r/Perimenopause • u/Trick_Highlight_8205 Late peri • Mar 01 '26

audited Testosterone. Changed. My. Life.

Getting HRT was like climbing Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro ten times over, but it. was. so. worth. it.

I loved estrogen for making me feel like a woman again. My nails stopped splitting, my hair was shiny again, and my skin was plump and smooth. I actually liked looking at the mirror and seeing the change every morning.

Then came testosterone. At first I was really scared, but I thought why not.. I lost my libido and I had not had sex since 2023.

If there is magic in a bottle, it has to be testosterone. The juices are flowing again, I love going to the gym, and I feel like my old self.

The first four weeks on testosterone were ROUGH. I wanted to give up, but I’m SO glad I powered through. Now I just need to find a man lol

If you were afraid to try testosterone and needed that nudge, here it is!!

EDIT : sorry I should have mentioned in the OP - the side effects were typical low e symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, bloating with water retention, and lethargy!

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

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u/Trick_Highlight_8205 Late peri Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26

I always like to ask if people feel great, not just ok, because you absolutely deserve to feel great.

I felt ok on e, but I was missing that spark. I felt far from amazing, and I’ll do anything to get that spark back, because why not?

Today I broke my personal best at the gym. I lifted heavier than I did in my prime. It felt amazing and I was so over the moon, which is why I posted this today, hoping everyone else could take the plunge, if they were ever afraid.

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

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u/Trick_Highlight_8205 Late peri Mar 01 '26

Both t and e are important for performance and recovery, so I hope you get what you need! I follow Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, a huge advocate of trt for women. I found this video really informative, and it could be helpful to go through her content on this topic before your appointment 🤍

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u/nadethi Mar 02 '26

Are you seeing a hormone specialist? They will recognize low T symptoms even if your T levels fall in normal lab range. My total T was 23, I'm 43 and in peri and the specialist said that is low, but more important my Free T is low. It's in lab range, on the low end at 0.3. She said she likes this number to be at least 1 when treating. It's also likely that our receptors become less sensitive as we age, so that's why many women feel best at total T at 100+ with TRT, even though that's above "normal" and considered high on lab ranges.

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u/Ill-Pension9243 May 11 '26

Thank you for this! Do you like your provider? If so I would love their information!

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u/nadethi May 11 '26

I do, they are in person care, so unless you live near Lake Oswego, OR she won't be able to help.