Testosterone & Estrogen in Women: High vs Low vs. Normal Levels

The Role of Testosterone in Women’s Mental Health and Menopause

Some common birth control pills used to treat high T levels include desogestrel, gestodene, and norgestimate. Getting regular exercise and eating a diet of whole, nutrient-dense foods can help you naturally boost T levels. This can also help you lose excess weight caused by T imbalances and get more of the nutrients you need to support T production in your body. Keeping unwanted excess hair shaved or using facial cleaners for acne may help control your symptoms. However, ED and reduced sexual desire are signs of low T — not high T. If you experience them, you may still want to get your T levels tested. T has a role in numerous processes around the body, including the maintenance of bone and muscle mass and the storage and metabolism of body fat.

The presence of exogenous testosterone is essential to return a positive result. Receive information on women’s health topics and answers to your burning menopause questions. Here’s what you need to know about the symptoms, causes, and treatments for high testosterone. Therefore, whenever you notice these symptoms, contact our women’s hormone clinic in OKC.

Women with high testosterone levels, due to either disease or drug use, may experience a decrease in breast size and deepening of the voice, in addition to many of the problems men may have. Hypothesized ecological circumstances favoring (a) high testosterone in females, compared to (b) current environments promoting PCOS risk. The single-headed arrow represents hypothesized effects, while the double-headed arrow represents positive associations between traits. Comparisons of serum and salivary testosterone percent difference between controls and women athletes, women with overweight PCOS, and women with lean PCOS. Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, and Google Scholar databases were searched for each relevant table.

Women present with rapidly, progressive symptoms of hyperandrogenism, often with virilization.56, 74 Surgical resection results in rapid resolution of symptoms. But it’s not always easy to lose weight with this condition because your body is in fat storage mode. If you are overweight or have obesity and also have PCOS, weight loss can help improve fertility and regulate your menstrual cycle. In most cases, high testosterone levels in women are usually due to an underlying medical condition, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In the female body, small amounts of testosterone are usually released into the bloodstream from the ovaries and adrenal glands.

While it may seem like an unlikely treatment for menopause, TRT can be used to help relieve symptoms related to fluctuating hormone levels during the menopause transition. This article will explain in detail how testosterone impacts female health and how women can naturally boost testosterone levels. The acne is due to increased sebum (oil) production, which is stimulated by elevated testosterone levels, Kodaman says. As for the increased hair growth, she says this occurs in a “male pattern,” meaning it may grow on the jawline, chest, back, and lower abdomen.

(B) An abdominal contrast computed tomography scan (CT) showed a 30 mm × 36 mm round solid mass with clear borders in the left ovary. The tumor composed of large polygonal cells with distinct cell border, abundant spongy to granular cytoplasm, and clear intracytoplasmic vacuoles. It is essential to the development of male growth and masculine characteristics. They travel from one organ or another place in the body, usually through the bloodstream, and affect many different bodily processes. Learn all about the sex hormone here, including its primary benefits.

She was an obese woman with diagnose of PCOS, which could explain amenorrhea and hyperandrogenism, but did not explain the very high testosterone levels and the absence of virilization. A decrease in total serum testosterone levels was detected after performing a diethyl ether extraction procedure prior to the immunoassay. After a reevaluation of a known left ovarian mass, the patient underwent a surgical resection of an ovarian SCT, thereby returning to total testosterone normal female levels and resuming menstruation. This hypothesis was largely supported by available data from the literature (Table 5).

The authors of a 2021 study noted that males with high levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — a substance that works with testosterone — may have a higher chance of acne and hair loss. However, they did not link this effect directly to high testosterone levels. During perimenopause, levels of progesterone and then estrogen decline, while androgens slightly (temporarily) increase. This creates a situation of “relative androgen excess,” where testosterone is relatively high compared to estrogen and progesterone. That’s why androgen excess is the primary driver of weight gain with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), some types of birth control, and perimenopause. Female androgen receptor knockout mice are as strong and muscular as their control counterparts. This suggests testosterone may not be necessary to reach peak muscle mass and strength in females.

Increasing testosterone levels may help maintain bone density and reduce the risk of breaks. Testosterone therapy does not appear to increase the risk of prostate cancer, but it can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Because prostate cancer is so common, doctors tend to be leery of prescribing testosterone to men who may be at higher than average risk of having undiagnosed prostate cancer.