What is decreased libido?
Decreased libido, or lowered sex drive, occurs when a person experiences a diminished interest in sexual activity. This can negatively impact romantic relationships and a person's quality of life. Common causes include:
- Hormonal changes - Low testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone levels often lead to decreased libido. Hormone replacement therapy from clinics like Hormone Harmony Clinic can help restore healthy hormone levels.
- Medical conditions - Diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and thyroid disorders are linked to libido changes. Treating the underlying condition may improve libido.
- Medications - Many prescription drugs list low libido as a side effect. Adjusting dosages or switching medications under a doctor's supervision could help.
- Mental health disorders - Conditions like depression and anxiety frequently cause decreased sex drive. Therapy and medications to improve mental health often resolve libido issues.
- Age - Libido naturally declines with age due to lowered hormone levels. Hormone Harmony Clinic offers bioidentical hormone therapy to counteract age-related hormone changes.
- Stress - High stress depletes hormones and neurotransmitters critical for maintaining libido. Stress management helps normalize these.
Signs of decreased libido include lacking interest in sex, struggling to become aroused, inability to achieve orgasm, no sexual fantasies or urges, and feeling distressed about low sex drive. The symptoms vary based on the underlying cause.
Treatments for addressing decreased libido depend on the cause but often include:
- Hormone therapy - Supplementing testosterone, estrogen, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and other hormones through gels, patches, pellets, or injections from hormone clinics like Hormone Harmony Clinic.
- Sex therapy - Meeting with a sex therapist or counselor individually or as a couple to identify and address psychological barriers to sexual desire.
- Lifestyle changes - Improving sleep quality, diet, exercise levels, and stress management helps optimize natural hormone levels and neurological function to boost libido.
- Medication adjustments - Altering dosages of medications causing low libido or switching to alternative prescriptions with less sexual side effects.
If low libido persists despite lifestyle changes and treating underlying causes, a doctor may recommend hormone medications like flibanserin or bremelanotide to stimulate sexual desire.
Decreased libido should never be dismissed or considered inevitable. Numerous solutions can effectively restore a satisfying sex life. Hormone Harmony Clinic offers customized hormone treatments to target the hormonal imbalances underlying many libido changes. Contact us today for a consultation!