Dr. Jeffrey Maehara Explains the Hormones behind a Declining Sex Drive

February, 2011 - If your sex drive has been plummeting as you get older, you're not alone. According to Dr. Jeffrey Maehara, Medical Director of BodyLogicMD of Honolulu, a declining libido is often the result of diminishing hormones. Understanding how our hormones affect libido could be the first step in overcoming them, and stoking those romantic fires!

"Testosterone is often thought of as the libido hormone, and it's important for the sex drive of both men and women,"says Maehara. "Testosterone levels can begin to decline as early as our 20's, and they continue to decline as we age. And since testosterone is important for sexual response and orgasm, that decline has quite the effect on your sex drive!"

Testosterone is especially important for a man's sex drive. After all, it plays a huge role in increasing blood flow to the penis, which is what causes an erection. If there's not enough blood flow down there, a man can't maintain a firm enough erection to have sex - if he can get an erection at all!

"In women, progesterone and estrogen are also extremely important," stresses Dr. Maehara. "This is why it's common for women to lose interest in sex during and after menopause."

According to Dr. Maehara, the most common causes of low libido for women during and after menopause are:

Vaginal dryness - You need lubrication for the best sexual experience. But when your hormones are out of balance, your body doesn't produce enough vaginal fluids. This can make sexual activity downright painful.

Vaginal atrophy - As estrogen levels decline, the walls of your vagina become thinner and less elastic. This can also cause pain during sex, as your body is less accepting of penetration.

Reduced sensitivity - When your hormones are balanced, they help control the blood flow to your genital areas, but when they're imbalanced, this blood flow is diminished. And that translates into less sensitivity down there. When you can't feel it as well, you take longer to feel aroused and to reach orgasm - and your orgasms may not be as satisfying.

Uterine contractions - In some women, an imbalance in hormones can cause painful contractions in the uterus during and after orgasm. So, even if you do reach the big "O," you get to deal with pain and cramping afterwards! The anticipation of this pain turns off many women.

And then, you factor in all the other menopause symptoms. Mood swings, hot flashes, anxiety and weight gain can make a woman feel less attractive and put any thoughts of sex on the back-burner. If your sex drive is stuck in park, it's recommended that you have your hormone levels evaluated by a highly trained bioidentical hormone doctor to determine if an underlying hormonal imbalance is to blame.

More about Dr. Maehara

After receiving his undergraduate and medical degrees at Tulane University, Dr. Maehara served an internship and completed his residency and a fellowship program at the university's Department of Ophthalmology. He went on to complete a fellowship at the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Maehara is the recipient of Tulane's Award of Excellence Clinical Subject and Award of Excellence in Science, as well as the 2000 Bausch & Lomb Travel Grant Award for Young Investigators in the Field of Contact Lens/Ocular Science Research.