Women's Health: The Amazing Benefits Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Listen up ladies! We see articles on men’s health and their options to improve their health and quality of life all the time. But what about us? We want to learn about women’s health and our options to improve our overall health and wellness too! Recharge Clinic offers many different services and products to women to improve how they feel. Among these, one of our most popular services for both men and women, is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Specifically, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) for men and women, both individually tailored to the gender and needs of each patient. So let’s dive into TRT for women's health and discuss some of the amazing benefits it offers.

What is Testosterone Replacement Therapy?

Testosterone Replacement Therapy, known as TRT, is a form of HRT in which the hormone testosterone is supplemented or replaced using weekly intramuscular injections or bioidentical pellets placed under the skin that release the hormone as they dissolve over extended periods of time, typically 3 to 4 months in women. It’s a well known fact that TRT has incredible health benefits for men, but it also has amazing benefits for women's health! Women produce testosterone naturally in their ovaries and adrenal glands, in smaller amounts than men of course, but it is just as important! 

Women’s bodies require small amounts of testosterone to work in combination with other hormones to maintain:

• Mood
• Energy levels
• Sex drive, libido
• Normal bodily functions

Unfortunately, like most things made by our bodies, the amount of testosterone naturally produced in the female body declines as we get older.

What causes Low Testosterone Levels in Women?

There are many factors that can reduce testosterone levels produced by the female body. Age is the most common cause, as we get older, our bodies produce less and less of all hormones. In women age 40 and older, it is quite common to have low testosterone levels, especially women who have gone through menopause. 

But aside from age, there are other factors that can negatively affect testosterone levels in women of all adult ages, including:

• Ovarian cysts and polyps
• Long term use of various hormonal birth control methods - such as contraceptive patches and the birth control pill
• Estrogen therapy - too much estrogen can reduce the production of testosterone, so patients who receive estrogen therapy should also be on a TRT regimen to ensure that the levels of these two hormones stay balanced
• Adrenal Gland disorders that result in the reduced production of testosterone or excess production of the hormone Cortisol
• Chronic stress
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Extremely active lifestyles, manual labor work

Hormonal birth control methods and estrogen replacement therapy can alter the natural production and influence of hormones, including testosterone. The contraceptive patch and many brands of birth control pills contain estrogen to prevent pregnancy, but as a side effect, they may reduce testosterone production in the female body which results in negative symptoms. 

Adrenal disorders and chronic stress have a negative effect on the production and influence of testosterone in the body due to the increased production of Cortisol. The Adrenal glands produce Cortisol in response to stress due to the evolutionary “flight or fight” response that has kept humans alive for thousands of years. As part of this evolutionary response, Cortisol blocks testosterone’s influence on the body because evolution designed the “flight or fight” response to encourage the body to focus solely on surviving whatever situation has caused it stress.

This was great when humans were living in caves and being hunted by animals, but nowadays the factors that cause a stress response in the body aren’t typically being stalked by a hunger animal, but more likely being overwhelmed with work or having a big party coming up that you keep procrastinating the planning for. But our Adrenal glands don’t know the difference, stress is stress, and they produce more Cortisol every day you feel stressed. In women, the increased levels of Cortisol blocks the small amount of production and important influences of testosterone on a woman’s normal bodily functions. 

Alcohol stimulates the secretion of Cortisol, and then Cortisol facilitates the rewarding effects of alcohol on the body that results in the “good feelings”. So heavy consumption of alcohol can have a huge impact on the body’s production and influence of testosterone. This is problematic in men and women of course, but since women already produce much smaller amounts of testosterone than men, the negative influence of heavy alcohol use and stress can be detrimental to healthy levels of testosterone in their body.

Living an extremely active lifestyle or having a strenuous manual labor job can also decrease testosterone levels in a woman’s body. Being active can be very rewarding physically and mentally, but sometimes your body’s hormone production cant keep up. Testosterone plays a crucial role in a woman’s energy levels and mood, and sometimes a woman’s natural production of testosterone may not be sufficient to keep up with the amount required by her body to maintain good energy levels and mood.

What Benefits does TRT offer for Women's Health?

This hormone plays a role in many different functions in the female body that effect women's health. It plays either a direct or indirect role in regulating mood, libido and sexual health, bone health, and many others.

Some of the major benefits of TRT for women include:

1. Maintaining healthy bone density - this is very important since women are more susceptible to being diagnosed with osteoporosis as they age
2. Increases lean muscle mass and aids in the burning of fat cells
3. Increases libido and sexual fulfillment - as a sex hormone, testosterone can improve a woman’s sexual desire and drive as well as increase the pleasure and enjoyment of a sexual encounter
4. Vaginal health and function - healthy testosterone levels support the structure and function of vaginal tissues, decreasing vaginal atrophy and reducing painful intercourse cause by vaginal dryness
5. Can improve fertility - this hormone has a positive influence on Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), which is crucial for women’s fertility
6. Increases production of Hemoglobin - this is the protein in a red blood cell that carries Oxygen to cells throughout the body. Women who suffer from some form of anemia or anemia-like symptoms may experience huge improvements in their symptoms when receiving TRT due to the increase of hemoglobin produced
7. Improves mental health, memory, and mood - testosterone has a positive influence on brain cells, improving their health and communication. This improves cognitive function, reduces brain fog and improves mental clarity, and boosts mood to combat feelings of depression or anxiety.

Am I going to start acting like a man if I start TRT?

This, for good reason, tends to be one of the biggest concerns for women when considering TRT. Well the answer is NO, you will not start acting like a man or start growing any male characteristics. Our Providers here at Recharge Clinic are highly trained and experienced in HRT. The prescribed dose of testosterone for women is much lower than what is prescribed to a man. Our Providers’ approach to TRT for women's health is to start small and increase dose slowly over time, if necessary. This greatly reduces any risk of experiencing any masculine symptoms. 

Our Providers also closely monitor all patients on TRT, and since women’s hormone levels tend to fluctuate more than men’s, they have all female patients come in to review their blood work every few months to ensure their dose is correct and make any necessary changes. This attentive care offered to patients by our Providers is comforting to our female patients, and is just one of the many ways that Recharge Clinic works towards our goal of helping all of our patients feel empowered, confident, and healthy!

If you have any concerns about your hormone levels or experience any of the symptoms we discussed earlier, schedule your free hormone screening today and take advantage of our women's TRT services, designed to help us ladies feel just as good as our husbands do since they started coming to Recharge Clinic for TRT!

Created by: Bailey