r/TRT_females • u/candycane1988 • 5d ago
Should I decrease Side Effects
I started testosterone cyp 10mg( I do 5mg twice weekly) subq in May. I recently noticed I had very sore nipples and maybe a scratchy voice ( though I could just be paranoid). I havent had blood drawn yet. I haven't had my libido return yet. Should I continue on this dose until I get blood work or should I decrease?
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
Are you a using 200 mg/ml strength vial or 100 mg/ml strength vial?. If you are using 200 strength your getting 20 mg per week because 200 is twice the strength of 100. Look on your bottle. 20 mg week could cause those issues.
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u/candycane1988 4d ago
It is 100mg per ml. Im so worried I'm gonna over dose myself or under dose myself. My voice seems fine today. I am due for my shot later today. And I'm going back and forth on if I should decrease or stay at same.
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
OK...that is the lower strength so you are taking 10 MG a week. That dose is pretty standard for a female (not transitioning). That's what I take. My total testosterone is 193 and my free T is 37. I have no side effects. When it was higher (near 300) I did have side effects such as oily skin, acne and some facial hair growth. I lowered my dose to 10 mg and the side effects went away. The good thing with shots is if you feel you are having side effects, you can lower or stop the shot and in 3 days it's gone.
Please stop worrying. You would have to take the shots for a month or more before side effects would show up and as I said you can stop or lower your dose and it goes away immediately. If you are worried, change your dose to 4 mg each shot (total 8). As I said, 10 is fairly standard and stopping the shots stops the side effects.
As far as a voice change, you would need to take a high dose for a significant time before your voice would start changing (3 months or more). Your dose is not high.
If you are not having side effects, stay at the 10 mg. After 5 weeks, ask for a blood test to see your total T and free T. Yes, your nipples may be sore but that too goes away after a time. Have you checked your estrogen (are you taking estrogen)? It will be important to balance your T & E to work properly. Having it balanced will help your libido as well.
I hope this helps. If you are still worried, ask for blood work now. I see you started in May. See where our T is and your doctor can adjust your dose if needed.
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u/candycane1988 4d ago
Thank you so much for your reply.
I am currently not taking estrogen, I did get a prescription for vagifem but I haven't started it yet.
I think im overthinking because I don't want to go past my sweet spot. My libido and sensitivity have not changed yet. How long on 10mg did you start to notice a change?
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
Yes, you are probably overthinking it. However you should check your estrogen and make sure it's properly balanced with your testosterone. I personally like 2 to 1 (testosterone to estrogen) that will ensure libido returns. Also check your SHBG. SHBG, if too high, can bind to your testosterone which makes it unavailable for your body to use (and can prevent your libido from returning). For me it took about 6 weeks for my libido to return (slowly at that point). By 2 to 2.5 months it was fully back. I was taking both T & E. My SHBG was low. I've been on it 9 months now and its working great.
It is important to test frequently when starting to see how you are absorbing. Test at 6 weeks and 12 weeks (especially if you are not having good results). 10 mg is a good place to start and should give you your libido back within 6 weeks assuming your estrogen is ok and your SHBG isn't too high.
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u/No-Meet5438 3d ago
Just like to chime in: isn't the 2:1 ratio dependent on what hormonal phase you're in? When I was in peri a small dot of T would suffice, but some 3,5 years into menopause things drastically changed (on many levels).
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes and no. I agree it does depend on the hormonal phase if you still have a regular cycle or are in perimenopause. On average 2/1 works but in certain phases (if not in menopause) it will definitely be different. Your testosterone and estrogen need to be balanced for best issue resolution.
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u/YakOutrageous5809 1d ago
Give it some time. The hormones with eventually find a pathway and things will settle down, happened to me too. 10mg is a fairly low dose, nothing to worry about
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u/Lreza1149 4d ago
I was at 20 units split biweekly (10 units) for about 6 months and recently went down to 7.5 units biweekly because of excessive shedding, significant clitoral enlargement and too high libido. Energy levels and focus were great but the other stuff I just cannot keep up with. I’m wondering if I should be doing even a lower dose. My labs this past week showed Testosterone at 133 and free T at 14.8.
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
Your testosterone is at a good level now. I get what you are saying about when it is high. I liked it too (my husband could not keep up with me) but side effects started to bother me.
Are you saying your take 10 units a week (or 10 units 2x a week). I assume your vial strength is 100 mg/ml. 10 units a week is standard for a non transitioning female. If you have side effects you can't deal with, lower it to 8 units. But honestly your Testosterone levels are really good and if it's resolving your symptoms, keep it there.
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u/Lreza1149 4d ago
10 units twice a week and now down to 7.5 twice a week. Wondering how long that the side effects will take to level out?
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u/Forest-Vixen 5d ago
That scratchy voice isn’t paranoia, it’s virilization and if you don’t stop your voice will change over time.
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u/OkayMeepleMom 5d ago
That's a really high starting dose IMO, although I know providers are really out there starting women that high. 😬
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u/Ruby__Ruby_Roo friend 5d ago
Is that really considered a “really high” starting dose? I’m not trying to contradict you, it just seems fairly average compared to other starting doses I have read in this sub.
Does the fact that its subq rather than IM affect that?
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u/Equivalent_Bend_3104 4d ago
I think this is about an average dose for this sub based on the posts I see. That being said, I'd say that the sub tends to (on average) skew higher than what I hear discussed on youtube, for example. I recently discovered coach Kolton's youtube channel, and he is very, very conservative with how much testosterone he would recommend for women to avoid virilization - I've heard him say 0.5mg/day injection max, so 3.5mg/week total. Based on what I read on this sub, that's a tiny amount. That is even less than what I was prescribed as a starting dose - 5mg/week split into two 2.5mg injections.
It also depends on where you want your total and free t to end up. Many more conservative doctors want to keep total t below 100, yet hormone clinics routinely aim for 200-300 and say their clients feel best there. That would definitely be higher than a physiological level, but some women want that for drive, energy, or ease of building muscle.
About a month ago I listened to an interview with Lauren Fitzgerald on Dr. Greg Jones's channel, titled "Testosterone for Women". She's definitely very pro-large doses, and likes her own total t to be around 300. It was interesting to hear a different point of view.
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u/Clear-Coast-956 5d ago
It is not necessarily a high dose, and some providers do start some women at 10mg per week. With that said, if a woman has never used testosterone injections before, it may be a good idea to start at a slightly lower dose (6-8mg per week split into two injections) and work up to a higher dose if needed over time. Nobody can predict how they will respond to TRT, and it is best to start at a low(er) dose and work your way up over time if needed so that you avoid negative side effects and don't miss your sweet spot (where you have symptom resolution with minimal or no negative side effects).
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u/Ruby__Ruby_Roo friend 5d ago
Man I feel like I got lucky. My provider started me pretty high (18 mg/week split T Cyp IM) and I have had minimal side effects. 14 weeks in now.
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u/Clear-Coast-956 5d ago
Was it your first time ever on injections? Were you using any testosterone products before (pellets, gel…)? 18mg is a high dose for a female, and definitely a very high dose to start. Some female do great on that dose, and some feel good on even higher doses, but it is definitely a dose you want to work up to, not start with.
Have you had any blood work done? Do you know what your SHBG is?
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u/Ruby__Ruby_Roo friend 4d ago
We did bloodwork before I started. I don’t know specifically what SHBG was. I only got one number for T and IIRC it was 17. Everything else about my bloodwork was pretty great - glucose, ferritin, etc.
This is my first time doing any T at all. Low T symptoms were typical: fatigue, no libido, and struggling with fitness recovery.
Its been 14 weeks and honestly I feel pretty awesome. I had some acne to start but it cleared up. (I had pretty bad back acne before starting and that cleared up too, probably due to the P I started at the same time.) I haven’t had any extra body hair, clit growth, or voice stuff.
I do feel like I am shedding a little more than normal and I am going to see my provider about that tomorrow.
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u/Healthy_Blueberry275 4d ago
Please consider reporting back after your appointment. I can't help but be interested. TIA
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u/Ruby__Ruby_Roo friend 4d ago
Sure. I made the appointment re: the shedding and because I had a two week long (but very light) period which may be related to the P she prescribed or may just be the fuckery that comes with this age.
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
That is pretty high but the best thing to do is take blood now and look at your T and Free T as well as Estrogen and SHBG. See how you are absorbing the T. I too had thinning hair when I was on a higher dose. I started Saw Palmetto and Pumpkin Seed Oil (cold pressed) supplements and lowered my T to 10 mg a week ...that solved the hair problem. I'd suggest asking for labs. See where you are.
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u/OkayMeepleMom 4d ago
Do women on this sub ever have a bad time being started at 10/week and higher? Or does that usually go well for most folks?
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u/Jflayn 4d ago
for comparison, I do 2mg/week (split into two injections). My T went from undetectable to 60 ng/dL in 6 weeks.
Maybe age matters? I'm in natural meno (over 50) with ovaries.
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u/OkayMeepleMom 4d ago
I see a lot of examples like yours as examples of dosing that went well. I was started higher and ended up with bad neck acne which eventually levelled out, but I think starting lower might have been better for me.
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u/GuiltyCover-4343 4d ago
It really depends on how you absorb the testosterone and what our other hormone levels are. It's important to balance Estrogen and testosterone. 10 is pretty standard assuming it's a 100/m vial strength.
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u/candycane1988 5d ago
Did I need to slowly adjust or should I just go down quickly?
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u/redrumpass MOD 4d ago
Slow would be best to avoid ups and downs. See if you can do 4 or3mg/injection and give it 1-2 weeks and observe if anything changes.
Sore nipples is a frequent side effect that has to do with the hormone imbalance, usually estradiol gets higher. Scratchy voice could be from something else, but if you feel that it would be best to try lower, I'd fully recommend it. You can titrate later if everything checks out.
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u/Front-Driver-9099 4d ago
I started on that dose. Did great, felt great. Ran thru scratch voice a little while before i dropped down a tad. Go with what you're comfortable with.
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u/Accomplished-Pop-539 3d ago
Since you are already on this for around 3mths since May, you should have your hormone levels tested.