Jane Kimanthi used to love dancing and performing on stage with a band in her younger days.
However, by the time she turned 40, she found herself in a rather disastrous situation.
This lack of sex drive began to have a detrimental impact on her long-term relationship.
Desperate to save the relationship, Jane began researching solutions and consulting clinics. That is how she came across testosterone.
"I was apprehensive because it’s widely assumed that testosterone is only a male hormone. I wondered what it would do to my body. Would my voice break? Would I start growing a beard?” she recalls.
After doing more research, she took a leap of faith and began testosterone therapy. It worked like magic, restoring her energy levels to those of her heyday.
According to a Cleveland Clinic journal, low testosterone can lead to decreased sex drive, depression, and weakness in women. This hormone acts as a chemical messenger, telling your body how to work and what to do. Everyone produces testosterone, but males produce more of it.
“It is okay for women to take testosterone, but I must point out that age dictates how much, if any, you need,” says Myra Denousse, a nutrition, fitness and wellness coach.
"A younger woman would rarely, if ever, need a testosterone boost unless for medical reasons. This is because she can easily generate enough testosterone, especially through exercise, particularly strength training. Older women in perimenopause and menopause will need it at some point. I’d advise doing a hormonal profile first before starting any HRT (hormone replacement therapy).”
However, Denousse notes that testosterone injections for women are hard to come by in Kenya.
Rachel Rubin, MD, a certified urologist and sexual medicine specialist, notes that testosterone boosts are not only prescribed for menopausal or premenopausal women.
Rubin notes that birth control is another factor that can destroy women's testosterone levels.
According to data compiled by the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Business Authority, testosterone prescriptions for women in the UK rose by 135 per cent between 2021 and 2024.
