Influencers Are Encouraging Women to Take Testosterone — Is It Safe?

Many social media influencers are claiming that testosterone has cured their menopause symptoms while encouraging their followers to start taking the hormone, but experts say it’s not the cure-all they’re making it out to be.

Desperate for relief from the uncomfortable and, at times, debilitating symptoms caused by menopause, many women are looking to social media influencers for answers about how to feel better, and content creators are increasingly steering them toward testosterone.

While testosterone is widely recognized as a male sex hormone, women also produce it, and it plays an important role in the female sex drive, muscle and bone health, and mood and energy. As women age, however, their testosterone levels naturally decrease.

As a result, many influencers have begun taking testosterone in mid-life and sharing their experiences with their followers, claiming that the hormone has cured all their ailments.

According to recent data from IQVIA, testosterone prescriptions increased by almost 50% between 2013 and 2023 in the United States.

Experts say that while they are noticing an increase in requests for testosterone therapy, it isn’t for everyone, and some of the treatments being encouraged by influencers actually carry risks.

“Social media is definitely driving more and more women to ask for testosterone therapy to treat a host of complaints, including low libido, fatigue, muscle loss, weight gain, bone health, and poor sleep,” says Barbra Hanna, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN, Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, and founder of MyMenopauseRx. “Many patients are asking for testosterone expecting it to be a miracle cure for their midlife symptoms.”

Can testosterone treat menopause symptoms?

Currently, testosterone is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for any use in women, so it isn’t covered by insurance and must be paid for out of pocket if prescribed.

However, according to Yale School of Medicine gynecologist and Certified Menopause Clinician Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., it has been found in high-quality studies to be helpful for postmenopausal women to enhance libido. The Menopause Society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, The Endocrine Society, and The International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health have all endorsed it for this purpose.

“Testosterone for women can be helpful, but alas, it is not a cure-all,” Minkin tells Wellnesspulse. “It is not officially recommended for any other purpose, like giving energy, or a sense of well being, or building muscles.”

While one current literature review has shown evidence that testosterone can support lean muscle mass, Hanna says there is currently not enough medical literature to support that testosterone is helpful for the other symptoms social media influencers claim in a woman with ovaries.

However, the story is a little different for women without ovaries. Since the ovary makes 25% of testosterone in women, Hanna says those who undergo removal of their ovaries may experience benefits from testosterone therapy for symptoms other than libido.

“In my opinion, all women without ovaries who can safely use testosterone should be offered it,” she says. “Those women have a surgical androgen (testosterone) deficiency.”

The risks of testosterone injections and pellets

While testosterone is at times recommended to treat low libido in postmenopausal women, Minkin says this should always be in topical form — never in the form of injections or pellets.

Testosterone pellets, which are as small as a grain of rice, implanted under the skin, and release the hormone into the body for several months at a time, have become particularly popular on social media.

But Minkin says they carry serious risks and should be avoided, as they can easily result in overly high testosterone levels and are extremely difficult to remove.

“Once a pellet is implanted, it's there,” Minkin says. “I have seen patients who have come to me after they saw a pellet doctor with blood levels 10 times normal.”

Testosterone levels in the 200-300ng/ml range are quite common for pellet users, Hanna adds, and this can lead to an increased risk of unwanted side effects, including hair loss, acne, voice changes, an enlarged clitoris, and hair growth on the chest, face, and back.

Those who are still getting periods may also find their flow becomes heavier and longer.

More testosterone is not better, despite what social media may say.

Hanna

Many social media influencers are seeking injections and pellets at med spas, a fact that Hanna finds to be “mind-blowing,” considering these forms are not recommended for women by any medical society.

“Women who want to give testosterone a try for any reason should seek the care of a menopause specialist who understands the complex nature of hormone changes in women,” Hanna says. “Used correctly at therapeutic doses, testosterone is safe for women. But using testosterone for other reasons is just not supported in the medical literature yet — but maybe one day.”