PATIENT HANDOUT

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Testosterone for Midlife Women With Sexual Problems

ome postmenopausal women are disturbed because they no longer S enjoy sexual intimacy. They don_t feel the desire to initiate sex or respond to a lover_s advances. Some women have heard that testosterone may help sexual driveVbut how do they find out more about available options, including safety and effectiveness? NAMS THE NORTH AMERICAN MENOPAUSE SOCIETY Women have testosterone too? Other countries, however, have approved the testoster- In addition to estrogen, levels of other hormones pro- one patch for treating low sexual desire in surgically men- V duced by the ovaries progesterone (another female hor- opausal women who are also on estrogen therapy. mone) and testosterone (a male androgen hormone produced at lower levels in women)Vare also changing Beware of products not approved during your midlife years. Although androgens are the for women. hormones that promote male sexual characteristics, they l Men_s testosterone products: Prescription products _ play an important role in women s sexual response. developed for men (such as Androderm, Testoderm, and Androgel) contain doses that are too high for How does testosterone affect female women. Sometimes, however, these products are pre- sexual desire? scribed off label for women at about one-tenth the Intermittent decreases in progesterone affect menstrual daily dose prescribed for men. l periods more than they affect sexual function, but declines DHEA. Another natural androgen hormone, dehydro- in testosterone may weaken a woman_s libido and orgasms. epiandrosterone (DHEA), is available as a nonpres- The fact that estrogen declines more than testosterone cription supplement in the United States. It has been leads some to believe that libido should not decline at men- marketed as a way to improve libido, vaginal atrophy, opause. The decline in testosterone in women is solely age arousal, and orgasm in women. But these claims are related, not menopause related, and begins years before not endorsed by the government and are not sup- perimenopause. ported by evidence. More information is also needed on the long-term safety of DHEA, which has been as- Is there a testosterone product sociated with many of the same side effects in women for women? as testosterone. There is currently no testosterone product approved for women in the United States. The government is waiting for Where can I learn more information more long-term safety data. Because testosterone is con- about sexual health and testosterone? verted to estrogen in the blood, some experts think that See Sexual Health & Menopause on the The North American testosterone therapy might have similar risks as systemic Menopause Society_s website at: http://www.menopause.org/ estrogen therapy (such as breast cancer and heart disease). for-women/-em-sexual-health-menopause-em-online.

Menopause and The North American Menopause Society grant permission to reproduce this handout for the purposes of patient education. A downloadable version of this patient handout is available at: www.menopausejournal.com and www.menopause.org. e1 Menopause, Vol. 20, No. 7, 2013

Copyright © 2013 The North American Menopause Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.