Libido and testosterone

A number of people have asked me about my perceptions of the recent clinical trial I partcipated in.

The testosterone clinical trial is not entirely over although it is closed to new participants, having filled its number of candidates long before expected. The coordinators were very helpful in doing whatever they could to help me participate by distance after the initial on-site physical exam and labs. The trial was 2 months in length, with each participant getting 1 jar of cream each month and not knowing which was the placebo and which had the testosterone in it, and then the next month reversing the creams. The cream was 2% testosterone and we were to use 1/8 teaspoon daily on the skin of the stomach or the thighs (fatty areas absorb in the best way). The only unpleasant aspect was that one had to put it on and then wait 5 minutes while it absorbed, which was a bit tiresome since all I wanted to do most of the time was hit the sack to sleep...

The first 2 days were a bit problematic in that the small spoon that I received was the wrong size but I wasn't sure until the third day. For whatever reason, I had 3 straight nights with a bad headache and wondered if that meant I was then getting the testosterone cream. It also seemed to me that the perineal area felt uncomfortably sensitive although I didn't feel any more libido. My husband and I started the clinical trial at the same time as a 2-week vacation so our mood was happy and we were at play.

Once a week a 1-page form with questions about various aspects had to be filled out. No, I didn't grow any more hair anywhere, or develop acne, or a deeper voice during the entire 8 weeks. At the end of each month a more detailed questionnaire had to be filled out. I also had to have lab tests periodically and send them in, so they would be able to terminate my participation if any lab came up out of range.

At the beginning of the first week of the second month I was surprised to suddenly find myself very depressed for the first 2 days. I wondered if that meant I had been on testosterone during the first month, and was coming off of it as I went into the second month and the second jar of cream. The depression ended without any problems and in fact I felt somewhat better in terms of mood for the rest of the second month than I had during the first one. At the end of the 8 weeks I filled out the last detailed form and sent it in, with my written guess that because of the sharp headache at the beginning when I accidentally started out with the wrong size spoon and dose, and because of the sudden depression at the start of the second month, I thought maybe I had been on testosterone the first month of the trial.

Not so. It turns out that the month that I was feeling the best was the month I was on the testosterone. At the end of the trial we were told that if we desired to continue to use the cream we would need to get a local provider to prescribe it, and that if we agreed then we would be contacted at the end of 6 months to provide any additional information. I don't know how many women decided to continue, but I did. It took some time to get the appointment with a local provider to get the prescription, but with the paperwork provided by the clinical trial, the cream was provided by our local small-town pharmacy without any problem. As a participant during the remaining months I am required to have blood draws every 3 months to be sure my hormonal levels remain postmenopausal. I am only a short way into the extended period now and actually I think it helps most in terms of general mood and greater energy, which then contributes to a more loving environment in general. I have no information about the results of the clinical trial pertaining to ALL of the women who participated, so this commentary on it is just my personal perspective. If you are interested, I will let you know at the end what I find out and what my experience with the entire process is.