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[jasmine5]

I was prescribed Tostran 2% gel by the Menopause Clinic last week for low libido and low energy, she said to use one pump on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  This seems to be quite a lot of gel and since starting I've had a constant headache which I realise is probably a side-effect.

I'm wondering if others are on the same dose and how long do the side-effects last?

[Hurdity]

Hi jasmine5

This works out at about the same amount of testosterone per week as someone who is taking testogel and making the sachet last 10 days according to my calculations .

Tostran: 2 % gel . One gram of gel contains 20 mg testosterone. One press of the canister piston delivers 0.5 g of gel containing 10 mg testosterone.
3x per week = 30mg T

Testogel: 1 % gel. One sachet of 5 g contains 50 mg of testosterone. Used every day and if the sachet last 10 days would be 35 mg per week.

Therefore this is approx the same. Gynaes differ slightly in how much is prescribed but does sound about right. As tostran is more concentrated than Testogel then you will be likely getting more of a hit by taking it 3 x per week, although the half-life is longer than with oestrogen ie it hangs around in the system a bit longer.

Personally though with T I would prefer to use the weaker one daily so maybe if you continue to get side effects you can ask for that next time? I expect you've been given a massive box that will last months though like I was!

I didn't really notice any side effects but then I only use a small pea-sized blob and I would say one sachet lasts me a fortnight probably. I presume you are already taking oestrogen at a reasonable dose - sorry can't remember where in menopause you are and period frequency etc?

Hope your headaches subside soon...

Hurdity x

[jasmine5]

Yes I am on Femseven Conti 50 patches once a week, I'm 58 and no periods for five years, although I have had some light bleeds which have been thoroughly investigated!  This puts my mind at ease that I'm not on too higher dose of Testosterone,  Thanks Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

The only other thing I would say here - and I have mentioned before - is that I don't know what the effect might be of adding exogenous testosterone (ie as gel) when you are using an HRT type that already contains an androgenic progestogen like levonorgestrel. I'm not even sure whether there has been any research on this and whether androgenic effects might be amplified on such a regime. This is an open question and I don't have time to research at the moment - but mught be worth bearing in mind. Private gynaes tend to prescribe testosterone in conjunction with the other bio-identical hormones ie estradiol and progesterone - but I have read of other women also being prescribed T on varied HRT regimes with different progestogens. I wonder if anyone else has any more information? However if you've been prescribed it by a consultant gynae at the menopause clinic then they should know what they are doing!  I would still be interested to know though - what happens biologically!

Hurdity x

[warwick01]

Hi

I have been using Testogel for 3 weeks. Consultant told me to use half a sachet twice a week. Found I got a bit hyper/aggressive with such a high dose so I use a pea size amount each day. Feel better and noticing some benefits.

Wxx

[Hurdity]

Gish that sounded like a lot all at once warwick01! Glad you are feeling better now

Hurdity x