Too many women suffer from low sexual desire, or low libido. Unfortunately, low libido can affect many aspects of life including the sense of well-being, mood, self image, relationship, and healthy lifestyle choices. It is a vicious cycle where physical health can affect sex drive, and sex drive can affect physical and mental health.
Dr. Diana Bitner, a nationally recognized menopause and women's health specialist, continues the discussion on what causes low libido and how it can be fixed.
When women are interviewed about bringing up sexual health with their provider, there are several consistent reasons women and healthcare providers avoid talking about the issue:
Reasons women don’t bring up questions about sex drive
- Feel ashamed
- Feel alone
- Worried something is really wrong
- Afraid doctor will be uncomfortable or won’t have answers
- Had a prior bad experience when tried to discuss
- Healthcare provider did not being up, must not be important
Reasons healthcare providers won’t bring up sexual health
- Because patient did not bring up “must not be an issue”
- Underestimation of prevalence, how common is low desire
- Lack of education
- Feeling they do not have enough answers
- Discomfort with topic
- Concerned not enough time to discuss
- Feel the need to fix the problem, when it might not be a quick fix
What helps is to have insight into why there is low desire. There are at least 27 reasons for low desire and they are grouped into three categories: Physical, Psychological, and Interpersonal.
Dr. Bitner focused on the physical reasons, and a list of the most common culprits for low libido are as follows:
- Low estrogen
- Low testosterone
- Incontinence (bladder or bowel)
- Depression or Anxiety
- Physical Inactivity
- Distraction
- Painful Sex
- Vaginal Dryness
- Chronic Pain or Physical Limitations
- Difficulty with Orgasm
- Fatigue
- Excessive Alcohol Consumption
- Medication Side Effects
Dr. Bitner's office is located at 3800 Lake Michigan Drive Northwest, Suite A. To schedule an appointment with her, call (616)-267-8225.
Read more stories like this on Dr. Bitner's Blog.
