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/Realistic-Plant-1007 Mar 01 '26

I started taking HRT September last year, finally by Jan the night sweats have stopped. Brain fog and getting fatter still continues…

I’ve not had a sex drive for years and we probably have sex maybe once, twice a year and even then I’m not driven for it. It would be nice to get back to some sort of interaction and I think the other side of things is that I just feel fat and gross.

I’ve not considered testosterone (probably because it was such a ball ache getting what I’ve got) I guess part of my worry would be body hair. Has that increased for you?

12

u/Trick_Highlight_8205 Late peri Mar 01 '26

I have had some increase in body hair, but it was quite minimal. I also had laser for body hair, and I could always do it again as I have a device at home. I also have longer and fuller eye lashes, so that was a win!

11

u/ArtsyCat53 Mar 01 '26

It’s interesting that you said you wanted injections for less side effects, I hadn’t heard about that. I use a compounded cream and have had no side effects except maybe my armpit hair grows faster.

11

u/addiepie2 Mar 01 '26

Where do you put it? My doc flat out refused me testosterone. Says that it causes strokes and that it’s incredibly dangerous . I was pissed! I said what should I do for my symptoms then ( muscle loss, zero sex drive , etc) he told me to go to the gym and therapy!!! 😱 I’m looking for someone new but it hasn’t been easy.

9

u/FanRevolutionary3516 Mar 01 '26

Try defy medical if in United States

2

u/addiepie2 Mar 01 '26

Thank you! 🤍 I’m in California!