Low testosterone?

2chr2015,

Hi, being you are in peri you most likely are low on testosterone. Just like your other hormones, estrogen and progesterone it is depleting and will continue to deplete as you continue into menopause. A doctor that knows what their doing will run the right lab work and get your numbers and prescribe the right hormone treatment for you depending on your numbers and symptoms. Women overlook testosterone in their  hormone replacement I think and we need it just like we did when we were younger to feel good. I've been on bio identical hormones for two years now including testosterone with no problem. My doctor ( holistic ) started me off low and we have been bumping it up slowly. I do believe it has helped my sex drive and has helped my prior lubrication issues. As we age and go into menopause, things become dry, we have less lubrication and sex becomes painful for many women.  Our sex drive decreases, Tissues thin in the vaginal area and many women can't enjoy sex anymore. Climaxes become harder to achieve, etc. Testosterone can help with these issues in my opinion.  The tricky part is finding a good doctor that will even run hormone testing, especially for testosterone. Good luck. 

Not sure on the fluctuation on the testosterone vs estrogen or progesterone. There is one thing for certain and that is all your hormones will continue to plummet.  Every woman has varying degrees of discomfort as this continues to go on. Some women have no troubles for a few years after menopause while others can tell as soon as their periods end things get bad. If you are having difficulty with intimacy now there is a good chance it will only get worse as time goes on. Personally I read up on hormone replacement way before my periods ended and I knew I wanted to go with bio identicals. I too live in a rural area and I anticipated having to drive at least 3 hours to get my hormone treatment going. My regular GP who is female frowned on hormone replacement and I knew that going in. Turned out I found a holistic dr right in my area, I would suggest  if you are really interested is to find a good doctor to get hooked up with to run all your blood work even if it means traveling initially. Once set up with what you need most places can ship your prescriptions ( hormones ) through the mail. Thats a thought for you anyway. I plan to stay on my BHRT for life. I feel great. I also feel it is protecting me from many health issues in the future. If I knew then what I know now when I was going through peri ( 10 yrs of heavy bleeding, headaches ) I would have been looking for a holistic doctor 10 years ago. Best health decision I made. 

2chr2015,

I tell ya, I read so much going into my appt with my GP I was confident in my own decision. Most GP's do not get too involved in studying hormone treatment or menopause. Most are still going from the womens health initiative study from 20 years ago where they know it was a flawed study. It is true, HRT using synthetics is not a good choice. That is what got so many women in trouble with hormone replacement years ago. The remedy still today is just cutting these pills down in dosage but it still contains the ingredient that made women sick, horse estrogen, hence the patent to continue to make money. Sorry I digress, anyway, the decision was a easy one for me after finding the right doctor. I have been on BHRT for two years. No problems, Labs run regularly. My female dr showed interest and does want me to keep her updated as to my progress but I haven't been back for a check up with her. Something I need to do though. I am anxious to share my progress with her. She did show interest the day I told her I had already set an appt with a holistic dr. Years ago people considered holistic and alternative drs to be quacks. I think more and more were finding they are the ones that have it right. BTW, my husband has had his own decline in testosterone and is on testosterone pellets. Wow, a new man! At age 60 his desire bottomed out, never thought it was possible in a man but it sure is. Good Luck!

There are a couple of studies showing that testosterone helps poor libido (I'll post them below)but if you want to go the natural route fenugreek has been also shown to increase testosterone and help with menopause symtoms. It's a bit of a smelly seed but you can sprout it (grow it without soil) for a week and turn it into a little plant which is gentler.  I know you said BHRT is expensive but all they use is plant hormones and  there are books on both natural diet to increase plant hormones and books on growing your own HRT in the form of sprouted foods that you can try. Good luck

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Reed BG, Bou Nemer L and Carr BR. Has testosterone passed the test in premenopausal women with low libido? A systematic review. Int J Womens Health. 2016

Rao A, Steels E, Beccaria G, et al. Influence of a Specialized Trigonella foenum-

graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol and Sexual

Function in Healthy Menstru

Amanda Rao, Elizabeth Steels, Gavin Beccaria, et al. Influence of a Specialized

Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol

and Sexual Function in Healthy Menstruating Women, a Randomised Placebo

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Sevil Hakimi, Sakineh Mohammad-Alizadeh, Siahi MR, et al. Effect of Fenugreek

seed on early menopausal symptoms. Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. 2005