Can Women Take Testosterone During Menopause?

Yes, many women can take testosterone during menopause, and for the right woman it can make a real difference. The key is using it for the right reason, keeping the dose within the normal female range, and monitoring it closely. Testosterone is part of a woman’s natural hormone profile, produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands, and levels fall with age and drop sharply after surgical menopause.

At Inner Glow Studio in Delray Beach, founder Shannon Eller, ARNP, and I have worked with hundreds of women navigating perimenopause and menopause. Testosterone is one of the questions we hear most often right now. This guide covers what the research supports, where it falls short, and how we decide whether testosterone belongs in a woman’s plan.

Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About Testosterone for Women?

Interest in menopause care has surged since the FDA began removing the black box warnings from hormone therapy products in late 2025. According to Truveta research, prescribing of estrogen therapy among women aged 45 to 54 rose 184% between 2018 and early 2026, reaching roughly 1 in 20 women in that age group.

Testosterone is the next chapter of that conversation. On September 17, 2026, the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health hosted a public workshop on testosterone use in menopausal women. The agency pointed to growing off-label use alongside real knowledge gaps, including its effects on mood, cognition, and muscle and bone health, and the lack of long-term safety data on heart health and breast cancer.

In other words, women are asking, clinicians are prescribing, and regulators are taking a closer look. That makes this the right moment for clear, honest information.

What Can Testosterone for Women in Menopause Actually Do?

The strongest evidence supports testosterone for one specific concern: low sexual desire that causes a woman real distress, known clinically as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The 2019 Global Consensus Position Statement on the Use of Testosterone Therapy for Women, endorsed by the Endocrine Society, The Menopause Society, and nine other international medical societies, found that testosterone can improve desire, arousal, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction in postmenopausal women with HSDD.

For other goals, the evidence is thinner. The same consensus statement found insufficient data to recommend testosterone for mood, energy, cognition, or bone and muscle health on its own. Those are exactly the gaps the FDA’s workshop set out to examine.

We tell our patients this plainly. Plenty of women arrive expecting testosterone to fix fatigue, brain fog, or weight changes. Sometimes it plays a supporting role, but those symptoms usually have several drivers, and we look at all of them.

What Testosterone Therapy Is Unlikely to Do

• Replace estrogen and progesterone. For most women, those remain the foundation for hot flashes, sleep, and bone protection.
• Work as a weight-loss treatment. Metabolic health needs its own plan, which may include medical weight loss support.
• Resolve fatigue or low mood caused by thyroid issues, iron deficiency, poor sleep, or chronic stress.

Is Testosterone Safe for Women?

At doses that keep blood levels within the normal premenopausal female range, clinical trials have not shown serious adverse effects. A small number of women notice mild acne or extra hair growth, and these effects are usually reversible. Two important caveats: women at high cardiometabolic risk were largely excluded from the studies, and long-term safety has not been established.

It also matters that there is currently no FDA-approved testosterone product for women in the United States. Clinicians prescribe it off-label, typically by carefully adjusting a men’s formulation or using a compounded preparation. That places the responsibility for accurate dosing squarely on the provider.

When dosing goes wrong, it can go very wrong. A case presented at the 2026 International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health meeting described a postmenopausal woman who received repeated testosterone pellets at an anti-aging clinic over four years. Her testosterone measured more than 200 times the upper limit of the normal female range, and her recovery took two years. The takeaway for every woman: ask how your dose is chosen, and how often it will be checked.

How Inner Glow Studio Approaches Testosterone for Women in Delray Beach

Many hormone clinics in Palm Beach County were built around men’s testosterone replacement, with a women’s program added later. Others lead with a single delivery method for every patient. Our hormone program was built around women from the start, and our process reflects that:

• We start with the full picture. Your first visit covers symptoms, health history, medications, sleep, and stress, followed by comprehensive functional lab testing [link: Functional Lab Testing] that looks at hormones, thyroid, and metabolic markers together.
• We treat symptoms, guided by labs. The consensus statement notes that no single blood level separates women who need testosterone from those who don’t. Labs set a safe baseline; your symptoms guide the decision.
• We address the foundation first. If estrogen or progesterone is out of balance, correcting that often improves desire, sleep, and mood before testosterone is ever considered. Learn more on our Women’s HRT page.
• We dose for a woman’s body. When testosterone is appropriate, the goal is a level within the normal premenopausal female range.
• We monitor and adjust. Follow-up labs and check-ins confirm you are benefiting and staying in range. If testosterone isn’t helping, we stop it.
• We are transparent. You will know that testosterone is off-label for women, what the evidence shows, and what it doesn’t.

This approach extends the root-cause philosophy behind everything we do in our Delray Beach studio, just off Atlantic Avenue. Hormones affect energy, skin, metabolism, and long-term health, so we treat them as part of a woman’s overall longevity plan. If you are new to hormone therapy, our guide to bioidentical HRT in perimenopause [link: July BHRT post] is a helpful place to start, and our breakdown of hormone delivery methods [link: July delivery methods post] explains how creams, oral options, and other forms compare.

A Common Scenario We See

Here is an illustrative example drawn from the patterns we see often. A 52-year-old woman from Boca Raton has been on estrogen and progesterone for a year. Her hot flashes are gone and she is sleeping through the night, but her desire has not returned, and it is affecting her relationship and her sense of herself.

Before discussing testosterone, we review the basics. Is her estrogen dose adequate? Is vaginal dryness making intimacy uncomfortable? Could a medication, such as certain antidepressants, be dampening desire? Are stress or thyroid function playing a role? If her symptoms fit HSDD after that review, a carefully dosed testosterone trial with baseline and follow-up labs may be a reasonable next step. If they don’t, we address what we find instead.

Who Should Be Cautious About Testosterone Therapy?

Testosterone is not the right fit for everyone. These situations call for extra care or a different approach:

• A personal history of hormone-sensitive cancer, which requires coordination with your oncology team
• Existing heart disease or high cardiometabolic risk, since these women were underrepresented in the research
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive
• Significant existing acne or excess hair growth
• Seeking testosterone only for energy, mood, or weight, where evidence does not support its use alone

The Bottom Line

Testosterone can be a valuable tool for women in menopause, especially when low desire is affecting quality of life. It works best as one thoughtful piece of a personalized plan, prescribed by a team that doses precisely, monitors consistently, and is honest about what the science shows. For women in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and across Palm Beach County, that is the standard we hold ourselves to at Inner Glow Studio.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is testosterone FDA-approved for women?

A: Not in the United States. There is currently no FDA-approved testosterone product for women, so it is prescribed off-label using a carefully adjusted men’s formulation or a compounded preparation. The FDA’s September 2026 workshop was held in part to guide future research and product development for women.

Q: Will testosterone make me grow facial hair or change my voice?

A: At doses that keep levels within the normal female range, research shows only a small number of women experience mild acne or extra hair growth, and voice changes and hair loss have not been seen. Those risks rise when doses exceed the female range, which is why careful dosing and follow-up labs matter.

Q: Can testosterone help with menopause fatigue or brain fog?

A: The current evidence does not support using testosterone for fatigue, mood, or brain fog on their own. These symptoms often stem from estrogen and progesterone changes, sleep disruption, thyroid issues, or nutrient gaps. A full evaluation helps identify the real cause.

Q: Where can I get testosterone therapy for women near Delray Beach or Boca Raton?

A: Inner Glow Studio in Delray Beach offers personalized hormone therapy for women, including testosterone when it is appropriate. Every plan starts with a consultation and lab testing, and we serve women throughout Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, and Palm Beach County.

Q: Do I need blood work before starting testosterone?

A: Yes. Baseline labs confirm that starting treatment is safe and give us a reference point for monitoring. Blood levels alone can’t diagnose low desire, though, so your symptoms and history carry equal weight in the decision.

Sources

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Public Meeting: Testosterone Use in Menopausal Women, September 17, 2026. fda.gov

Davis SR, Baber R, Panay N, et al. Global Consensus Position Statement on the Use of Testosterone Therapy for Women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019;104:4660-4666.

Truveta Research, April 2026, as reported by The HRT Index, Estradiol Patch Shortage Tracker 2026.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Advances Women’s Health, Removes Misleading FDA Warnings on Hormone Replacement Therapy, November 10, 2025.

Contemporary OB/GYN. Julia Ordway on the consequence of hormone supplementation in a postmenopausal woman (2026 ISSWSH meeting), March 6, 2026.

About the Author

Wendy Finklestein, PA-C, is a board-certified Physician Assistant with more than two decades of clinical experience and specialized training in regenerative and functional medicine. She leads the functional medicine and hormone optimization program at Inner Glow Studio in Delray Beach, Florida, where she works alongside founder Shannon Eller, RN, caring for women across Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Palm Beach County.