Testosterone basics and origins

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver continues her conversation with Dr. Kelly Casperson, urologist, author, and host of the podcast "You Are Not Broken." Part 2 goes deep on testosterone therapy for women, the most misunderstood hormone in women's health, and covers the full range of what it actually does in the female body, why every woman will experience declining levels over time, and why there are still zero FDA approved testosterone products for women while men have more than a dozen.

Dr. Casperson opens with the basics: ovaries make testosterone, the hormone pathway runs one way from cholesterol through progesterone to testosterone to estradiol, and women in normal cycling years carry four times more testosterone than estrogen in their bodies. She explains where testosterone receptors are found, which is everywhere from the brain to bone to muscle to the clitoris to the tear ducts, and why reducing testosterone in women to a libido drug misses the full picture entirely.

Guest links:

Kelly Casperson, MD

Kelly Casperson (Instagram)

Kelly Casperson (YouTube)

You Are Not Broken (Apple Podcasts)

Books:

• “You Are Not Broken,” by Kelly Casperson, MD

• "The Menopause Moment," by Kelly Casperson, MD 

• “The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

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