Normal Testosterone Levels and Symptoms of an Imbalance High Testosterone in Women: Signs, Causes, and Treatment (B) Clinical parameters determined by serum transaminases and IgG levels before and during testosterone therapy. (C) TNF- and IFN-γ–expressing CD4+ T cells in blood before and after 6M of GAHT. (D) UMAP reflecting 17,959 peripheral blood CD3+ T cells at baseline (BL) and 6M after GAHT showing 9 distinct T cell clusters (5 CD4+ and 4 predominantly CD8+). (E) Volcano plots of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of total CD4+ and CD4+ TNAIVE cells. (F) Violin plots of the gene expression of CD69, NFKB1, NFKBIA, JUNB, FOS, and DUSP1 at BL and 6M in the CD4+ TNAIVE cluster. (G) Overrepresentation analysis (ORA) of significantly changed pathways according to the Hallmark database in CD4+ and CD4+ TNAIVE cells. This study determines that testosterone levels in physically active women rise immediately after integrated exercise but decline significantly within 24 h, with fluctuations influenced by menstrual cycle phases, peaking at mid-cycle. Since there are no FDA-approved commercial products formulated for women, I rely on transdermal gels from a compounding pharmacy. You may also not want to take DHEA if you have depression or bipolar disorder. It may also worsen liver disease and increase insulin resistance, so ask your doctor before taking it. Avoid DHEA supplements if you have a family history of hormone-related tumors like breast, ovarian, or adrenal cancer. Your doctor may suggest using an off-label testosterone patch or cream. “When testosterone replacement is used in women, a fraction of the dose used in men is typically prescribed, but it is still considered an off-label use of the medication,” says Barrera. To further validate these findings at the level of cytokine release, we performed ex vivo stimulation experiments with CD4+ T cells derived from WT and AR-deficient mice. These results align with the observed differentiation rates depicted in Figure 4F and further support the role of AR-mediated testosterone signaling in modulating murine T cell differentiation. The findings indicate that total testosterone levels transiently increase immediately after exercise but decline below baseline within 24 h during recovery. These results are consistent with previous studies56, which reported that testosterone levels peak in the early recovery period following exhaustive endurance exercise but significantly decrease after 24 h. Similarly, Lane et al.14 observed acute testosterone elevations in response to physical activity in women, suggesting that this transient weight loss increase testosterone may be linked to physiological adaptations enhancing performance and recovery. Additionally, Baydil57 reported that exhausting exercise affects the total testosterone profile in females, further supporting the observed fluctuations in our study. Like men, women can also experience abnormal testosterone levels, leading to health issues like low sex drive and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Many health care providers use the testosterone preparations on the market approved for use in men — but at one-tenth of the dose. In general, testosterone from compounding pharmacies is overall discouraged or at least should be carefully and only cautiously considered. There can be significant batch to batch variation in the