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Decreased Desire/Libido
Why It's Happening:
Reduced sex drive at midlife can be due to a decrease in the hormone testosterone, which fuels libido in both women and men. Other causes include: feelings of inadequacy brought on by your changing body, depression, conflict in your relationship or medications that curb desire.
What You Can Do:
Women are arguably better endowed for lifelong sexual satisfaction than men: The clitoris has 8,000 nerve endings, more nerve endings than any other part of the body, including the penis. Still, it's common for women in perimenopause to experience decreased libido from time to time. One of the easiest ways to re-ignite sex drive is through diet and exercise. Eating healthfully and exercising moderately can help boost energy levels, and often libido, in a matter of days.
For example, a low-fat diet with lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables will make you feel more energized than eating a high-fat menu of pizza, burgers and Chinese take-out. (For delicious, energy-boosting meal options, try the YES™ Plan.) Exercising just 30 minutes three times a week can also help raise your energy level.
According to Lisa Masterson, M.D., an attending ob-gyn at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, "prescription testosterone cream may often help women recharge their sex drive. This is applied internally and at the entrance to the vaginal area," she explains. "It can also help lubricate if you have any vaginal dryness." For some women, prescription hormone pills may be most effective.
The prescription hormone combination of Estratest (it's a pill) contains estrogen and testosterone. "This may help cases of decreased libido and fatigue," says Masterson. Regarding other remedies that are in development: "At the moment, Viagra cream is being tested on women. It is expected to be on the market in approximately two years," Masterson reports. "This cream is applied on the vaginal lips and at the entrance to the vaginal area."
Ask your doctor if any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you're taking may affect libido. And get professional therapy for depression or relationship problems.
See These Related Resources:
Discover fitness with Chad, your personal trainer
Complete weight loss solution center
Eat well, with nutritionist Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., R.D.
Your guide to passion and intimacy
Sex-enhancing drugs for men and women
Talk about it in the Menopause forum
Sexual Problems bulletin board, Menopause-Online.com
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