Hello everyone,
after the hardest couple of years of my life since going through the menopause , suffering without help then finally managing to get hrt and having bleeding for ages with consequent hospital checks and exams , i thought i could finally breathe.
I am 50, i have been told from my gp after a blood test and no periods for over 2 years that i have “gone” through the menopause already so i guess i am post menopausal.
Initially was on 2 pumps of oestrogel and utrogestan, my levels were still quite low for estrogen so went up to 4 pumps which stopped hot flushes, sweats and palpitations .
My moods have never really recovered and i am still anxious generally and have very low moods but was very relieved about the stopping of main symptoms .
My testosterone level last year was 0.5 had no libido and no energy at all.
As i mostly wanted to save my marriage i asked for testosterone, i was prescribed testogel 40.5 and have been using one sachet to last 8 days , if occasionally I squeezed a bit too much i would then avoid application for the next night .
After a few months my testosterone levels were 1.3 and i felt better , and i have been continuing with the same dosage.
I am now in need of a new prescription and i was asked to do another blood test , which now shows my testosterone level 5.5 nmol/L.
How is that possible?
I have no symptoms apart from some hair growth on the application area, but nothing else apart from the good symptoms, more energy and libido back.
I have now been told to stop using it and will not get another prescription.
And possibly to do another test in a few days to see if levels go down to a safe , female range.
I have read posts that explain that what i need to have is also measurements of SHBG but my Gp hasn’t mentioned it , is it not something that has ever been included in my blood test reading , do i have to ask for it and would that make a difference?
I would love is someone can give me some advice ,i cannot find much info on high testosterone causes in menopause it seems not to be a common occurrence.
I am unsure of how to approach next blood test : i am so shocked about this 5.5 reading that if on one side i think i should stop straight away on the other i was thinking of using one more sachet maybe making it last 10 days and then repeat the blood test as cannot think that something has gone wrong in that result.
Would it be wise to stop for a few days and then restarting it ?
I do not want to “mess up “ my body but really struggling to make a decision, Gp wasn’t helpful as only approach from her is to stop and that’s it.
Also i had applied testosterone the night before and had the blood test the following morning , should i have stopped using it for a day before the blood test , desperately trying to get why this reading is so high and if there’s anything that could have contributed to it .
Thank you in advance for any advice .