Testosterone for women
One narrow branch of menopause care. Start with a full menopause evaluation — $150 self-pay or commercial insurance — and your clinician will tell you whether testosterone belongs in your plan at all.
What is looked at first
- Pain or dryness with sex — often the real cause, and treatable with local vaginal estrogen.
- Sleep and hot flashes, because exhaustion lowers desire on its own.
- Mood, stress and relationship factors.
- Medications that reduce libido, including some antidepressants and blood-pressure medicines.
- Thyroid, iron and other medical contributors.
If testosterone is appropriate
It is prescribed at a low, carefully measured dose for women, with follow-up to check the response and to make sure levels stay in a female physiologic range. There is no FDA-approved female testosterone product in the US, so a compounded preparation is often used — that preparation is made and shipped by Empower Compounding Pharmacy, which bills you for the medication separately from the Ondoc fee. Your standard menopause prescriptions continue to go to your own pharmacy.
Before you start
Hormone therapy has benefits and risks that depend on your age, how long since menopause, and your personal and family history. Your clinician reviews those with you before prescribing, and some histories make hormone therapy unsafe.
The Ondoc fee pays for the clinical evaluation and is non-refundable. A paid evaluation does not guarantee that a prescription will be issued — that is the clinician's decision.
Common questions
Start with the full evaluation
Menopause care first; testosterone only if it is the right answer for you.