Dealing with a Decreased Female Libido

21.09.2023
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What about the Butterflies?

Decreased libido in women is quite common and is not always associated with medical abnormalities. Often these are psychological problems, chronic stress, overwork. Many general and gynecological diseases can affect the deterioration of the quality of intimate relationships and cause loss of interest in a partner. In order to understand the reasons in time and improve the situation, you should consult a doctor.

Causes of decreased libido in women

Many common diseases that affect hormone production, nervous regulation and blood supply to organs affect libido levels:

  1. Endocrine diseases , for example, a pituitary tumor with increased prolactin levels, decreased thyroid function, congenital or acquired hypogonadism with decreased testosterone production.
  2. Obesity .
  3. Cardiovascular diseases , hypertension.
  4. Taking medications – hormonal contraceptives, adrenergic blockers, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, ACE inhibitors, diuretics, cytostatics, antidiabetic drugs.
  5. Chronic alcohol poisoning , severe pathology of the liver and kidneys.
  6. Postpartum depression , the period after a cesarean section.
  7. Use of psychoactive drugs.

There is no doubt about the role of gynecological diseases on the quality of a woman’s sex life:

  1. Inflammatory diseases of the female genital organs.
  2. Atrophy of the vaginal mucosa, which appears mainly after menopause and is associated with a decrease in estrogen concentrations.
  3. Tumors of the external and internal genital organs.
  4. Condition after removal of the ovaries, uterus, anomalies in the development of the female reproductive system.

These diseases lead to a feeling of dryness, discomfort, pain, contact bleeding and all kinds of discharge. All this contributes to increased tension, attempts to avoid intimate relationships and unpleasant sensations. In congenital diseases of the female genital organs, the hormonal background differs significantly from normal, as does the structure and size of the organs. In this case, you can correct the anomaly during surgery by taking hormones.

Often the reasons are purely psychological:

  1. Negative experiences in the past, lack of self-confidence.
  2. Lack of sex education in the family and ideas about normal relationships between a man and a woman.
  3. Accumulated grievances and unresolved interpersonal problems.
  4. Overwork.
  5. Violence, rudeness, aggression that a woman experiences towards herself.
  6. Mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, infantilism.
  7. Vaginismus is a painful spasm of the vaginal muscles when attempting sexual intercourse.
  8. Fear of an unwanted pregnancy.

The professionals will help you understand the reasons for decreased libido. The sooner it becomes clear what caused the problem, the faster it will be possible to deal with it. Otherwise, a woman may lose her husband, family, interest in life, and her own self-esteem.

Natural causes of decreased sex drive

Sexual desire depends on the level of female sex hormones, mainly estrogen and testosterone. Estrogen is produced more in the first half of the menstrual cycle. Closer to menstruation, the hormone progesterone prevails, which inhibits libido. Throughout pregnancy, progesterone in a woman’s body is maintained at a high level, because the main task during this period is to bear the fetus and give birth to a child.

After childbirth, lactation begins. Prolactin is responsible for this process, which also reduces desire. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the first 2–3 months after the birth of a baby, a woman’s desire drops sharply. Lack of sleep, worries about the child, and lifestyle changes also have an effect. Many women experience postpartum depression, for which it is advisable to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Birth control pills contain female sex hormones in different proportions, so taking these medications can also lead to loss of interest in sexual relations. In this case, the doctor will help you choose another method of contraception that will not affect libido so much.

Libido depends on the emotional and psychological state of a woman. It can increase and decrease. If within six months the desire is noticeably reduced or absent altogether, you need to deal with the reason and change something in your life. The lack of regular contact weakens the emotional connection within the family, leads to stagnation of blood in the woman’s pelvic organs, and is fraught with depression and family breakdown.

Manifestations of decreased libido in women

The main symptom is reluctance to have sexual relations. The attraction to a sexual partner decreases, and the relationship itself does not bring satisfaction as before. This is accompanied by a host of other psychological symptoms:

  • depressed mood;
  • low self-esteem;
  • emotional lability, touchiness;
  • anxiety.

Against this background, conflicts often arise, and all family members lose a sense of psychological comfort. To restore harmony, you need to maintain tact, respect for each other and, of course, get examined by a doctor.

Diagnostics

The doctor talks with the woman, finds out how long ago and when the problems began. What does she herself associate with the decrease in libido, is everything normal with her partner from a medical and mental point of view. It is important to understand whether attraction is always absent or only under certain conditions. Does a woman have dreams of erotic content? The woman is being consulted by a sexologist and psychotherapist. The doctor checks the general level of anxiety, depression, and asthenia. To do this, the patient fills out special questionnaire tables.

To identify organic causes of decreased libido, the body is examined:

  1. The level of hormones of the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thyroid gland, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone is determined. If necessary, an ultrasound of the ovaries and other endocrine organs and an MRI of the sella turcica are performed.
  2. A gynecologist checks for diseases of the female genital organs. During a gynecological examination, the condition of the mucous membranes is determined: are there signs of inflammation, dryness, or formation that could interfere with sexual intercourse. To identify pathogenic flora, smears are taken for examination.
  3. For complaints from the genitourinary system, ultrasound of the pelvic organs, electromyography of the perineal muscles, and radiography of the pelvic organs are prescribed.

Treatment for decreased libido

The type of therapy directly depends on the reasons that are revealed during the examination:

  1. If libido is negatively affected by taking medications, they are replaced with others or the doses are reduced.
  2. If endocrine abnormalities are detected, appropriate hormonal treatment is selected. Thus, bromocriptine is prescribed for elevated levels of prolactin in the blood. If the cause of hypersecretion is a tumor of the endocrine gland, it is removed.
  3. A gynecologist provides therapy for inflammatory diseases of the female genital area. Preparations containing estrogens help cope with atrophic changes. To do this, use topical estrogen – cream, tablets, rings, which are inserted directly into the vagina. The entire body can be affected by taking pills or using a patch (transdermal method of use). Progesterone is often prescribed along with estrogen to reduce the risk of developing uterine cancer. Regular use of estrogens, progesterone, and their combination after the onset of menopause can improve mood, reduce discomfort in the female genital organs, and restore libido.
  4. For high levels of anxiety, antidepressants are prescribed.

Most of the work involves restoring trust and emotional intimacy between partners. Sexual desire greatly depends on this, especially in women. A couple must learn to discuss intimate problems and hear each other’s wishes. The following usually helps to revive feelings and libido:

  1. Creating a romantic atmosphere, using candles, aromatherapy, pleasant music, a beautifully set table, elegant clothes.
  2. More attention should be paid to foreplay before sex. Haste and a quick transition directly to sexual intercourse have a bad effect on a woman’s satisfaction and the emergence of libido subsequently. Touching different erogenous zones and kissing are important. Sometimes erotic videos, products from sex shops, and erotic massages are appropriate. It is important that the woman likes the actions, and for this she must be able to convey her deepest desires to her partner.
  3. To improve gliding, it is recommended to use lubricants.
  4. It is important to awaken sensuality, develop imagination, learn to love your body, and cope with stiffness and shyness.

Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you learn to focus on internal sensations and achieve orgasm. In different cases, individual psychotherapy, work with couples, and groups are used. The general level of health is also of great importance. Exercise, good nutrition, and timely resolution of psychological problems are useful.

A set of measures to combat decreased libido usually gives good results. A woman’s health and emotional mood improve, and her sex life improves.

One of the experimental directions in the treatment of lack of sexual desire in women is testosterone therapy. The drug is prescribed to postmenopausal women or patients receiving estrogen treatment. For example, with premature ovarian failure syndrome, against the background of diseases of the endocrine organs, after chemotherapy. Replacement therapy is prescribed if the concentration of testosterone in the blood is below 20 ng/dl. The medicine is taken orally or applied to the skin in the form of patches.

Treatment must be carried out under the supervision of a physician, since testosterone in women with long-term use can lead to side effects:

  1. Periodically check for hirsutism – the type of hair growth changes.
  2. The level of free testosterone in the blood is determined.
  3. A mammogram is performed to ensure that breast cancer is not missed.
  4. Check the level of lipids and glucose in the blood.

This allows you to stop the hormone in time so that the treatment does not lead to complications.

Prevention of decreased libido in women

To avoid problems in your intimate life, even after treatment is completed, it is useful to adhere to the principles of a healthy lifestyle:

  1. Physical activity during the day – walking, warming up.
  2. Varied food. Including aphrodisiac foods in the diet: dark chocolate, seafood, hot and spicy spices, celery. You can drink extracts of ginseng, eleutherococcus, and aloe juice. The diet should have enough vitamins A, C, E, B. It is useful to eat fish, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, vegetable oils, and lean meats.
  3. Refusal of alcohol, strong coffee at night, limiting sugar, trans fats, fast food.
  4. If you are overweight, you need to reduce your intake of fats and calories from food.

It is equally important to be able to communicate with your partner on the topic of sex, not to withdraw into yourself and not to blame anyone for complicating the relationship.

Why should you go for the diagnostics and a special consultation?

If you ignore the problem or try to solve it without the help of specialists or at list a convenient online consultation with a localized treatment protocol to navigate you through the libido healing process, there is a risk of making the situation even worse. Unsuccessful attempts to talk about an intimate topic with a partner will lead to a future fear of raising these issues and discussing your desires. In the clinical surrounding, work is carried out with both partners, effective recommendations are given, and the effect of treatment methods is monitored. All this provides good results with complete anonymity.

At your clinic you can get advice from a gynecologist, psychologist, psychotherapist, sexologist, and endocrinologist. It is very good when your clinic has a laboratory, CT, MRI, ultrasound, x-ray. Specialists provide conservative and surgical care to patients and use psychotherapy methods. Extensive experience in solving sexual problems will help every couple improve their intimate life, restore freshness, acuity and novelty to relationships.