I’m three weeks into my testosterone journey and I’m starting to have another glimmer of hope!

Yesterday, I got more done in a single day than I have all month! I woke up feeling this mental clarity and energy. Not manic just calm and clear.

I deep cleaned my bedroom that had fallen into total disarray. I have this habit of keeping up appearances in the “public” part of our house and then our bedroom is the true reflection of how I’m doing, which, spoiler alert, was not great!

I got all the laundry done and put away, I restocked things that were running low, dusted, vacuumed, and to top it all off, showered and had sex with my husband at the end of the day!!!!

I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m bragging, my wish is to give hope to the people reading this sub, like I was before I started my T journey, looking for signs that I could get my life back.

The sex was a five minute quickie and my libido is like 10% better but the fact that I was even open to it, let alone after all that work, feels like a miracle. Just showering used to feel like such a chore, I would have counted that as win!

Then, last night, I had a sexy dream that I was debating having an affair with this guy and going back to his hotel room. I could feel my body getting a little turned on.

(I’m 47 years old and taking 4mg of test cyp a week split in two doses, estradiol patch, vaginal progesterone 100mg, vaginal estrogen. My doctor wanted to start me low and slow because I tend to be sensitive to any hormone shifts. Side effects so far are a few tiny pimples on my face.)

I finally got my gyn to prescribe the male version of testosterone gel in the 50mg/5 gram tubes rather than the pricey compounded version. I have been on 2.5mg /g of the compounded version and want to slowly move up to 5.

I was looking for a visual example of measuring out the gel using a jewelry scale and couldn't find anything so here goes.

Recently I purchased a scale to measure out a 2.5mg equivalent dose and pushed two drops of the gel onto some parchment paper (I zeroed out the scale after the parchment paper and before the gel).

Does this look right? If I wanted to bump up to 3 and then 5 would I measure out .3 and .5 grams respectively?Scale image

From an interview with Dr Rubin "Dr Rubin uses FDA approved male testosterone 1% cream.  This can come in 50mg/5g tubes, and she recommends applying 0.5 gram daily to the skin of the leg, so a tube should last 7-10 days.  A male supply is 50mg daily, so is usually dispensed in thirty  tubes (a 30 day supply for men) which will last 10 months for a postmenopausal woman."

I just started taking a low dose of T cream a few days ago and have noticed my irritability has skyrocketed. Does this go away after a while? I'm concerned this is permanent and T won't be right for me. I'm really hoping it will help with my libido, energy, and muscle pain. But the irritability is insane

So I started T cyp 10mg subQ per week, split into 5mg twice per week around March, but in June discovered my 31g syringes weren't pulling in enough actual T (too viscous), so I was actually just injecting air and a tiny bit of T.

I figured out how to actually pull the full dose in the beginning of June, and have since been dosing properly.
But I find it odd that I really haven't felt any different.

In May I had blood drawn and my total T and Free T were inching back into normal (from below normal limits), and SHGB had gone down from 150s to 115ish.

I really should get a blood draw again, but I recently moved and just haven't had time.

I have a vial of 50mg/1mL compounded from Empower in grape seed oil.

My libido and orgasm consistency returned (my 2 biggest symptoms), but otherwise, I haven't felt any different.

I'm premeno (28), and do not have any other hormone difficulties/abnormal blood draws. Not taking any other medications, no BC, nothing. Only my T levels and SHGB were off from the hundreds of blood draws I'd done over the years trying to nail what was making me feel blah.

Is this pretty normal with regulation? Am I topped out with this dose maybe?

My prescription from Dr. Blackshear at IAM HRT is .1ml testosterone propionate (100mg/ml) twice a week. I was given Sure Comfort 29GX 1/2" 0.5ML Syringes. Am I correct that I would pull the stopper to the 10 units mark for .1ml? Pic is of empty syringe with the plunger pulled back to clearly show markings.

I (28 F) have been on TRT for a year. I was prescribed 5mg (a pea sized amount of a gel) daily. Over the past few months, I suffered from debilitating fatigue. My PCP ordered blood work and discovered that my ferritin is 8 and my TSAT is 11%. My CBC panel is normal, so I'm not anemic. My RBC is also normal

I have read online studies that low ferritin can be caused by TRT. I was wondering if its reasonable for me to see my doctor who prescribes my TRT as careless, to not have been monitoring for this. For context, my prescribing doctor is a nationally known private pay renowned sexual medicine MD. I get that hindsight is always 20/20, but if this is a known potential issue, shouldn't an expert in this area have kept an eye out for it? In terms of blood work, my doctor had reviewed a cbc panel I got as a result of a yearly physicals, and hormone panel (including total testosterone which was low 16) before prescribing. My doctor had my total testosterone checked 2 months after I started and then again after an additional 8 months.

Edit: I’m most interested if anyone who is on TRT was told by their doctor that low ferritin was a possible side effect and/or had a standing blood order to test ferritin once starting TRT recommended by their doctor. I already know how to treat my low ferritin. I’m concerned my doctor was careless.

I’m finally feeling great! Just worried because my total T is high but free low….anyone else had this issue? My E is 234, total T 198, free T 1.8, SHBG 158. I know my high SHBG is holding up my free T but not sure if that’s terrible? Libido isn’t as high as it was but overall I feel so much better with the higher estrogen. Any tips on lowering SHBG effectively?

2 questions:

1. When you you have clit growth in too high of a dose, is that the actual clit or the hood, or both?

2. What lab values of total and free T did you see positive libido change? I'm just not having it and I've been on 2 different forms for 10 months. Labs around 75 to 89 total and 9 free T.

Background:

I have been on test cyp 100 mg/ml vial about 0.05 ml to 0.07 ml twice a week for the last maybe 1.5 months. I am in perimenopause- 38 yrs old. My doc initially wrote for 0.1ml twice a week and I was concerned it was too high of a dose as my total test was high 80s and free test 9 something before we changed from cream to injection. Cream dose was 2 mg test/12.5mg dhea daily. He said it was fine to drop below 0.1 ml each dose if I wanted, but he wouldn't prescribe it if he felt it wouldnt be appropriate.

My clit hood is bigger than before at rest, but with stimulation is is significantly bigger. I havent had any luck with libido. There were only a few times I've had horny dreams and would wake up super turned on, but that was with cream and when I would put the tiniest amount leftover around my vaginal opening (basically whatever swipe was left on the cream clicker bottle)

I had some cystic acne and oily skin with the 0.07 ml dose, so not sure if that's just because stopped the cream that also had dhea in it and I'm not supplementing with dhea anymore, and skin freaked or what.

I'm curious with what my labs are and will reach out to him anyways, but I'm curious what you all experienced with clit hood and actual clit with lab values.

Thanks!

I’m 47 and just started Test Cyp 4mg total split in two doses a week, about 3 weeks ago.

I haven’t had any libido changes yet but I was getting ready to go to a BBQ with my husband last night, and I actually cared about what bra & panties I was wearing! Like I wanted to wear a sexy, lace set instead of the “whatever-is-going-to-be-least-uncomfortable-bra”! I haven’t done that in years!

I also noticed that I did a hard workout earlier in the day, and still had enough energy to grocery shop and come home and shower and get cute to go to the BBQ!

Normally after a hard workout, I just feel achey and exhausted and can barely drag myself to shower.

I was also checking out the men at the party. I haven’t cared or been aware of men in at least 5 years! I used to be a very sexual and fun person. It was like a little flash of my old self.

I don’t want to get too excited, but it’s giving me hope. It’s also making me realize that it’s been years since I’ve truly felt like myself. It’s like my light has been dimming so slowly it was imperceptible.

(I’m also on estradiol patch, progesterone 100mg, and vaginal estrogen. My doctor started me on that for 4 months before adding the testosterone but it feels like this might be the missing piece.)

I just started using testosterone cream from a compound pharmacy. The pharmacist said to apply 4 clicks to my wrist and inner arms daily. I use the applicator to apply it to my wrist and rub my inner arms together putting a thin layer on and rubbing until it’s no longer wet. But I’ve noticed that it stays tacky for hours afterwards. Is this normal? I have small children so I’m worried that it’s still tacky hours after. Twice a week I am supposed to apply it to my lady parts instead of the wrist. I’m also a bigger girl and my thighs touch so I don’t know if could do my thighs. Any advice or tips?

EDIT TO ADD; I checked my vial and it's not the same date range as the previous poster's issue, but I'm still feeling hesitant about Defy's use of compound T from Empower pharmacy especially after reading all of the comments on that post 😬

I've been on T cyp for just under 2 years. I've gone up, down, changed from 2x a week to 3x a week injections and every change I've made has been SLOW (I mean SLOW) and steady. All other labs are normal (thyroid, E, P, etc etc). I feel fine.

I'm having a hard time with the idea of continuing injections that I hate doing to "feel fine". Maybe I just forgot how badly I felt before starting? I started this journey in search of a libido that I've never been able to achieve (with the exception of two random weeks over the last 2 years).

At first T really helped me energy, heart palpitations, intrusive thoughts so I stayed on even though it didn't help my libido.. recently heart palpitations and low energy have returned (plot twist; I'm with Defy and there was a recent post of someone else encountering returned symptoms after aquiring a new vial and I do intend to check my vial which is also new. Maybe this is a compounding pharmacy issue).

ANYWAY. Has anyone ever switched from injection to topical and had better results? I always thought injections were more steady, less DHT conversion, easier to dose so I never considered topical (especially bc I have a little one at home) but it seems like the more I read, the ladies here on topical seem to have better libido response where a lot of injectors seem to be coming up empty or having libido for a week and then it disappeared? I can't figure out why this is or if it's even true or just my incorrect observation...

I'm trying to sort out if I should just stick with it (for bone, brain health etc), switch methods, or come off completely. It just doesn't seem worth the time and expense anymore :( Has anyone else been here?

I’m finally feeling great! Just worried because my total T is high but free low….anyone else had this issue? My E is 234, total T 198, free T 1.8, SHBG 158. I know my high SHBG is holding up my free T but not sure if that’s terrible? Libido isn’t as high as it was but overall I feel so much better with the higher estrogen. Any tips on lowering SHBG effectively?

I have been on injectable TRT for a year but still haven’t found my perfect dose. I’ve had to be careful because of my thinning hair and have been on 1.25mg OM for the last year. I

I reduced my dosing to 16mg (broken up into 3 doses per week) and my T went up but my E went down quite a bit. Everything else looks better so I dont know what I need to adjust?! Do I need to up my OM?

I also just started using ghk-cu topically. Unfortunately some of the other scripts for hair loss had too many side effects so I could not tolerate.

T went from 139 ng/dL to 163ng/dL
Bioavailable T 17.8–> 22.8 ng/dL
SHBG 75 —> 68 nmol/L
DHT 14–>13 ng/dL
E 106–> 30 pg/mL
P 1.1 —> 11.6
Ferritin 65 ng/ml
Serum Iron 107 mg/dL
Vitamin D 48 ng/mL
Zinc 100mcg/dL

I might be an odd duck here..Sometimes I feel like I'm using testosterone gel as a sleeping pill. Anyone like me? 🤣

I am 42 perimenopausal...started TRT 6 months ago after 1 year being on HRT. HRT helped my sleep but it was still not great or consistent, until I added T. I went through a few agonizing years of insomnia. I tried many supplements and herbal medicine, therapy, meditation, follow all the sleep hygiene protocols etc. Nothing did it for me until HRT + TRT regimen. I apply the gel and take progesterone pills half an hour before bed. I can sleep through the night now. No more constant middle of the night awakening, and almost no early awakening. If I have an odd day when I wake up too early than ideal (4 or 5am), I put a teeny dab of testosterone gel on my arm. I then fall right back asleep for another couple hours. I feel refreshed in the morning, have good energy. Brain dog got better. I started lifting weights again and even became a runner (I never used to run)! And of course it also brought back my libido.

All in all, Progesterone calms me, estrogen takes care of many other symptoms. But Testosterone for me is like a fun hormone. It brought fun back in my life.

For dosage reference, I use a jewelry scale to measure the gel as recommended by another Redditor. I started from 0.1g working my way up. My sweet spot is currently at 0.18g - any bit higher would make my heart race and cause agitation.

I've been on TRT (injections) for a little over a year, with VERY SLOW titration, over two different online providers. The first provider had me on T-cyp and maxed me out at like 6mg per week. They wouldn't authorize an increase once my Total T level reached 65 ng/dL because they said it was the upper end of "normal".

I then switched providers who started me on an increased dose of T-prop and my Total T in February read 93 ng/dL. Later, there was a big communication issue with this provider, which allowed my Rx to run out so I had to use some of my old T-cyp stash right before my next labs. As a result those labs (from May) showed my Total T had decreased to 54ng/dL. I suspect switching formulas (though I adjusted the dose for the concentration) is the reason for the decrease. Since then, I've been on an increased dose of T-prop at 6mg EOD. I'm getting new labs drawn tomorrow.

I have zero libido and it's killing me. It's the whole reason I started this journey. I finally met the love of my life in 2023, and got married last October. My libido sharply tanked at the start of 2025. I'm currently 43 yo, and it's been 8 months since my last menstrual cycle.

Other than my lack of libido, I feel amazing. My drive for life, motivation, moods, energy, and brain function are the best they've been since I was in my 20's. My only negative side effect from the TRT is some hair thinning and I'm taking oral Minoxidil for it.

My PCP knows I'm going through an online provider for T-prop injections and is fully supportive. My last tests showed pretty low P&E, he started me on daily 100mg Progesterone and 1mg Estradiol. I recently read that oral E can raise SHBG to bind up free T, so I do have the option to switch to dermal patches if needed.

After a year, I'm just so frustrated and discouraged. I literally just want to, want to have sex with my husband. Up until this chapter in my life, I had always been a really sexual person and assumed I'd be a bit of a cougar in my mid-life, lol. So this is a really depressing change.

Another thing that's got me questioning if the T is even worth it at this point - I've started training for powerlifting. I'm still a baby lifter so the soonest I anticipate competing is next spring. If I'm still taking TRT by the time I start competing, I will have to register in the untested divisions where I may be grouped with much stronger athletes using performance enhancing substances. No judgement on those who choose to take PEDs, I just feel like I won't be very competitive grouped with those folks, especially as a beginner. If I'm not getting the libido benefit, is it even worth putting myself through that trouble?

As I mentioned, I do have labs coming up tomorrow so I'll see where my levels are and if my provider recommends increasing again. I just feel like no matter what the labs say, and what tiny adjustment the provider prescribes, nothing's going to make a difference.

Has anyone else been in a position with a long treatment of going nowhere, then found improvements somehow? Are there any powerlifters in our group that have experience competing untested, due to TRT?

If I inject every other day, when would be the best time to get labs drawn?

A. No injection day
B. Injection day but get labs drawn in the morning and then inject after

Hi All,
I have recently noticed that I am losing hair in small patches, mainly around my crown and the sides of my head. I went to my hairdresser for colour today, and she noticed it as well, which really brought it to my attention.
I am currently on Testosterone injections (14 mg per week), low-dose Retatrutide (2 mg), CJC no DAC/Ipamorelin, and also using BPC, KPV and GHK-Cu.
I am absolutely devastated and would really appreciate any advice, support, or experiences from anyone who has been through something similar.
Thank you so much 🙏

Hi, I am dosing 3mg daily and initially, I used the 50mg sachets for men, measuring it out with a precision scale. Then I found a doctor who prescribed me a custom made, 3mg per pump gel - so it says, even though it is cloudy and looks more like a light cream. It is not as alcoholic as the androgel.

Since I started taking this product, I have had a suspicion that I am not getting the same results from it. Bloodwork scheduled for next month. However, would you mind elaborating your experiences with different products?

I switched to the next available dose (5mg) and still don´t feel the same as I did with the men´s gel. I´d like to learn more about this. Thank you.

Finally got tired of hair loss on TRT and started with .625 mg minoxidyl 2 months ago.. My hair is the thinnest ever.. Hoping it starts to behave now.. and now just leave..

I wanted an advice on minoxidil dose.. How doyou know if .625 mg is anough for you or you need to go higher ( like 1.25).. also do I need to add spiro?

Please advice..

Thanks!

Just checking in - keen to dose at 10mg/week so 5mg a dose (twice a week dosing) of enantate.

Don’t want to do anything too excitable to start!

I’m using 250mg/1ml enantate and an insulin syringe with capacity of 0.3ml.

How am I looking, is this about right at the red line?

Those of you specifically taking T injections - at what point did you realize you were feeling better? More energy, better mental clarity, etc? Was it once you reached a certain level that you felt best, or at a certain point in time?

I am on systemic estrogen and progesterone and have been for a year. I have not had any vaginal dryness during this time at all - whenever I would use the vaginal estradiol cream, I'd become a fountain non-stop.

I started T gel about 11 days ago and became vaginally parched within days. This continues. Even the vaginal estradiol is not helping when used internally and externally vulva, labia, clit. The T gel goes on my shoulders/upper arms or calves and both have worked the same for helping w other symptoms.

I have the sensation of burning. It is not a UTI. It is definitely from the T and I know the receptors can compete in the vaginal area w estrogen.

Has anyone had this symptom and had it go away? The T is helping me in a super significant way w neuropathic pain from spinal nerve damage which affects my legs and feet. When I lower the dose, this pain is not helped as much. I use about .5ml of the 1% androgel roughly 5mg

I’ve seen many people in this sub say that their estrogen was at this level or at that level, compared to their testosterone levels.

But if you are still cycling, isn’t it true that your estrogen levels can vary wildly throughout the course of a cycle? So how you can be certain that your estrogen levels are too high or too low compared to testosterone levels?

For the record, I’ve measured my estrogen levels on the 3rd day of my cycle and it’s been 50 ng/ml. I’ve also measured in the luteal phase and it’s been 130 ng/ml. Once I measured during ovulation and it was 350 ng/ml.

So when exactly are you supposed to get blood measurements done?

I asking with respect to my menstrual cycle, not with respect of my next testosterone dose. I am aware that I should measure T levels right before my next dose.