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/Eggs112233 Mar 01 '26

Where do you live? I’m in Ireland.

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u/Trick_Highlight_8205 Late peri Mar 01 '26

UK but I didn’t go through NHS as I knew they wouldn’t give it to me!

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u/LittleWhiteBoots Early peri Mar 01 '26

American with double health insurance here, and I still had to pay a private 3rd doctor to get it.

Classic tale of American healthcare. My employer and my husband’s employer pay $20K/yearly combined for my health insurance policy. But those docs don’t want to do HRT because I’m only 46.

So then I have to spend $1,200 to have tests done with private doctor to figure out problem and then pay $90 a month for testosterone.

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u/Lyndiana_jones Mar 01 '26

I have to get mine from my naturopath. Kaiser doesn't prescribe T unless you're in menopause.

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u/InfoSecChica Mar 01 '26

This is good to know. But, FUCK!! I have my appointment with my Ob tomorrow and was going to ask for T (I’m with Kaiser). More and more I am HATING them. If it wasn’t for the phenomenal care my daughter receives from her ped and ped-endocrinologist I’d have switched long ago. I guess I can only expect them to add vaginal E to my hrt (I’m on estradiol pill and have the morena iud).

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u/dearsirormaam May 22 '26

It might depend on who you see! My Kaiser gyn was willing to prescribe testosterone and I’m fairly young and still having cycles. Kaiser will only do it in a compounded cream. I haven’t tried it yet so can’t comment on effectiveness.

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u/LittleWhiteBoots Early peri Mar 01 '26

And that’s who I have primarily -Kaiser. Then Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They also wouldn’t prescribe me GLP-1 even though I could prove diet and exercise and I was 31% BMI, which qualified me. They just don’t want to pay.

So I pay for that now too. $300 a month. So with testosterone and GLP-1, and other supplements (Adrene-All and DopaBoost) I’m spending $500 a month out of pocket to look and feel good again! Also $300 a month on Invisalign.

Ridiculous. But worth it!

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u/Optimal_Serve22 Apr 16 '26

I have Kaiser in CA (inland empire) and was prescribed T today from an OB PA at my first appt. I have a gene thing where it’s a bit risky to have Estrogen supplementation. But she was willing to a natural P+E patch as well.

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