 ml (total volume of sachet) by 8 and you get approx 0.31 ml per day so no more than a third of your full 1 ml syringe per day (if using daily).
However it's not that precise! I would suggest much easier to use a very small petit-pois sized blob ( the pea-sized blob measure was for 1 % gel; whereas the new testogel is at least 50% stronger at 1.62%.....and it may well last longer than 8 days?
Following sheila99's excellent advice, after initially applying to my upper inner thigh, and then swiftly relocating to inner knee, after a few years I went to the sole of my foot and like sheila - the inner arch which is soft skin. Hey presto, no more unwanted hair growth!
By the way I would never apply it to my upper body at all - T is readily transported through the skin as well as being abrobed systemically hence hair growth all over my thighs despite application only to inner knee + hairier legs generally. I wouldn't want to risk it getting anywhere you wouldn't want it to, like breasts or genitals etc.
Hurdity x
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Hi all, just to update I am now a week in to my testosterone. I have been applying it to my inside of my foot, alternating foot each day. I thought that might help with absorption as there are lots of little veins there.
I have syringed it out of the packet and think my pea sized blob will make the packet last around 10 days. I leave the syringe in the packet which helps seal it and I keep it in the fridge.
The best thing so far is that I think it has stopped my acid reflux. I got this around a year ago and I think it was due to the oestrogen relaxing the lower splincter. No reflex at all last week which is unknown for me. Hoping it is not just a coincidence.
I think it has also given me a bit more energy, I actually went and sawed down some trees at the weekend which is not a normal job for me, so all good so far.
Still battling on my other threads with bladder pain and cystitus though but can't expect testosterone to cure everything!
Sounds like you've worked it out and already reaping the benefits :)
Hurdity x
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Hi all, just to update I am now a week in to my testosterone. I have been applying it to my inside of my foot, alternating foot each day. I thought that might help with absorption as there are lots of little veins there.
I have syringed it out of the packet and think my pea sized blob will make the packet last around 10 days. I leave the syringe in the packet which helps seal it and I keep it in the fridge.
The best thing so far is that I think it has stopped my acid reflux. I got this around a year ago and I think it was due to the oestrogen relaxing the lower splincter. No reflex at all last week which is unknown for me. Hoping it is not just a coincidence.
I think it has also given me a bit more energy, I actually went and sawed down some trees at the weekend which is not a normal job for me, so all good so far.
Still battling on my other threads with bladder pain and cystitus though but can't expect testosterone to cure everything!
This is so good to hear, I’m really pleased for you!
I’m having a tough time with mine - finally got the Testogel sachets this week but when I opened the sachet it was just a load of liquid…. I sealed it with a little food bag clip and tried putting it in the fridge - then last night took it out about 10 mins before application and it was just liquid again. I wanted to put on foot but just managed to get my finger to the back of my knee before it all dribbled to the floor!
So no idea if I’m actually getting any testosterone and I’m definitely getting anxious from the faffing…. Not sure if I should just dump this sachet and try another but expect will have same problem?
I had trouble getting them from my usual pharmacy so took the prescription to Superdrug, she gave me 25 sachets as didn’t have a full box then I collected 5 more sachets from different batch. Maybe I open one of those 5 tonight?
I do understand keeping in fridge after opened but surely when not yet opened they don’t need special storage? My home is really not very hot, any ideas please?
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Mine was pretty liquid too but I just sucked it into the syringe and dripped it on to my foot then rubbed in with the end of the syringe and let it air dry for 10 minutes before putting a sock on. I think I would have a hard job applying it with a finger.
I don't think the sealed sachets need to go in the fridge but read that it was best to keep them in there when opened.
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Belated thank you for this. I need to get better at using this site and turn on notifications etc. might also try the other T post for other people’s experiences!
I’ve ended up just giving myself a break and will come back to it in a few days. I’ve been doing not-too-badly so not feeling desperate for it but also aware I could be doing so much better with it!