The Relationship Between Hormone Imbalance and Libido

Hormonal changes that occur as you get older are a major cause of diminished libido, and many men and women are unaware they’re being affected. Hormones impact a wide range of physiological processes, having a key impact on how you feel and function day-to-day. If your hormone levels are out of whack, you can experience issues like low libido, along with weight gain, fatigue, and lack of stamina among other symptoms.

If you’re having symptoms of hormone imbalance or just don’t quite feel like yourself lately, a simple blood test can determine if your hormones are off. Here at Westport MediSpa, board-certified aesthetic medicine physician and antiaging medicine specialist Dr. Dana Brownell offers bioidentical hormone replacement with BioTE® to help men and women reclaim their vitality.

Read on to learn more about how hormone imbalance can tamper with your libido, and how BioTE can help bring things back into balance.

Hormone imbalance and low libido

Reduced sex drive is a major complaint we hear when we see patients with hormone imbalance. The good news is we can get to the bottom of your symptoms and jumpstart your libido.

Stress, depression, and relationship problems are all factors that can impact your sex drive. Investigating the cause of your waning libido is the first step to getting things back on track. A sluggish libido is most common when you reach your 40s and 50s, during perimenopause, menopause, and andropause. In men and women, an imbalance of sex hormones can lead to a decrease in sex drive and vitality.

However, a hormone-related decrease in sex drive can occur at any age. 

How hormone imbalance affects women

One of the keys to a strong libido is having properly balanced hormones. Women are affected by estrogen excess and insufficiency, as well as an imbalance of androgens. Balanced hormones aid in the maintenance of sexual attraction and the health of vaginal tissue.

Women's sex drive is also influenced by testosterone, which influences interest, arousal, sexual response, lubrication, and orgasm. As a result, anything that lowers testosterone, including too much estrogen, might lead to a lack of libido.

Progesterone, the precursor molecule of testosterone, is transformed to cortisol instead of sex hormones during times of stress. This eventually leads to a drop in testosterone and can decrease in libido.

How hormone imbalance affects men

Men, like women, experience loss of desire due to physical, psychological, and relational factors. Furthermore, as men get older, their sex drive tends to decline, which is often linked to hormonal changes. Because testosterone levels have a direct impact on male libido, when testosterone levels drop, libido drops as well.

The brain contains the most testosterone receptors in the body, and sexual desire is a result of testosterone stimulating nerve endings in the brain. Low testosterone causes understimulation, resulting in decreased sexual desire and erectile dysfunction.

DHEA and thyroid are two other hormones that can affect libido in both men and women. Because DHEA is a precursor to testosterone, low DHEA levels in the body can result in low testosterone levels and diminished sex drive.

Thyroid hormone levels that are unusually low can also reduce sex drive by slowing the metabolism of the reproductive organs. 

BioTE can jumpstart your sex drive

BioTE is a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy delivered in the form of a tiny pellet that is about the size of a grain of rice. The pellet is inserted under the skin where it delivers the hormones your body is missing.

Many of my patients choose BioTE since it not only delivers appropriate hormone levels, but it also doesn’t require daily maintenance like other forms of hormone replacement. Typically, most patients only need to come in for implantation every four months. 

Another advantage of BioTE over standard HRT therapy is that it stays in the body longer, allowing for continuous, steady-state dosing rather than being given in spurts like pills and creams. 

Unlike tablets and lotions, which can cause the body to experience a rollercoaster of rising and falling hormones throughout the day, BioTE is specially designed to imitate the body’s natural hormone release pattern. 

Patients who choose BioTE often feel better within just a few weeks. 

A healthy sex life is part of your overall well-being. You don’t have to resign yourself to symptoms of hormone imbalance. There is something you can do about, and it starts with scheduling a consultation with Dr. Brownell for a hormone assessment. Call 203-227-5437 to schedule your visit today. The power to reclaim your vitality is in your hands.