When women go through the ‘change’, medically known as menopause, it often leaves women with a decreased or non-existent sex drive, and for a very good reason.

One of the main things that happen during menopause is the drastically decreased production of estrogen and progesterone, or the total cessation in the production of the female hormones.

The loss of estrogen and progesterone causes a number of physical changes including the loss of vaginal moistness. Many women who have undergone menopause complain that sexual intercourse is painful due to the vaginal dryness.

Many women also complain that their libido (sex drive) has diminished or even totally gone. They no longer have any desire for sexual relations, which in some marriages, becomes a problem. Women may lose their sex drive after menopause, but men don’t and thus the relational friction can build.

A number of women turn to hormone replacement therapy for relieve their menopausal symptoms – especially the hot flashes and mood swings. The hormone’s used in this kind of therapy are estrogen and progesterone. The replaced hormones not only help relieve the hot flashes and mood swings, they also help restore some of the lost vaginal dryness and can cause additional menstrual cycles, but it often does little to replace the lost libido.

A solution to the lost libido may have been found, as reported:

The change of life is something all women go through and while some people experience hot flushes and mood swings when they become menopausal, others completely lose their desire to have sex. While it’s something many women just accept, researchers now say that testosterone treatment may be an effective way of improving sexual wellbeing for postmenopausal women who experience Hypoactive Sexual Desire Dysfunction (HSDD).

HSDD is a sexual dysfunction characterised as a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity and impacts around 32 per cent of women at midlife. While it’s common for women to lose interest in sex when they become menopausal, testosterone could significantly improve their sexual and emotional wellbeing.

A new position statement led by the International Menopause Society found that testosterone could also improve arousal, orgasm and pleasure, as well as reduce concerns and distress many postmenopausal women have about sex. The position statement is the first in the world on the use of testosterone treatment of women and follows years of debate about whether this kind of therapy can work.

Professor Susan Davis, President of the International Menopause Society, commented:

“This position statement has far reaching global consequences. It not only reassures clinicians that a trial of testosterone therapy is appropriate for women with HSDD, but very emphatically states that, at present, the available evidence does not support the use of testosterone for any other symptoms or medical condition.”

“It also clearly advises that when testosterone therapy is given, the resultant blood levels should not be above those seen in healthy young women. We hope this will allow women who may benefit to be offered treatment, and simultaneously protect women from receiving inappropriate testosterone therapy.”

Dr Sharon Parish from the Weill Cornell Medical College, added:

“The key messages for clinicians and researchers who care for and study postmenopausal women across a wide array of clinical and research disciplines are that testosterone clearly has positive benefits on sexual function and minimal side effects and low risk profiles, and is a very important and critical treatment option for postmenopausal women with HSDD.”

Ladies, for those of you who have lost your sex drive after menopause, it seems that there is hope of restoring your libido and any marital problems that may have been caused by this loss. Talk to your doctor.