Testosterone For Women: What I Wish I’d Know Before Starting
Testosterone is probably the HRT that I get the most questions about.
How long does testosterone take to work?
What does testosterone for women actually do?
Do you have to go private to get testosterone?
How much does it cost?
And, probably the most important question, is it normal to feel a little bit angry when you first start taking it?!
I have been on testosterone HRT for a year now, so I thought it was time to put everything I have learnt so far in one place.
This is my experience, along with some of the questions and experiences that women in the Rayse community have shared with me. Everyone is different, so what happens for one person isn't necessarily going to happen for another, but I know how useful it can be to hear someone else say, "Yep, me too."
My experience with testosterone
I went into surgical menopause when I was 30.
Your body does still make testosterone after surgical menopause, but I just don't think mine was making enough. The strange thing is that it took a really long time for this to become obvious to me. I didn’t start it until 6 years into surgical menopause.
It wasn't like I woke up one morning and thought, "I need testosterone." I just became absolutely exhausted.
I was napping every single day because I needed to sleep just to get through the day. I was working, but it was becoming really difficult. I would sit down at my desk and genuinely think, "I don't know what I'm doing."
I was overwhelmed. I couldn't concentrate.
I could write lists. I could try all the usual productivity tips. I could try to organise myself better, but none of it was really helping because the problem wasn't that I didn't know how to write a list. I just couldn't concentrate.
Then I started testosterone.
And honestly, I felt like I was back. Not right away, but slowly.
The biggest change for me has been my energy and concentration. I don't need that daily nap anymore. I still get tired sometimes because, obviously, I'm a human being, but that feeling of needing to sleep every single day just to function has gone.
My work has been better too. I feel more on it and I can concentrate properly again.
That has been a big change for me.
So how long does testosterone actually take to work?
This is one of the questions I get asked all the time.
Someone recently told me that they had started testosterone the previous week and were feeling anxious and having a bit of a wobble. They wanted to know whether there was a period of adjustment.
My experience would say yes.
When you put a new hormone into your body, there is going to be an adjustment period. It isn't necessarily going to be an instant, "I've taken this and now I feel amazing" situation.
Hormones are doing their thing in your body and it can take a surprisingly long time for things to settle.
For me, I definitely noticed changes quite quickly, but I think it is important to give your body some time to adjust before deciding that something isn't working.
I had a similar experience with progesterone. When I first started it, my emotions were unbelievable. I was crying at things that I would never normally have cried at.
With testosterone, I went the other way. I was angry. Mainly when driving!
The testosterone rage is real
When I first started testosterone, I definitely noticed that I was more ragey.
My road rage increased and I had this weird internal feeling of, "I want to punch you." Which, to be clear, was not particularly helpful when trying to navigate the roads!
The interesting thing is that when I talked about this on TikTok, so many women commented saying they had experienced exactly the same thing.
And that is one of the things I love about the Rayse community. You can have an experience and think, "Is this just me?" and then suddenly loads of women are saying, "Nope. Me too."
For me, the rage lasted around two or three weeks and then it settled down. I don't have that same feeling now.
That doesn't mean that everyone will have the same experience. If you are experiencing severe or persistent changes in your mood, or you feel like something really isn't right, speak to your doctor or menopause specialist. You don't have to just put up with something because you've started a new type of HRT.
But for me, there was definitely an adjustment period and it did wear off.
What happened after five months?
I have now been on testosterone for around a year. Slowly over time, I did start to notice a change but it did take around 5 months.
I'm using Testagel, which comes in those little sachets. You put a pea-sized amount onto your wrist or inner thigh and rub it in.
Before I started, the thing I wanted most was energy, and that is where I have noticed the biggest difference.
I am not having to nap every day anymore.
My concentration has improved.
That horrible overwhelmed feeling has improved.
And I genuinely feel like I have got a bit of myself back. I didn't actually go to the doctor because of my libido, so that isn't something I can give you a huge personal review of. Testosterone is often talked about in relation to sexual function, but that wasn't a particular problem for me before I started.
Everyone's reasons for looking at testosterone are different. For me, it was the exhaustion and the concentration issues.
I've also noticed some extra hair growth on my arms, but I haven't experienced some of the other side effects that women sometimes worry about, such as hair loss or extra facial hair.
The hair on my head still feels thick and healthy and I haven't had an issue with it, although some women do say they notice hair loss with testosterone and some take DHT blockers to try and help with this. Again, that is just my experience. Your experience may be completely different.
Do you have to go private to get testosterone?
This is another question I get constantly.
The short answer is: not necessarily.
I would always recommend trying your GP first. If you can afford to go private, it may be quicker, but that doesn't mean it is the only way to access testosterone.
When you contact your GP surgery, ask if you can see someone who has experience with menopause. If there is a menopause specialist or someone at the practice who deals with menopause regularly, that is who I would want to speak to.
Unfortunately, there can be a bit of a postcode lottery when it comes to testosterone being prescribed in the UK.
I am in Essex and testosterone can be prescribed by my GP, but that isn't necessarily the experience for everyone.
A blood test may also be needed.
Even if your GP isn't able to prescribe testosterone, it is still worth asking about having your bloods checked. Then you have some information to work with and your doctor can look at whether your symptoms could be caused by something else or whether your hormone levels may be relevant.
If your results are technically "in range" but very low and you are experiencing symptoms, that is another conversation you can have with your doctor. Lots of people say their resutls have come back as ‘normal’ but apparently ‘normal’ is actualy 0 for women?! Mine were 0.7 and now they are over 2 - to give e you a rough idea.
If your GP won't prescribe testosterone, there are also other options available depending on your circumstances. Some women have used services such as Boots or Superdrug, and private menopause consultations are another option if you can afford them.
I actually asked women in my TikTok comments about their experiences with private menopause consultations and the response was really interesting.
It is worth looking at what other women have experienced before spending your money.
How much does testosterone HRT cost?
This is something I wanted to talk about because I had just picked up my HRT from the pharmacy and realised this was the first time I had paid for the testosterone on its own.
My Testagel cost me £9.90 (the price of a prescription)
Inside the box are 12 sachets. Each sachet lasts me roughly eight days, so that works out at around 96 days of testosterone, which is roughly three months.
So when you're looking at the cost, it is worth looking at how long the prescription actually lasts rather than just looking at the price on the box.
It is more expensive to go private, and I have not done this personally. Prices seem to really vary from type of testosterone to location so I can’t really comment on this.
How do you actually use those little Testogel sachets?
This is something that sounds incredibly simple until you actually have the sachet in your hand.
The question I get is usually about how you know how much to use and how you stop yourself either using too much or too little.
Unless you've been told differently by your clinician, one sachet is intended to last around eight days for me. Some people get told every 7 days and others get told every other day, so yours might be different.
You use a pea-sized amount. I am probably a little bit slapdash with this. I have very sensitive scales and I could actually weigh it out, but honestly, I tend to just use a pea-sized blob and see how I get on.
The eight-day thing does my head in slightly, so I actually find it easier to think of it as roughly a week.
Saturday to Saturday makes much more sense to me than trying to remember exactly where I am in an eight-day cycle.
How do you store testosterone?
I keep my sachets in the box they come in.For me, this is the easiest way because I can immediately see which one I have opened.
I have also used little clips to keep the opened sachet upright and closed.
I went through a phase of using one of those little storage things and honestly thought it was great but then I couldn't find the sachet in the box, so I've gone back to the peg method. The peg method wins.
The jury is out on keeping it in the fridge or not because it seems we are all told differently. I keep mine in a cool dry place and that seems to work. Some people are told to keep it in the fridge.
What other women are telling me
This is probably the most useful part of talking about testosterone on Rayse.
Because my experience is only one experience.
When I started talking about testosterone, women started telling me about their own experiences.
The rage.
The adjustment period.
The questions about how much to use.
The confusion about getting it prescribed.
The cost.
The questions about whether they should go private.
And women who are simply sitting there thinking, "Is testosterone something I should even be asking about?"
There isn't one universal testosterone experience.
Some women notice changes quickly. Some take longer. Some have side effects. Some don't.
Some people are looking for help with energy and concentration. Others may be looking at completely different symptoms.
That is why I think talking about real experiences is so important.
Not because someone else's experience tells you exactly what will happen to you, but because sometimes it gives you the confidence to ask the question in the first place.
If you want to join the community you can ask others about their experience or search the topic and see what comes up.
So, is testosterone worth it?
For me, yes. Six months in, I feel like testosterone has made a really noticeable difference to my energy and concentration. I don't feel like I am constantly fighting my own brain anymore. I don't need to nap every day just to get through work. And I feel like myself again.
But I also think it is really important not to read someone else's experience and assume that you should have exactly the same results.
HRT is incredibly individual.
If you've started testosterone and you're having a wobble, give your body some time to adjust, but don't ignore symptoms that are severe, persistent or worrying you.
If it isn't working for you, go back to your doctor. Usually they will want you to have tried it for around 3 months.
There may be a different type, dose or way of taking HRT that works better for you. You don't have to just accept that something isn't right.
And if you're still confused...
Honestly, you're not the only one.
I get questions about testosterone all the time, and that is exactly why I share my experience.
Sometimes you don't even know what question to ask until you hear another woman talking about something and think, "Oh my god, that's me."
That is what Rayse is all about.
A place where women can talk about the things that are happening to their bodies, ask the questions they might be embarrassed to ask elsewhere, share what has worked for them and, most importantly, realise that they aren't the only one going through it.
You don't have to figure it all out on your own.
Come and join us in the Rayse community. There are loads of women in there talking about exactly this kind of thing.
Because sometimes the most helpful thing you can hear is simply:
"Yep. Me too."
