Taking testosterone to help with aromatase inhibitors

Hello @jig4891 I have not heard of this. I have talked to dozens of women taking endocrine therapy many of whom struggle with side effects. The majority of those eventually settle on a different medication or a reduced dose. There are a few who have to take their chances with the cancer because they just cannot tolerate the treatment.
This is something that would not have occurred to me. Might it reduce side effects? Would it make the therapy less or more effective? What a fascinating thing to ponder. I for one would have taken it in a heartbeat under my doctors guidance.
Can you share where you read this?

The idea came to me when my sister asked her gynecologist about taking HRT again. We both had been on it before my diagnosis, but had stopped taking it. Her menopausal symptoms are causing her lots of discomfort (mine too) and the gynecologist told her that some people take just testosterone to help with menopausal symptoms. So I googled whether testosterone would help with AIs because the side effects are basically the same or worse as menopausal side effects due to the low estrogen levels. So I think I read it from an AI summary from Google. I was curious to hear if anyone has tried it.

Here is something I found today.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6937705/#:~:text=Testosterone%20(bio%2Dsimilar%2C%20non%2Dmethylated)%20therapy%20in%20women%20has,lower%20the%20risk%20from%20estrogen%2Dprogestin%20therapy%20%5B16%E2%80%9318%5D.&text=Testosterone%20has%20also%20been%20shown%20to%20safely,inhibitor%20therapy%20in%20breast%20cancer%20survivors%20%5B21%E2%80%9324%5D.

I was wondering about this just recently, after struggling with 10 mg. daily of Tamoxifen side effects. A tiny amount of Testosterone cream was prescribed during menopause and it really helped. I just asked my Oncologist about my using a small amount. She said not to do it, based on NEVER looking at any new studies. I believe I saw another positive study using Testosterone with A.I.s. I will move forward without her ignorant input. Thank you for bringing this subject to everyone's attention.

Testosterone is sometimes given to postmenopausal women to increase their sex drive but my understanding is that it can be metabolised by your body into oestrogen which you don’t want with an er + breast cancer .
Check with your oncologist

Yes, I learned that as well. I read that taking DIM supplements is a way to combat that. I will talk to him though. I doubt he’d approve. I feel like many doctors do not understand how painful these side effects can be for some.

Oncologists aren't Endocrinologists. A small amount of testosterone could be safe. My Oncologist told me she would not recommend me taking Propecia, that she thought it might help grow cancer. My Endocrinologist said that, ofcourse I could take it, and it was safe.
Most Oncologists don't care to finesse YOUR medical problems or even read new Journal information, on your behalf. I will keep looking into this information. Anything that can help us stay on A.I.s should be looked into.

PubMed: Safety and efficacy of of topical Testosterone in breast cancer patients receiving ovarian suppression and A.I. therapy. Patricia Taranto et. al. Breast Cancer Res. 2024. Topical Testosterone seems to be safe and may be effective in improving sexual function in patients on ovarian suppression and A.I. The information talks about 3 mg. per day.

I found this today. I’m definitely going to bring it up to my doctor. He’s my second doctor and I’ve only seen him once so I’ll be curious to see how he responds.
https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-search/v?id=NCI-2012-00719