Defy's typical protocol for women??

[Fireproof]

Hey Folks,

I'm in the early stages with Defy (only one consult so far with Dr. Saya) but have been thoroughly impressed with him and the whole office staff. Can't say enough good things about my experience so far.

We're thinking about moving my wife over to Defy to be under there treatment. A few years ago she was found to have literally zero free testosterone in her system which was causing various issues. She's been on pellets - but they don't seem to look at the whole picture of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, etc. Plus my wife has experienced the ugly peaks and valleys of pellet treatment. Suffice to say - plenty of reason to switch.

QUESTION: We'll be setting up a consult. But in the meantime, I'd love to get educated on "typical treatment plans" for women. I.e., do they generally prescribe testosterone transdermal cream or gel (versus injections)? Are there other things that are common/typical? (I know everyone is different - but just looking for some general "what to expect" type of information so we can be more educated with questions for our consult.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ERO]

I am curious about this as well. I would love to get my wife on HRT, but she is kinda of 'meh' about the whole thing.

 

[Vince]

My girlfriend is also considering having some testing done through Defy Medical. Her sex drive is very strong but she has a hard time getting to her idea weight. She think it may be her thyroid.

 

[Weasel]

My girlfriend is also considering having some testing done through Defy Medical. Her sex drive is very strong but she has a hard time getting to her idea weight. She think it may be her thyroid.

My wife is in the same boat. I wouldn't feel so bad for her if she didn't work so dang hard at it. She works her but off in the gym 6 days a week. Saw good results for awhile and now has stalled big time.

I doubt my wife would ever agree to it though

 

[Helboi]

My wife just started with Defy about 3-4 weeks ago. She's currently on testosterone cream applied daily, and Lipo-C (which I believe was just to shore up her energy levels until the hormones are more settled in). Not sure what's typical, but I'm pretty sure the cream is preferred for women because they take so much less and it's easier to titrate for each individual (and easy to adjust on the fly).

 

[Fireproof]

My wife just started with Defy about 3-4 weeks ago. She's currently on testosterone cream applied daily, and Lipo-C (which I believe was just to shore up her energy levels until the hormones are more settled in). Not sure what's typical, but I'm pretty sure the cream is preferred for women because they take so much less and it's easier to titrate for each individual (and easy to adjust on the fly).

Cool - thanks for the feedback. Do you mind if I ask where she has to apply it? And is she finding it easy and convenient to fit into her daily routine. (My wife is a little hesitant about the daily creams, but I think the consistency will work much much better for her).

 

[Helboi]

Cool - thanks for the feedback. Do you mind if I ask where she has to apply it? And is she finding it easy and convenient to fit into her daily routine. (My wife is a little hesitant about the daily creams, but I think the consistency will work much much better for her).

She applies it to her inner thighs every morning before she gets ready for work (after showering, or wiping her legs clean with a cloth). It dries in about 5 minutes and then she just goes about her day (being careful for the first hour or so not to rub them on clothing or whatever unnecessarily). It's very easy, no more of a pain than brushing your teeth.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

My wife just started with Defy about 3-4 weeks ago. She's currently on testosterone cream applied daily, and Lipo-C (which I believe was just to shore up her energy levels until the hormones are more settled in). Not sure what's typical, but I'm pretty sure the cream is preferred for women because they take so much less and it's easier to titrate for each individual (and easy to adjust on the fly).

any children to worry about transfer/exposure to the transdermal cream?

 

[Helboi]

any children to worry about transfer/exposure to the transdermal cream?

Yes, but there's no concern there or with me since she does this in the AM and puts on clothes soon after. I believe the transfer concern is much diminished after about an hour or so anyhow.

 

[chrismez]

Whats the dosage she takes? I read typical is 5mg per day not to exceed 2.5g per week?

 

[Helboi]

Whats the dosage she takes? I read typical is 5mg per day not to exceed 2.5g per week?

It's a 15mg/ml cream and she does 2 clicks right now (I believe 4 clicks is 1ml). So that's 7.5mg. Over the next 4 weeks she has the leeway to move all the way up to 4 clicks depending on symptom relief and side effects.

But remember, just like men, the dosage needed is variable depending on the woman and what her current hormones are like. So there is no standard dosage that I know of.

 

[chrismez]

thanks for the reply...my wife is interested too and will be setting up an appt soon

 

[Vettester Chris]

Hey Folks,

QUESTION: We'll be setting up a consult. But in the meantime, I'd love to get educated on "typical treatment plans" for women. I.e., do they generally prescribe testosterone transdermal cream or gel (versus injections)? Are there other things that are common/typical? (I know everyone is different - but just looking for some general "what to expect" type of information so we can be more educated with questions for our consult.

Thanks in advance.

A lot of it depends on if she is in menstruation, or peri /post menopausal stages, and factoring if progesterone & estrogen treatment is required. Some protocols can incorporate a "rhythmic" pattern to the body's natural cycle, which my wife had done at one point, using compounded creams with estrogen & progesterone, but sub-q Test Cypionate 6mg to 8mg/week.

Peri/post meno conditions can tend to lead to estrogen dominance, which is "KILLER" on the adrenals, plain and simple! This in turn can and will lead to overt hypothyroidism like no other, many times even fatiguing pituitary production of TSH, which will sometimes mislead many doctors, because simply many of them use the TSH marker of the primary lab for assessing the thyroid productivity. I say this because I believe it's imperative for doctors and patients alike to review the upstream pathways, more-so with females, as the depletion of progesterone during this life cycle is a complete game changer with how it effects their bodies.

Nutrition and supplements are also vital, including D3, calcium, magnesium, IRON, Most B vitamins, Omegas, and Dr. Reiss is big on R-Lipoic Acid, COQ10, Vitamin K, and GABA promoting supplements such as N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) and Taurine. Dr Uzzi Reiss and Suzanne Somers have some great books on all of this ... Quite fascinating when you get into all of it.

 

[Fireproof]

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback.

And thanks Chris for the detailed information - I suspected there's a lot more "to it" than we are getting from her current hormone doc, so we're excited to transition to Defy.

 

[Vettester Chris]

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback.

And thanks Chris for the detailed information - I suspected there's a lot more "to it" than we are getting from her current hormone doc, so we're excited to transition to Defy.

Yeah, honestly I find the female side of it much more fascinating, as there's so many other complexities involved that you don't quite see with the guys. The Natural Superwoman is one of Dr. Uzzi Reiss' books (it's been out for awhile, but still great!). I'd highly encourage you and your wife to read it, and anyone else who is looking into BHRT. I also just got Suzanne Somers, "Ageless, The Naked Truth About Bio-Hormones".

 

[Vitamin_C]

My wife lost her libido after she had our child 8 years ago, she's only 32, she should be on her peak. She tried T-cream, not effective. She's currently on 2mg Troche's daily for the past month, not effective so far, she may need a bump.

Cypionate is just as effective for women as it is with the guys, and being such a little amount, it's quite easy to administer SubQ.

I'd suggest she gets all the labs, and definitely compare not just the total test serum, but Free Test needs to factored. SHBG can be quite high at times with women, my wife was able to drop it down a bit with higher dosages of Vitamin D, and just getting a little more fit.

Your wife will also want to look at other hormones upstream, and the estrogen downstream. DHEA & thyroid are just a couple others that usually need some attention, and iron deficiency can be a factor, which of course will tap right back into the thyroid, with effecting FT3 getting to the cells.