Let’s Talk About Sexual Health & Low Testosterone in Women (yes women!).
Talking about sexual health isn’t an easy subject, but when I ask about sexual health in my practice, more and more women are opening up about their concerns in this department. It’s a tough thing to talk about! It’s private, intimate, and can feel embarrassing, yet it is such an important part of overall health and vitality!
It is encouraging, however, to see in my practice that women, across the age spectrum, are starting to prioritize sexual health even more, a term oftentimes wrapped up in the word “libido.” Achieving optimal libido can be challenging at any age; however, especially during or after menopause.
Sexual health is loosely defined as “any recurrent or persistent concerns with sexual response, desire, orgasm, or pain.” Basically, anything in the sex department that is distressing to you or straining your relationship with your partner.
According to a scientific literature review, “the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among all women is estimated to be between 25% and 63%; the prevalence in post-menopausal women is even higher, with rates between 68% and 86.5%.”
Despite the fact that it can be a difficult subject to discuss, having a healthy sex life is important to overall emotional and physical well-being. Let’s break it down.
What Contributes to Female Sexual Dysfunction?
There are several components that contribute:
Medical conditions: autoimmune conditions, thyroid conditions (hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s), high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, bladder problems, cancer…and more.
Medications: antidepressants, blood pressure medications, antihistamines, among others.
Hormone Health: low estrogen, low progesterone, and/or low testosterone. Additionally, as we age the vaginal lining becomes less elastic and thinner leading sometimes to painful intercourse. Vaginal dryness is another possible effect due to shifting hormone levels.
Psychological and Social: anxiety, depression, sexual abuse, conflicts with partners, and one variable that I see plays a big role in my practice…STRESS!
There are many solutions to help women address sexual dysfunction. One that I often use in practice is testosterone! Testosterone is a hormone that is equally as important for women as it is for men; men just make more of it.
Low testosterone in women can have a significant impact on libido, energy, mood, mental clarity, bone density, cardiovascular health, thyroid health, metabolism, sense of resiliency, workout recovery, among many other components of health!
Despite good evidence on testosterone use in women, many myths remain about testosterone and female sexual dysfunction. Analyzing and dispelling these misconceptions is important to help educate women about the role this important hormone plays in their sexual health.
According to a leading review on the subject, the top myths and misconceptions about testosterone and women include:
Testosterone is a “male” hormone. While men do have higher levels, quantitatively; testosterone is a very abundant and active sex hormone in women.
Testosterone’s only role in women is sex drive and libido. Today, testosterone therapy is used to treat a number of pre- and post-menopausal symptoms including:
Anxiety and Depression
Chronic Fatigue
Bone or muscle loss
Changes in cognition
Memory loss
Insomnia
Hot flashes
Pain
Metabolic support
Urinary challenges
Vaginal dryness/painful intercourse
Testosterone masculinizes females. Testosterone is dose-dependent and is based on a woman’s baseline physiological levels. Very high doses of testosterone are used to treat female to male transgender patients (i.e. to increase facial hair growth, etc.); however, true masculinization is not possible. Adequate levels of testosterone are essential for a woman’s physical, mental and emotional health.
Thankfully, the role of testosterone in women’s health is becoming more evident in the research. In my next post, I will discuss in more detail the importance of testosterone for optimizing other systems and how it can help increase vitality on many levels for women of any age. Stay tuned!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21177051/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23380529/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26857354/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22554174/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21177051/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3881960/