So, I've been post-op (new vagina) for a few months and have noticed a decreased sex drive and low energy.  Apparently it wasn't just in my mind as my blood tests also affirmed this with a lower than low testosterone reading.  My doctor prescribed androgel, but I haven't started taking it yet.  I'm kind of afraid to because I don't want any of the side effects taking this stuff might give me besides the increased sex drive and energy.  No deep voice for this queen bee, no thanks, don't want it.

My question is has anyone else taken testosterone post-op?  What form, what dosage, and what happened?  Did it give you favorable results or not-so-favorable ones and was it worth it?

Thanks in advance,
mamba

other then the no dosages rule, I know someone who was rx'ed another brand of testosterone gel only to get much higher T levels then wanted and none of the good effects.

problem as I see it is administering T for women is still a fairly new concept to the average endocrinologist, thus while I've personally known about it for a while, I can't say much off top of head about how well it helps.

My surgeon Dr. McGinn recommends taking progesterone after surgery for this very reason. It supposedly metabolizes into enough testosterone to keep the libido going. I plan to at least try it out for a while after surgery and see if it makes any difference.

Maybe I'm weird but I haven't had any problems with my sex drive since GRS.  Being finally complete in body & mind is all I needed to set myself free & let my inhibitions go.  My total natural T level is 31 last time they checked which is normal for a woman my age.  There's no way I'd poison my body with an artificial version of the same substance that ruined my life for 2 decades.

I'm with Valentina on this... although I do also take a small progesterone dose which probably does help with the sex drive.

I would never take T, for a start I'd be worried about my hair thinning, as some of the males in my family were bald, but in addition as I'm PAIS anyway I doubt it would be that effective.

Quote from: Valentina on March 13, 2010, 09:22:51 AM
Maybe I'm weird but I haven't had any problems with my sex drive since GRS.  Being finally complete in body & mind is all I needed to set myself free & let my inhibitions go.  My total natural T level is 31 last time they checked which is normal for a woman my age.  There's no way I'd poison my body with an artificial version of the same substance that ruined my life for 2 decades.

I could certainly live with a 31 reading on my T level, that's about what I was pre-op.  Currently it's < 3 ng/dL!  And for the same reason you mention, I am also fearful of what it might adversely do to my body.  In some ways it seems like a step back and I certainly never thought I would find myself in this position.  But, you know, females need a little T as well to round things out, so maybe...  I would like to hear what others have experienced.

Chemically I believe the Rx is identical to what is produced by the body, so I wouldn't avoid it because of the artificial argument.  I could turn around and easily use that argument for all of the other hormones I've put in my body.  It seems a tad hypocritical.

That, in a nutshell is one of the points of taking progesterone. The body can easily metabolise some of it into testosterone if it needs it. So I would say take progesterone. It lifts your mood, gives you a bit more energy and I can tell you my sex drive is fine!

I currently have the paper work for some blood tests of which oestradiol and LH will be tested for.  The last time my doctor said they were good (although I thought they were a little low).  However I will discuss this further with my doctor and in a sense it would be interesting  to know what my testosterone levels are.

The question that needs to be asked does my body produce enough testosterone for its needs?  Which I suppose would necessitate another blood test to find that out.  I do not want the levels that will wreck any further havoc with my body, especially my hair.  Losing my hair would devastate me, although technically it could not do any other damage as that has already occurred when I went through puberty.  There is not a chance in hell that "I'd poison my body with an artificial version of the same substance that ruined my life for 2 decades" as Valentina said. 

Since I have been taking my hormones (just Progynova) properly again for the past two years.  I have been thinking of going to an endocrinologist to discuss the appropriate hormones levels for me so that it will give me peace of mind.  I remember after having surgery, I was taking several hormones and as a result I ended up lactating.

So having said all of that, if your levels are below the normal for a female, then the best course of action would be to see and endocrinologist.  Females who have very low testosterone levels and hence a low libido have been given appropriate levels of testosterone for quite some time.

Kind regards
Sarah B

My T-levels aren't very high and I have a high sex-drive. o_0 The last test I did it was hovering around 1.2, and the lab paper printout states average is between 0.5-8.5. I can't remember the measurement units off hand, but the lab print out usually writes the levels for the doc to see.

That's weird, my sex drive is good and my T level when tested was just 0.5. I have heard progesterone can be metabolised into T by the body so it seems that could help.

Stardust

interesting topic.

I am pre op and have a very low sex drive and want to increase that a bit, I wonder if progesterone can help me out, also I am thinking of adding progesterone due to the health benefits.

The only problem is.... what kind of progesterone?
I know there is natural progesterone cream, but some say it is not yet "proven" that this can be absorbed by the body.

Then there is the synthetic progesterone, but it is said that it does not have the same health benefits as natural progesterone cream.

And also...woman take progesterone only in the first or last days of the month...for about a week or so... but how should transwoman do this....

I started to post a new topic asking this very question, then searched and found this  ... and deleted my new post, lol....

My interest was spurred when I saw a couple women talking about using testosterone cream on their post-op clitoris in a mailing list from patients of my SRS doc.  It wasn't just to add sexual libido, but the primary reason was to increase sensitivity of the clitoris.   A quick Google-ation shows studies that lend credence to the idea that testosterone can aid in nerve regeneration after trauma.. like surgery.

Has anyone else found using the cream increases clitoral sensitivity?  I'm a bit concerned about my numbness there, hoping that it comes back. Yes, comes back!  I had good feeling there the first month post, but now it's mostly numb!

*huggs*,
Melan