My doctor recommended I also take testosterone as part of my treatment of menopause. Why would I want to do such a thing as to use a male hormone?
Dr. Rosensweet: Your doctor is right. This is a basic misconception about testosterone, that it is a “male” hormone. It is a human hormone essential for the health of both males and females. The amounts present in men and women differ: yet optimal testosterone levels are crucial for long term health of both men and women.
Testosterone is produced in a woman primarily in her ovaries. By three years with no period every woman has dramatically insufficient testosterone levels. Nowadays, so many women, even in the perimenopause, are too low in their testosterone levels to have normal function of libido and muscle strength, to name 2 of many testosterone deficiency symptoms.
I often have felt that replenishing testosterone in menopausal women is one of the most important things we do. When I asked a physician who has specialized for years in assisting patients in nursing homes, what percentage of the women were there because of hormonal deficiency, she said “80%.” Loss of testosterone inevitably leads to loss of muscle (sarcopenia) thus is the main reason for canes, then walkers, then wheelchairs. Sarcopenia of the muscle that holds up the bladder and other pelvic contents, is another cause of inability to hold urine…thus adult diapers. Here we have 2 of other major reasons for women needing assisted living facilities and nursing home care. Prevention of this for leaving home is cherished and revered by those who understand this connection.