One of my Mother-in-Law’s favorite jokes is “How do you make a hormone?”
Answer: Don’t pay her!
OK, enough frivolity – hormones are important and our health and well-being is impacted when they change.
While issues around changing hormones are not exclusive to menopause and the period of time leading up to that, hormones do change as you get older. This can result in a whole host of problems with varying severity: low libido, vaginal dryness, discomfort during sex, hot flashes, etc.
Your body produces many different hormones throughout your life, but the ones that we usually think about in this context are estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones need to be in balance for optimal health and feelings of well-being.
Dr. Christiane Northrup tells us that while most people think that menopause means that the ovaries are just not producing enough estrogen, most women go through a period of time where they have “Estrogen Dominance,” often for 10-15 years.
Symptoms that can result from this imbalance include:
Reduced sex drive
Bloating
Headache
Mood Swings
Fat Gain, especially around the mid-section
Foggy Thinking
Fatigue
Insomnia
The list goes on…
These symptoms can often be alleviated by using a transdermal bioidentical progesterone cream. Progesterone is a key component in a woman’s sexual health and the addition of this cream can help with sexual desire, sleep, and mood stability. A healthy diet including plenty of fiber can help too!
Are there other hormones that affect sexual health in women?
Of course, estrogen and progesterone are not the only hormones impacting our sexual health as we get older. Testosterone is often thought of as a male hormone, but it is found in both men and women. And as the “f-ck it or kill it” hormone, it has a lot to do with sexual desire!
Levels of this hormone can lessen over time in both sexes, but specifically for women lower amounts can mean less energy, loss of self-esteem and and poor memory.
The best way to approach any type of hormone imbalance is to consult with your doctor – the approach is very individual, and you need to be sure you are getting the amounts that are right for you.
Often times just some small changes can make all the difference in the world for how you feel.
