Increase Sex Drive for Women
For Women
Maintaining a healthy libido (sexual interest and drive) is dependent upon good general health and hormone levels (progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone). Women are especially are susceptible to “busyness” and stress. We must remember that the brain is the most important sexual organ. We must take the TIME to train our brains…
read my previous article “Elevate Your Passionate Monogamy” for great tips and ideas to train your brain
take the TIME to feel sexy – take time to keep your best appearance in grooming and health
take the TIME for your relationship with your husband – good communication, daily date him, daily show and speak words of respect, and respectfully ask for what you need and what makes you feel loved
General Health
healthy diet- rich in good protein, moderate in essential fats, and low in simple carbohydrates. The carbohydrates in plain potatoes, bread, pasta, and refined sugars increase insulin and cortisol levels in your blood which decrease testosterone production. Also essential is a good Vitamin D level (Vitamin D is a low level hormone itself and one of the needed basics for all our hormones).
exercise aerobically at least 5 times per week and weight training at least 2 times per week
sleep at least 7- 9 hours per day to restore, heal, and rejuvenate
maintaining good mental health – have proper boundaries (don’t over commit and be able to control your life and say “No” to others and yourself), keep your priorities straight (mine in order are God, my husband, my health, my children & family, my work), laugh a lot, connect spiritually, help others, get outside, take daily mini breaks
maintain your best physical health – have yearly physical to review all your medical problems and keep them at their best, treat any depression or hypothyroidism (a general blood screen of a metabolic profile, blood count, cholesterol and tsh thyroid level is good to have done for serious libido problems)
Hormones – especially Progesterone, Estrogen, and Testosterone
A hormonal imbalance at any age can affect our libido. Blood or saliva hormone levels are best checked in the last half of menstruating females. Progesterone is the hormone most responsible for female libido, and it is usually the first to decrease. A lack of progesterone can also cause worsening PMS symptoms. Progesterone (and estrogen and testosterone) decrease starts to occur in our thirties.
If you are having libido problems not helped with the general measures, see your physician and have your hormone levels checked. Depending upon the results, replace your needed hormones with natural, bio-identical hormones (the chemical makeup of hormones naturally occurring in our bodies) in physiologic doses. This type of supplementation or replacement is more natural and likely carries less side effects than the synthetic hormone Prempro which was studied extensively in the past showing mild increase in cancer and cardiovascular risks.
Natural Progesterone – available in brand name Prometrium at usual pharmacies (but very pricey unless you have good prescription coverage), and Progesterone cream from custom pharmacies, like Custom Med Apothecary (about $30/month)
Natural Estrogen (our body has 3 types of estrogens) – only 1 of our natural Estrogens is available from a usual pharmacy as Estrace (generic Estradiole) and is very inexpensive, a better natural Estrogen supplement is Triest troches or cream available from custom pharmacies at about $25/month (contains the bodies 3 natural Estrogens, and the troches can be taken vaginally to help even more with vaginal dryness)
Natural Testosterone – there is no female Testosterone available from usual pharmacies, but there is a cream available through custom pharmacies at about $25/month (the usual female dose is 0.5mg/day) which can be applied on the skin or clitoris
Hot Flashes and menopause symptoms can affect your sex drive. You can try these natural non-hormonal methods first:
Aerobic Exercise – 3 hours per week has shown significant improvement in menopause symptoms in many randomized studies
Natural Vitamin E (d-alphatocopheryl) – 400iu per each 40 lb of weight all at one time (for 120 lb woman, 3 per day)
Soy foods (and ground flax seed, rye, and red clover legume extract) 1 – 3 servings/day (for example soy milk, tofu, edaname)
Black Cohosh herb (our Selestro is a very effective combination of soy and black cohosh)
Siberian Rhubarb Root herb
Vitamin B complex (like our B complex 2/day or Cardio B 1/day)
Vitamin C – 1-5000mg/day
Yoga/meditation 1 hour/day
DHEA (an adrenal basic hormone which can be used by our bodies to make sex hormones) – 10-50mg/day (our sublingual DHEA 5mg small tablets can be taken under the tongue or vaginally to help vaginal dryness)
If they do not work, then see your physician for blood or saliva hormone tests to decide what hormones may be best for you.
Vaginal dryness and vaginal thinning and pain can affect libido. This can be helped by:
drinking plenty of water (require half of your body weight in ounces per day plus extra after exercise)
our DHEA 5mg pills – taken vaginally for dryness 1-3/day, and is a low level adrenal stress hormone which is the bass of our hormones
using natural Vitamin E suppositories (d-alphatocopheryl) twice weekly
over the counter vaginal moisturizers or lubricants (see below)
prescription estrogens – prefer custom pharmacy Triest troches, but prescription Premarin cream is also a possibility applied twice weekly
Vagina Moisturizers & Lubricants
Moisturizers
Replens – used 3 times per week
Moist Again – safe to use with a latex condom (no data on sperm motility effects)
Vagisil Feminine Moisturizer
Feminease – a plant native to the Northwest, Yerba santa, is used as a moisturizer in place of aloe
K-Y Long Lasting Moiturizer
K-Y Silk-E
Lubricants
Slippery Stuff
Astroglide – also sold in a glycerin free paraben-free formulation
K-Y Jelly
Summer’s Eve Lubricant
FemGlide
Pre-Seed – promoted to women trying to conceive
Silicone-based
ID Millennium – less drying than other lubricants
Pjur – compatible with a condom
Pink – compatible with a condom
K-Y Liquibeads – active ingredients are in beads/ovules that release lubricant over several days
Oil-based
Legance – doesn’t contain alcohol, glycerin, or parabens; cannot use with condoms, helpful for women vulva and vaginal pain
Resources
Books
“Becoming Orgasmic: A Sexual and Personal Growth Program for Women”, by Heiman & Lopiccolo
“For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life”, by Berman
“Getting the Sex You Want: A Woman’s Guide to Becoming Proud, Passionate, and Pleased in Bed”, by Leiblum & Sachs
“Illustrated Manual of Sex Therapy”, by Kaplan
“Making Love the Way We Used to… or Better: Secrets to Satisfying Midlife Sexuality”, by Altman & Asher
“My Secret Garden”, by Friday
“The New Love and Sex After 60”, by Butler & Lewis
