@drsalaswhalen's menopause HRT claims need more context
Quick answer
Dr. Salas-Whalen, a New York-based endocrinologist, argues that testosterone is a female hormone and that women receive equivalent benefits from it as men do. The claim is grounded in real physiology but overstates the current evidence base, which strongly supports testosterone for female sexual dysfunction but shows mixed or preliminary results for other endpoints like mood, cognition, and body composition. No testosterone formulation is currently FDA-approved for women in the U.S., meaning all female prescribing occurs off-label.
Our take · Written by FormBlends editorial team · Reviewed by FormBlends Medical Team· This is not a transcript. It is our independent review of the video above.
What did @drsalaswhalen actually say?
Dr. Salas-Whalen made one central argument: testosterone is not just a male hormone, and women deserve to benefit from it just as much as men do. Her exact framing was that "testosterone is also a female hormone" and that "we women get all the same benefits that you would think men get from testosterone."
The video uses a contrast device, showing culturally male images of testosterone versus images presumably meant to represent women, to challenge the reflex association between testosterone and masculinity. The implicit argument is that medical culture and public perception have both underserved women by treating testosterone as off-limits or irrelevant to female physiology. That is a reasonable argument, and it is not without scientific support. But the all-or-nothing claim that women get "all the same benefits" from testosterone deserves more scrutiny than a 60-second reel can provide.
Does the science back this up?
On the foundational biology, yes. Testosterone is genuinely a female hormone. Ovaries and adrenal glands produce it, circulating levels in premenopausal women typically range from 15 to 70 ng/dL, and it plays documented roles in libido, bone density, muscle mass, and mood. This is not fringe science.
The Global Consensus Position Statement on testosterone therapy for women, published by Wierman and colleagues in 2019 across multiple major endocrinology journals, concluded that there is strong evidence for testosterone improving hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in postmenopausal women. That is not a minor finding. However, the same consensus statement was careful to note that evidence for broader benefits like cognitive function, mood, energy, and body composition is still inconsistent or preliminary. So "all the same benefits" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The evidence base is not uniform across outcomes.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
Give Dr. Salas-Whalen credit for the core claim: testosterone is a female hormone. That is accurate and worth saying loudly, because clinician surveys consistently show that most women are never counseled about testosterone therapy even when it might be appropriate. Davis and colleagues (2019, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism) found that awareness and prescribing of testosterone for women remains low relative to what evidence supports.
Where the framing gets slippery is the phrase "all the same benefits." Men seeking testosterone therapy are often targeting libido, muscle, energy, and mood. For women, the evidence is strongest for sexual function and weakest for the other domains. Papalia and colleagues (2021, Journal of Sexual Medicine) confirmed libido benefits but found mixed results for mood and cognition. Saying women get all the same benefits without that nuance risks setting expectations that the data does not yet fully support, and it may push women toward higher-dose protocols with less-established safety profiles.
What should you actually know?
Testosterone therapy for women is legitimate medicine. It is not the same as the high-dose, muscle-focused use associated with male bodybuilding culture, and conflating the two has genuinely harmed women by making both patients and doctors uncomfortable with a therapy that, at appropriate doses, has a real evidence base.
The practical reality: no testosterone product is currently FDA-approved for women in the United States. Clinicians who prescribe it are doing so off-label, typically using male-formulated products at fractions of the standard male dose or compounded preparations. That is not inherently wrong, but it means patients are working in a space with less regulatory oversight and more clinical variability. The 2019 Global Consensus Statement remains the best evidence-based framework for guiding these decisions, and it recommends individualized assessment, not a one-size-fits-all approach. If you are a woman curious about testosterone, a conversation with a board-certified endocrinologist or gynecologist is the right starting point, not an Instagram reel.
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This page currently connects to 8 source-backed evidence items through visible references or structured citation data.
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For @drsalaswhalen's menopause HRT claims need more context, FormBlends checks the page topic against primary trials, systematic reviews, guidelines, and current PubMed-indexed literature where available. These citations are context, not medical advice, proof of eligibility, or a claim that every study applies to every patient.
Cardiovascular Safety of Testosterone-Replacement Therapy
TRAVERSE trial anchor for cardiovascular-safety discussions in appropriately diagnosed men.
PubMed
Testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline
Guideline anchor for diagnosis, monitoring, contraindications, and appropriate TRT framing.
PubMed
Understanding weight gain at menopause
Background source for body-composition and weight-change discussions around menopause.
PubMed
Management of obesity in menopause
Current source for menopause-specific obesity management framing.
PubMed
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@drsalaswhalen's menopause HRT claims need more context should be treated as a claim to verify, then compared with evidence, safety context, and a provider review path.
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FormBlends verdict
Dr. Salas-Whalen, a New York-based endocrinologist, argues that testosterone is a female hormone and that women receive equivalent benefits from it as men do. The claim is grounded in real physiology but overstates the current evidence base, which strongly supports testosterone for female sexual dysfunction but shows mixed or preliminary results for other endpoints like mood, cognition, and body composition. No testosterone formulation is currently FDA-approved for women in the U.S., meaning all female prescribing occurs off-label.
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Compare the claim with FormBlends safety guidance and a licensed-provider review before acting.
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Use the clip as a claim to verify, not a treatment plan
What it helps with
- Dr. Salas-Whalen, a New York-based endocrinologist, argues that testosterone is a female hormone and that women receive equivalent benefits from it as men do. The claim is grounded in real physiology but overstates the current evidence base, which strongly supports testosterone for female sexual dysfunction but shows mixed or preliminary results for other endpoints like mood, cognition, and body composition. No testosterone formulation is currently FDA-approved for women in the U.S., meaning all female prescribing occurs off-label.
- Testosterone is physiologically female: premenopausal women typically circulate 15 to 70 ng/dL, produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands.
- The 2019 Global Consensus Position Statement (Wierman et al.) gives the strongest evidence rating to testosterone for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women.
What it may miss
- It may not cover eligibility, contraindications, medication interactions, lab history, or dose escalation.
- Compound access, legal status, and product quality still need a separate safety check.
- Social video captions rarely show the full evidence base behind a claim.
Best next step
Compare the claim against a FormBlends guide, safety page, and licensed-provider review before acting.
Start provider reviewWhat You'll Learn
- Testosterone is physiologically female: premenopausal women typically circulate 15 to 70 ng/dL, produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands.
- The 2019 Global Consensus Position Statement (Wierman et al.) gives the strongest evidence rating to testosterone for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women.
- Evidence for testosterone improving mood, cognition, and body composition in women is preliminary and inconsistent, per Papalia et al., 2021, Journal of Sexual Medicine.
- No testosterone product is currently FDA-approved for women in the U.S. All female prescribing is off-label, which increases variability in dosing and monitoring.
- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports individualized assessment before initiating testosterone therapy in women, not population-wide prescribing.
- Clinician surveys show most women are never offered or counseled about testosterone therapy, even when symptoms suggest it could be appropriate, per Davis et al., 2019.
- Conflating female therapeutic testosterone use with male high-dose protocols is a category error that contributes to both over-caution and, in some cases, inappropriate dosing.
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About the Creator
Rocio Salas-Whalen, MD. · Instagram creator
321.2K views on this video
To see me as a patient in my New York City private practice, please contact my office. . ☎️ 212-722-3636 📧 reception@nyendocrinology.com 💻 www.nyendocrinology.com. The content of this page is for ed
Sources & references
Citations extracted from our medical team's review. Click any citation to search PubMed.
Read More on This Topic
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Not medical advice. This video was made by Rocio Salas-Whalen, MD., not by FormBlends. Our write-up above is an editorial review, not a medical recommendation. Talk to your doctor before making any decisions about medications or treatments.