Signed, a woman with little to no desire for sex
Of the low libido women who come to see me, roughly two or three out of twenty will have testosterone levels low enough that I identify it as a contributing factor to their low sex drive. Could that be you? It is important for you to know the answer. The list below gives you a reasonable idea if you are a woman who should get tested. Check the symptom list — If your testosterone levels are low you most likely will have at least three or four of these symptoms. It won’t just be that you have no desire for sex. Testosterone affects your whole body, so low levels affect your muscles and your mood too.
Here is the list of things that can happen when your testosterone is low:
- You feel tired
- You have less endurance
- Your muscles aren’t strong, and even when you work out you don’t get much result
- Your mood is low, and you feel a physical kind of depression
- You are less optimistic than you used to be
- Overall sexual touch doesn’t do as much for you as it used to–there is a dullness to the sensations in your vagina and clitoris
- When your nipples are touched you no longer get aroused
- Your vulva can feel as if it is burning
- Your vagina has tears in the skin after intercourse, or can occur spontaneously
- You will have less lubrication in your vagina when you are aroused
- The amount of hair on your body is less, and the quality of your hair is thinner
- You aren’t thinking about or planning for sex
- Your memory is not as sharp as it used to be
GETTING TESTED: If you have three or four of these symptoms then ask your provider to test your levels.
Tests should include a Total Testosterone, and a Free Testosterone. SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) will also be calculated to figure out how much of your testosterone is available for you to use, as it can be bound by this protein. If your tests show that you are deficient (below normal range) or low normal (low normal is the bottom 25% of the normal range) you may be a candidate for treatment.
More about testosterone in my book: Fanning the Female Flame
Click here to read about how PCOS can affect your sex life.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing about how to treat low testosterone.