How long would a single dose of T gel stay in my system?

[suzifrommd]

Some background: I was unable to orgasm post-op after more than a year of trying. A doctor suggested trying testosterone. With a single application of T gell, I was able to orgasm easily. I only use it once every week or two. My endo agrees that using it in this way is not likely to do me any harm.

A few weeks ago, I unexpectedly found myself orgasming without having used T that day (my last use was 10 days earlier). I tried repeating the experiment the next day but did not succeed. I chalked it up to the unexplained, but it happened again yesterday (11 days since my last T). So clearly Something is Different.

Is it possible that a single application of T-Gel could stay in my system for 10+ days? Or has my body somehow figured out how to orgasm without it?

I've tried researching the pharmacokinetics of a single dose of T gel, but could only find data for T taken daily. Is there a way I could research the effects of T-levels many days after a single application?

My next endo appointment is in the summer. I could call her up and ask her, but it would be nice to have answers without bothering her.

[AnonyMs]

Not sure I understand what you are doing. There is testerone for women that you apply every day. I don't think it's something you need be concernded about using. In Australia there is AndroFeme 1% for example.

[suzifrommd]

Not sure I understand what you are doing. There is testerone for women that you apply every day. I don't think it's something you need be concernded about using. In Australia there is AndroFeme 1% for example.

I'm in the U.S. There is no T product formulated for women approved for use in the U.S. (or so I'm told).

[AnonyMs]

I found this

When AndroGel 1.62% treatment is discontinued, serum testosterone concentrations return to approximately baseline concentrations within 48-72 hours after administration of the last dose.

Guess it's not the kind of thing I can post a link to.

[AnonyMs]

Any chance it's on your clothes or bed?

[KayXo]

I can orgasm even without testosterone. I wouldn't worry much about this, I think by now, it's probably all gone from your body.

I apply some T daily and love it!

[suzifrommd]

I found this

When AndroGel 1.62% treatment is discontinued, serum testosterone concentrations return to approximately baseline concentrations within 48-72 hours after administration of the last dose.

Guess it's not the kind of thing I can post a link to.

Perfect. It was enough to for me to google. It was a posting at NIH which is usually reliable.

Thank you.

Any chance it's on your clothes or bed?

Possibly. Though it's hard to imagine that clothing would be a reliable reservoir for a significant amount of T gel over a period of weeks. I usually wash stuff I wear against my skin, and I wear sweats at night. The sweats I wore yesterday had been washed since I used T. I'm wondering if there's some still trapped in my skin (which is how T gel works - it's stored in the skin). Maybe there's some mechanism associated with the natural activity of skin that releases residual T after about ten days. Or maybe that's a coincidence and my body is somehow compensating for the lack of T in ways that I couldn't get it to do a few years ago.

[AnonyMs]

Perhaps there's some psychological component and now that you've got past some initial hurdle using T it's become easier.

[PurplePelican]

Perhaps there's some psychological component and now that you've got past some initial hurdle using T it's become easier.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! This is way more likely to be the reason than some kind of medically very unlikely alternative. Add to that, that T is not the driver of erection/orgasm as people seem to think - E will work just as well for the most part.

As far as creams/gels go, any  T gel at 1% strength would be fine..

[KayXo]

T is not the driver of erection/orgasm as people seem to think - E will work just as well for the most part.

Post-op since 2005. I've been on high, moderate and low doses of E with low and high dose progesterone or no progesterone. My clitoris only became sensitive after adding T and I could finally reach clitoral orgasm. My nipples also, surprisingly, became sensitive. I also produce much more lubrication than before, my vagina is moister and my libido has increased. For me, T has made a HUGE difference.

[Dena]

I'm in the U.S. There is no T product formulated for women approved for use in the U.S. (or so I'm told).

I believe when T is prescribed for women in the U.S. it's administered by patches. The other possibility is the gel can be measured with a syringe to provide a measured reduced dosage.

[KayXo]

I believe when T is prescribed for women in the U.S. it's administered by patches. The other possibility is the gel can be measured with a syringe to provide a measured reduced dosage.

There is no longer that option of T patches especially designed for women. The only two options are:

- using a product such as Androgel designed for men and only applying a little amount such as what I currently do, works fine for me.
- having a compounded pharmacy prepare a cream or any other product for you that contains T

[Rachel]

I tried T for a short while 6 months post op and went to a compounding pharmacy, a special Walgreens. I has some issues putting on T at the time but am ready for it now. I see my Doctor in March so I will ask for a script then and maybe even some progesterone cream.

I can orgasm but it takes a lot of stimulation. Dr. McGinn said T would allow for a quicker orgasm with less effort.

[KayXo]

T does a lot more than just facilitate orgasm, it gives you energy, motivation to do things, some muscle mass, nicer/thicker and plumper skin that glows and is no longer dry, etc. The cream apparently doesn't seem to give high enough levels in the blood, as far as progesterone goes, based on several studies. Hope the T affects you as positively as it does me. 

[Transfused]

Your adrenal glands still produce a little bit of T post-op.
Anti-androgens can put the hypofyse asleep for a long time with longterm consequenses. It could be that you kickstarted your adrenals again to produce some T. You added exogenous T and that could maybe have kickstarted your adrenal glands to re-produce T.
It is just a theory though. I don't have scientific studies to back my claims up.

[suzifrommd]

Your adrenal glands still produce a little bit of T post-op.
Anti-androgens can put the hypofyse asleep for a long time with longterm consequenses. It could be that you kickstarted your adrenals again to produce some T. You added exogenous T and that could maybe have kickstarted your adrenal glands to re-produce T.
It is just a theory though. I don't have scientific studies to back my claims up.

Yes, this is the scenario I was considering - that a year and a half of spiro (and 50 years of having testicles) put the other sources of T in my system to sleep, and that it's taken this long post-op to wake it them up again.

If this is discussed somewhere in medical literature, I would be grateful for a reference if anyone has.

[AnonyMs]

If you adrenals started increasing more it should turn up in your next blood test.

The opposite sometimes happens after SRS, where the adrenals produce too much to compensate to the loss of the other and women post-op women need to take anti-androgen's for a while.

[KayXo]

Yes, this is the scenario I was considering - that a year and a half of spiro (and 50 years of having testicles) put the other sources of T in my system to sleep, and that it's taken this long post-op to wake it them up again.

If this is discussed somewhere in medical literature, I would be grateful for a reference if anyone has.

There is no mechanism whereby T would kick start the adrenal glands to produce more T, that just is scientifically implausible. Caffeine, perhaps and stress. Or anti-glucorticoids.

[suzifrommd]

Well, it happened again last night. It's been 17 days since the last T application, so I'm ruling out that it has something to do with residual T in my system.

There is no mechanism whereby T would kick start the adrenal glands to produce more T, that just is scientifically implausible. Caffeine, perhaps and stress. Or anti-glucorticoids.

Well, I'm thinking exactly the opposite - that the lack of T (except occasionally) for the 3+ years since surgery has stimulated my adrenals to pick up the slack.

[Dani]

Is it possible that a single application of T-Gel could stay in my system for 10+ days? Or has my body somehow figured out how to orgasm without it?

I've tried researching the pharmacokinetics of a single dose of T gel, but could only find data for T taken daily. Is there a way I could research the effects of T-levels many days after a single application?

Getting back to the original question, the half life of testosterone really depends on the type of testosterone you are taking. Topical preparations have a half life of 4 to 24 hours, where as injectable has a half life of 4 or 5 days.

With T-Gel, the absorption will stop when you wash it off by sweating too much or taking a shower. Within 5 half lives, there should be no testosterone left in your blood system.