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[Hurdity]

Hi JoClaireH

Wow that is a lot of T!! Is this consultant a meno specialist? No way would I ever want to use that much which is one quarter of the dose for men! The max recommended dose by the British Menopause Society is Tostran 3 x per week (alt days in essence) which is approxc 30-35 mg T per week. This would give you just over double that. I wonder if you were prescribed Tostran and dispensed Testogel pump pack? It is so important to get the dosage right for women but i am surprised if either the consultant or the pharmacist has made such an error.

I would say you really do not want to give yourself that much of a hit all at once anyway ie one pump which is 20 mg gel. I pretty much use this amount per week - well probably 25 mg as my sachet lasts approx two weeks I think.

If you have no ovaries then you could get away with a higher dose but I would  want to start with a pea-sized blob depending on your age and circumstance. The testogel pump pack especially, is not designed for women.

Please question this and find out what exactly you were prescribed (eg was it just testosterone gel without a brand name being given or a concentration of T?). If it is the case that you have been prescribed this I would quote the BMS tools for clinicians info here: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/tools-for-clinicians/testosterone-replacement-in-menopause/ and ask on what basis have you been prescribed such a high dose and actually in your position I would disregard it and use much much less whatever they say!

Hurdity x

[JoClaireH]

Hi Hurdity.

Thanks for your reply. I read through the whole thread again closely yesterday. I did put one full pump on the first day I got the gel, so I now know exactly why that was a bad idea! My heart was racing and it took me ages to get to sleep that night.

The letter I got from the male consultant (which it took a month of chasing to get sent through, and then I received one copy a day for three days running) says "we can source some testosterone for Joanne which is in gel format and called Tosterone". I have searched everywhere for a testosterone gel called that - and I'm good at researching - and I cannot find it anywhere. This and the incorrect dose makes me think there's a problem with the prescribing process at the meno clinic I went to. However, I want the gel so I'm following the advice I've found here rather than his. I've measured one full pump into a plastic medical syringe to see what it looks like, because basically, I want to take half of that over two days. As my preference is for daily usage, I halved that again and guess what it looks like? You've guessed it.

A pea sized blob!

Thanks, Hurdity. Your advice is better than all the doctors and 'specialists' I've seen over the last two and half years put together. Thank you, and here's to peas!

Jo x

[Verarose]

Hi,

Does anybody know what the range is for testosterone? I've had a total hysterectomy and I'm on Testogel - 1 pump over 3 days for the last 2 years. I had a recent blood test and my testosterone level has come back as 13.6 nmol/L. I don? t know if the fact that I'd applied my gel about an hour before I had the blood test makes a difference. I've had a phone call from my GP's secretary today to say that it's too high and made me a telephone appointment with the GP on Friday. My GP surgery don't prescribe testosterone to women but because my private gynecologist asked them to they do it on a private prescription for me. I'm worried the GP will stop prescribing it for me due to this blood test result. I can't find any info on what the range should be.
Thanks

[Hurdity]

Hi Hurdity.

Thanks for your reply. I read through the whole thread again closely yesterday. I did put one full pump on the first day I got the gel, so I now know exactly why that was a bad idea! My heart was racing and it took me ages to get to sleep that night.

The letter I got from the male consultant (which it took a month of chasing to get sent through, and then I received one copy a day for three days running) says "we can source some testosterone for Joanne which is in gel format and called Tosterone". I have searched everywhere for a testosterone gel called that - and I'm good at researching - and I cannot find it anywhere. This and the incorrect dose makes me think there's a problem with the prescribing process at the meno clinic I went to. However, I want the gel so I'm following the advice I've found here rather than his. I've measured one full pump into a plastic medical syringe to see what it looks like, because basically, I want to take half of that over two days. As my preference is for daily usage, I halved that again and guess what it looks like? You've guessed it.

A pea sized blob!

Thanks, Hurdity. Your advice is better than all the doctors and 'specialists' I've seen over the last two and half years put together. Thank you, and here's to peas!

Jo x

Clearly either a consultant in a hurry or an ignorant one, unless he dictated the e-mail and it was misheard! Absolutely right there is no product of that name. Given the dosage instructions he did of course mean Tostran which as you can see from my first post in this thread, delivers a much smaller amount of T in one pump even though it is more concentrated at 2 %. Of course it is better to use the lower conc preparations like Testogel 1% sachets as there is less leeway for inccuracies when used by women.

So - your pea-sized blob will give you a bit more T than mine (half as much again) but is still within the paramteres recommended for women!

I despair at such errors. Heaven knows what would have happened if you carried on using it like that and what about other women who are blissfully ignorant and use that amount? Their bliss won't last long. Scary....

Please do report back to the meno cinic so that other women are not given the same high dose.

Thanks for kind words. Obviously mostly on here we advise women to be guided by their own doctors especially specialists even if standard guidelines re dosing are varied and individualised, and we are offering suggestions and advice based on what we've read of the science and medicine, as well as our own experience, but when it is a matter of drastically contradicting BMS recommendations in this and some other instances, some of us on here do know more than some of the medical professionals prescribing, so it unfortunately seems.

Good luck with the peas!

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Hi,

Does anybody know what the range is for testosterone? I've had a total hysterectomy and I'm on Testogel - 1 pump over 3 days for the last 2 years. I had a recent blood test and my testosterone level has come back as 13.6 nmol/L. I don? t know if the fact that I'd applied my gel about an hour before I had the blood test makes a difference. I've had a phone call from my GP's secretary today to say that it's too high and made me a telephone appointment with the GP on Friday. My GP surgery don't prescribe testosterone to women but because my private gynecologist asked them to they do it on a private prescription for me. I'm worried the GP will stop prescribing it for me due to this blood test result. I can't find any info on what the range should be.
Thanks

Yes that is high but yes also having the test just after you applied it is not a good idea. If you apply it daily then the test should be approx in mid range I would say so if in the morning then have the test as late as possible in the afternon. Also SHBG should be measured which gives a proxy for free T known as the Free Androgen Index. I am presuming it was total T that was measured as free T is rarely measured directly?

Did you keep your ovaries when you had your total hysterectomy?

The ref range should have been given on your lab result. Can you view these online? If not ask for them but I expect that will still come out as high even without the SHBG. Here is an example of a test re range:
https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/services/pathology/tests/testosterone/

Male: 10 ? 30 nmol/L
Female: 0.7 ? 2.8 nmol/L

Although most of free T is bound by SHBG I'm not sure even with high SHBG if your total T levels are still high they should still ideally be within range. I don't think enough is known about what happens to the T in women if large qwuantities are bound up. This is probably because there is insufficient research on T replacement as there are no currently licensed products for women and those that were, were only researched for a short time.

I would ask for a repeat test, to include SHBG and make sure it is a long while after your T application and blood taken from a different place on the body.

GtG so apols for typos!

Hurdity x

[Denise Didi]

Hi I was doing OK on tostran but after several mo tbs felt it was making me more combative and irritated. This was on every other day so reduced to every 3 days which was better however my specialist is keen to move me to testogel and daily routine. Struggle with the peasize blob and faffing with the sachet but have tried and notice my mood level has dropped off, and more tired.  Why can't we have an easier way to have more measured doses. Should I persevere with the sachet will its effects increase and improve my energy levels again.

Hi Hurdity.

Thanks for your reply. I read through the whole thread again closely yesterday. I did put one full pump on the first day I got the gel, so I now know exactly why that was a bad idea! My heart was racing and it took me ages to get to sleep that night.

The letter I got from the male consultant (which it took a month of chasing to get sent through, and then I received one copy a day for three days running) says "we can source some testosterone for Joanne which is in gel format and called Tosterone". I have searched everywhere for a testosterone gel called that - and I'm good at researching - and I cannot find it anywhere. This and the incorrect dose makes me think there's a problem with the prescribing process at the meno clinic I went to. However, I want the gel so I'm following the advice I've found here rather than his. I've measured one full pump into a plastic medical syringe to see what it looks like, because basically, I want to take half of that over two days. As my preference is for daily usage, I halved that again and guess what it looks like? You've guessed it.

A pea sized blob!

Thanks, Hurdity. Your advice is better than all the doctors and 'specialists' I've seen over the last two and half years put together. Thank you, and here's to peas!

Jo x

Clearly either a consultant in a hurry or an ignorant one, unless he dictated the e-mail and it was misheard! Absolutely right there is no product of that name. Given the dosage instructions he did of course mean Tostran which as you can see from my first post in this thread, delivers a much smaller amount of T in one pump even though it is more concentrated at 2 %. Of course it is better to use the lower conc preparations like Testogel 1% sachets as there is less leeway for inccuracies when used by women.

So - your pea-sized blob will give you a bit more T than mine (half as much again) but is still within the paramteres recommended for women!

I despair at such errors. Heaven knows what would have happened if you carried on using it like that and what about other women who are blissfully ignorant and use that amount? Their bliss won't last long. Scary....

Please do report back to the meno cinic so that other women are not given the same high dose.

Thanks for kind words. Obviously mostly on here we advise women to be guided by their own doctors especially specialists even if standard guidelines re dosing are varied and individualised, and we are offering suggestions and advice based on what we've read of the science and medicine, as well as our own experience, but when it is a matter of drastically contradicting BMS recommendations in this and some other instances, some of us on here do know more than some of the medical professionals prescribing, so it unfortunately seems.

Good luck with the peas!

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Bump for Julia Dizzy

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Bump for Mintea

[SarahJane1234]

hello!  I've just been prescribed tostran and was wondering how many mls of gel 1 pump will be?  (I guess I can put a pump into a measuring spoon once I pick it up, but was wondering if anyone knew).  thanks!

[Hurdity]

Hi there - all the information is at the beginning of this thread. If the pumps are the same as they used to be then 1 pump of Tostran is 0.5 g gel (not ml) which looks like a tiny amount! Why do you need to know?

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Bump for nicky_boo

Hurdity x

[Vicky81]

Anyone had good results from testim?, I'm a newbie to this and on day 9 today. I'm so fatigued all the time (peri, age 41)  xx

[Gnatty]

I use Testim. I used to make one tube last a fortnight, then 10days. Latest blood tests showed Free Androgen Index still low at 1.1 so now upped to one tube per week. Will be interesting to see next lot of blood tests. You need to be patient (again!!) as it takes a few weeks to kick in.

[Vicky81]

Hi gnattry- yes patience isn't my best asset lol. Thank you so much for your reply xxx

[Hurdity]

Bump but probably a bit out of date now - Testogel 1 % sachets no longer available but the more concentrated Testogel is available in smaller sachets of 2.5 g gel each containing 40.5 mg testosterone.
Dosage compared with the 1 % gel:

Some specialists suggested making a 5g tube of 1% testogel/testim containing 50 mg testosterone last 10 days which gives 5 mg per day.

That being the case the new sachets should last 8 days.

I continue to use a small pea-sized blob of 1 % gel.

Hurdity x