Hi everyone
I just was given a prescription for 2% testosterone cream by my gyn. Everything I am reading seems to suggest this is too much. What doses have others used?

It seems that 2% compounded testosterone cream is the "standard" given out in my GYN doctor's practice. The cream contains 2% testosterone propionate. Use it according to your doctor's directions.

Hormonal therapy of any kind is all trial and error, because there are no two women alike.

There is no "one size fits all".

So, you'll have to try it and see.

"Too much" for you may not be "too much" for another woman.

How did your doctor direct you to use it?
Did you voice your concern to your doctor?

What matters most of all is whether it does what it's supposed to. Usually the higher the percentage of active ingredient, the smaller the amount you apply. I've heard of people using 2% cream but only applying an amount the size of a lentil directly on the clitoris/hood area.

Personally I'm prescribed 0.5% cream 1 gm (or 1% cream 0.5 gm, same thing) applied to the inner thighs or perineal area, and it's helping with sensation, arousal and orgasm. Worth a try I think!

If your dose is too high, you'll know quickly ... anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, increased facial hair, oily skin, acne. In that case you can talk to your doc about using less. When a dose twice as big as my current one made me angry and agitated, we cut the dose in half and now it's fine.

When I first asked my doctor for some T cream, she gave me a 2% cream also, yike's it was way to much for me, at the time I did not realize this. I found that after a month of taking only a small pea size of this, I got acne and very uptight feeling all the time.

I had my prescription changed to a 1% cream, for lack of anything better. It's still a bit much, so I just use a tiny amount, and after trial and error, I have found what works. If I feel like it is to much, I will skip a day or two and let it rest. Be very careful putting to much of this cream on your V area, as it can overdo things, cause growth or swelling. I use only a very tiny amount in that area, my ususal dosage I just put either behind my knee or on the thin skin of my upper arm.

When it's working well, I feel good energy and libido seem's to return (it's been missing, lol). Good luck and keep us posted.

Juliann

My testosterone is 0.3% strength - each 0.1% of strength is equal to 1mg per gram so mine is equal to 3mg per gram. A 2% strength would be 20mg per gram. A gram measures out to about 1/4th teaspoon and I usually only use half that amount daily. Since testosterone is not FDA approved for use in women there is no officially recommended dose, but somewhere between 1mg to 5mg daily seems to be the norm.

NiteOwl is correct about testosterone. 2% testosterone cream/gel is 20mg per 1/4th teaspoon! That is way too much T for a women. Dr. Vliet has a testosterone book and her doses are much more reasonable. It is probably a good idea to start with 0.5 mg of Testosterone cream and go up gradually to 2-4 mg of testosterone based on symptoms and results. To get 2 mg of 2% testosterone cream you will need only 0.025 teaspoons—I do not even know how to measure that!

You should check and make sure that there is not a “.” in front of the 2. Also you can confirm with your pharmacy. If you find that what you have is indeed 2% (a man’s dose) you could consider diluting it with lotion so that ¼ teaspoon equals one or two mg of testosterone. I am math impaired today so you should check my work but if you add 16 teaspoons of lotion to ¼ teaspoon of your 2% cream you will get approx. 1.56 mg of testosterone per quarter teaspoon. I use about 1.8 mg of T lotion/day just to give you an idea of a typical dose. If I go up to 3 mg/day I get acne. Your pharmacist should be able to tell you how many teaspoons of lotion to add to get to one or two mg per gram of product to confirm the math. If your pharmacist does not want to tell you and says that diluting it will cause it not to work, I would find a new pharmacist.

My hormone doctor said that he normally recommends 2-4 mg of topical T/day. Any signs of excess should be an indication to cut back. Personally, I would have a hard time trusting the GYN who gave you 2% T lotion/cream. You are very wise to question your doctor—this kind of thinking will save you lots of grief! Good luck.

Kathy

This is my first post on these boards but I did want to add my two cents into this interesting conversation. I am 48 and a mom if 5 children....3 grown and gone and twin boys still at home. I have a 1% testosterone cream made by a compounding pharmacist. Each weeks dose is given in a very narrow syringe that measures out the correct amount, which I rub into the thin skin of my wrists. When I went to my doctor I described my sex life like that of an abuse victim!! I would lie there while my husband tried ot make love to me and I woull feel revulsion for the very act of sex. I would go mentally away, up into the corner of the room and think of anything else until it was over. She sent me for blood tests and they revelaed very low Testosterone levels. So she ordered me some cream. She said the effect would be cumulative and take up to 6 months to know the full potential. I started last December...now 6 months ago. My husband thinks he has a new wife! My sex drive is like it was when we were first married. I have more that one orgasm almost every time and I actually fantasize again. I think if the blood work is done and the doctor really tries to match the dose to the problem it is like magic..or at least it was for me. I also have noticed lots more energy and stamina. Unfortunately for me it did contribute to a higher weight but I am working hard to get back to what I should be.

Wow there is hope for me then! You described me, I think!!! Repulsion and "hurry up and get it over with"... No such thing as sexual fantasies anymore. I'd rather dig ditches in the sun... I am taking oral testosterone. 0.5 mg. Anyone heard of that? Course, it's not doing a thing. I been on it for about 3 weeks. My sex organs are dead... It's gonna take a resurrection, I think. I go to the dr in august. He doesnt really listen. My compounding pharmacist listens... I think the dr doesnt really want to treat menopausal women... Makes me feel like an old cow sent out to pasture....

Hi Penny,

I took an oral dose of testosterone a month and half ago. It was my first foray into the BHRT. However, I had 5 mg total for the day and after 4 weeks I still felt zilcho. One of our posters here told me that the oral doses of BHRT are the worst b/c your liver takes up most of the dose and you get very little of the hormones, so if you only have 0.5 mg in oral, it's like you are getting nothing. It seems to me if your doctor doesn't really listen he's trying to placebo you with such a low oral dose. I also went back to my menopause books and found the poster was correct about the orals. So I asked my doctor to switch my E/P/T to cream or gels for the next month and I am still sitting here with nothing b/c my doctor never sends the RX out for me and when I keep calling they keep saying the will call back and they don't and we play tag. So this went on for almost a month. My RX was mailed in to the pharmacy for the creams last week so I'm hoping the testosterone cream will be more effective.

I'm convinced my anxiety over my aches and pains, no libido, dry skin, receding hair line, mood swings, etc. are because my testosterone free serum was negative something on two different tests. I just wish I had a doctor that would handle my RX more efficiently but here where I live most of the doctors I know from referrals won't prescribe BHRT only Prempro, and the like so I'm stuck with her for now.

Ask for the gel/creams or the sublinguals b/c those delivery methods are supposed to better and quicker than the oral.

Be well.

Colleen

Great information! Thanks!

TJ

Yes, there is a lot of info in this thread, thanks, also!
I have a gyno appt next week, and would like to know in advance, to anyone here who is currently using testosterone cream, are you getting your prescription filled at a drugstore pharmacy or a compounding store? Is it covered by your insurance plan? If not, how much does it cost?

The reason I ask is that I used .1ml (1%) cream with syringes back in 2006 with great results. (I used it approx 6 months and had more genital sensation, stronger orgasms, more fantasizing during the day, yeah!) Since I had to get it from a compounding pharmacy, it wasn't covered by my insurance, and it was expensive: $26. for 6 weeks! Also, I thought the syringes were overkill and such a waste! I would think that it could come in a tube or jar? It must cost much more, 2 years later.
(the cost of a fun sex life... priceless!)

Thanks in advance!

jem

I'm taking a 0.5 ml cream once a day. It should be .75 but the doctor messed up.. anyway.. My Anthem insurance always covered this and my copay was $20. for a 3 month supply. I have now switched to Aetna who does NOT cover it and I pay $53. for a 2 month supply. If I were to buy it from the local pharmacy instead of mail program it would be $25. per month. Hope this helps.

Carol,
Thanks for the info. It gives me something to go on as far as current prices. It ticks me off, though, that Aetna doesn't cover your prescription. (do they pay for Viagra? It's not like we use testosterone cream like a new sex toy. (well, sort of!) Our bodies actually need it to function better in many aspects, not just sex drive. The last time my testosterone level was checked, it was a 15 (ml?). My doctor told me that a woman needs to be at a minimum of 30 to have a normal sex drive.

jem

Yes, I'm quite upset that Aetna doesn't cover any of my BHRT at least not in the compounded forms. They will cover the patches and such and I may have to go that route for my estradiol and progesterone.

I have to say though that my sex drive has NOT increased with my use of testosterone. I'm quite disappointed in that. I think the last time I was tested I had gotten up to the 30 mark after being 17 or so... but even now I have not noticed a difference. I'm getting breakouts and more hair is coming out as I wash it so I'm thinking I need to cut back on my dose yet I don't feel like I've gotten any benefits from it either. Maybe more energy but I attribute that to the estradiol. It's just all so complicated.

Good luck!

I wonder does this mean you need more E or what? I'm so confused about this stuff... My prescription calls for 2.5 mg 1/8 tsp twice a day.. I'm going to add this in last after I've tried to optimize my e/p/and thyroid...

TJ

I was rubbing on 2.5mg testosterone every day for about 4-5 months and during that time I also used 1.25 bi-est and at time .75mg estradiol and I never noticed a difference with any of it except the rages got better. My blood level before I started was 18 and the free was -0.2; then after about 2 months it went to total 45 and free 0.6, then after another month total 61, free 0.9. Then a month later the total was 134 (what?) and the free was 0.9 still. So the free was still low but the total went way off the charts. I have no idea why. I did lose more hair at the temples, didn't notice any zip in drive, or energy either. I also had started Armour and DHEA that month and I wonder if that is what upped the testosterone. Well I stopped using it a few weeks ago and tomorrow I'm going to test it to see if it went back to normal limits. If not I have to look into PCOS or a tumor or something, b/c it shouldn't be that high even with that little dose 2.5 mg right?

I was so hoping it would help, but it's got me anxious now b/c of that last level.

Yes, for me I think that's exactly what I needed. I just started using the estrogel at double dose and am feeling much much better. I have even noticed I'm getting that 'loving feeling' again.

On the down side.. after no bleeds for the past 2 years I had noticed a discharge so I'm thinking I may need to cut back some. I don't want to go back to a monthly periods... not even for sex.

Corky, what was your blood levels on E? Mine were always low despite using 1.5 estrdiol cream. It was only when I switched to estragel that I noticed a difference.

Wow Carol, that's great, fantastic! The discharge is probably just your body adjusting to the new dosage, you know like when starting a new BCP that has happened to me before...then it stopped...

Keep us posted, so very happy to hear that it is having a POSITIVE impact on your libido...


TJ

I love testosterone cream -- as most of you know

I take 2 mg daily (4 mg per gram, put on 1/2 gram = 1/8 teaspoon).

It revived my libido within 24 hours after 3 months of no sex in my head or life at all.

20 mg -- good grief -- that doc is nuts! They prescribe that because it is on the market (i.e. patented, FDA approved)
but that is marketed for men! Your doctor should give you a compounded prescription. If your testosterone blood levels measured below 10, 2 mg is the place to start. And even 4 mg is quite high, 20 mg for a woman is off the charts.

My insurance (Aetna) doesn't cover, but the $27 a month for a compounded prescription is well worth it.

BTW, I would just put the testosterone on the thin skin of the arms, behind knees, back of hands. All this talk of putting it on the clitoris -- I tried that this weekend -- just a dab -- I don't know, it was a bit much.

But, I just read Uzzi Reiss's book and he encourages women to play around with the doses. It seemed a bit wild for a doctor to say this, but I tried it. For example, he says, if you are a lawyer and you are going to argue a case in court that day, you might want to give yourself just a bit more testosterone (on the thin skin of the arm, NOT the clitoris) to give you energy and the aggressive push. Well, last night, I had to attend a business dinner and sit next to my husband's boss and chat her up, and also his bosses boss. I was feeling sort of tired and introverted, so I took Uzzi Reiss's advice and gave myself a bit of testosterone in the crook of my elbow before heading out. I was ON and had a great time!

My two cents.

OMG Wordsmith...

Ok I need to read this book! It sounds like testosterone, in some cases, can give us the ultimate confidence we may need in certain cases... Hmm...it sounds like it did just the trick for you.... What is the name of Uzzi Reiss's book I need to see if they have it at the library !!!


TJ

TJ and others,


The book is "Natural Hormone Balance for Women" Uzzi Reiss, MD (Ob/gyn), 2001. He is pro-BHRT, obviously.

I am on the lookout for up-to-the-minute books on BHRT by doctors who have been doing it for years in their practice and believe in it. Next up is Eric Braverman. I took a look at his new book in the bookstore yesterday. Didn't feel like forking over the money for a new hardcover, but it looks interesting.

One of the questions I have, not yet answered--in terms of estrogen(s)-- is which is better 17-beta estradiol only or the bi-est formulations with estriol? Reiss believes in tri-est/bi-est. Braverman believes estradiol only is the way to go. I know why Reiss and others believe in mixing the estrogens (they think it is safer), but why would Braverman (and my Cenegenics doctor) say estradiol only with such firmness? I can only imagine that it is because of what we ladies on the this board already seem to be noticing: that estradiol more efficiently offers symptom relief and well being. I wonder, though, if they think it is safer?

Thanks! I just placed a hold on it at the library. Look forward to reading it!

TJ