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[Robin]

Ive had a black hairy tongue twice. I think it was antibiotics that caused it but can't remember for certain. Have you tried a tongue scraper? The circular oral b ones on amazon are cheap and really effect. Your tongue might be too sore at the moment though. I've had oral thrush a few times and every few days during the treatment I gently took the horrible layer of gunky stuff off.

The estring is easy to use. You don't have to position it in any particular place   just squeeze, insert then push it up wth your index finger. Dont put lubricant on the ring but a little bit at the entrance of your vagina might help.

I squeeze with my one hand while placing it near the entrance then I push it in using my other hand squeezing it as it goes. You'll soon get used to it and I hardly ever remove mine. Sounds gross I know. You would think it would come out in an awful state having been there so long but it really doesn't.

After the first day I wouldn't have known it was there.

Good luck. Keep me posted

Xx

[Robin]

Should have said it's ok to use lubricant/moisturisers or anything else you might need internally once it's in but it makes it too slippery if you apply it to the ring itself beforehand. I checked with my doctor about this as it's not clear on the instructions. It might be different for something like thrush treatment though. Not sure about that

[Daisydot]

Great info Robin just what I needed to know,thanks so much xx

[Hurdity]

Back to teststerone! From what I've read there looks like to have been some wires crossed about the cost of T?

From what I gather Robin says that it is Androfeme which cost £108 per tube - but this is not generally available anyway except on private prescription from some gynaecologists so is out of the question for most women. We will have to hope that it eventually becomes licensed in UK on NHS ( some chance....).

Most women who are lucky enough to be prescribed testosterone have to make do with the other testosterone products for men but these should be far far cheaper even when bought privately. This is one advantage of there being no licensed product since the cost of the stuff is based on the dose for men so should be way cheaper for women. As an example when I was first prescribed testosterone May 2015 (before the NICE Guidelines) I had to get it privately and a box of 30 testogel sachets cost just over £30  - a month's supply for a man - but lasted me about 18 months! I managed to buy a second box from the same hospital before Dr Annie Evans retired - at similar cost. I imagine Testim and Tostran to be similar. So - even if the doc says you have to pay the full cost unless they are really mean and work out what dose a woman needs - it should be not a lot more than that (although Tostran may be a bit different from testogel but one Tostran canister of 60 g should last around 8 months or so and should be priced according to how much an average man uses in 1 month (approx 1 g every 4 days ie 1 pump on alternate days).  Also one pack contains either 2 or 3 canisters so should last you absolutely ages!!!! I would be interested to know how your pharmacy is pricing it Daisydot.

Also I hope they are not charging you also for the issuing of a private prescription (on top of the cost of the meds) when your consultant has already issued you with it otherwise you are being charged twice!!! I presume you got the first pack (of 2 canisters) from the private gynae so should last you a long time - maybe 16- 18 months, so you won't need to worry about getting an NHS prescription yet?! By that time things may well have changed re T - we live in hope  .  I am sure there is no need to buy it abroad and in fact I doubt whether you would be able to without a prescription? Probably best not to  anyway as you wouldn't want to have it lying around either - best to be as fresh as possible!

I hope this gives some encouragement to others re cost! Even better if on NHS as either free or cost of one prescription charge

Hurdity x

[Daisydot]

Hi Hurdity there's no crossed wires as far as I'm aware.ive told the cost of the Tostran 2% gel is £98 from Superdrug and £116 from boots were the prices I was quoted.this is for two canisters which the consultant advised would last me approx three months till my next visit.I can only relay the information as I get told it.He did not charge me for the private script by the way so I'm not paying twice.
As far as Spain goes there's no problem wherever obtaining it there I already have it and have started it and it's half the cost of here for exactly the same product.like the U.K. they also do best before dates so there's no need to worry about anything lying around not fresh is there.
Today I went to the gp and had the discussion about my meno report and his recommendations that I have the estring and the t and the response was as expected no not on nhs as unlicensed in U.K. so I said ok then but the estring is available on the nhs so why can't I have that on script instead of paying nearly £40 for that, he responded saying he'd have to discuss with the other doctors and I was to call back in the afternoon for a descision,I went in again spoke to reception in the afternoon and they had sent the estring script electronically to chemist so it's ordered for tomorrow.
Are they trying to bully me into complete submission or are they just being arrogant pigs because I dare to go private and question their abilities or lack of as a doctor.If they had the expertise or the compassion of my meno consultant I wouldn't be having to go private would I.
I see no point in not telling other people exactly what it's like,and what we tend to lose sight of sometimes is the fact that the consultants are there to find out and diagnose what the problem/remedy is and not to hand out scripts,it's perfectly normal for them to then write back to your gp with their findings and recommendations and then the gp prescribe any necessary drugs for treatment or am I completely off the wall here.
All I've ever asked is if I pay the cost of a meno consultant to save waiting on horrendous waiting list of,in my case 6 months,and thereby taking pressure off the nhs system will they follow the recommendations of this expert and prescribe accordingly,I cannot believe the amount of stress this puts me under.

[Wilks]

I've had a similar experience to Hurdity regarding testosterone- I paid £38 for a private prescription and got a box full of Testim gels as they only sold it by the box (equivalent to a month's supply for a man). There is enough to last me a year, but I don't know what I'll do when it runs out.

[Daisydot]

Here's an update ladies I went to my nice Indian pharmacist today,he's lovely,very helpful.He ordered me Tostran on private script it's costing £39 a can and there's approx 150 squirts per can and as it's 2% you'd only use a max of three squirts a week,so it should last a good three months at around 3 quid a week so that's not bad at all is it, unless my calculations are failing me lol.my two cans will therefore cost me around £79 which will do me at least 6 months so at least now we have a rough idea.I battled and got the estring on nhs and I get my oestrogel on nhs now but I can tell you not without an awful lot of grief.
I just want to quietly retreat into my shell now and enjoy my holiday with not a gp in sight hopefully.xx

[Dotty]

Daisy dot - I think a can of Tostran will last you longer than that.

Each can has 60g which is 120 squirts, as each squirt is 0.5g.  If you use 3 squirts a week then a can will last you 40 weeks, which is 10 months.

I think those calculations are right.

[Robin]

Wowser that is good Dotty!

[Annie0710]

I think Dotty is right. Using  One squirt a day would last 4 months +
X

[Daisydot]

Sorry ladies I'm rushing too much I'll let you do the maths 😂😂 I'm off to Benidorm now xx

[Annie0710]

Have fun !
Is it wrong of be to be insanely jealous !!!! Xx

[Hurdity]

Hi there - I did the calculation to give you the amount of time a canister would last when used as 1 pump every alternate day - when I said in my earlier post that a canister would last approx 8 months based on every alternate day usage. So yes Dotty that is correct - if 3 pumps per week (rather than alternate day which would use slightly more).

You should not be using any more than this ( ie 3 pumps per week - the Chelsea and Westminster clinic recommend to start at 2 pumps per week) so the two canisters will last you a very long time!!

That cost is OK then really as you have enough testosterone (from one pack of two canisters) to last at least 18 months and maybe more - so comparable with Wilks and my experience of the tubes/sachets' cost.

Enjoy your holiday and hope you stay well - and have a rest from this forum so that you can truly relax

Hurdity x

[Daisydot]

Ok ladies I bow to your superior maths skills I'm sick have some compassion lol.( id probably still have got it wrong lol)
Just had dinner at airport it was actually very nice and  i feel much better now.just killing time before my flight.
Annie if I could sneak you all in my bag I would lol.xx

[Dotty]

Daisydot - I hope you don't think I was trying to get at you. I was trying to be helpful by showing you that your testosterone was actually going to work out cheaper.

Have a lovely holiday x