Most UK menopause services will consider testosterone, and a good number will not. What separates them is rarely on the homepage, so this is how to work it out for yourself in about ten minutes, before you have paid anybody.
We have deliberately not written you a league table. Anyone's ranking of clinics goes stale the week after it is published, and a clinic ranking its rivals is not a source you should trust anyway, ours included. What does not go stale is knowing what to ask.
Why some clinics say no
No testosterone product is licensed for women in the UK, so every prescription for a woman is off-label and the prescriber carries personal responsibility for that decision. Some clinicians are not comfortable holding that, which is a legitimate professional position rather than an obstruction. It also means "do you prescribe testosterone" is a real question with a real answer, and not a formality.
The six questions to ask before you pay
- •Do you prescribe testosterone for women, and in what circumstances? A straight yes with a condition attached is the good answer. A vague “we consider all options” usually means no.
- •Who is my prescriber, by name, and what is her registration number? This is the single most useful question on the list, and the one a weak service will not answer.
- •Is the initial consultation included in the price, or charged separately each time?
- •Are blood tests included, and how often will I need them? Both answers are acceptable. Not being told is not.
- •Who dispenses my prescription, and is it a UK registered pharmacy?
- •Will you write to my GP? Your record should be complete, and a service that avoids your GP is avoiding the wrong thing.
How to check the prescriber yourself, free
Once you have a name, you do not have to take anyone's word for the rest. Every register below is public and free to search.
- •The NMC register, for a nurse prescriber. Search her name or PIN. You want a current registration carrying the independent prescriber annotation, which is the qualification that lets her prescribe in her own right.
- •The GMC register, if your prescriber is a doctor.
- •The CQC register, for the provider delivering your care. Ask which registered provider that is, because it is not always the brand on the website, and a straight answer is a good sign.
- •The GPhC register, for the pharmacy dispensing your prescription.
Warning signs worth walking away from
- •Testosterone offered with no mention of blood monitoring. The dose used in women is small and specific, and the treatment depends on being checked.
- •A prescription from a questionnaire with no consultation at all.
- •No named clinician anywhere on the site, only a brand and a stock photograph.
- •Prices that only appear after you have handed over your details.
- •Medication shipped from outside the UK, or a seller rather than a pharmacy. This is the genuinely unsafe route, not merely the inconvenient one.
- •Pressure to buy a long commitment before anyone has assessed you.
One honest check before you spend anything
Make sure the thing you are chasing is the thing testosterone does. It has one well-supported use in menopause and it is not a general tonic, so it is worth reading what testosterone does for women, and what it does not first. If your main complaint is exhaustion, a private testosterone prescription may not be the answer, and the best clinic in the country cannot fix that mismatch.
How Solene fits
We would rather you asked us the six questions above than took our word for anything, so here are our answers. Yes, we prescribe testosterone for women, where the nurse prescriber judges it clinically right for you, and never on request alone. Your prescriber is a named independent nurse prescriber on the NMC register, and we will give you her name and PIN so you can check her yourself. Your first appointment is a 45-minute video consultation, included, from anywhere in the UK with no referral. Prescriptions are dispensed by a registered UK pharmacy and posted to you. We write to your GP.
Blood tests are the one place our answer is a qualified yes: you buy your own panel and share the result, and reviewing it is included. She will ask for one every three months while your dose is being settled. We publish our prices in full rather than quoting on enquiry, and they are all on our treatment plans page, including the route for women whose HRT their own GP already prescribes.
Want to ask us those six questions?
See what treatment costs, what each plan includes, and the prescriber you would be speaking to. Or map your symptoms first if you would rather start there.
Frequently asked questions
Which UK clinics prescribe testosterone for women?
Many private menopause services will consider it and some will not, and the position changes, so the reliable approach is to ask directly: do you prescribe testosterone for women, and in what circumstances? A yes with a clinical condition attached is the answer you want.
How do I check a clinic's prescriber is qualified?
Ask for her full name and registration number, then search the NMC register for a nurse or the GMC register for a doctor. For a nurse you want a current registration with the independent prescriber annotation.
Should a clinic include blood tests in the price?
Either arrangement is reasonable. What matters is that you are told clearly which it is, and how often you will need them. Testosterone treatment depends on monitoring.
Do I need a GP referral to go private for testosterone?
No. No referral is needed to see a private prescriber in the UK.
Is it safe to buy testosterone online without a clinic?
No. Unregulated sellers are not safe: the doses are not measured for women and the treatment depends on monitoring you cannot do yourself.
