116 - Testosterone: the forgotten hormone with Professor Isaac Manyonda

Professor Isaac Manyonda, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George's Hospital in London, makes a welcome return to the podcast to discuss the important hormone, testosterone, with Dr Louise Newson. 

The experts discuss why awareness of testosterone in women is usually overshadowed by estrogen and they describe what type of symptoms can be greatly improved by replacing testosterone, as well as the different preparations available, licensing issues and challenges of accessing the medication on the NHS.  

Isaac’s top 3 tips if you’re considering testosterone: 

1. Understand that testosterone isn’t just a male hormone, it is a key female hormone, and tell your doctor this if they are unaware! 
2. Be clear (with your doctor) about what symptoms testosterone can help specifically that estrogen alone may not fully alleviate, such as brain fog, sleep disturbances, lack of energy, and low libido. 
3. If your usual doctor will not prescribe testosterone for you, look into what other NHS clinics in your region will, it can take a bit of finding out how to receive it. It should be something you can access via the NHS, but change is slow.