Why Is My Sex Drive So Low?
by Michael Litrel, MD, FACOG, FPMRS Every week women ask me why their sex drive is so low. “Help me so I can enjoy sex more and want it more often,” they say. Then they ask me to check their hormones and to give them a physical examination. This is a popular topic among women and it’s everywhere in the media. Patients ask me about the latest fads they’d seen touted as the latest, greatest best thing. They ask about bioidentical hormones. Vaginal rejuvenation. Sexual vitamins. G-spot enhancement. clitoral hood reduction. The list goes on. Treatments of all sorts are advertised to women of all ages to solve a low sex drive. And it’s true that some solutions, when chosen for the right person, can transform a woman’s sexual responsiveness. Sometimes a woman’s sex drive is low for a good reason. But something that’s not broken can’t be fixed. Other times there is something that can be done. Asking the right questions is the key to understanding how to help them. Five Key Questions for Women With a Low Sex Drive 1) Has your sex drive dropped or has it stayed more or less the same? Many women are convinced they have a low sex drive because they compare their desire for sexual contact with their male partner’s. However, men and women typically have vastly different desires for sexual intercourse. The typical woman’s sexual desire usually ranges from once or twice a week to once or twice a month. The typical man’s is once or twice a day. This discrepancy accounts for the feeling many women have that there is something wrong with them. That said, if a woman’s sex drive has suddenly dropped, a woman should consult with her doctor to determine the reason. If it’s always been low, chances are that’s the way you are. 2) What is your childbearing history? There is a myth that women reach their sexual peak in their forties. This is the idea that women in this age range finally becoming sexually liberated from natural inhibitions. The idea is that the forty-year-old woman now has a sexual desire and ability to orgasm that has reached new heights. There are specific circumstances in which this occurs, but it is the exception rather than the rule. Women in their forties who have not yet had children can have a very high sex drive. But oftentimes, there’s a reason for this. Women who have small children will often see their sex drive plummet. When toddlers and grade school children require constant mothering, there is often little left for the woman’s partner. And women who are breastfeeding often have the lowest sex drive of all women. After all, she has a baby feeding off her body all day long and when she puts her head on her pillow at night, the last thing she wants is for more physical contact. Men will often say, “You used to want to have sex, I think there is something wrong with you.” It’s at this point that she’ll seek my help. Or, her partner will send her in to see me. 3) Does sex hurt or do you have pain with your cycles? There are two main reasons why sex hurts. One has to do with vaginal dryness. This is pain with entry, which commonly occurs with menopause. The ovaries stop producing estrogen which leads to thinning of the vaginal lining, which exposes nerves and decreases lubrication. There is more pain and less pleasure and a reduced desire for sex. This can be treated with topical estrogen cream or even more advanced office procedures, such as ThermiVa. Other women commonly hurt with sex because they experience pelvic pain with their menstrual cycles. This is painful sex from the actual thrusting motion. If a woman missed school during her adolescence because of discomfort during her cycle or if her mother needed a hysterectomy for pelvic pain, it’s very likely she has endometriosis or internal scarring of her internal reproductive anatomy. This patient needs a gynecological evaluation, particularly if she has not had children, is experiencing infertility or if she experiences pain more than a couple of days a month. Women with back pain during their cycles often have a tilted uterus that can be corrected by an experienced surgeon during an outpatient laparoscopy. 4) How is your general health? In the same way that a person’s appetite for food drops when they’re not feeling well, so does their appetite for sex. When you are in bed with the flu you don’t want to eat and you don’t want to be sexually active. But if you are chronically unhealthy, your desire for sex will be low as well. The most common reason for poor health in America is lifestyle. As a society, we are sedentary and we eat addictive, poorly nutritious food. Patients with cancer and heart disease don’t come to my office complaining of low sex drives. But overweight patients who consume a steady diet of unhealthy foods and don’t exercise often complain of a lack of sexual desire. Exercise and nutritious plant-based diets raise testosterone levels and other important hormones responsible for not only sex drive but also an overall sense of youth and vigor. 5) Do you have orgasms? Many women cannot have orgasms with sexual intercourse. Clitoral stimulation is the main way for a woman to achieve sexual climax. Unlike a man’s sex drive that ends with ejaculation, many women don’t focus on the biological climax but rather the emotional and physical intimacy. But a woman who does not orgasm can see her sex drive eventually plummet. It’s important to understand your body and to know how you achieve physical gratification from sexual activity. Many women need vibrators applied directly to their clitoral region to achieve climax. The first step is masturbation alone when you can discover for yourself what causes you to climax. This can then be incorporated into sexual activity with your partner. Good communication
