Hey Russ,
When women do bioidentical hormone replacement, they get estrogen (my script has two types of estrogen in it), progesterone, and sometimes a little bit of testosterone. The testosterone gives us more physical energy, IMO, and increases our sex drive. At least that’s how it’s been in my experience.
My hubby, Craig, was prescribed testosterone only, but in a much MUCH higher dose than mine.
You can take it in a cream, drops, or lozenges (all applied daily), or you can get a pellet implant. Craig started with the pellets.
It took some time after his pellet implant to see his results (a week or two). I definitely saw him perk up, get more interested (in everything) and energetic. I actually even see him laughing more, and enjoying life more. I don’t know if he notices that part but he does say he feels better.
We much prefer the cream because you get a more steady supply of the hormones. Pellets are implanted then take 3 to 6 months (closer to 3) to wear off. Meanwhile your dosage is tapering off until you get the next implant. There are enough roller coasters in life. And pellets are considerably more expensive. AND they put dimples in your butt where they stick the tube in to do the implant.
My cream costs about $50 a month at Women’s International Pharmacy (they’re as much as 75% cheaper for the same dosage as other compounding pharmacies, and they are wonderful to work with). Testosterone is more expensive, and Craig takes a pretty high dose, so his is closer to $100 per month.
It’s not just about the sex drive – hormonal balance keeps you healthy whether you are male or female. Susan Somers is an advocate for bioidentical hormones for both men and women and explains the health risks of not being balanced in her books. As I understand it, when our hormone levels decline with age, it causes more rapid aging and disease. Balancing your hormones = staying young.
Works for me!