Does Testosterone Supplementation Suppress Its Natural Production in Women?
This week I had a clarifying conversation with a colleague, Irwin Goldstein, M.D., who is the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine. I had been under the impression that women who supplemented testosterone through transdermal methods (through the skin) ran the risk of turning off their body's own ability to produce testosterone from their ovaries and adrenal glands. Happily, this isn't the case.
When it comes to testosterone supplementation for women, the female clients that I've had in my therapy practice have fallen into two general groups:
The latter group has little hesitation to bring on board a medication that they would want to utilize much of the rest of their lives. They are already involved in this process for other body parts and purposes. But, the younger group rightfully has looked at this with some trepidation. That's because it's quite often true that when a substance is added to the body to increase the body's supply of that substance, the body slows down its own manufacturing of that substance.
And, it turns out to be true for men. Here's how:
When men have low testosterone levels, they are often in their fifth decade or beyond. Supplementing at that point becomes a daily task for as long as the man wishes to have a libido that springs from his body, rather than from his mind - or in addition to it. In order to get male testosterone up to a healthy level, men use quite a bit (for example, a full tube of Testim containing 50 mg every day).
Women do not need the same amount of supplementation in order to have an adequate libido. (They typically use one-tenth of a tube of Testim per day or even a bit less than that.) So, as it turns out, the small amount of testosterone that is needed for women does not shut off their own production from their adrenal glands and their ovaries. It just adds on.
This turns out to be good news for women. In a few years, our FDA will probably see the wisdom of approving testosterone products specifically designed for women. But in the meantime, off-label use of a product like Testim and other testosterone that is compounded for women, will go on.
And, women - both young and old - can participate in this part of a sexual revolution. For half of these women, it's the second time they've been involved in such a cultural shift. Unfortunately, the birth control pill which elevates sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) that was at the center of the first revolution may very well have been a primary cause of the low levels of testosterone that are at the heart of the current one.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: testosterone, women, libido, sexual health
When it comes to testosterone supplementation for women, the female clients that I've had in my therapy practice have fallen into two general groups:
- Women in their twenties and thirties
- Women in their forties and fifties.
The latter group has little hesitation to bring on board a medication that they would want to utilize much of the rest of their lives. They are already involved in this process for other body parts and purposes. But, the younger group rightfully has looked at this with some trepidation. That's because it's quite often true that when a substance is added to the body to increase the body's supply of that substance, the body slows down its own manufacturing of that substance.
And, it turns out to be true for men. Here's how:
When men have low testosterone levels, they are often in their fifth decade or beyond. Supplementing at that point becomes a daily task for as long as the man wishes to have a libido that springs from his body, rather than from his mind - or in addition to it. In order to get male testosterone up to a healthy level, men use quite a bit (for example, a full tube of Testim containing 50 mg every day).
Women do not need the same amount of supplementation in order to have an adequate libido. (They typically use one-tenth of a tube of Testim per day or even a bit less than that.) So, as it turns out, the small amount of testosterone that is needed for women does not shut off their own production from their adrenal glands and their ovaries. It just adds on.
This turns out to be good news for women. In a few years, our FDA will probably see the wisdom of approving testosterone products specifically designed for women. But in the meantime, off-label use of a product like Testim and other testosterone that is compounded for women, will go on.
And, women - both young and old - can participate in this part of a sexual revolution. For half of these women, it's the second time they've been involved in such a cultural shift. Unfortunately, the birth control pill which elevates sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) that was at the center of the first revolution may very well have been a primary cause of the low levels of testosterone that are at the heart of the current one.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: testosterone, women, libido, sexual health
3 Comments:
Keeping an open mind.....could it be at all possible...that an elevated PSA number over a two year period, may have ANYTHING to do with increased masterbation {sometimes 2 to 4 times a day}in that same period of time ?
During that same 2 year period, there was a good chance of depression, and the masterbation was used as a 'mental escape'....
my wife and i have not had sex for over a year. she is 56 and post menstrual.cancer runs in her family and she cannot take any tseterone..is there any other medicine she can take to boost her libido..if we try she is very dry and she says it hurts her even with lubricant...
I am a 46 year old woman that finished chemo and radiation approx.2 months ago.My hair has always been very thick and healthy.I am losing the back of my hair and the oncologist says it is not from the low dose of chemo I received.I almost starved and now have a feeding tube,gaining weight and feeling pretty good.I am cancer free.I had it in my left tonsiland had some lymph nodes involved.I wonder if my estratest I take for my hormones is causing the hair loss?help
Post a Comment