Women are posing as men to buy testosterone from online pharmacies because of difficulties getting NHS prescriptions in Wales, according to a consultant. There has been a "very sharp increase" in testosterone referrals to the NHS for post-menopausal women, but access varies between health boards. Menopause specialist Dr Michelle Olver said she had seen women with up to 12 times the safe level of the hormone - risking permanent side effects - because they have bought online.
She would like to see an equitable all-Wales approach to testosterone prescribing, with it used to help with things such as libido. The Welsh government said: "All health boards are expected to provide individualised care." While testosterone is proven to help with libido after menopause, many women also claim it helps with energy levels and cognition. Olver, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health, said it was "incredibly sad" to see women lying to get hold of the drug online, because they were being "denied access to something they need", but urged proper counselling and monitoring was needed.
"We want to maintain women in female physiological range for testosterone. We don't want them to have sky-high levels," she said. "When you persistently have very high testosterone levels you can get undesirable permanent side effects.
"Nobody wants to have baldness, deepening of the voice or enlargement of the clitoris." Testosterone is a naturally occurring hormone in women, but levels reduce with age. It is only prescribed for post-menopausal women to help with reduced libido, though a study, external was currently under way in Wales to discover if anecdotal reports of improved cognition and energy could be scientifically backed. Currently there is not a testosterone medication licences for women in the UK, so the male product is prescribed in far lower doses.
Women are advised to have a baseline blood test and regular tests done to ensure they remain within the female range for the hormone. Emma Thomas co-founded menopause support group Menopals Cardiff and Vale, and said many members had spoken of their struggles to access the hormone on the NHS. "We hear a lot of women saying their GP thinks there's no need for it or their surgery won't prescribe it," she added.
The 59-year-old from Sully, Vale of Glamorgan, said she noticed a shift in her own outlook at 47, when she went from a "really sociable, happy person" to someone who felt "quite insecure, paranoid, low in mood". She felt Hormone Replacement Therapy, external (HRT) made a difference within 10 days of starting it. Once the dosage and type of HRT was stable, she was prescribed testosterone by her GP.
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