Hi Gizmarelda
Testosterone tests are unreliable for women - whose readings are at the low end of the scale and are not needed in order to prescribe it. However testing is indicated once you've started T to make sure you remain within the range for women, and will give better resaults once T in increased.
Also what HRT are you on - is it tablet or transdermal? Tablet HRT can reduce free T and affect libido, and some anti-depressants ( and other medication I think) can also depress libido so if you are taking any of these - this would be the first thing to look at before supplementing with T.
Also how old are you?
Re T efficacy - she is wrong there (as far as I recall) - the Intrinsa patches which used to be licensed for women were shown to be efficaceous - more than just 1 sexual thoyght per month (!) otherwise it wouldn;t be worth prescribing. I have the product monograph somewhere saved to my computer I think. with the scientific data but haven;t looked at it for a few years.
Was she a menopause specialist doctor? I would be asking her for the references to her assertions about T.
Do have a read of this from British Menopause Society:
https://thebms.org.uk/publications/tools-for-clinicians/testosterone-replacement-in-menopause/... and I see from that the advice has been updated and it says here:
"It is recommended that total testosterone levels are checked before treatment to establish a baseline for future monitoring and to ensure that levels are not in the upper range before treatment is commenced."
So that sounds sensible - but not because the test needs to be used as a basis for prescribing. ie a different reason for testing.
What T has she prescribed and what dose?
Hope this helps
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Hurdity x