testosterone for libido

Thanks in advance for any information... my wife and I are 42 and 44
respectively. She recently went to her Gym for decreased libido
complaints. He placed her on a sub-lingual (troche) bio-identical
testosterone. The directions are to take 1mg sublingually under the
tongue (once am, once pm). What can we expect? Her starting point for
her bloodwork indicated 30 on the scale (I think (?)). How long do
most women report seeing increased libido? Thanks!

slinky wrote:
> Thanks in advance for any information... my wife and I are 42 and 44
> respectively. She recently went to her Gym for decreased libido
> complaints. He placed her on a sub-lingual (troche) bio-identical
> testosterone. The directions are to take 1mg sublingually under the
> tongue (once am, once pm). What can we expect? Her starting point for
> her bloodwork indicated 30 on the scale (I think (?)). How long do
> most women report seeing increased libido? Thanks!

Hi, slinky and welcome to asm.

Here's a link to an abstract of a review of testosterone therapy
in women:

Burger, H. G., and Papalia, M. A. A clinical update on female
androgen insufficiency--testosterone testing and treatment in
women presenting with low sexual desire. Sex Health. 2006
May;3(2):73-8.

http://snipurl.com/1dnzl

From my perspective, this is the comment that would give me the
most concern about taking testosterone:

"Barriers to its treatment include the unavailability of
satisfactory forms of testosterone for administration to women
and _lack of data regarding long-term safety_."

Why? I look at the potential parallel with estrogen therapy for
women during- and post-menopause. Estrogen was first pushed (I
use that term deliberately) in the 60s as a panacea against
aging, without benefit of research to support it or evaluate its
safety. It was discovered in the 70s-80s that estrogen taken
alone (without progesterone) greatly increases the risk of
endometrial cancer. Progesterone added to the regimen, but it
brings its own risks. The Women's Health Initiative identified
additional risks and discounted some presumed benefits in the
last few years.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/index.htm
Estrogen therapy is now hotly debated. Many gynecologists
recommend against it, or at the very least for the safety of the
women who use it, to take as little as possible for as short a
time as possible in order to overcome menopausal problems that
are bad enough to be debilitating.

In other words, women who are taking testosterone are essentially
lab rats, taking part in an uncontrolled experiment. Maybe it
will be safe, maybe it won't. If a treatment is unsafe, I like
to be able to judge, to the best of my ability, the risks vs. the
benefits. With testosterone, the risks aren't yet known.

Hope this helps -

FurPaw

--
My family values don't involve depleted uranium.

To reply, unleash the dog.

FurPaw wrote:
> slinky wrote:
>> Thanks in advance for any information... my wife and I are 42 and 44
>> respectively. She recently went to her Gym for decreased libido
>> complaints. He placed her on a sub-lingual (troche) bio-identical
>> testosterone. The directions are to take 1mg sublingually under the
>> tongue (once am, once pm). What can we expect? Her starting point for
>> her bloodwork indicated 30 on the scale (I think (?)). How long do
>> most women report seeing increased libido? Thanks!

Here's a link to an article written for the layperson about women
using testosterone, which seems to me to be appropriately cautionary:

http://health.msn.com/encyclopedia/m...ntid=100145563

FurPaw

--
My family values don't involve depleted uranium.

To reply, unleash the dog.

On Mar 21, 10:13 pm, FurPaw <furrealpaw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> slinky wrote:
> > Thanks in advance for any information... my wife and I are 42 and 44
> > respectively. She recently went to her Gym for decreased libido
> > complaints. He placed her on a sub-lingual (troche) bio-identical
> > testosterone. The directions are to take 1mg sublingually under the
> > tongue (once am, once pm). What can we expect? Her starting point for
> > her bloodwork indicated 30 on the scale (I think (?)). How long do
> > most women report seeing increased libido? Thanks!
>
> Hi, slinky and welcome to asm.
>
> Here's a link to an abstract of a review of testosterone therapy
> in women:
>
> Burger, H. G., and Papalia, M. A. A clinical update on female
> androgen insufficiency--testosterone testing and treatment in
> women presenting with low sexual desire. Sex Health. 2006
> May;3(2):73-8.
>
> http://snipurl.com/1dnzl
>
> From my perspective, this is the comment that would give me the
> most concern about taking testosterone:
>
> "Barriers to its treatment include the unavailability of
> satisfactory forms of testosterone for administration to women
> and _lack of data regarding long-term safety_."
>
> Why? I look at the potential parallel with estrogen therapy for
> women during- and post-menopause. Estrogen was first pushed (I
> use that term deliberately) in the 60s as a panacea against
> aging, without benefit of research to support it or evaluate its
> safety. It was discovered in the 70s-80s that estrogen taken
> alone (without progesterone) greatly increases the risk of
> endometrial cancer. Progesterone added to the regimen, but it
> brings its own risks. The Women's Health Initiative identified
> additional risks and discounted some presumed benefits in the
> last few years.http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/index.htm
> Estrogen therapy is now hotly debated. Many gynecologists
> recommend against it, or at the very least for the safety of the
> women who use it, to take as little as possible for as short a
> time as possible in order to overcome menopausal problems that
> are bad enough to be debilitating.
>
> In other words, women who are taking testosterone are essentially
> lab rats, taking part in an uncontrolled experiment. Maybe it
> will be safe, maybe it won't. If a treatment is unsafe, I like
> to be able to judge, to the best of my ability, the risks vs. the
> benefits. With testosterone, the risks aren't yet known.
>
> Hope this helps -
>
> FurPaw
>
> --
> My family values don't involve depleted uranium.
>
> To reply, unleash the dog.


Great reply, FurPaw.

My wife started taking testosterone therapy... now she's my husband!
(Just kidding - but I'd better hurry and finish this post before she
chatches me and beats me up!)

OTOH, no matter what we're taking, we're all lab rats (except that the
rats are monitored much more closely). Point being, I see so many
people that are utterly paranoid WRT supplements and other "natural"
remedies, warning others that they "have not been thoroughly studied".
(Not that the Testosterone qualifies).

Blah! I should live so long! If I'm going to wait around long enough
to find "proof" that some of these products are "safe and effective",
I'll have to take some kind of magical life-prolonging Fountain of
Youth formula that'll let me live to 300+... oh wait, but then, what
if the magical life-prolonging Fountain of Youth formula *itself*
hasn't been proven "safe and effective"? I could die at 250!

I know, I'll wait for an FDA approved Big Pharma produced legitified
synthesised bank-breaking wonder drug to appear on the scene to save
my day - at least I know they're "safe and effective", like Duract,
Thalidomide, the much lauded cox-2 drugs, Premarin, etc.

Life's a crap shoot - you figure the odds, play your hand, and try to
hedge your bets, but in the end, the House always winds up with the
chips, so the best you can hope for is to enjoy the ride!

Here's to wishing many a good ride to slinky and company!

~
Harpo

HarpoThalmus@gmail.com wrote:
> On Mar 21, 10:13 pm, FurPaw <furrealpaw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> slinky wrote:
>>> Thanks in advance for any information... my wife and I are 42 and 44
>>> respectively. She recently went to her Gym for decreased libido
>>> complaints. He placed her on a sub-lingual (troche) bio-identical
>>> testosterone. The directions are to take 1mg sublingually under the
>>> tongue (once am, once pm). What can we expect? Her starting point for
>>> her bloodwork indicated 30 on the scale (I think (?)). How long do
>>> most women report seeing increased libido? Thanks!
>> Hi, slinky and welcome to asm.
>>
>> Here's a link to an abstract of a review of testosterone therapy
>> in women:
>>
>> Burger, H. G., and Papalia, M. A. A clinical update on female
>> androgen insufficiency--testosterone testing and treatment in
>> women presenting with low sexual desire. Sex Health. 2006
>> May;3(2):73-8.
>>
>> http://snipurl.com/1dnzl
>>
>> From my perspective, this is the comment that would give me the
>> most concern about taking testosterone:
>>
>> "Barriers to its treatment include the unavailability of
>> satisfactory forms of testosterone for administration to women
>> and _lack of data regarding long-term safety_."
>>
>> Why? I look at the potential parallel with estrogen therapy for
>> women during- and post-menopause. Estrogen was first pushed (I
>> use that term deliberately) in the 60s as a panacea against
>> aging, without benefit of research to support it or evaluate its
>> safety. It was discovered in the 70s-80s that estrogen taken
>> alone (without progesterone) greatly increases the risk of
>> endometrial cancer. Progesterone added to the regimen, but it
>> brings its own risks. The Women's Health Initiative identified
>> additional risks and discounted some presumed benefits in the
>> last few years.http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/index.htm
>> Estrogen therapy is now hotly debated. Many gynecologists
>> recommend against it, or at the very least for the safety of the
>> women who use it, to take as little as possible for as short a
>> time as possible in order to overcome menopausal problems that
>> are bad enough to be debilitating.
>>
>> In other words, women who are taking testosterone are essentially
>> lab rats, taking part in an uncontrolled experiment. Maybe it
>> will be safe, maybe it won't. If a treatment is unsafe, I like
>> to be able to judge, to the best of my ability, the risks vs. the
>> benefits. With testosterone, the risks aren't yet known.
>>
>> Hope this helps -
>>
>> FurPaw
>>
>> --
>> My family values don't involve depleted uranium.
>>
>> To reply, unleash the dog.
>
>
> Great reply, FurPaw.
>
> My wife started taking testosterone therapy... now she's my husband!
> (Just kidding - but I'd better hurry and finish this post before she
> chatches me and beats me up!)

You may joke... but increased facial hair, anger and aggression
have been reported as side effects of testosterone in women...
>
> OTOH, no matter what we're taking, we're all lab rats (except that the
> rats are monitored much more closely). Point being, I see so many
> people that are utterly paranoid WRT supplements and other "natural"
> remedies, warning others that they "have not been thoroughly studied".
> (Not that the Testosterone qualifies).

A little paranoia is justified wherever someone is raking in
profit, don't you think?

I'd rather hear what your *wife* thinks about being a lab rat in
this particular case, since she is the one assuming the risks.

FurPaw

--
My family values don't involve depleted uranium.

To reply, unleash the dog.