Testosterone and oestradiol implants are once again available in the UK.
According to a press release issued on 23 September 2015 by the British Menopause Society (BMS), Testosterone 100 mg Implants are now available from Smartway Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SP Ltd) in the UK.
This will be welcome news to the many women who relied on testosterone implants to relieve their symptoms of depression, fatigue, lack of sexual desire and response, only to find the product withdrawn three years’ ago.
Testosterone Implants Discontinued
In November 2012, pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) announced that it was discontinuing the production of testosterone implants.
This was ‘a global profitability decision’ by MSD. As far back as November 2011, MSD Australia had written a letter to doctors and pharmacists, saying that it had ‘decided to discontinue the manufacture and supply of testosterone implants… based on the fact that significant and extended process enhancements would be needed to sustain future manufacturing.’
This decision closely followed the withdrawal of Intrinsa testosterone patches for women. Intrinsa was first authorised in the European Union in 2006 for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women who had undergone a surgically induced menopause and were receiving oestrogen therapy. In 2010 pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott decided not to renew the application for Intrinsa in Europe, again citing ‘commercial reasons’.
This decision meant that there were no licensed female testosterone replacement preparations available in the UK and no alternative suppliers in Europe. Hospitals and clinics tried desperately to source the implants from the USA and some were more successful than others.
The British Menopause Society and other menopause societies around the world protested the decision but as the BMS said in a press release issued on 20 December 2012, ‘Whilst the decision by MSD to withdraw hormone implants was immoral, it was not illegal and cannot be reversed.’
Unfortunately, there is very little that anyone can do to challenge the decisions of major pharmaceutical companies, particularly when profits are at stake.
Testosterone Gel
In the meantime, off license use of testosterone gel such as Testim and Testogel has been the only available alternative. For those women who had been used to receiving testosterone implants the gel was a weak and often ineffective substitute.
Testosterone implants are usually inserted every six months and the effect is a lot more powerful than the recommended daily dose of testosterone gel for women. However, side-effects can include aggression and hypersexuality. Often the benefits of the implant wear off after four months.
Testosterone Implants are Available in the UK
SP Ltd is the only distributor of Testosterone 100mg Implants across the world (excluding USA). The product is manufactured by Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology Inc in the USA, and SP Ltd is their main distributor for the Testosterone Implants.
Oestradiol 25 mg and 50 mg Implants are also available through SP Ltd.
The Testosterone and Oestradiol Implants are not for sale to the general public but must be prescribed by a doctor. If your pharmacist or doctor is unaware of this new availability please pass on this information to them.
Contact Details for Smartway Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Name: Dhruv Patel
Tel: +44 208 545 7730
Email: dhruv@smartwaypharma.co.uk
Dear Angie
I was reading some of your stories from the ‘writehealth’ website yesterday and wondered if you would be able to put me in touch with some of the ladies who found a gynocologist to administer Testosterone Implants. I was having implants done on the NHS, but as you know this facility is no longer available. This was most unfortunate as the implants gave me a life.
I have severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME and am seriously very weak, sleeping most of the time. Like others I am now looking for someone to do it privately, but as yet have found no-one. Perhaps one of your ladies might be kind enough to point me in the right direction. Whilst living in Salisbury, Wiltshire, I don’t mind how far I have to travel.
You may give my email to anyone you think may be able to help me.
Looking forward to your reply
Kindest Regards
Janette
Hi Janette. I’m sorry I’ve taken so long to reply! Life has been busy! I’m very happy to put you in touch with others but I don’t have the time to go through all the comments. If you can give me the names of the women who said they had had the testosterone implants that would be very helpful.
I was inserted with testosterone implant at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital 3 days later I was rush into hospital with heart failure atrial fibrillation with flood around my heart. I haven’t slept since it was inserted 2 sept over 6 weeks because of the facing heart.
I had first test100 inserted on 18th March ‘19” and it fell out May ‘ so the hospital reinserted another one 17 June. I was okish but had swollen ankles and had to seem to up my thyroid medication dose as I was very hypothyroid (a side effect). Then I had a follow up appt 2nd sept for Oestradiol implant and for some reason she inserted another testosterone, double dose. My levels are 15. Normal range is 0.5-2. I’m probably not out of danger until the June implant is fully dissolved in 37 days time will be 5 month and when I hope my testosterone levels go into single figures. So pls be careful and dint end up like me. To make matters worse my mum died 3rd August. Not been able to grieve for her properly. I booked to go away to recover from the lost to Spain 9th oct but because I’m so sick, I had to cancel. Not knowing if I will even fully recover.
Hi Karen. I’m so sorry to read about your mum dying and the terrible time you have been through with too many testosterone implants. I hope you are starting to feel better now as your levels gradually return to normal.
Re: Testosterone, I am stuck in a Catch 22 situation, in that I have been trying to get a low dose of testosterone to help with absent libido following menopause (it’s not just low – it’s totally gone and it’s extremely distressing). Even the NHS own website says that testosterone can be helpful for FSD (low libido) following menopause, but says that this is only considered if oestrogen and progesterone HRT has already been given and no improvement experienced. However, I have been told by my GP that she will NOT prescribe it because it is not licensed for use by women. Even if I tried to get it online (not recommended), you need a prescription, so I cannot see any way around this. I feel so upset and very let down by the NHS (again).
I have managed, after a struggle, to get body-identical oestrogen and progesterone and this has really helped with hot flushes, depression, anxiety and brain fog, but it has made no difference to the loss of libido.
My GP tells me that loss of libido is most common and most distressing issue that women report to her after menopause, but many see her (ostensibly) about something else, then mention it, as they are embarrassed to talk about it. If we don’t talk about it we are dooming ourselves to effectively live as eunuchs for the rest of our lives. We need to get the NHS to address this properly.
I know someone is going to pop up and say that testosterone is “not safe” or “there isn’t evidence that it works” – well, I wasn’t intending to take a dose that would give me the biceps of an arm wrestler, a baritone voice and luxuriant chest hair. I’m responsible enough to administer it with care. I only want to get my levels up to female, pre-menopause amounts. With regard to there not being much evidence – well, it seems to me that very few women in the UK have access to it. In the US, there seems to be growing evidence that it does help and several Consultant Gynaecologists in the UK seem to support this. Surely, if monitored carefully and given at the right dose, it is worth a try if your mojo has gone AWOL? Being consigned to having zero sex drive for the rest of my life seems unthinkable.
There is a big gender gap in health care and I can imagine that if men suffered similarly there would be lots of treatment available and they wouldn’t have to fight tooth and nail to get it. Ladies, we need to be vocal about this if it is affecting us. If we suffer in silence, nothing will ever change.
Hi MenoMilly. I’m sorry to hear about the distress you are suffering. Unfortunately, what you describe is all too common. GPs can prescribe testosterone for women if they feel comfortable with it and are aware of its benefits etc. But many are loath to do this because the risk of prescribing an unlicensed product means that if you experience side-effects and decide to sue, they are personally liable rather than the pharmaceutical company. Your best bet is to ask for a referral to a menopause clinic and to see a Gynae-Endocrine consultant. The majority of NHS consultants are willing to prescribe testosterone to a menopausal woman who is in distress over her lack of libido, particularly if this is accompanied by a loss of sexual function – inability to get aroused, orgasm etc. The NICE menopause guideline and the British Menopause Society 2016 recommendations all support the use of testosterone in menopausal women who are experiencing loss of libido. Taken at the right dosage (one tenth of the male dosage) most women experience few if any side-effects.
The problem is that no research has been done on the safety of taking testosterone long-term in women and while there is evidence that it does work in the majority of cases, in clinical trials the results have been little better than placebo. Also, there is the issue of long-term relationships having a disastrous effect on many women’s libido. Having said all that, testosterone can make a tremendous positive difference to some women’s libido and general wellbeing so it is well worth persisting in your efforts to have it prescribed. Good luck!
Can someone please recommend me a private gynecologist in London or Europe who can prescribe or fit a testosterone implant.
I’m 46 but look 25 and feel very young. I feel my life just flashed past me and it’s over and feeling very hopeless as i had no period since last October. I consulted a private hormonal doctor and he prescribed estrogen/progestogen which has got rid of the sudden hot flashes. But I feel tired, weak and depressed and to complicate things I have hashimotos disease (hypothyroidism). My NHS gp has stopped my T3 medication because of costs although I would have been happy to pay for them privately. Now I noticed that i have lost my high sex drive and haven’t dated anyone for over a year. Is my life over ? If so, at least the NHS can do me a favor is to refer me to an euthanasia clinic in Switzerland so I won’t cost them anymore for my low grade Levothyroxine it prescribes. Well i get private prescription for this too now.
Anyway, thank you in advance and apologies for winging.
Hi Eli. Professor John Studd is a popular private London gynaecologist who is known to prescribe testosterone but I’m sure there are others. I know that he has fitted testosterone implants in the past but I’m not sure if he is still doing that as they became rather hard to obtain for a while. If not, testosterone gel such as Testim gel is always an option and frequently prescribed. HRT including Testim gel is also available on the NHS but usually prescribed by consultants in menopause clinics. You will need to ask your GP for a referral probably if you want to go down this route unless your GP is prepared to prescribe Testim gel off-label.
Hi eli
i no this is an old post but it might help somebody else. i have had all the usual sympyoms of menopause night sweats aching joints foggy brain fatige. i am 53 years old and been on evorel conti patches. they help a little but not a lot. i asked my doctor if i could try testosterone because a blood test showed it to be low. she said no i would have to go private. we have not got a lot of money but i had to do something. i found a private gynocoligist in bedford uk today i phoned and i he see me straight away. i was in his office within the hour. i am having the testosterone implant put in on wednesday 6 dec. cost of conseltation £265.00 implant £106.00 every 6 months.
Could you please pass the contact details on please
Hi Sharon
Can you give me the details of where you had the implant in Bedford done please, I have been quoted £500 then £250 every 4-6months.
Thanks
The Menopause Consultant Mr Tony Mander (clinic fortnightly just outside Glossop) implants testosterone £200, including consultation.
Omg so relieved I have just found this site I have been told by my Gynaecologist that he thinks I will really benefit from Testopel but these are no longer available , I would be truly grateful if you could forward details of th Consultant you are seeing for this treatment. im a Treat Cancer survivor who has reseentley had a oothrectomy as well , feeling really crap and there seems to be no alternative therapy I can take .
Its all quite confusing! I thought I’d made a massive breakthrough to get bio-hrt & now read testosterone is needed to! Not entirely sure what as I took in tablets for acne & don’t want that but would like a libido!
Hi R. Testosterone is not a necessary part of HRT and it is not actually licensed for use by women. Some doctors prescribe it to women who are distressd by their low libido, but as I say in my article ‘Do We Really Need More Testosterone for Women’ http://writehealth.co.uk/more-testosterone-for-women/ testosterone is not always the best solution. The female sex drive is very complex and is affected by so many things.
Hello Angie, I believe the implant is much stronger – I certainly felt the effects very quickly and it’s great to have full breasts again too! I have asked my UK doctor about an implant and he says he didn’t know any such thing was available and has referred me to a gynaecologist to find out more. I am based in Northamptonshire but this is important to my wellbeing and if I have to travel to receive this, then I will. Not that I have much money – it was 460 dollars approx in Australia, so about 250 pounds but I suspect it would be dearer here. Will let you know what happens by September as I will need it by then 🙂
Hi Carolyn. Yes, please let me know how you get on, especially if it will help other women with getting hold of testosterone implants. Good luck!
Excuse my typos – new laptop!
I really hope this is available in the UK as I have had a testosterone implant fitted in Australia and it will run out in September! Here’s hoping that I can source some as it has muade such a difference to my generakl wellbeing – much less tired and oh, the sex drive is back and it’s wonderful! I highly recommend testosterone to any posty menopausal, or tired woman out there. Get a full blood test done and look at your testosterone levels – thjey could be really low, hence your acute ‘tired all the time’ syndrome.
Hi Carolyn. I suspect you’ll have to see a private gynaecologist to have a testosoterone implant in the UK but it may depend on where you are located. Glad to hear you’re feeling so good with the implant – I think the implant is stronger than the testosterone gel.