When prescribed at appropriate doses by a knowledgeable clinician with regular monitoring, testosterone therapy has a favorable safety profile for many women. Research involving thousands of women in clinical trials has shown no cardiovascular harm or increased risk of breast cancer when used at dose levels of what women typically produce naturally.

However, safety requires careful oversight. Your Inflexxion Health clinician will review your complete health history, order baseline lab work, and monitor your testosterone levels regularly.

The strongest evidence supports testosterone therapy for sexual health concerns in postmenopausal women, particularly decreased sexual desire, difficulty with arousal, and reduced ability to achieve orgasm. At Inflexxion Health, we also treat perimenopausal women who have not yet stopped getting their periods for good. Many women see meaningful improvements in sexual desire and response within 3 to 4 months of starting treatment.

Despite common claims, high-quality research has not demonstrated meaningful benefits from testosterone replacement for brain fog, general fatigue, mood issues, or muscle function at doses appropriate for women. If you're experiencing these symptoms, they deserve evaluation and treatment but testosterone may not be the answer.

No. While testosterone therapy has been FDA-approved for men's health conditions since the 1950s, the agency has never approved a testosterone formulation specifically indicated for women in the United States. This lack of approval stems primarily from insufficient research funding and attention to women's health needs, rather than safety concerns.

As a result, clinicians prescribe FDA-approved testosterone "off-label" (using medications approved for men), which is common and legal, or through compounded formulations.

At Inflexxion Health, we worked closely with our compound pharmacy partner to create a testosterone replacement therapy cream that is optimal for midlife women.

At Inflexxion Health, we prescribe only topical testosterone creams because they offer significant advantages over other formulations like pellets or injections. The most important benefit is flexibility: if you experience any side effects or your levels become too high, you can simply reduce the dose or stop applying the cream. This gives you and your Inflexxion Health clinician immediate control over your treatment.

In contrast, testosterone pellets, which are implanted under the skin, cannot be removed or adjusted if your levels climb too high or you experience unwanted side effects.

No. Testosterone levels begin declining during perimenopause (the years before your last period) when hormone levels start fluctuating. If you're experiencing symptoms like decreased libido, difficulty with arousal or orgasm, and lower sexual energy during this transition, testosterone therapy may be appropriate. 

At doses appropriate for women, side effects are uncommon. When they do occur, they typically include:

• Mild acne or oily skin
• Increased hair growth, particularly at the application site
• Slight changes in voice (rare and usually related to excessive dosing)
• Mood changes

More serious concerns like significant voice deepening, male-pattern hair loss, or clitoral enlargement usually indicate doses that are too high. This is why regular monitoring is essential. Your clinician can adjust your dose if any concerning symptoms develop.

If you experience any of these effects, contact your clinician promptly. Most can be reversed by adjusting or discontinuing treatment.

This is a common point of confusion. The "normal ranges" for testosterone in women are extremely broad, and there's no consensus on what constitutes clinically meaningful "low testosterone" in women. Your lab results might fall within the reference range while you're still experiencing significant symptoms.

Responsible clinicians consider both your symptoms and your lab results when determining if testosterone therapy is appropriate. The goal is not to achieve a specific number but to relieve bothersome symptoms while keeping your levels in a safe physiologic range. If your primary concerns are sexual health issues like decreased desire or difficulty with arousal, and other potential causes have been ruled out, testosterone therapy may be worth trying regardless of where your baseline levels fall within the reference range.

If testosterone therapy is going to help with sexual symptoms, most women notice some improvement within 3-4 weeks, with continued, increased benefit over 3-4 months. 

If you haven't seen any positive changes after 3-4 months at an appropriate dose, testosterone may not be the right treatment for your symptoms. This is important information; it means your symptoms likely have a different cause that deserves further investigation. Your Inflexxion Health clinician will continue to work with you to find solutions that do work.

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and testosterone are related but different hormones. DHEA is a precursor hormone—meaning your body can convert it into other hormones, including both testosterone and estrogen. Think of DHEA as a building block that your body uses to make the hormones it needs.

DHEA supplements are available over-the-counter without a prescription and are not FDA-regulated. When taken as a supplement, your body may convert some of it to testosterone, but the amount of conversion varies greatly between individuals and isn't predictable or controllable. There's limited high-quality research on oral DHEA supplements for menopause symptoms.

Combining oral DHEA with testosterone cream may be a good combination for some women but DHEA is not testosterone therapy despite claims on some telehealth sites.

Testosterone is not a weight-loss medication, and evidence does not support its use for these purposes in women. 

Some women report feeling more motivated to exercise or noticing that their bodies respond better to strength training, but these subjective experiences haven't been confirmed in controlled studies. If you're concerned about changes in body composition during menopause, a comprehensive approach including nutrition, resistance exercise, and possibly other hormone therapies (like estrogen) is more likely to help than testosterone alone.