Are Your Hormones Killing Your Sex Drive
Hot steamy topic today and such an important one too! Since I work with so many women experiencing hormone issues we have to have a blog about sex don’t we??
There are so so many things to cover so let’s get it on….(see what I did there :))
Obviously there are a lot of factors that play into a woman’s sex drive and they’re all important. Things like are you attracted to your partner, do you feel good about yourself, are you dealing with depression, or on meds, or maybe you just don’t really care about sex. Those are all things to take into account when assessing your sex drive but 70% of libido issues are related to hormone levels being off.
What hormones play a part in libido?
Testosterone is the main player in sex drive both for women and men. In women testosterone peaks around ovulation and unfortunately it drops as we age. Both testosterone and your DHEA actually begin declining in your 20s so it’s not just something we deal with later in life! It’s also affected by taking birth control pills and even when you stop taking them, recovery can take awhile.
Symptoms of low testosterone include feeling fatigued, depressed, muscle weakness, low sex drive (obvi), memory issues and even joint pain. If testosterone is high in women it can cause absence of periods, increased muscle mass, excess body hair, excess hair on lip and chin, hair loss on head especially around hairline, acne, and a deep voice. Even though it seems like excess testosterone could boost sex drive, it can actually cause low libido as well.
Estrogen levels both low and high can contribute to issues with libido. We need estrogen to have appropriate levels of serotonin and dopamine which help with balanced mood. If there’s estrogen dominance women can feel irritable, moody, and suffer with insomnia. Not a recipe for interest in sex!
Symptoms of excess estrogen include irregular periods, bloating, fibrocystic lumps in breasts, PMS, mood swings, headaches, weight gain, anxiety, fatigue, sleep issues, and memory problems. If your estrogen is too low symptoms can include vaginal dryness and painful sex due to no lubrication, irregular periods, hot flashes, headaches, depression, brain fog, and fatigue.
Progesterone is helpful for sex drive and pleasure but gets lower with age and can be affected by stress, bad diet, and overexercising in younger women.
Signs of low progesterone include hot flashes, irregular cycles, weight gain, thyroid problems, headaches, anxiety, depression, and low libido.
Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone affects libido by messing with our energy and causing fatigue. It also affects our other hormones negatively. This is a big one for so many women because most of us are dealing with stress these days.
High cortisol symptoms include feeling amped up, anxiety, insomnia, weight gain around the belly, fertility issues, indigestion, and appetite changes. Low cortisol feels like extreme fatigue, low blood pressure, low or unstable blood sugar, anxiety, depression, sat cravings, and brain fog.
Thyroid hormones affect libido by causing fatigue and generally making you feel like crap when low! They’re also involved in the production of other sex hormones so when the thyroid is off it affects everything!
Symptoms of low or hypothyroid include fatigue, weight gain, loss of hair, thinning of outer third of eyebrows, constipation, dry skin, muscle weakness, feeling cold, joint pain, depression, brain fog, and irregular or heavy periods. Hyper or overactive thyroid symptoms include anxiety, nervousness, sensitive to heat, heart palpitations, trouble sleeping, mood swings, weight loss and fatigue.
Are you sensing a pattern here? See how so many of the symptoms are similar across the different hormone imbalances! Our hormones are all so intertwined and play off of each other that it can feel pretty frustrating trying to figure out what’s really going on.
So what to do?
Luckily there are many things you can do that are good at balancing your hormones in general, here are some big ones.
Make sure you’re getting good sleep. Sleep is so important for the HPA axis and giving your body the rest it needs to rejuvenate is crucial for hormone balance. Get a copy of our sleep tips delivered straight to your inbox here.
Eat real foods that are nourishing to your body. Focus on veggies, fruit, protein, good fats, and reduce the refined carbs and sugar!
Add in some adaptogens. Adaptogens are herbs that help to naturally balance your hormones and just like their name says they adapt to what you need. Our favorites are Ashwagandha, Maca, Eleuthro, and Ginseng. I personally put Maca in my coffee or tea everyday and take Ashwagandha in one of my supplements. One of our most popular supplements is Adrenotone and it has Ashwagandha, Eleuthro, and Ginseng in it! One of the most popular specifically for a healhty libido is LibidoStim-F by Desgins For Health. Below, you can order either of these along with lots of other professional grade supplements. Not only that but you get 10% off all orders and free shipping over $50.
Use essential oils! Oils are a great natural aphrodisiac and affect the mood through the limbic system which is also responsible for sexual behavior. Oils can be used for helping to balance hormones and promote emotional wellness so they kind of address the libido in 2 different ways! Some of the best oils for boosting sex drive and setting the mood include: Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Clary Sage, and Bergamot. Essential oils are so helpful for hormone issues that we have a whole blog post about it, click here!
Get your hormones checked. You can see by the shear number of hormones involved in the libido that it can be hard to decide where to begin. With our DUTCH test we get a look at all of the hormones above and then some. Based on that we can create a custom wellness blueprint to get you straightened out in no time!
There’s no reason to deal with a low libido when there are a number of things you can do to get it headed in the right direction. Seriously, if you feel like your hormones are causing you to suffer in the sex department (and they likely are) please take the time to explore some of these options.
Got more tips for us? Let us know!
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