I found this rather intriguing......a member in the RSD forum brought this up and I wanted to run this by my PN friends.....

here's her post:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post712059-1.html

Back when I was diagnosed with hypothyroid, my hormone levels were pretty much flat-lined (Progesterone, Estrogen, Testosterone....)
At the time, a nice nurse gave me a few testosterone injections to try and get me 'jump-started'.........but I was truly like a dead battery.

Is there any validity to this reducing pain levels if one were to have a 'prescription' of testosterone......?
A PRESCRIPTION??

I'd be willing to SHAVE if I grew a beard!

Sounds too easy to be true.....?......there's gotta be a 'catch'..... ?

Well... this is what I know about testosterone:

1) Women have some, and it is involved with libido and muscle strength. Some women have more than others. A form of adrenal congenital disorder can be present at birth (adrenocortical hyperplasia). Women with this disorder often are overweight, have acne and hypertension.

2) men have some estrogen. This varies with them too.

I don't know that poster on RSD well. Does she use opiates for chronic pain? Do you know? Chronic use of opiates for pain suppresses the pituitary-hypothalamic axis and suppresses sex hormone production. In males this can lead to very low testosterone levels...and TESTING will reveal this, and replacement often restores their weakness and depression caused by the opiate therapy.

The opiate effects in females are not as well understood.
This article discusses short acting opiates as more problematic than long acting (like methadone).
http://books.google.com/books?id=cGb...uitary&f=false

I think a female patient should be tested for hormone status before taking testosterone willy nilly. If it is found to be very low, the doses in replacement would be much lower than those given to males.

Some treatments for females with low libido and for menopause include testosterone (the oral really doesn't work well). The most common oral form is called EstraTest. Compounded testosterone ointments to be applied topically have been used for many years for treating "low libido". And these products contain low amounts of testosterone.

Excess testosterone in females will cause a change in secondary sexual characteristics, deepening of voice, facial hair and acne, male pattern baldness, increased skin oil and thickening of the skin, and sometimes hypertension. There would be changes in the sexual organs as well. Testosterone is used in the first stages of sex change operations.

There can be a sense of "well being" in the beginning, for a female who is weak and sick... because testosterone gives strength. But I would be very careful with this, as it can CHANGE a female quite a bit if mishandled or too high a dose used. Just look at what anabolic steroids do to female body builders! Some of them really don't appear female anymore!
http://www.oddee.com/item_97013.aspx

Not saying this could be you... BUT changes do occur inside the body as well!

Thank you for this MrsD!
I think I'll just continue with things the way they are......
After thinking about the details involved with this, I'm not willing to turn into a MAN in attempting to be in less pain! ....... oh dear....the visual on this is not good.

I don't know the person in the RSD forum who posted......
I'm thinking, like you said, she is probably all excited because she is feeling a lot of stamina......

Thank you for your input! I was actually just gonna send you a pm about this, but then I thought heck, why not start a thread and see what others might have to say.....

I'm on my way to work, so will check out those links later today.

Have a great day!