In case you haven’t been keeping up to date with your hormone news, allow me to fill you in. Last month, a testosterone cream (AndroFeme) – formulated especially for women – was approved by UK regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Until now, women in perimenopause or menopause could only access AndroFeme through a private clinic with a special MHRA licence.

The only other way to access a bit of T was to have it prescribed “off label” (meaning that because in the UK testosterone is not currently licensed for use by women, a doctor prescribes testosterone cream or gel that is licensed for men). This is how women have been accessing it on the NHS, where testosterone is only currently prescribed by a specialist doctor to treat low libido in perimenopause or menopause. It is not yet known if AndroFeme will be available on the NHS.

If you are one of the (doubtless) many people reading this and thinking, “I didn’t even know women produced testosterone, let alone ran out of it!” – don’t worry, you are not alone. The use of what is so often thought of as a “male” hormone to treat women white-knuckling their way through the perimenopause and menopause, surprises many. It certainly came of something of a shock to me, when I was prescribed this hormone some four months ago – but I have to say, it’s been an absolute gamechanger.

I should also say that I am not a medical doctor. I have zero medical qualifications and everything I am about to relay to you is based on my own subjective experience as a patient – and should be treated as such. Now I’ve got that out of the way, allow me to address the hormonal elephant in the room: yes, women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) produce testosterone. It’s........

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