Nearly 4 million Floridian women are 35 and older, and – based on national statistics – up to one in three of them is not in the mood.
Low sex drive among women is common, so much so that an estimated 21 million experience it nationally. Yet just four in 10 women who have difficulty with their sexual function ask about treatment, compared with 62% of men.
If you are among these women, you may simply be too busy or it may feel uncomfortable to seek a remedy. Causes of low libido include stress, body image insecurity, breastfeeding, and even some forms of birth control, including the pill.
However, underlying medical issues can also interfere with your sex drive. Some medical changes involve your stage of life as a woman, but others can stem from common urologic disorders. So, if you notice you have a low sex drive and it troubles you, it could be time to consult a urologist or urogynecologist for overall health reasons.
Why the Low Libido? 4 Mood-Lifting Solutions
Changes in your hormone levels or urinary function can make sex painful. Researchers estimate that 40% of all women have experienced pain during sex at one point or another in their lives. This can make it difficult or impossible for women to enjoy sex and can lead to decreased libido.
Here are four common causes behind reduced sex drive, and how you can treat them.
- Vaginal discomfort – Hormone levels as well as physical events can make intercourse hurt. A drop in the female hormone estrogen, which stimulates desire and lubricates the vagina, can cause vaginal dryness. This typically occurs during menopause, but also can be due to certain medications or breastfeeding. Chronic vaginal pain, however, is different. Signs of this include persistent burning, aches, and itching in the vaginal area which can occur secondary to nerve damage, pelvic inflammation, muscle spasms, or a reaction to yeast.
Mood-lifting treatments: You can improve general discomfort with intercourse by using an appropriate lubricant during sex. Dryness can also be alleviated by regularly applying vaginal lubricants or estrogen creams, or by using doctor-recommended laser treatments designed to reinvigorate vaginal tissue. Vaginal pain might be relieved by Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles or medications, including nerve blockers. If your pain persists, our urogynecologists can surgically treat the vagina.
- Pelvic organ prolapse– The muscles in your pelvis hold your bladder, uterus, and upper vagina in place. If those muscles weaken, these body parts can slip, or prolapse, toward the vaginal canal causing a budge or sensation of something “falling out”. This occurs in nearly half of all women between 50 and 79 to some extent, with symptoms such as pelvic discomfort, numbness, and pressure. This can make intercourse painful or physically difficult.
Mood-lifting treatments: Minimally invasive approaches include Kegels which are pelvic floor exercises and pessaries which are small disc shaped devices used to hold the tissue in place when inserted into the vagina. If you choose surgery, your pelvic musculature can be reinforced using your vaginal tissue or medical grade surgical materials to resuspend anatomy back into an appropriate position.
- Urinary leakage (incontinence) – Childbearing, menopause and nerve abnormalities can make it harder to hold in urine. The fear of an accident can shut down the idea of sex. The two most common forms are urge incontinence and stress incontinence. Overactive bladder (OAB) commonly causes urinary urgency, or the immediate, hard-to-control need to pee. Stress incontinence is a sudden urine leak from pressure to your abdomen, such as coughing.
Mood-lifting treatments: You can relieve symptoms of OAB with medications that block some of the excess nerve signals that cause bladder muscles to contract. These medications include oral pills and bladder injections with Botox. The nerves can also be stimulated with electrical nerve stimulation to reduce urge incontinence. Your path to treatment for stress incontinence can involve Kegel exercises, bladder training, pessaries, and urethra-strengthening drugs or procedures.
- Pelvic pain – Interstitial cystitis(IC) occurs when irritating substances in your urine leak through a compromised bladder lining. It can be quite painful even without sex, which is why it’s often referred to as painful bladder syndrome. Bacterial urinary tract infections can also cause pain in the bladder.
Mood-lifting treatments: For IC, symptom-based treatments include pelvic floor physical therapy, bladder washes, nerve stimulation, medications including both oral options and Botox, and stretching the bladder with fluids while under anesthesia (called hydrodistension). We can help you relieve both acute and chronic urinary infections with medications as well.
Interested In Learning More? Sex Education is for All Life Stages
The urological conditions above are among the most likely to hamper your sex drive and other enjoyable activities. But other causes also exist. It’s tempting to ignore the symptoms, but try not to, as they can worsen over time without intervention.
If lifting your mood and improving your sexual health is important to your quality of life, call a specialist today for an appointment. Acknowledging your medical needs as a woman by seeking professional help for sexual dysfunction is an important step in feeling empowered to live your best life — and your journey to getting back in the mood can begin with that simple step.
The healthcare providers at Advanced Urology Institute are your partners in good overall health. You can read about all the women’s health conditions we treat, with symptoms and treatment options, on our web site: advancedurologyinstitute.com.