Who Needs Testosterone?

Question: I’ve been on bioidentical hormones for 10 years now and feel great; just two things I can’t seem to get a handle on are sleep and libido, and I’ve tested different formulas every few months to see if I can find a magic formula but hasn’t happened yet. Any ideas?

Libido Answer:

I’ve published material about libido on our website. On page http://www.thecompounder.com/hormoneslibido.php, I wrote “Testosterone is best known for its libido enhancing actions. Without sufficient testosterone neither men nor women have a desire for sexual activity. Testosterone is also associated with hair growth and maintaining vaginal lubrication. ”

The important thing to realize is that hormones are necessary for sexual desire, but there isn’t any evidence that hormones themselves can generate desire when other critical elements are dampened or missing. If someone could find a hormone or a chemical that would enhance libido he or she would be wealthy beyond imagination.

Drugs, like Viagra, merely make the physical sexual act possible. In one article I published I explained that Viagra drugs are effective in making the act possible for a person who has a physical difficulty with achieving and maintaining an erection. This is valuable for most men with a problem in that area. As widely know, men are regularly interested in sexual activities throughout the day and on most days of their lives. When the opportunity is presented, the physical impediment to the erection is all that holds them back from the physical act. The drugs temporarily overcome the problems.

Women, on the other hand, have a much more diverse and complex situation when it comes to sex. For the most part, women’s physical attributes make the physical act of intercourse “possible” at all times. Almost every physical interference can be overcome. That does not automatically equate to enjoyment – a key element of the libido. Basically, men always want to “do it”, but sometimes can’t. While women always can do it, they sometimes don’t want to. Libido is closely related to wanting and not the actual ability.

Viagra drugs are ineffective for women.

There are numerous factors that impact a woman’s libido. Hormone balance is important, but not as important as some of the other elements. Carl Jung referred to libido as the free creative, or psychic energy an individual possesses. Freud called it a largely unconscious structure of the psyche. I don’t think anyone knows anything about the psyche or its energy, especially as it might relate to hormone balance, libido, or how to make changes in it.

People (usually women) often refer to the libido as something physical or tangible. It isn’t. That suggests to me that physical, tangible treatments won’t work because they don’t exist. Sexual desire is varied throughout life. Age sometimes has an influence, but (as always) there are factors that are unrelated to the number of years we’ve been alive. Here are just a few things that can have a powerful dampening effect on libido in both sexes; depression, stress, fatigue, childhood sexual abuse, assault, trauma, neglect, body image issues, and anxiety about “sexual performance”.

I have talked to many women about this issue when I did their hormone balance analysis. I’ve actually heard other, less deep, things that suppress sexual desire, such as; dirty fingernails, bad breath and body odor, bright lights, noise from the neighbors, and so on. Very few of these ancillary type items reduce sexual desire in men, but they can be devastating for a woman.

It is important to point out here that there are many drugs that can dampen sexual desire, including caffeine, alcohol, over-the-counter allergy medicine, and a large number of prescription drugs. It is even possible that household or commercial cleaners can interrupt sexual desire. The excess intake of soy products can have a particularly dampening impact on men. It is also likely that women would suffer hormone imbalance if they regularly consume soy products.

Merely “wanting” to have sexual desire isn’t enough. Any loss of libido (when not associated with drug or chemical issues) is usually directly and tightly connected with energy that runs very deep. Again, hormones (particularly testosterone) are important, but likely to be ineffective if the deep issues are not resolved. I mentioned Jung and Freud above. Real, lasting solutions to loss of sexual desire demand attention to the psychic energy issues – and that is far beyond my particular capabilities. As much as I wish I could recommend a pill or cream, I know that I can’t. Correcting energy issues requires a completely different kind of science.

CONCLUSION: It is unlikely that testosterone – or any form of hormone balancing – will be able to resolve issues of low sexual desire.