Be More in the Mood for Sex with These Lifestyle Changes

 

When your wellbeing is affected by a low libido, you can feel like you’re the only one, or that something is wrong with you. However, according to sexual health and wellness expert Celia Shatzman, ‘If you’ve lost that frisky feeling, you’re not alone. Research shows that nearly a third of women and 15% of men lack the desire to have sex regularly. But there are things you can do to put the sizzle back into your sex life.’ So, which lifestyle changes can give your sex drive a boost?

 

1. Plan More Date Nights: ‘If a fun Saturday night with your hubby means watching Showtime in sweatpants, it could be killing your sex drive,’ warns Shatzman. ‘Rekindle your romance by getting out of the house for an old-fashioned date. Your dates don’t need to be grand romantic evenings; just going to the movies or out to dinner can reignite the spark you felt when you first met.’ Leah Millheiser, MD, director of the Female Sexual Medicine Programme at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, suggests, ‘If it’s too expensive to hire a nanny, ask your friends with kids to watch yours for the night and offer to return the favour.’

 

2. Choose a Different Birth Control Pill: ‘Hormonal changes take a big toll on your sex drive,’ Shatzman notes. ‘Birth control pills can be one of the biggest perpetrators: they can reduce your body’s production of testosterone, and in turn, your desire to get down. Certain varieties may even cause pain during sex. And even if you’re not on birth control, being aware of your hormonal status can help you dial in your libido. Prolactin, the nursing hormone, decreases estrogen and testosterone in breastfeeding women, which can wreak hormonal havoc. Additionally…menopause can bring a decrease in testosterone and estradiol, a type of oestrogen.’

 

3. Check Your Other Meds, Too: Shatzman instructs, ‘Take a look at your medicine cabinet—your prescriptions could be behind your lower libido. Aside from birth control pills, common offenders include drugs for high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), anxiety, and depression.’ Dr. Millheiser advises, ‘If a medication is the most likely culprit, discuss your concern with the prescribing doctor. It’s possible that another treatment may be used with fewer side effects.’

 

4. Divide Household Chores Equally: Dr. Millheiser points out, ‘After the kids go to bed, there’s often cleanup followed by work that you’ve brought home. As a result, intimacy gets pushed to the background.’ Shatzman comments, ‘If you and your partner are both working full-time, keeping the division of household labour equal and ensuring one partner doesn’t shoulder the whole burden will make both of you happier in the bedroom and out.’

 

5. Set Your Room Up for Romance: ‘It’s easy to get in the habit of letting your kids crawl into bed with you after they’ve had a bad dream, or sharing cuddle time with your cat or dog,’ allows Shatzman. ‘These are major mood killers. [Keep] the kiddos and pets out by simply locking the bedroom door at night. It may take some time to break these habits, but making the bed sexy again will make you more relaxed and ready for romance.’

 

6. Add Sex to Your To-Do List: Shatzman asks, ‘We schedule doctor’s appointments, work meetings, and drinks with friends—so why not sex? It’s not the most romantic approach, but setting aside a specific time with your significant other means you’re making a commitment to having an active sex life. This way, you’ll feel compelled to keep the appointment and be less likely to make excuses.’

Categories: birth, Birth Control, birth control pill, chores, control pills, dr millheiser, low libido, nbsp, Sex Drive, sex life, shatzman, time

Study: Women Want Sex After Childbirth Sooner than Thought

 

As new parents, starting up sex again after the birth of your child can be a big wellness issue; you want to reconnect with your partner, but your body has just been through a bit of an ordeal. However, according to a new study, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, much of what drives women’s desire in the postpartum period are not physical factors, but psychological ones.

 

Sexual health expert Stephanie Pappas explains, ‘In many cases, social factors such as spousal support and the baby’s sleeping habits play a larger role in new moms’ interest in sex than physical factors like birth trauma, the research found. Women also begin feeling desire and engaging in sex sooner than the six-week waiting period that most doctors recommend… The new baby period is a time of little sleep and healing from childbirth, two factors not conducive to a rambunctious sex life. But studies have shown that new parenthood doesn’t cool the sex drive for long. Research suggests that desire returns to pre-pregnancy levels within about three to four weeks, though most couples don’t resume vaginal intercourse until week seven or eight.’

 

Study researcher Sari van Anders, a behavioural endocrinologist at the University of Michigan, notes, ‘One interesting thing is that women performed oral sex on their partners and engaged in masturbation earlier than they received oral sex or engaged in intercourse. People have frequently assumed that women just aren’t interested in sexuality early in the postpartum period and that the sexual activity they do engage in is for the sake of their partners, but the rates of masturbation suggests that many women are feeling sexual.’

 

Pappas points out, ‘Previous studies have mostly focused on the physical trauma of labor and delivery as well as post-baby hormonal factors to explain the postpartum sex drive. But there’s more to sex than biology…The researchers recruited 304 women who had given birth in the last seven years to reflect on their postpartum experiences in a series of online questionnaires. All of the women had a romantic partner during the first three months of their baby’s life. They answered questions about their sexual desires, their sexual activities, their partner’s supportiveness, their birth experience and other factors, like breast-feeding.’ So what were the results?

 

‘By the end of the first three months, 85% of the women had started having intercourse again,’ says Pappas. ‘65% had engaged in oral sex and 61% had masturbated. In general…women start performing oral sex and masturbating first, with receptive oral sex and penile-vaginal intercourse coming later…In terms of timing, the most important factors for a woman were her perceptions of her partner’s sexual needs and desires, suggesting that some women start sexual activity again more for their partner’s benefit than their own. A woman’s level of social support and her experiences in childbirth (both physical and psychological) also influenced how soon she started engaging in sexual activities again. Fatigue, stress, body image, breast-feeding and vaginal trauma were not associated with how quickly women started having sex again, however.’

 

So why don’t doctors recommend sex earlier than six weeks? ‘Health-care providers often don’t discuss too much about sexuality before that six-week period except to express that women shouldn’t be doing anything penetrative until after that timeframe,’ van Anders comments. ‘But our data suggest that women are engaging in a host of behaviours and that they have desire… I think we need to make room for thinking broadly about women’s sexuality in the postpartum period, as a part of positive lifelong sexuality but also as a positive part of the postpartum experience.’

Categories: childbirth, Research, Sex Drive

The G Shot: How Is It Transforming Sex Lives?

Everyone these days has heard of the G-spot, and yet many men have never witnessed a G-spot orgasm and women often scoff at the idea of one even existing. If you’re involved with a woman who feels this way about this mystical area of the body, you may both be converted by the concept of the G-shot. Scientists in the USA have found a way to increase a woman’s G-spot with a small injection, making it virtually impossible to miss during sex or foreplay. But how does it work and how much does it cost? The G-shot is a trademarked collagen injection which is intended to increase the size of a woman’s G-spot – it’s being touted as the next big thing. In fact, it’s becoming so popular that women are using their lunch break to drop in on their gynaecologist in America for this nifty treatment. The procedure takes around 30 minutes from start to finish, and will set you back around $1850 for the injection, which only requires local anaesthetic to take place.

Once you’ve had it done, the G-spot is supposed to increase to an amazing inch-wide diameter with a quarter-inch height. That’s pretty large when you consider that G-spots often go completely unnoticed due to their size. The results are immediate and sex is possible within as little as four hours after the procedure. So what are the benefits? The most obvious one is that having the G-spot enlarged to such a size means that it is practically impossible to miss during sex, so the amazing orgasms reported when it’s involved in sexual play are possible to women who have this procedure. Many women report that orgasms reached in conjunction with the G-shot are far better than normal orgasms, particularly where intensity and length of duration are concerned.

The G-shot is also said to increase libido in some women, increasing their sense of sensitivity and even arousal itself. Some women even feel as though the G-shot has revolutionised their sex life, which was considered frustrating beforehand. The results of this procedure last just four months though, so anyone looking to sustain these results would need to keep up with the injections. The man who invented the shot, Dr David Matlock, advertises that the procedure an 87 per cent success rate in terms of women who feel as though the treatment has revolutionised their sex life. His website is keen to state, though, that the G-shot is only intended for women who don’t currently suffer with a sexual dysfunction – it’s only meant as an enhancement rather than a cure for any problems they may have. If you cannot reach orgasms via a normal sexual routine, the G-shot is probably not going to make much difference. The same can be said of women with a low sex drive or a similar condition, as the G-shot is unlikely to increase your sex drive by any significant amount.

The G-shots primary purpose is to make the area large enough that it’s easy to find when you’re having sex with your partner.The testimonials for this treatment almost speak for themselves, but as with any procedure, you should speak to your GP before making any changes, particularly if you’re suffering with some form of sexual dysfunction. If you are, you may find it more beneficial seeking medication for your complaint as this may be more effective in improving your sex life.

Categories: G Spot, increase, procedure, Sex, Sex Drive, sex life, sexual dysfunction, shot, spot, Women

How to Battle the Impact of Hormones Through the Ages

Hormones play a big part in your wellness, doing everything from helping you conceive to ensuring you get a good night’s sleep. However, when these hormones fluctuate, as they inevitably will as you age, they can be more of a health concern than a helping hand. Hormones affect your wellbeing in different ways at different stages of your life, but there are things you can do to manage these hormonal changes and feel good every step of the way:

 

Your 20s and 30s: According to Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Yale University School of Medicine, ‘Hormone levels go through dramatic changes during your menstrual cycle,’ which is at its peak during your 20s and 30. You get a surge in estradiol (a form of estrogen) about 10 days after the onset of your period, which boosts your mood, while you can become irritable in the second half of your cycle due to an influx of progesterone.

 

If you use a hormonal contraceptive, like the Pill or a vaginal ring, watch out for a dip in your sex drive. Bat Sheva Marcus, the clinical director of the Medical Centre for Female Sexuality, in New York City, explains, ‘These [contraceptives] contain synthetic oestrogen, which blocks testosterone.’ To feel better, Eva Cwynar, an endocrinologist in Beverly Hills recommends eating cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, as studies have shown this can help keep your oestrogen and progesterone levels at the proper ratio. You can also try flaxseed oil, and Minkin recommends taking 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day, divided into three doses, for your severe PMS crankiness.

 

Your 40s: Even though your periods are still regular, your ovaries have begun to produce less oestrogen and progesterone, and your testosterone decreases. This is a period (pardon the pun) known as perimenopause (or pre-menopause), and can last up to five years. Minkin warns, ‘It isn’t a smooth process,’ and she’s right; perimenopause can cause hot flashes, a lag in your sex drive, and vaginal dryness. Kent Holtorf, an endocrinologist in Los Angeles, adds that you produce fewer thyroid hormones during this time, and ‘Thyroid hormones are the key determinants of your metabolism,’ so you might notice weight gain.

 

Erika Schwartz, an internist and a hormone specialist in New York City, comments, ‘You may start waking in the middle of the night or have difficulty falling asleep. Before turning to a sleep aid like Ambien, get your hormone levels checked. You may need hormone supplementation.’ To combat hot flashes, a study from Tarbiat Modarres University, in Iran, found that taking 400 ‘international units of vitamin E daily can help alleviate them.

 

Your 50s and Beyond: The average age for menopause is 51; it’s official when you haven’t had a period in over a year. This probably means you have erratic testosterone levels, frequent hot flashes and a zigzagging sex drive. Minkin says, ‘Oestrogen is involved with mechanisms that keep skin moist,’ so you might need a richer cream and conditioner to combat dry skin and brittle hair and nails. Holtorf notes, ‘Both oestrogen and thyroid hormones are needed for optimal brain function. When they drop in menopause, those low levels result in minor memory problems and cognitive dysfunction.’ Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is considered the gold standard for relieving all those irksome symptoms, including memory loss. Minkin notes, ‘It drives me crazy when women say, “I’ll just deal with my symptoms, and eventually it will be over.” Symptoms of menopause should be a wake-up call to see your doctor.’

Categories: hormone, hormone levels, hormones, hot flashes, levels, Menopause, oestrogen, Periods, Sex Drive, thyroid hormones, york city

Are You at Risk of Premature Menopause?

Some women suffer the menopause before the age of 40, putting them in the category of women going through a premature menopause. The same symptoms which are attributed to a natural menopause still occur, such as emotional problems, hot flushes, vaginal dryness and a lower sex drive. However, for some women going through this early in life, the symptoms can be even more severe. Studies also suggest that women who have a premature menopause also seem to get weaker bones faster than those going through this at a later stage in life. This increases the risk of osteoporosis and bone damage. There are a number of reasons why women go through premature menopause, from genetic causes to unexpected results from surgery. Defects in the woman’s chromosomes could be a cause, such as in women with Turner’s syndrome who are born without a second X chromosome. This causes the ovaries to not develop properly, leading to menopause earlier than expected. Likewise, women who have a family history of early menopause are more likely to experience it early themselves.

 

Researchers have found that autoimmune diseases can also trigger this process – the body’s own immune system mistakes part of the reproductive system to be a threat and attacks it, damaging the ovaries and preventing them from producing female hormones. In women who have had surgery to remove the ovaries, known as a bilateral oophorectomy, menopause occurs straight away. This means she will no longer have periods and her hormone production will decrease at a rapid rate. She may also experience menopausal symptoms immediately too, such as hot flushes and a lowered sexual desire. Chemotherapy can also cause ovarian damage, leading to a premature menopause. It’s common for women who are undergoing chemotherapy to stop having periods, suffer fertility issues and even lose their fertility. It may take a few months or it sometimes happens straight away. This cause of early menopause depends on the type of chemotherapy you have, the age you are when you have it, and how long the treatment lasts for though, so you will need to discuss this with your GP. The younger you are when you undergo the chemo, the less likely you are to go through the menopause early.

 

If you think you’re suffering from premature menopause, your GP will probably ask you if you’ve noticed any changes that are commonly associated with menopause, such as vaginal dryness, irregular periods and problems sleeping. Menopause is usually only diagnosed when a woman hasn’t had a period for over twelve months. There are cases where these normal signs won’t be relevant with premature menopause diagnoses, though. This means you may have to have a blood test which measures the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which can determine if you’re going through a premature menopause. Your ovaries use this hormone to produce oestrogen, so when they stop making this your FSH levels rise. If your levels of this hormone are higher than normal, it’s likely that you’ll be diagnosed with premature menopause. There are many resources available to offer advice on this topic, as well as your GP being your first port of call for any questions you may have. Women going through the menopause can take hormone replacement therapies to combat the effects of a lowered hormone production, as well as ways to resolve issues with your sex drive. Speak to your GP if you would like to discuss medication and treatments to help you through this stage.

Categories: Causes, early menopause, hormone production, hot flushes, Menopause, Premature, premature menopause, Sex Drive, vaginal dryness, Women

Sexy Nutrition: Another Reason You Need Your Five-A-Day!

We’ve been celebrating the erotic power of food for centuries; while Greek and Roman cultures enjoyed a parade of ripe fruits and exotic dishes before engaging in sensual pleasures, today we upload “food porn” photos on Instagram. Nutrition has a weird but great role in sexual health. The quality of your diet has a direct impact on your overall wellbeing – including sexual wellness. Here are our top tips for sexy sustenance:

 

1. Feast on fruits: Many fresh fruits are bursting with fibre, antioxidants and aphrodisiac properties, making them as sensual as they are nutritious. Erotic literature throughout the world celebrates fruits such as apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, coconut, dates, figs, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranates, quince, raspberries and strawberries – yet another reason to make sure you get your five-a-day.

 

2. Vamp with Vegetables: Veggies are often, ahem, phallic-shaped, which is why produce such as asparagus, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, carrots and aubergine have long been prized for their aphrodisiac effects. Moreover, these veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals that invigorate your body and get it ready for a night of passion. Then you have vegetables like the tomato (ok, we know it’s technically a fruit, but, come on.) Also known as the “love apple,” tomatoes are a potent source of the powerhouse antioxidant, lycopene, which was once a highly sought-after libido enhancer. For optimal sexual health, you should also load up on beans, garlic, leeks, onions, parsley, peppers, soybeans, spinach, truffles, turnips and watercress.

 

3. Savour Seafood: You can fuel your body, brain and sex drive with shellfish – including abalone, oysters, clams, scallops, shrimp and lobster – and deep, cold-water fish like cod and halibut. Oysters are a particularly well-known aphrodisiac as they are rich in iodine and zinc, the latter of which is an essential sexual nutrient as it aids testosterone production in men and women.

 

4. Love (a Little) Lean Meat: You need protein to make your body perform at its peak, but Elson Haas, MD, author of Staying Healthy With Nutrition, warns that meats such as chicken and turkey are only healthful in moderation. ‘Good protein intake is important, but excessive amounts can interfere with sexuality,’ he points out. To avoid hormones, antibiotics and other additives that make meat a little bit dodgy, choose organic products where possible and go for non-animal sources of protein like nuts, seeds and beans. Pine nuts and pumpkin seeds are particularly known for being sexual adjuvants.

 

5. Get a Little Extra on the Side: The best way to enhance your sexual wellness is through a healthy, balanced diet. Still, while your diet should provide most of the necessary nourishment, you can get a little bit of extra health insurance from a multivitamin/mineral supplement. Make sure your multivitamin includes vitamins A, C, E and the B group of vitamins. This is important because these vitamins are essential for healthy sexual functioning. B vitamins, such as niacin and B5, for example, can help improve your sexual stamina as well as your ability to reach orgasm. Then you have vitamin E, which supplies your sex organs with sufficient oxygen. However, you should not neglect minerals from your supplement regime, as these nutrients – particularly selenium, manganese and of course, zinc – are also vital in regulating your hormones and revving up your sex drive. To ensure the correct dosages, it’s better to take a multivitamin/mineral rather than taking each mineral and vitamin individually. To find out the best and safest brands, and to make sure it’s ok for you to take a multivitamin, speak with your doctor for more information.

Categories: better sex, Fruits, fruits and vegetables, multivitamin, multivitamin mineral, nbsp, Sex Drive, sexual, sexual health, Sexual Wellness, Supplements, vitamins

Warning: Your Weight Could Affect Your Sex Drive

The media often links the idea of lower weight leading to greater sexual prowess, but is this actually the case? In truth, whilst beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, there is a strong correlation between weight loss and sexual wellness and wellbeing.

 

Obesity can cause all different kinds of related conditions which can affect your sex drive on a mental and physical level. Around 30 percent of all those who are overweight have issues with their sexual desire, sex drive, performance or all of the above.

 

Conditions including insulin resistance (an early indicator for type 2 diabetes) and high cholesterol have an ability to make a difference to your sexual performance, and this in turn can impact on desire, particularly when it comes to men. It stands to reason that a man who has problems getting or maintaining and erection gradually loses his desire for sex after a period of time.

 

When an individual puts on a lot of weight, the hormones in the body are negatively affected and start to fluctuate uncontrollably as a chain reaction. The chemical in the body responsible for sexual function (sex-hormone-binding globulin) increases, which directly causes a drop in testosterone, the hormone responsible for male sexual desire.

 

The more you weigh, the more you produce this sex-hormone-binding globulin, and so the lower levels of testosterone that are available to you, and that stimulate arousal in your body.

 

This, combined with other factors such as high cholesterol, can lead to a real drop in libido. High cholesterol has an impact as it can lead to the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels that supply the pelvic reason, and this can flow the supply of blood to the area that is the most important for sexual arousal.

Categories: binding globulin, desire, drive, high cholesterol, hormone binding, nbsp, Sex, Sex Drive, sex hormone, sexual, sexual desire, weight

Cancer: What Effects Does It Have On Your Sex Life?

Cancer patients are the first people to admit that uncertainty of side effects, both during and after treatment, is one of the most difficult things to cope with. Medical teams specify the timing of hair loss, the ways to cope with nausea and the foods which may appeal to you once your taste buds become altered. But one of the things very rarely discussed is the effect of cancer on one’s sex life, despite it being something that affects a number of people. Whether it’s a direct result of the illness itself, or a side effect of the treatment, sexual dysfunction is something which affects a large proportion of people with cancer.

Sexual function and the distress related to it are included in a number of studies looking at the quality of life in female cancer survivors currently being carried out. However, the problem lies in that the topic is usually left out of conversations between patients and medical professionals when talking about cancer care and the preparations.  While it may seem obvious that women who suffer from gynecological cancers may experience problems during sex afterwards, the prevalence of these disorders is surprising. As many as 70 per cent of women with breast cancer still face some form of dysfunction as long as two years after their diagnosis. In men, it’s more likely that doctors will counsel them on sexual matters than they will with women. Research suggests that time and worry about stress are common barriers when discussing sex with women facing cancer.

 

Research also shows that 25 per cent of men who survived cancer as children also suffer from testosterone deficiency as adults, which could not only affect their sex drive but also lead to depression, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Cancer diagnosis and the various treatments that brings with it greatly affect sexuality, and this is often neglected in talks about the issue, particularly in young adults. The cancers which affect the pelvic area are more likely to affect sexual dysfunction in men, such as bladder, colon, rectal and prostate cancers. Furthermore, the protocols used to treat these illnesses could also cause life-long changes and sexual side effects. For example, surgery could result in damage to the nerves which control the blood flow; chemotherapy and hormone therapy could lower the levels of testosterone in the body; and radiotherapy can delay sexual dysfunction by as much to a year after treatment has taken place. Typical problems in this area include erectile dysfunction, decreased sex drive, dry orgasms, pain during sex and a smaller penis.  In women, the problems are similar – pain during sex, vaginal dryness and a loss of sexual desire are all commonly associated with female cancer patients.

 

People tend not to discuss these issues with their GP so it goes untreated, but these are important side effects that really need to be discussed with a medical professional. The best way to ensure these conditions are treated is to keep an open mind and to get your partner on board when looking at ways to rekindle your sex life, such as trying new positions and ensuring that you don’t lose physical contact with each other, even through kissing and caressing one another. Keep the channels of communication open so that you can discuss issues as they arise. Furthermore, if there is something you’re worried about, talk about it with your doctor as well as your partner – there may be a treatment available to you that can help resolve the problem.

Categories: Advice, cancer, cancer patients, Dysfunction, female cancer, Sex, Sex Drive, sex life, sexual, sexual dysfunction, Women

Homosexuality, Sex Drive and PMS: Why Do You Blame Hormones?

Hormones are confusing and downright irritating little devils. You know you have them, and you know they wreak havoc on your sexual health and emotional wellness, but do hormones get given the blame too often? Over the years, hormones have been blamed for everything from causing cancer to encouraging homosexuality, but contrary to popular belief, hormones might not have as much influence over your wellbeing as you think, and the influence they do have is not so scary. Let’s take a look at some of the more ridiculous myths associated with hormones.

 

1. Hormones in food can make you turn homosexual: Award-winning wellness writer Hope Gillette notes, ‘Contrary to the some people’s belief female hormones used to promote chicken growth will turn a man homosexual, the fact is there are no studies supporting this theory…All in all, the only issues ever examined for a link to hormone use in poultry were those related to early onset of puberty, and no substantial evidence was ever found.’ According to CornellUniversity, ‘Steroid hormones in food were suspected to cause early puberty in girls in some reports. However, exposure to higher than natural levels of steroid hormones through hormone-treated meat or poultry has never been documented. Large epidemiological studies have not been done to see whether or not early puberty in developing girls is associated with having eaten growth hormone-treated foods.’

 

2. Hormones lower your sex drive: While Andrew Goldstein, MD, director of the Centres for Vulvovaginal Disorders in Washington, DC, admits that hormones do have an impact on your libido, he argues that relationship or emotional issues – not hormones – are often the primary driving force behind a lack of libido. Other contributing factors include stress, depression, poor body image, and lack of sleep. When it comes to a low sex drive, your underlying causes may be different to other peoples’. However, if you’re an older woman going through menopause, hormones do have quite a bit of influence on your libido. Gillette explains, ‘Decreasing levels of oestrogen can cause vaginal dryness, making intercourse uncomfortable. A loss of female hormones can also desensitise a woman’s female organs, making arousal difficult and thus leading to a lack of sexual desire. Some post-menopausal women actually experience an increase in libido, but this is attributed to a lack of pregnancy anxiety rather than hormonal fluctuations.’

 

3. Hormones lead to mood swings: Gillette details, ‘PMS, the condition attributed to drastic mood swings during hormone fluctuations, only affects approximately 15% of women. For the rest of the population, emotional changes are probably just the result of a bad day or a cumulative response to a series of bad days. This doesn’t mean that hormones won’t cause mood swings; it just means not every mood swing is hormone-related.’ Nanette Santoro, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Montefiore Medical Centre and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, adds, ‘Every study done on women with PMS shows their circulating levels of hormones are normal, but some researchers believe that certain hormone metabolites in the brain cause the mood changes – or that some women just metabolise hormones differently. No one knows for sure.’

 

4. Urinary tract infections cause hormone fluctuations: Lauren F. Streicher, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at NorthwesternUniversity’s Feinberg School of Medicine, asserts that true urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur due to bacteria in your urinary tract system that usually builds up due to sex or lack of hygiene. Gillette weighs in, ‘Hormone fluctuations will have no direct effect on bacterial growth.’

Categories: early puberty, Homosexuality, hormone fluctuations, hormone treated, hormones, md director, Mood Swings, Myths, Sex Drive, steroid hormones, tract infections, urinary tract

3 Medical Reasons Why You Never Feel Like Having Sex

A sexual health problem known as HSDD can really take its toll on your wellbeing. HSDD – which stands for hypoactive sexual desire disorder – occurs when you have a persistent lack of desire or absence of sexual fantasies. In other words, you’re rarely in the mood, rarely initiate sex and rarely seek sexual stimulation. According to Drs. Jennifer and Laura Berman, two of the nation’s top experts on sexual health for women, this lack of desire could come out of relationship wellness issues. In their book, For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life, they write, ‘Communications problems, anger, a lack of trust, a lack of connection and a lack of intimacy can all adversely affect a woman’s sexual response and interest.’ However, there are also medical causes of HSDD, which include:

 

1. Medication Use: If you’re on prescribed drugs, they could be affecting your sexual wellness in a number of ways. Antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, for example, work to combat your depression by increasing the production of serotonin in you brain, but this hormone is known to, unfortunately, dampen your sexual desire. Other prescription medications also affect the balance of your sexual hormones and the transmission of your body’s chemical messengers. Drugs such as antihypertensives and birth control pills, as well as antidepressants, have been known to interfere with sex drive, arousal and orgasm, and may be contributing to your HSDD.

 

2. Menopause: A lot of the symptoms of menopause are rough, but knowing what causes them can help you to fight back, particularly when it comes to your sexual desire. Whether the onset of your menopause occurs naturally or surgically, it will be due to a gradual decline of your oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone hormones. The Bermans point out that reduced testosterone levels are particularly well-known for leading to a ‘sudden or gradual’ decline in sex drive. You may think that hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) could help to readdress this balance, but you’d be wrong; the ironic fact of the matter is that the conventional hormone replacement regimen of oestrogen and progesterone which is given to relieve menopausal symptoms can make matters worse. This is because a protein called steroid hormone-binding globulin is increased with raised oestrogen levels. When there are higher levels of this protein in your blood, it binds to testosterone, which causes this libido-boosting hormone to become less available to your body.

 

3. Depression: It’s not hard to see how depression can make you less in the mood for sex, but this diminished sex drive can, in turn, exacerbate your depression, leaving you in a vicious cycle of sexless sadness. Research shows that 12% of all women will experience clinical depression at some point during their lives and, as lowered libido is a common symptom of depression, it’s an issue of mass importance. Plus, as we’ve already covered, using certain popular antidepressants – including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft – has the much-unwanted side-effect of further inhibiting your libido, meaning that depression packs a triple-threat against your sex life. The Bermans also note that some low-grade forms of depression, such as dysthymia, can also get in the way of your libido. In some ways, this is worse as you can usually function normally with dysthymia, and so it may go undiagnosed and un-addressed. If you’re experiencing dysthymia, you may find that you often feel isolated and overwhelmed, and it is these feelings that cause women to withdraw from sex, as well as social activities. If this or any of the above mentioned causes of low libido may be a problem for you, consult your GP for solutions.

Categories: decreased libido, depression, gradual decline, hormone, hormone replacement, Menopause, Sex Drive, sex life, sexual, sexual desire, sexual health

Daddy Depression: How Men Can Develop the Baby Blues

You may think that postnatal depression (PND) is a condition reserved for female wellness, but recent research has shown that PND can occur in men, often as the result of the man’s partner suffering from it. Coping with your partner’s depression can have a huge impact on your own mental health, causing you to feel overwhelmed, isolated, and even stigmatised. This can take its toll on other aspect of your life, including your work, your relationship and your parenting, so it’s incredibly important to get yourself checked out, and get the help you need, if you think PND may be an issue for you.

 

As your partner has had the child living and growing inside of her, she has a deeper inborn connection to the child and so can devote her whole focus on that, instead of on you. Up until now, it has only been the two of you and so not getting used to the lack of attention can be a contributing factor in male PND. Plus, you may have been looking forward to more physical intimacy after the pregnancy, but giving birth lowers your partner’s sex drive considerably, as does the strain of being a new mother. This can make you feel rejected and unwanted, and even blame your new baby for the distance between you and your partner. You may also experience PND after seeing the immense pain and trouble your partner went through during the delivery.

 

In men, PND can present with a wide range of symptoms:

• Feelings of isolation or rejection


• Mood swings


• Lethargy


• Panic attacks


• Loss of sex drive


• Irritability


• Hopelessness


• Lack of motivation


• Difficulty in concentration


• Lack of bonding with the new born


• Somatic complains, such as headaches and stomach pains


• Work-related problems


• Substance abuse

 

In order to deal with PND, you need professional help as well as the support of your family members. For this reason, it’s important that you let your family know if you think your well-being is affected by PND, as otherwise they may become to wrapped up in your new baby and its mother. Your partner should make sure that you are just as involved in the child’s welfare and upbringing as she is, and you should also strive to make time for each other so the “couple you” doesn’t become lost in the “parent you”. Consult a doctor for more information.

Categories: Baby, Causes, Child, lack, men, nbsp, partner, Postnatal Depression, Sex Drive

Lost the Keys to Your Sex Drive? Here’s How to Get in Gear

Many women face a common sexual health complaint; loss of libido. Your sex drive is obviously what gets you into the mood for sex and, without it, relationship wellness can suffer. It’s not uncommon for this symptom to affect your wellbeing as a result of menopause, but any woman of any adult age can experience a decline in libido. While no one resolution exists, certain strategies can offer significant help for this condition. The problem with this issue is that most women aren’t aware of all the factors at play in their sex drives, or the treatments that are available to help. However, while there are many medications aimed at boosting your libido, many of these can actually make the problem worse. Therefore, you need natural, at-home lifestyle changes that can get your sex drive back into gear, without putting your wellness at risk!

 

1. Get more sleep: As happens with many areas of your wellness; a lack of good quality sleep can make your libido worse. Poor sleep causes you to lose energy, and forces your body to ration its energy resources. This means that you need to work on getting a good night’s sleep, and the sex stuff should fall into place. Many women find that bit of gentle exercise in the evening can help prepare them for a decent slumber. Good options include yoga and tai chi, as these practises don’t exhaust your body, and provide a nice sense of relaxation for your mind. Plus, all that stretching with yoga can enhance your flexibility, which is always useful in the bedroom!

 

2. Reduce stress: While stress is, unfortunately, a part of modern life, that is not to say that you can lessen the impact it has on your sex drive. If daily stressors are significantly distracting you from romance, get some tools in place to help your body and mind to unwind. As we’ve already covered, getting plenty of sleep can help you to de-stress, while massage and exercise likewise have soothing qualities. You might also try upping your intake of B complex vitamins, as these powerful pills support your stress and adrenal glands. Ginseng and liquorice have the same effect as B vitamins, while eating a healthy diet with limited refined sugar helps keep the body in balance. If none of these tactics worse, and you find you’re experiencing depression, you need to communicate with your partner and your GP. Together, the three of you can find other therapies to help, and so talking about your depression is absolutely vital.

 

3. Hormonal therapies: As we’ve previously discussed, fatigue causes your body to ration energy, and stress can also take its toll on your body. Combined, these two factors begin to interrupt your hormones, driving down certain ones such as DHEA and testosterone. Although these hormones are really considered to be more for the guys, women also have and need DHEA and testosterone, albeit in lesser amounts. Still, replacing your too-low levels of these hormones can help to raise your libido, and you can get DHEA over-the-counter in an oral variety. For testosterone, you’ll need to see your doctor for a prescription, which often comes in the form of a cream. Your doctor might also check your hormone levels through blood, urine or saliva testing. Replacing DHEA and other hormones can have a knock-on effect in improving your sleep and mood, both of which are essential for a hot-and-heavy sex drive. You might also want to consider the replacement of estrogens and progesterone. Whilst this is not always an easy decision, bioidentical hormones do have many benefits to consider.

Categories: body, hormones, libido, Sex Drive, sleep, Stress

The Libido Lowerers: What’s Dampening Your Sex Drive?

Everyone wants a healthy sex life, but a stalled libido can get in the way of your sexual health and even have an impact on your overall wellbeing. The underlying causes of reduced sex drive can be varied, so you don’t have any idea what’s affecting your wellness – and this can be very unnerving. Because of this, if you have a faltering libido often, you can be tempted to suffer in silence. However, a little information can go a long way toward providing a solution, and the reality is that many causes are treatable. So, what possible causes are dampening your burning passion?

 

1. Ageing: As you age, your sex drive is no longer critical for reproduction and – as a result – it wanes. For men, your testosterone will likely peak in your late teens, and then slowly decline at a rate of about 1% per year – although you’ll probably be in the mood for sex way into your 60s. For women, however, the balance of your hormones – progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone – can become upset more suddenly around the age of 35-40, as this marks the beginning of perimenopause (or the period of time in which your body prepares for menopause). As your body is lower in oestrogen, your vaginal tissue will become less healthy, making sex more painful. For this problem, lubricating creams or gels can help, while trying new positions is recommended if your aching joints are making sex less fun.

 

2. Exercise: Generally speaking, a healthy body means a healthy sex life. However, sex is a physical activity and, as such, carries certain risks. Vigorous sex can be taxing on your heart and a host of muscle groups – particularly your lower back – which can put you off having sex in the future. Plus, if you exercise often outside of the bedroom, you may be bringing aches and pains to bed that can dull your sex drive.

 

3. Excess weight: There’s a famous story in which rotund Irish playwright Brendan Behan reportedly turned down an equally large woman’s passionate advances because – even though he’d would have liked to accept her offer, he was ‘afraid our equators would prevent conjugation.’ However, being overweight doesn’t just make sex difficult; it can also put a serious damper on your libido. If the physical assertion involved in sex makes your heart too busy trying to push blood through pounds of excess adipose tissue, it won’t be able to deliver an adequate supply to your sexual organs, which is a key factor involved in arousal. Plus, there’s a link between excess weight and other, libido-lowering conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. If you are overweight, improving your diet can help with all of the above, as well as improving your body image and, as a result, your sexual confidence.

 

4. Tiredness: At the end of a long, busy day, you hardly feel in the mood to get active between the sheets. Tiredness takes its toll on your entire body, causing you to operate at less than 100%. Not getting enough sleep has a direct impact on your body’s production of hormones and this, in turn, influences your sex drive. Simply put; feeling sluggish doesn’t often translate into feeling sexy. If you feel tired all of the time, you may have an underlying medical condition in need of treatment. Chronic insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome and sleep apnoea can all be as deceptive as they are debilitating, and often require medical attention. However, if you’re merely run-down, some light exercise can give you more energy, as well as avoiding drinking alcohol close to bedtime.

Categories: ageing, body, decreased libido, drive, excess weight, Healthy, healthy sex, libido, nbsp, Overweight, Sex Drive, sex life

How Can Alternative Medicine Tackle Your Sex Problems?

You may not like to talk about sexual health concerns, but this is the first step in getting your relationship back on track. After you and your partner address these issues together, alternative practices can help to bolster your sexual wellbeing. However, if you feel a little cautious about the weird and wacky things involved in alternative medicine, we have four experts in various fields who have told us how they treat sexual wellness problems.

 

1. Nutritional Therapy: According to Ken Babal, staff nutritionist, Erewhon Natural Foods, ‘When there are breeding problems with animals, usually the first question asked by the vet is how have you been feeding the animal. Unfortunately, we don’t ask that question often enough of humans. Diet has a large part to do with that. In fact, sexual performance is a little bit like an athletic event. And you’ve got to be fit, do all the things that you need to do for good health in general: moderation with alcohol, exercise, rest, sound nutrition — all of those things. And a lot of times when I see clients, many of them are smokers. They’re overweight. They’re not fit. So that’s something we have to call to their attention. And there’s no quick solutions. You have to cultivate good habits. But once patients see the connection, they know what they have to do. Certain supplements, though, can be helpful as well.’

 

2. Ayurveda: ‘A lot of times, particularly in couples who have been together for a while and not feeling sexual, there’s a lot of internalised anger and rage and disappointment with the other person, which gets expressed as withholding of sexuality, or the feelings of passion don’t even arise,’ says Dr. David Simon, Neurologist and co-founder of the Chopra Centre. ‘One technique which we draw upon is from the Native American culture, where we encourage couples to use a talking object. Like a talking stick that the Navajo tribe used to use. When they have a discussion or there’s something that they want to talk about, they take turns while literally holding the object…It’s amazing how giving people the opportunity to be heard starts to help to process emotional hurts that they’ve been carrying around and also opens up the possibility for intimacy, which then leads to sexual passion.’

 

3. Homeopathy: Dr. Lauren Feder, physician and homeopath in private practice, notes, ‘I see a lot of women that have had babies, and a lot of women who are nursing, or have a lot of children and don’t have a strong sex drive…What I find is that if sepia is given, people start to feel better about themselves. They stop yelling as much, they’re more patient, they have more energy, and low and behold, the libido comes up and their sex drive increases.’

 

4. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): ‘There are actually many things that we can offer,’ Dr. John Chen, practitioner of TCM and lecturer at USC, asserts. ‘There are a lot of herbs that are commonly used to either facilitate the growth or maturity of the reproductive system. There are ones that will increase the secretion of sex hormones. And there are ones that will enhance sexual desire. And all these in a way do go hand in hand…When the patient comes in, we try to find out exactly what the problem is. Because let’s say if a patient has impotence, there are many reasons why this could be. It could be psychological. It could be physical. It could be a complication of a disease, or it could be a side effect of a drug. So we try to identify exactly what is the cause. Then, we will address both the cause and the symptom simultaneously.’

Categories: Alternative, alternative medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, nbsp, patient, problems, Sex Drive, sexual, traditional chinese medicine

How Can Alternative Medicine Tackle Your Sex Problems?

You may not like to talk about sexual health concerns, but this is the first step in getting your relationship back on track. After you and your partner address these issues together, alternative practices can help to bolster your sexual wellbeing. However, if you feel a little cautious about the weird and wacky things involved in alternative medicine, we have four experts in various fields who have told us how they treat sexual wellness problems.

 

1. Nutritional Therapy: According to Ken Babal, staff nutritionist, Erewhon Natural Foods, ‘When there are breeding problems with animals, usually the first question asked by the vet is how have you been feeding the animal. Unfortunately, we don’t ask that question often enough of humans. Diet has a large part to do with that. In fact, sexual performance is a little bit like an athletic event. And you’ve got to be fit, do all the things that you need to do for good health in general: moderation with alcohol, exercise, rest, sound nutrition — all of those things. And a lot of times when I see clients, many of them are smokers. They’re overweight. They’re not fit. So that’s something we have to call to their attention. And there’s no quick solutions. You have to cultivate good habits. But once patients see the connection, they know what they have to do. Certain supplements, though, can be helpful as well.’

 

2. Ayurveda: ‘A lot of times, particularly in couples who have been together for a while and not feeling sexual, there’s a lot of internalised anger and rage and disappointment with the other person, which gets expressed as withholding of sexuality, or the feelings of passion don’t even arise,’ says Dr. David Simon, Neurologist and co-founder of the Chopra Centre. ‘One technique which we draw upon is from the Native American culture, where we encourage couples to use a talking object. Like a talking stick that the Navajo tribe used to use. When they have a discussion or there’s something that they want to talk about, they take turns while literally holding the object…It’s amazing how giving people the opportunity to be heard starts to help to process emotional hurts that they’ve been carrying around and also opens up the possibility for intimacy, which then leads to sexual passion.’

 

3. Homeopathy: Dr. Lauren Feder, physician and homeopath in private practice, notes, ‘I see a lot of women that have had babies, and a lot of women who are nursing, or have a lot of children and don’t have a strong sex drive…What I find is that if sepia is given, people start to feel better about themselves. They stop yelling as much, they’re more patient, they have more energy, and low and behold, the libido comes up and their sex drive increases.’

 

4. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): ‘There are actually many things that we can offer,’ Dr. John Chen, practitioner of TCM and lecturer at USC, asserts. ‘There are a lot of herbs that are commonly used to either facilitate the growth or maturity of the reproductive system. There are ones that will increase the secretion of sex hormones. And there are ones that will enhance sexual desire. And all these in a way do go hand in hand…When the patient comes in, we try to find out exactly what the problem is. Because let’s say if a patient has impotence, there are many reasons why this could be. It could be psychological. It could be physical. It could be a complication of a disease, or it could be a side effect of a drug. So we try to identify exactly what is the cause. Then, we will address both the cause and the symptom simultaneously.’

Categories: Alternative, alternative medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, nbsp, patient, problems, Sex Drive, sexual, traditional chinese medicine

How Important Are Hormones to Female Sex Drive?

Everybody knows that most women feel particularly sexual at a certain point in their cycle. This is because the hormones involved with ovulation start telling the body to effectively ‘mate’. But to what extent do hormones control the sexual wellness and wellbeing of a woman; is it the sole driver of sexuality, or do other factors come into play?

 

Unlike other mammals, humans tend to have sex on a regular basis throughout the month. Other mammals (and indeed animals in general) only tend to mate when they are fertile – sex is generally used purely for reproduction and not for pleasure. Humans are different, because they engage in sexual intercourse for pleasure at times and in ways where conception could not occur.

 

There have been many studies into whether ovulation plays a strong role in sex drive, but they have tended to rely on guesswork about when ovulation occurs, by counting the days from the last menstrual cycle in the woman. This is wildly inaccurate as women ovulate at different times, and can even ovulate at different times each month, making the results very questionable. For this reason, some studies seemed to show that the ovulation hormones were linked to sexual activity and other studies showed no correlation or very little correlation between the two things.

 

Now, a new study has been carried out which uses ultrasound technology to pinpoint the exact time of ovulation in nearly 2000 heterosexual women aged between 18 and 40. No women in the study were using artificial birth control and all women kept a diary of their sexual activity. The study found that women tended to engage in sexual activity (including masturbation) more frequently around the time of ovulation, showing that hormones were playing a strong role in these women’s sex drives.

Categories: drive, hormones, ovulation, Sex, Sex Drive, sexual, sexual activity, strong role, study, Women

The Serious Problem Of Women With Low Sex Drive

It is true that we are sometimes guilty in modern society of assuming that men always have a higher sex drive than women – and by extension that women naturally have a low sex drive. But the fact of the matter is that the neither of these two statements are necessarily true and indeed it is an example of where we should not simply rely on cliché and stereotype for our beliefs and opinions. The reality of the situation is that it is far more complicated – some women have a high sex drive, some men have a low sex drive and while in general it may be true that men are more likely to have a high sex drive, and women more likely to have a low sex drive, it is damaging to always make assumptions.

 

What is actually natural is that the sex drive of women fluctuates throughout life, rather than it being a constant of either high or low. Depending on major life events such as a relationship starting or ending, a pregnancy, an illness or going through the menopause, it’s true that the sex drive of a woman can change all of the time. So having a low sex drive should be looked at to see if there are external causal factors or whether it is some sort of illness or condition that is responsible. Some medications can cause a low sex drive, for instance.

 

But in the case where there are no obvious causal factors for low sex drive, it can be due to hypoactive sexual desire disorder – which can cause a consistent lack of personal interest in having sex or engaging in sexual activity. This can be a very distressing condition and it is worth going to the doctor if you are worried that you may be suffering from it. But it is also important to note that you can seek help even if you don’t meet these medical criteria – if you are bothered by your low sex drive it can be well worth getting help as there are many techniques that you can use including sexual techniques and lifestyle that can help to increase your sex drive.

 

The truth is that there is not necessarily going to be a way that you can define having a low sex drive. Everyone has a different sex drive and having less of a sex drive than your partner doesn’t necessarily mean that yours is especially low – it could just mean that theirs is higher than yours. And it is worth pointing out that having a low sex drive does not necessarily mean that your relationship is in trouble – it could be as strong as even but there are other factors causing problems for your sex drive.

 

There are a huge number of causes ranging from sexual problems that you are having, other medical problems in your life, medications that you are taking, alcohol or drugs that you consume on a regular basis, recent surgery or even fatigue. Aside from these physical issues it can also be down to hormonal changes such as the menopause or through pregnancy. And it is even true that it can be down to either psychological or relationship issues.

 

There are a number of potential treatments that can range from anything from medications, counselling or hormone therapies – your doctor will be able to recommend the best course of action for you. You can also choose treatments such as lifestyle changes including getting more exercise, setting aside more time for sex and removing stress from your life.

Categories: causal factors, drive, drive nbsp, high sex, life, low sex drive, nbsp, necessarily, Sex Drive, therapy, Women

Is Sex During Pregnancy OK?

You might think that once you get pregnant, your sex drive might decrease heavily and your interest in having sex would reduce very quickly. After all there will be massive changes going through your body and it may feel normal to you that sex would be a bad idea, especially as time goes on. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. For many, getting pregnant can actually spark up the sex drive and make you interested in having sex – perhaps even more regularly than you were having it before you got pregnant. So we’ve decided to look at what’s OK during pregnancy and if anything should be avoided.

 

The first thing to say is that as long as your pregnancy is progressing normally, you are free to have sex as often as you like. For many women, however, sex during pregnancy is the last thing on their mind. During the early stages of the pregnancy it’s likely that your sex drive will be seriously reduced by nausea, fatigue and on-going changes in the hormones – and these will make your struggle to want to have sex. Later on, while you may well be over these issues, your desire to have sex may well be sapped by weight gain and back pain; you can’t win.

 

Indeed, it is often the emotional issues revolving around pregnancy that can stop you wanting to have sex, even if the physical hindrances are a problem as well. It can be worries about how the pregnancy might change your relationship, change your life or change you that take the heaviest toll. It’s also true that fears about damaging the baby or causing problems with childbirth that you could make you think that having sex might be a bad idea. But what really is true about sex during pregnancy? What will it do to you and your baby?

 

One of the major worries can be the sex during pregnancy will cause a miscarriage. Generally however, there is no chance that sex during pregnancy could cause a miscarriage. The vast major of miscarriages are caused by problems with the baby’s chromosomes rather than anything you could do or not do. So therefore this should not be a worry for you when you consider having sex during pregnancy. But there are other problems that you might think about too, such as the possibility that even if it doesn’t cause a miscarriage, it might damage the baby.

 

If you do worry that sex while pregnant could cause issues with the baby then there is good news for you. The baby is very well protected by the powerful muscles of the uterus as well as the amniotic fluid inside the uterus. There is no chance that sex can cause damage to the baby while it is in the uterus. That includes pretty much all sexual positions – it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find a position that will put any risk around the baby’s safety.

 

Oral sex is safe during pregnancy, although you must be careful that your partner does not blow air into your vagina, as in very rare cases this can cause problems and complications. Anal sex is not recommended as this can be particularly uncomfortable during pregnancy and also carries the risk of spreading bacteria to the vagina. This can of course cause unforeseen problems that could be very problematic for both your health and the health of the baby, so perhaps this is the one thing that should not be done during pregnancy as it carries with it far too much risk.

Categories: Baby, baby nbsp, miscarriage, nbsp, pregnancy, Pregnant, problems, Sex, Sex Drive

No Muscle, Energy or Sex Drive? He Must Have Low Oestrogen

As you get older, wellness experts are likely to blame your waning testosterone levels for your loss of muscle, energy and sex drive, but oestrogen might be getting off scot-free as a result. This is according to a new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which found that your decrease in oestrogen may play a bigger role in your age-related health concerns than previously thought.

 

The study found that declining levels of oestrogen can have a negative effect on your wellbeing, leading you to accumulate more body fat – which is something that we previously blamed testosterone for. Study researcher Dr. Joel Finkelstein, an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, commented, ‘The function of oestrogen in men has largely been ignored,’ as research has largely limited the study of the hormone in men to the role of oestrogen deficiency in bone loss. He added, ‘Men make oestrogen from testosterone, and women do, too,’ which is why your levels of both hormones naturally drop.

 

400 healthy men aged 20 to 50, all of whom had normal testosterone levels, took part in the study. These participants were injected with a drug that drastically lowered their normal production of the hormone, until the testosterone reached pre-puberty levels of production. 198 men were then given a 16-week supply of testosterone gel for their skin, in one of four dosage levels or a placebo. Similar doses of the gel were given to the other 202 volunteers, but these men also took a drug designed to block the conversion of testosterone into oestrogen over the 16-week study.

 

The divvying out of the gel and drug doses was arranged in such a way as to tell the researchers which symptoms – changes in body fat, muscle mass, strength and sexual function – were to do with reductions in testosterone, oestrogen or both. The researchers also arranged the study in this way to determine the level of testosterone at which these physiological effects occur. The results revealed that when oestrogen levels drop, men experience some of the same consequences that women do after menopause; increased bone loss, lowered libido, and more fat around the midsection.

 

While changes in strength and muscle mass and size were closely connected to lower testosterone levels, it was the decline of both testosterone and oestrogen that reduced the men’s sex drive and erectile function. Finkelstein noted, ‘We were surprised at the dramatic effects that low levels of oestrogen had on fat accumulation and sexual function in men. We knew that these effects were seen in studies on mice, and these results very accurately predicted what occurred in humans.’

 

According to Dr. Bradley Anawalt, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle, who was not involved in the research, ‘This is a beautifully done study that allows physicians to get a little better handle on interpreting testosterone levels, but the real mind-blower of this study is the idea that oestrogen has an important role in male physiology.’ Anawalt went on to say that the study has very important implications for medical practice, as the results clearly show how testosterone has a differential effect on body organs, such as fat, muscle, the penis and the brain.

 

With the results of this study, your doctor will be better able to understand the threshold levels of testosterone in the blood associated with age-related complaints, and at what levels testosterone therapy may benefit you. However, Anawalt warned that the study is limited by the fact that it used the average “normal” level of testosterone in men (300 to 900 nanograms per decilitre) to measure treatment outcomes in the participants, so your doctor needs to be careful about applying these results to you as an individual.

Categories: age related, bone loss, men's health, muscle energy, muscle mass, oestrogen, Research, Sex Drive, sexual function, Testosterone, testosterone levels

Try Natural Alternatives To Sex Drive Pills

We often think of our sex drive as something that we just have to live with. If you don’t have a high sex drive and your partner does, it can sometimes make things difficult or awkward in the relationship. But many people think there is nothing they can do about it so it’s not something that needs to be worried about. Unfortunately that creates the problems that when scientists a drug that can supposedly elevate your sex drive, it can create a huge demand but also leave wondering whether it is something they should really do.

So, when it was finally announced that doctors were on the verge of being able to solve the problem of low libido with pills, it became very apparent that there is a serious level of demand for such pills to be made available. Clearly low libido is something that people suffer with – and this appears to be especially true of women. Indeed, it was women who were bombarding the phones of sex therapists when an article published in the New York Times revealed there may be a drug that was about to be ready for general sale.

“My patients who read the story have been asking me about these drugs,” said Lorri Brotto, who is a psychologist at the University of British Columbia and was quoted in the magazine story. “But the study data so far have found that the pills aren’t effective for everyone with low desire – only a subgroup of women.” It turns out that the only women whom it was shown to be very effective upon were those who seem to have trouble feeling sexual stimulation rather than actually feeling a lack of desire for the act of sex, even if you do enjoy it.

The name of these two drugs are Lybrido and Lybridos and they apparently work because they contain small leaves of the libido increasing hormone testosterone which is supposed to help boost your desire to have sex. However, it seems they are actually a long way away from being ready. In fact, even to be considered for approval by drugs authorities, they need to have been shown to be effective in studies of more than 1,000 women to prove that it would be worth making them legal to be put on sale.

The problem is that many women appear to believe that their problems can be solved by simply popping a pill and hoping for the best. However, it is very likely that actually if they are already in this mind set, there is very little that a pill will actually be able to do for them. This suggests that pills need to be avoided altogether by such women and they should look for natural alternative methods for boosting their libido.

It could be that actually what you need is a bit more excitement in your sex life. Low libido is often the fault of boredom within the relationship, which is then causing you to become disinterested in the bedroom. When two people become too familiar with each other it can really make it difficult to keep up with the spontaneity that romance often needs. This leads to you feeling like sex is not worthwhile or even a waste of time.

So try some techniques such as using private email addresses to send flirty to messages and help to spark the desire to have sex a little more often. If you can build up sexual tension like this it makes it far more easy to get a positive sexual experience that you will enjoy and want to have again.

Categories: desire, drive, libido, Pills, Sex Drive, Women