Health
We think of testosterone as representing everything male, but it plays a crucial role in our oestrogen production, fertility and sexual functioning. And when levels drop after menopause, there’s a patch that can help.
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WO R D S b y B R O O K E L E P O E R T R E N C H
anchovies and Spanx, testosterone is polarising. Australia is the first and only country to have a regulator-approved testosterone cream for post-menopausal women, and yet there’s still confusion. One reason for this, according to Professor Susan Davis, director of the Women’s Health Research Program in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, who has led groundbreaking studies on the subject as it relates to women, is that we see it as a male sex hormone. “It’s essential in women’s bodies too, playing a role in the development of eggs and production of oestrogen,” she says. Another issue is that menopausal women don’t talk to their GPs about desire, or the lack of it. And when they do, many GPs don’t know what to do. “Studies show they don’t have the training or the interest to discuss sexuality,” she says. “Many feel it’s a can of worms.” But our ability to feel desire and connect with our partners in the Biblical sense matters. We asked Professor Davis everything you need to know about how testosterone may help you.
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The Australian Women’s Weekly
Q: Why are some GPs not on board with this treatment, given the research?
“There is a lack of awareness with mid-life women’s health and a whole generation of doctors who have not been taught about menopause because HRT [hormome replacement therapy] went off the radar. They also put sexuality in the too-hard basket. Women are, to a degree, also their own worst enemy because there is a consistent belief that they only need to see a doctor if they can hardly function.”
GETTY IMAGES.
Anatomy of desire
