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Ladies (and gents), I've been getting PMs, off and on, for a while, from various people, and I've also seen posts on the boards and the basics are the same: a woman (usually -- but not always -- over the age of 35) is dealing with certain health problems but nobody starts looking for help until libido goes into the bucket.
A lot of the male reaction is "Can I put her on a cycle?" And I understand this, because with guys you give 'em a shot and 90% of the time, it fixes 99% of the problems. I cannot emphasize enough, however, this is NOT how female physiology works.
Without knowing WHY her libido has gone bad, you may turn a bad situation into a truly, truly horrible one.
There are a lot of things that can be done that will improve a woman's libido, and sometimes hormone replacement is part of it, but a lot of other things need to be taken into consideration. HRT should be the LAST resort, and before that step there are products she could try increase her own levels naturally first to see if that's really what's going on.
Female libido is a little more delicate you might say, than male libido. It's also impacted by a lot more factors than male libido. Hormones can be the LEAST of it or they can also be the WHOLE ball of wax. The problem is you need to nail down what else is going on, things like:
1. Is she depressed?
2. Is she on any prescription medications?
3. Is she on hormonal birth control (pill, patch, injection, IUD or ring)?
4. Is she perimenopausal/menopausal/postmenopausal (either surgically or naturally)?
5. What are her stress levels like?
6. What is her general health like?
7. Has she had a complete hormone panel done recently?
8. What is her diet like?
9. How is she sleeping?
10. How is the relationship, has anything changed recently in the house?
I realize that's a lot, but when it comes to sex drive, men are overall (and this is the truth, sorry), somewhat less complicated. If there's enough test., they get wood, if they have wood, they want to use it. It's not like that with women.
The problem with women is that if you JUST attack it strictly from raising her androgen levels, bang, that's it, you're going to get side effects and that may, down the road, create OTHER health problems particularly if her health is not dialed in. It may obscure the true cause of what's going on, it may create additional problems, it's just awkward and usually ends badly.
So what am I saying? If you or the woman you love has a lousy (or nonexistant) libido the WORST thing you could do to her is put her on a cycle. What you have to do is find out her baseline hormone levels, first. These should, ideally, be done by an endocrine doctor or a gynecologist, and it should be a doctor who KNOWs why you're doing this! When the results are in, you don't want the doctor to just tell you "they're fine" or "well, something looks weird." You WANT a copy of those results in your hot little hand.
Now, if the doctor says, "Something looks weird/off" place the problem in their capable hands and let 'em run. If they drop the ball, you can always come back here.
But let's assume the doctor says "everything looks fine" and you're back to square one. That's why I'm writing this post. If you're going to come to EF looking for ideas on how to get your loved one's mojo rising again, you need to come prepared with some basic information, which means baseline hormone levels, know the lady's answers those 10 question I listed, and in addition be able to list ANY AND ALL health problems, in excruciating detail (if necessary), no matter how subtle or obscure, think like this: any reproductive problems (as in period issues, more or less cramping, lighter or heavier flow, what is her libido really like, does she get a lot of UTIs or yeast infections, etc.); does she have digestive problems (IBS, hearburn, diarrhea, constipation, change in frequency, etc.); does she have cardiopulmonary problems (palpitations, shortness of breath, unusually slow or fast heatbeat, etc.); and are there any general body problems (rashes, skin getting dry or oily, hair loss, unexplained muscle/joint/body aches or pains, sleep problems, mood changes, headaches, fatigue, etc.) and then "anything else."
But guys, whatever you do, please don't put the lady you love on a cycle just because you're not getting busy enough, you could be masking other problems, or creating new ones.
Now, can things be done if her health is otherwise fine and she's just in a natural down regulation of hormones, ABSOLUTELY YES!!! But don't expect ANYTHING to work overnight, and depending on what kind of help she needs, don't expect to get off scott free on sides. The problem with HRT seems to be what price is she willing to pay? When you're talking about a permanent health issue, like hormonal down-regulation, then you're talking chronic treatment. 1 to 2 mg of test. a week may not seem like much, but when you're taking that on a continual basis, things can STILL happen.
And I would love to hear from people who've got some experience or knowledge in this department, or particularly suggestions for research/reading, seriously. Most of what I know about perimenopausal issues/treatment come from the work of Dr. John Lee, in addition to personal experience. I would like to be able to take care of myself (and offer suggestions to others if they ask it) in a safe and well informed manner.
A lot of the male reaction is "Can I put her on a cycle?" And I understand this, because with guys you give 'em a shot and 90% of the time, it fixes 99% of the problems. I cannot emphasize enough, however, this is NOT how female physiology works.
Without knowing WHY her libido has gone bad, you may turn a bad situation into a truly, truly horrible one.
There are a lot of things that can be done that will improve a woman's libido, and sometimes hormone replacement is part of it, but a lot of other things need to be taken into consideration. HRT should be the LAST resort, and before that step there are products she could try increase her own levels naturally first to see if that's really what's going on.
Female libido is a little more delicate you might say, than male libido. It's also impacted by a lot more factors than male libido. Hormones can be the LEAST of it or they can also be the WHOLE ball of wax. The problem is you need to nail down what else is going on, things like:
1. Is she depressed?
2. Is she on any prescription medications?
3. Is she on hormonal birth control (pill, patch, injection, IUD or ring)?
4. Is she perimenopausal/menopausal/postmenopausal (either surgically or naturally)?
5. What are her stress levels like?
6. What is her general health like?
7. Has she had a complete hormone panel done recently?
8. What is her diet like?
9. How is she sleeping?
10. How is the relationship, has anything changed recently in the house?
I realize that's a lot, but when it comes to sex drive, men are overall (and this is the truth, sorry), somewhat less complicated. If there's enough test., they get wood, if they have wood, they want to use it. It's not like that with women.
The problem with women is that if you JUST attack it strictly from raising her androgen levels, bang, that's it, you're going to get side effects and that may, down the road, create OTHER health problems particularly if her health is not dialed in. It may obscure the true cause of what's going on, it may create additional problems, it's just awkward and usually ends badly.
So what am I saying? If you or the woman you love has a lousy (or nonexistant) libido the WORST thing you could do to her is put her on a cycle. What you have to do is find out her baseline hormone levels, first. These should, ideally, be done by an endocrine doctor or a gynecologist, and it should be a doctor who KNOWs why you're doing this! When the results are in, you don't want the doctor to just tell you "they're fine" or "well, something looks weird." You WANT a copy of those results in your hot little hand.
Now, if the doctor says, "Something looks weird/off" place the problem in their capable hands and let 'em run. If they drop the ball, you can always come back here.
But let's assume the doctor says "everything looks fine" and you're back to square one. That's why I'm writing this post. If you're going to come to EF looking for ideas on how to get your loved one's mojo rising again, you need to come prepared with some basic information, which means baseline hormone levels, know the lady's answers those 10 question I listed, and in addition be able to list ANY AND ALL health problems, in excruciating detail (if necessary), no matter how subtle or obscure, think like this: any reproductive problems (as in period issues, more or less cramping, lighter or heavier flow, what is her libido really like, does she get a lot of UTIs or yeast infections, etc.); does she have digestive problems (IBS, hearburn, diarrhea, constipation, change in frequency, etc.); does she have cardiopulmonary problems (palpitations, shortness of breath, unusually slow or fast heatbeat, etc.); and are there any general body problems (rashes, skin getting dry or oily, hair loss, unexplained muscle/joint/body aches or pains, sleep problems, mood changes, headaches, fatigue, etc.) and then "anything else."
But guys, whatever you do, please don't put the lady you love on a cycle just because you're not getting busy enough, you could be masking other problems, or creating new ones.
Now, can things be done if her health is otherwise fine and she's just in a natural down regulation of hormones, ABSOLUTELY YES!!! But don't expect ANYTHING to work overnight, and depending on what kind of help she needs, don't expect to get off scott free on sides. The problem with HRT seems to be what price is she willing to pay? When you're talking about a permanent health issue, like hormonal down-regulation, then you're talking chronic treatment. 1 to 2 mg of test. a week may not seem like much, but when you're taking that on a continual basis, things can STILL happen.
And I would love to hear from people who've got some experience or knowledge in this department, or particularly suggestions for research/reading, seriously. Most of what I know about perimenopausal issues/treatment come from the work of Dr. John Lee, in addition to personal experience. I would like to be able to take care of myself (and offer suggestions to others if they ask it) in a safe and well informed manner.
