Most women notice a drop in their libido starting with perimenopause and extending past Menopause. So don’t be surprised if this happens to you. There are a couple of reasons for this.

The first is hormonal. As estrogen declines, it means that less blood flow goes to the vagina, and that makes the skin get thinner and it becomes less sensitive. This often means there may be less pleasurable sensation, and it might also mean that sex becomes painful. The other part of the hormonal change is the drop in testosterone. These two hormonal changes can play a big role in the changes you might be experiencing. HRT can help, but some women report little change in their libido.

The other main reason is Stress. Women may be at the height of their career, and experience job stress. They may be working through empty nest changes, or dealing with Aging parents. With all these stressors, they might not be thinking about sex. And if they’re already experiencing a number of other symptoms, they might not be feeling very sexy.
So what can be done about this? Fortunately, several things.

• A prescription for HRT and testosterone can help
• Use an estrogen cream to lubricate the vaginal area to plump up the skin
• Use non-estrogen cream to lubricate inside the vagina
• Explore your changing body to see how it may appreciate new things. Self pleasuring is a good practise to keep the vaginal area healthy, and it can help you to guide your partner to engage in new sexual activities.
• Try aromatherapy using ylang-ylang and geranium essential oils to stimulate arousal
• Talk to your partner about how your body is changing and how you’d like to make changes to your times of intimacy
• Use black cohosh (in a drink or supplement form) to help lubricate the vaginal area.

Let’s just make a distinction between low libido and sexual disfunction. Low libido is a pretty normal reaction to the hormonal changes that are going on in the body. So it shouldn’t be seen as a dysfunction or a sickness. By taking one or more actions described here can make a difference for many women. And our libido is part of who we are as women. Let’s not lose it.

If you have questions, you are invited to book a free call so we can discuss your situation.