Recently there has been a lot of talk about bioidentical hormones and how they can improve lives of women. women now want to take extra hormones to treat a varying number of physical and emotional problems. Another related topic is the use of testosterone to improve libido in women entering menopause or who are post menopausal.
Testosterone is a male sex hormone and is important for development of male secondary sexual characteristics. Testosterone is also made in small amounts by the female and it plays a complex role in sexual enhancement. However, as such, testosterone does not have properties of an aphrodisiac nor it a sex stimulant. Men have been taking anabolic steroids and other testosterone products for decades and do not always have an increased sex drive; in fact in many cases, there is a loss of libido.
Women can have a low sex drive for many reasons and simply taking testosterone is not always the answer. The low sex drive in a menopausal female may be due to other declining levels of female sex hormonal, emotional problems, and physical changes like vaginal dryness, depression, or lack of a loving spouse.
In both men and women, levels of testosterone do decline with age. In females, the declining testosterone level with age is much more gradual than what is seen in men. More significant decline of testosterone levels in females are seen after a total hysterectomy and oophrectomy (removal of ovaries). In women who experience low sex drive after surgical removal of the ovary, perhaps one should first start with low dose estrogen therapy. Only if the estrogen therapy is not effective should low dose testosterone therapy be initiated. There are also some women who have a low sex drive but no cause can be identified. In such women, one may want to try low dose testosterone therapy. how long to continue low dose testosterone therapy in a female is unknown but should not be long term. If the testosterone works, the increase in libido is not instant but gradual over a few weeks.
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