5 ways to boost your libido

The bad news: men’s sex drive is based on the serum testosterone level which starts to decrease about 1% a year in second decade of a man’s life.  The good news is that low testosterone can easily be replaced.  Here are a few steps or suggestions that you can easily do to restore your libido without testosterone replacement therapy.

Re-connect: Now that the children have left and it’s just you and your partner again, it’s time to re-connect. Raising a family might have kept you very busy, oftentimes taking you away from each other. Spend some time re-connecting and getting to know one another again in order to reignite that flame.  I suggest having a date night with your significant other.  And one other piece of advice: turn off your cell phone and focus on each other! 

Exercise: Health conditions and poor circulation can impede on your libido, while being as healthy as you can is a great way to support your sex drive. Exercise can help reduce your risk of illness and boost your circulation to ensure all your parts are working as they should.  I suggest 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week.

Be mindful: Stress is a big mood killer, so practicing mindfulness and reducing stress can help boost your libido.  There’s an app for that.  I suggest Headspace.  It’s free and a nice way to learn the art of meditation.

Seek therapy: Maybe you need to see a therapist and work through any underlying issues that could be preventing you and your partner from connecting on a sexual level. Addressing these concerns can help you get past the wall you or your partner may have built between each other.  I suggest that you seek out a therapist that has expertise in dealing with sexual problems.  You can find a therapist near you at: https://www.aasect.org/referral-directory

Check your medications: Some medications cite low libido as a side effect. Antidepressants and pain medications are most known for this. Check with your doctor if you are on any meds.

Bottom Line:  A decrease in libido doesn’t mean you have to live a life devoid of sex. Speak to your doctor.  Get a blood test to check your testosterone level and consider replacement therapy using testosterone injections, topical gels, or tiny pellets inserted under the skin all of which can successfully restore the testosterone level and more importantly your ability to engage in intimacy with your partner.

Boosting T Levels Without Medication

Testosterone is the male hormone produced in the testicles that is responsible for sex drive, energy, muscle and bone mass.  Testosterone decreases slowly in the late 20s and becomes symptomatic in men around middle age.  This blog will discuss natural ways of preserving and increasing your testosterone levels.

Get Moving: Drop 10, 15, or more pounds

Overweight men are likely to have less testosterone, which means less energy and increased susceptibility to depression.  If you shed pounds, you can cause your T levels to surge.

No Zinc In the Sink

Research has shown that supplementing your diet with zinc can improve testosterone levels. According to the National Institutes of Health, 45 per cent of us aren’t getting enough of the stuff.  Protein-rich foods like meat and fish are packed full of zinc, along with raw cheese, beans and natural yoghurt.

Sweet Nothings

In addition to causing you to pile on the pounds, sugar can also wreak havoc on testosterone production. Regular intake of the sweet stuff can cause insulin to spike, which is a factor leading to low levels of testosterone.

To counteract the effect, simply limit your sugar intake – the overall health benefits far outweigh a quick dopamine hit from a soft drink.

Take D and See

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone, which means it boosts your sperm count, , libido and  testosterone.  You can increase your vitamin D by being exposed to sunshine.  Since I don’t condone exposure to sun as it causes skin cancers, then vitamin D supplementation is in order, 1000 IU\day.  This is available in most nutrition and drug stores.

Stress Less

Kicking back is easier said than done, but a reduction in stress will work wonders for your testosterone production. Cortisol (the stuff your body makes when you get hot under the collar) actually blocks testosterone. Chronic stress has actually been shown to stop testosterone production, which translates to bad moods, fatigue and decreased libido.

Exercise and weight loss are beneficial in reducing stress levels so this is another reason to getting moving!

Fat and Fit

Eat ‘good’ fats of the monounsaturated variety. You can find a high dose of these fats in foods like olive oil, almonds, avocados and grass-fed meats.

Going From ZZZZZ to T

Men who got a full eight hours sleep had 60 per cent more testosterone than their sleep-deprived counterparts.  I recommend stop looking at screens, i.e., computer and TV screens at least an hour before bedtime as screen watching affects melatonin which if decreased can make it difficult to have a good nights sleep.

It’s Quicker Without Liquor

We all know that alcohol consumption is bad for us – but it’s bad for your Johnson. Not only does too much booze lower growth hormone levels and increase cortisol, it will reduce your testosterone levels for up to 24-hours.  I recommend 1-2 glasses of alcohol a day and definitely avoid binging.

Bottom Line:  Testosterone is a necessary ingredient for your sex drive, your energy level, and overall body metabolism.  The hormone also affects our moods and psychological well-being.  I have provided you some suggestions for boosting this very important hormone.

Adding Spice To Your Sex Life- Cinnamon and Testosterone

 

It is normal for a man’s sex drive or libido to decline as he ages. The reason? The male hormone, testosterone, which is responsible for the libido starts to decline about 2-3% a year after age 30. This article will discuss a non-medical solution, cinnamon, that may have an impact on a man’s sex drive or libido.

Animal studies have demonstrated that cinnamon can reduce high blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity and also the testosterone boosting and testicular health. Therefore, it’s very much possible that cinnamon can be used to increase testosterone levels in humans.

 Cinnamon is a spice that you may only associate with baking and desserts, but there are plenty of cinnamon benefits that make it a great spice to use everyday and as a dietary supplement.

When using cinnamon as a supplement be sure to use organic cinnamon and not the conventional variety you typically find in the spice aisle at the grocery store. Just like with vegetables, conventional spices can contain the same herbicides and pesticides when they are conventionally manufactured.

Benefits of cinnamon:

Improves Metabolism

Cinnamon often makes it onto the list of foods that you should be eating if you are trying to lose weight. Cinnamon has the ability to rev up the metabolism, which can help you lose weight more effectively.

By the way, daily exercise is also a natural way to get your metabolism going.

Reduces Cholesterol

Cinnamon has been shown to help lower the levels of LDL cholesterol in the body, often referred to as the bad cholesterol. This makes it a fantastic all-natural remedy for high cholesterol levels.

High cholesterol over long periods of time can lead to more serious heart problems such as stroke and heart attack.

Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

Cinnamon has been shown to help keep blood sugar levels where they should be, and is often recommended to diabetics to help naturally regulate blood glucose levels. You can use cinnamon even if you are not diabetic as a way to keep your blood sugar within healthy guidelines.

Antibacterial Properties

Cinnamon acts as an antibacterial agent in the body, and with that because of that it is very helpful in treating a myriad of problems. This is why it is often recommended for an upset stomach, because it can help clear harmful bacteria from the digestive system.

Cancer Fighter

Cinnamon has been shown to be effective cancer fighting foods, and there are many reasons for this, but the chief among them is cinnamon’s antibacterial property.

More studies are needed before cinnamon can fully be given the green light and regarded as a cancer-fighting agent.

Heart Disease Prevention

Because of cinnamon’s ability to lower cholesterol levels and improve blood circulation throughout the body, it can be used to help prevent heart disease.

Anti-Inflammatory

The anti-inflammatory nature of cinnamon means that you can use it to help with a number of conditions caused by inflammation.

Helps Balance Hormones

Cinnamon can help balance hormones in women, making it a great all-natural remedy to try before turning to medication like estrogen replacement therapy. Cinnamon acts to lower the amount of testosterone produced by women, while increasing the amount of progesterone.

Helps Brain Function

The aroma of cinnamon has long been thought of as being a brain booster, and modern science is backing that up. Reason enough to start opt for cinnamon scented candles, or cinnamon essential oils for aromatherapy.  Cinnamon can help your brain work better and keep you more alert, just by smelling it.  Rather than use energy drinks or other artificial ways to make yourself zeroed in, you can use the scent of cinnamon to give you that extra mental edge needed during a typical workday.

Clears the Digestive Tract

Cinnamon can help clear out your digestive tract, which will help your body absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat more easily. This also means you’ll have fewer stomach problems including indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation.

Increases Circulation

Cinnamon has a warming effect on the body, and can help improve blood flow throughout. There are plenty of diseases and conditions, like sexual functioning, that are caused by poor circulation, so taking steps to improve that circulation can be very beneficial indeed. Improved blood flow in the body can help improve the sex drives of both men and women, as it helps blood flow to the reproductive organs. For men this means stronger erections and for women it means increased sensitivity of the clitoris and labia.

Improves Your Mood

You can use cinnamon as a sort of aromatherapy to help improve your mood. That’s because for this benefit of cinnamon you simply need to smell it. The aroma of cinnamon acts to shift you to a better mood.

Many things can occur throughout the day to put us in an off mood, so it’s important to have a collection of steps you can take to try and shake you out of a funk and get you back to feeling good.

Alzheimer’s Prevention

One of the more surprising cinnamon benefits is its ability to help prevent Alzheimer’s. Research is promising in regards to cinnamon’s effect on the brain, enough so that it would be smart to start taking it as a supplement if you feel you are at risk for Alzheimer’s.

Bottom Line: Most men and women today want to maintain and restore their ability to be sexually intimate with their partner. Yes, there are pills and medications that can be effective. However, there are natural options, like cinnamon, that are available to nearly everyone and at low or minimal cost that may improve their ability to be sexually active. Also there are numerous other benefits of cinnamon that make it a worthwhile option. It’s hard to think of a spice like cinnamon as being anything more than a flavoring agent, but which is currently being studied for its beneficial effects including sexual intimacy and performance.

FAQs on Erectile Dysfunction

It often is a mystery about men are able to achieve and hold an erection.  Even more mysterious is what are the causes of failure of erections and to fix the problem.  It is not uncommon for me to feel uncomfortable broaching the topic with their physician.  Fortunately, after the introduction of oral medication to treat impotence or erectile dysfunction in 1999, men are talking about their problems in the bedroom with their physicians.

In this blog I will discuss some of the most frequently asked questions about ED and the treatment for this common condition that impacts over 14 million American men.

1. Why does Viagra fix the problem?

An erection requires an increase in the blood supply to the penis and more blood has to rush into the chambers of the penis than comes out of the penis.  When this happens, an erection will occur. Viagra helps blood vessels relax and increases the blood supply to the penis.

2. Does the male hormone, testosterone, have a role in the erection process?

Testosterone acts on a series of different areas of the body to enhance bone development, muscle growth, sexual interest and function. Testosterone is primarily responsible for the libido or sex drive.  The testosterone level slowly decreases at a rate of about 1% a year starting around 25.  By middle age, most men start experiencing signs and symptoms of testosterone deficiency and men often need hormone replacement therapy.  This can be accomplished with injections, topical gels, or pellets of testosterone inserted under the skin.

3. Why does sex feel good?

There is a high concentration of nerve endings in the penis and vagina, which triggers stimulation and orgasm. Dopamine is triggered and there is a pleasant feeling in the brain during ejaculation. It could also be an evolutionary thing. When we were cavemen with only animal instincts, the fact that sex feels good encouraged us to reproduce to keep the species going.

4. Do sexually transmitted disease cause erectile dysfunction?

Gonorrhea and chlamydia are both sexually transmitted diseases that are caused by direct and unprotected sexual contact. Both STDs live in reproductive genital tracts of men and women and can be cured with antibiotics. If both STDs go untreated, it can lead to infection that will lead to infertility in men but usually does not cause erectile dysfunction.

5 Why does sex hurt?

The obvious reason is if the man’s penis is much larger than a woman’s vagina opening. The other possibility is that women have a decrease in lubrication of the vagina and the friction is a source of pain and discomfort usually for the men but also for the male partner as well.

Bottom Line:  Impotence is a common condition especially in middle age or older men.  Treatment is available and most men can be helped.  Talk to your doctor.

Testosterone Deficiency: Male Menopause Which Is HARDly The Pause That Refreshes!

Everyone has heard about menopause for women.  This is due to a decrease in estrogen production from the ovaries.  Men also have a fall in their testosterone, the male hormone produced in the testicles, also decreases a small amount after age 30 but becomes symptomatic around age 50.  The problem affects millions of American men who have decreased sex drive, lethargy, loss of muscle mass, decrease in bone density, and even irritability\depression.  This blog will discuss the problem of male menopause or andropause.

Men losing testosterone is a steady decline, like a leak in a swimming pool you never refill. Over time, you empty out all your stores, creating a constellation of problems.

The constellation of problems compound each other, too. The apathy comes in part from the decline in hormones, which results in loss of lean muscle mass, depression, and forgetfulness. But it becomes a downward cycle, as the less lean muscle mass a person has, the faster he or she gains weight, which leads to more depression.

The seriousness of the problem of male depression tied to aging cannot be denied, as middle-aged and older men account for more than 20 percent of suicides, as compared to about 5 percent for women. Older white males represent 70 percent of suicides.  Before starting anti-depressants, doctors caring for older men with symptoms of depression should get a serum testosterone level and replace the hormone with testosterone replacement therapy before initiating anti-depressants.

Most of my physician referrals come from psychiatrists and neurologists, as men are seeing them because of depression and memory issues. Psychiatrists and neurologists know what a reduction in testosterone does to emotional well-being and brain function. These specialists want their patients to be tested for low testosterone before trying anti-depressants or other prescription therapies.

The reason more general physicians don’t think of, or want, to go the hormone testing route? Testosterone therapy got a bad rap a few years ago when there was a lot of misinformation with regard to testosterone being dangerous and possibly being linked to an increase in prostate cancer and heart disease.

There have been poorly designed studies, just as there were poorly designed studies with women’s hormone studies, such as the Women’s Health Initiative, indicating that it might be dangerous for women to take hormone replacement therapy. The result is that these defective studies resulted in a lot of men are not doing testosterone optimization correctly. There is a big difference between what is considered a normal level of hormones, which in America, is often abused to build super-normal muscle mass, and those levels at which men literally come back to life again.

Ideally men need to have their testosterone levels drawn in the morning when the testosterone levels are the highest. If the man has the symptoms described above and has a low testosterone level, they are candidates for hormone replacement therapy using injections of testosterone, topical gels containing testosterone, or testosterone pellets that are inserted under the skin every 4-6 months.

Many of these men come in saying they feel like half a man; well they are, because they are trying to live on half the amount of testosterone they had when they were younger. When they feel better, they make changes such as losing weight, or changing careers, because with the low level of testosterone, they didn’t care enough to do it before.

Bottom Line: If you don’t feel the same way about yourself or your partner, and you are in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, it may well be that one or both of you have hormonal issues. It makes sense to try and fix that with a brief history, physical exam and a testosterone blood test.

Ladies, Is Testosterone The Answer To The Low Libido Question?

Almost everyone knows that testosterone is the man’s hormone and is responsible for his sex drive or libido. But few know that testosterone is also the hormone for women’s sex drive and libido. This blog will discuss the role of testosterone in women and what you can do if your sex drive is in the tank.

If you are a menopausal woman, chances are pretty good that your sex drive has slowed down since your “roaring twenties and thirties”.

Some of you will go so far as to say that you have no interest in sex whatsoever. There is a really good physiological reason for this decrease in interest, by the way. When women hit their forties and beyond, the ovaries start their journey toward menopause. That means that we are getting closer to the end of our ovarian production of both estrogen and testosterone. These hormones play a critical role in women’s sexual health and wellness. The decline in testosterone is a normal part of aging, but it can have a profound physical and emotional impact on some women.

Women make plenty of testosterone from their ovaries, starting at puberty and lasting a few until menopause or until the ovaries stop producing estrogen and testosterone. Testosterone has several duties, including improving our sense of well-being and energy, maintaining bone health and, of course, assisting estrogen in the pursuit of sexual health and normal functioning.

Testosterone therapy is approved by the FDA in menopausal women who have the diagnosis of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

Bottom Line: Women with low sex drive might want to speak to their doctors and have their testosterone level checked. If the testosterone is low and the women complains of a decrease in her sex drive, then testosterone replacement in women is an option.

Non Medical Ways to Boost Testosterone Levels

Testosterone is the male hormone produced in the testicles and it is responsible for man’s sex drive. Low testosterone levels can impact a man’s sexual performance. This blog will discuss life-style changes that men can make to improve their testosterone levels.

The sex hormone testosterone is often touted as helping men maintain their vitality and virility, but levels begin to dip naturally by about 1 percent a year after age 30. Signs that your testosterone may be declining more rapidly include loss of energy, decreased sex drive, irritation or anger, and trouble sleeping.
Although testosterone supplementation is effective, there are risks and side effects that make life style changes a more attractive alternative. There are many tried and true drug-free and hormone-free ways to maintain testosterone levels.

Deep Six the Sauce (Alcohol)
A glass of wine with dinner is no problem, but overdrinking is not a good idea. Moderate alcohol consumption for men is a max of two drinks a day, with one being a 5-ounce glass of wine.

Shed Some Pounds
Being overweight or obese can increase risk for heart disease and certain cancers, but extra weight also increase the risk for low testosterone levels. Research published in Diabetes Care in June 2010 showed that 40 percent of obese men had lower-than-normal testosterone readings, and this percentage increased to 50 percent among obese men with diabetes. Weight loss can be a hormone-free way to combat low T. A benefit of weight loss for obese men is that the penis will appear to be longer because of the loss of the abdominal fat. I usually tell men that every 30 pound weight loss increases the length of the penis by 1.5 inches.

Send Out a Stress SOS
A study done at the University of Texas at Austin in 2010 suggested that the stress hormone cortisol may block the beneficial testosterone. When our stress levels are up, our testosterone can go down.

Regular exercise helps reduce stress levels as well as help you maintain a normal weight, so it packs a double whammy against low testosterone levels. Other stress reduction techniques, like deep breathing, can also serve as natural testosterone support.

Take a Big Dose of Vitamin “E”-Exercise
Exercise can help maintain your testosterone levels and avoid some of the symptoms of low T.
Research in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research backs this up. The study showed that a 4-week sprint-interval training program helped boost testosterone levels in a drug-free fashion among wrestlers.

Sleep And Sex
A small study conducted at the University of Chicago School of Medicine found that men who slept less than five hours a night for one week had lower levels of testosterone than when they had a full night’s sleep.
When you are sleep deprived, it impacts levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which reduces testosterone just like stress can. A sleep-deprived state is a testosterone-deprived state. Everyone’s sleep needs are different, but it’s important that you wake up feeling refreshed.

Avoid Plastic Bottles
The controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is found in many plastic water bottles as well as in the lining of food and beverage cans, and exposure to this plasticizer may result in low T. BPA can act like the female hormone estrogen in the body, which means it can lower levels of testosterone,
Don’t cook foods wrapped in plastic in the microwave, and try to drink from a glass or a steel thermos. The more flexible a plastic bottle, the more likely it is to leach BPA and affect the testosterone level

Think Zinc
If you take a multivitamin with zinc or eat oysters every day, your zinc levels are probably within the normal range. Aim for 12 to 15 milligrams a day to help stave off low T.

Some Fat Is Your Friend

Men who eat a low-fat diet have lower testosterone, because the body makes testosterone from cholesterol. But this doesn’t mean you should eat unhealthy bad fats. Instead choose healthy fats such as those found in avocado, nuts, and olive oil. These fats will boost testosterone naturally, but they won’t raise blood levels of artery-clogging cholesterol.

Skip the Sugar

Every time you eat sugar, testosterone is decreased, likely because the sugar causes a high insulin level which can decrease the testosterone level.
Bottom Line: Low testosterone levels are a treatable condition that affects millions of men. There are options that don’t require medication that also improve your overall health and wellness.

Low T May Be the Cause of Your ED (erectile dysfunction)

More than 14 million American men suffer from low testosterone levels. It is a normal consequence of aging just as menopause and low estrogen is a normal biological response in women.

Testosterone drives desire and the ability to have erections.

Levels drop naturally with age — by 75, a man’s levels may be half of what they were when he was 20 — but they vary widely with the individual, and experts believe low testosterone only rarely causes erectile dysfunction.

If you suffer from lack of energy, low sexual desire, falling asleep after meals and loss of muscle mass, you might consider asking your doctor to check your T levels— this involves a blood test.

A reading of greater than 300 ng\dl is considered normal, and below 300 is considered low.

If low, your doctor might offer you testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in the form of a topical gel applied to the skin, injections or pellets inserted under the skin every 4-6 months.

Bottom Line: Low T is a normal part of the aging process. If you have a low T level and have symptoms of low T, speak to your doctor about testosterone replacement therapy.

Libido Enhancement For Women-A Few Suggestions That Will Make a Big Differences

Want that lovin’ feeling again? We can’t turn the clock back and have the sex drive and desire that we had in our twenties. However, there are some steps that we all can take to boost our sex drive and our relationship with our partners and significant others.

Take a walk at lunch
In a study of women ages 45 to 55, sexual satisfaction correlated directly to fitness. The less exercise they got, the lower their desire and sexual satisfaction.

Read something kinky
Erotic literature can quickly jump-start arousal.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard any of the buzz surrounding the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Based on the life of a college student and her entrepreneur lover, the trilogy has been whipping the nation into a frenzy. It might just whip your sex life into a similar frenzy.
Check out these 8 picks to help you turn up the heat. Oh, and if you can’t see yourself opening up a book featuring a buxom gal being ravished by a Fabio look-a-like on the cover, that’s what e-books are for, ladies. Enjoy!

Fifty Shades Of Grey: Book One Of The Fifty Shades Trilogy, by E L James Even if S&M isn’t your thing, who isn’t curious about it? This book answers all your questions—and ones you’ve never even thought of.

A Groom Of One’s Own, by Maya Rodale Why would an upstanding duke consider jilting his duchess bride for a newspaper writer? One word: Passion. A lot of it.

Lust In The Library, by Amelia Fayer “This novella is a great introduction to erotics,” says Rodale. Plus, the tagline is hilarious: “Some like it hot. Some like it in the reference section.”

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, by Anne Rice, writing as A. Roquelaure The first installment of the erotic trilogy of Sleeping Beauty, this fairy tale gives you way more than Disney ever could.

Aqua Erotica, by Mary Anne Mohanraj The first erotic novel Auteri ever read, this page-turner explores sexual satisfaction beneath the waves.

Seducing Sarah (The Madame X School of Sex), by Jinx Jamison For anyone who has wanted to break free from their boring day-to-day life (and who hasn’t?), here’s your chance to live vicariously through a paralegal who enrolls in sex school—trading mundane meetings for ménage seminars.

Lady Sophie’s Lover, by Lisa Kleypas “You cannot go wrong with a Lisa Kleypas novel. She has a gift for beautiful, passionate writing—especially the love scenes,” says Rodale.

The Dom of My Dreams: A BDSM Novel, by M.F. Sinclair They say never mix business with pleasure, but when a publicist takes on a hot new writer, all the rules go out the window.

Flex your muscles
Flexing your pelvic floor muscles—the ones that stop the flow of urine—instantly increases desire and sexual sensation because you’re mimicking the contractions of orgasm. For more information on Kegel exercises, go to: http://neilbaum.com/articles/pelvic-exercises-for-women-kegel-exercises

Have a massage
The skin-on-skin contact stimulates the sex hormone oxytocin. The more oxytocin released, the more desire a woman will feel.

Slip into something sexy
Putting on a pair of black stilettos or a sheer cami invigorates you sexually because it makes you feel more daring. It stokes your sexual imagination so you can play a role, like a good girl letting her sexy side out.”

Steal his Viagra
Ask your doctor about taking one of those little blue pills. You may be ready to go in an hour. Viagra increases blood flow to the genital area—something women need for arousal just as much as men do. Though the FDA hasn’t approved the pill for women, doctors can prescribe it.

Take a shower—together
Being clean makes you feel sexier and more open to receiving oral sex. And you’re also more likely to want to reciprocate with a clean partner as well.

Vibrate your pelvis
Vibrators bring the circulatory system into play right away and can greatly speed up your arousal time. Don’t worry that pleasuring yourself will turn off your desire for your partner.

Use a lubricant
Sexual intimacy feels better with lubrication. I recommend a water soluble lubricant such as K-Y jelly instead of an oil based lubricant such as Vasoline.

Bottom Line: Sex drive in the tank? Use a few of these ideas to revive your libido. You and your partner will be glad you did.

Do Women Have Low T? The Role Of Testosterone in Women

Testosterone is the male hormone produced in the testicles that is responsible for sex drive or libido. Women also make testosterone in their ovaries. After menopause the amount of testosterone is decreased and will affect a woman’s sex drive and libido.
Testosterone, widely and misleadingly understood to be the “male” hormone. Men produce 10 times more testosterone than women, but in their early reproductive years women have 10 times more testosterone than estrogen coursing through their bodies. And many experts now believe that it’s the loss of testosterone, and not estrogen, that causes women in midlife to tend to gain weight, feel fatigue and lose mental focus, bone density and muscle tone — as well as their libido. Testosterone is a woman’s most abundant biologically active hormone. Adequate levels of testosterone are necessary for physical and mental health in both sexes.



Benefits for Women
 
Women, before, during and past menopause, and sometimes as early as in their mid-30s, invariably have low testosterone levels. Not all women will experience its wide variety of symptoms, like low libido, hot flashes, fatigue, mental fogginess and weight gain. For those who do, and who seek to avoid taking synthetic oral hormones (shown by National Institutes of Health findings to pose an increased risk for breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots and dementia), bioidentical testosterone (whose molecular structure is the same as natural testosterone) has been shown to be safe and effective.

Some testosterone is converted by the body into estrogen — which partly explains why it is useful in treating menopausal symptoms. For those at high risk for breast cancer, or who have had it, that conversion can be prevented by combining testosterone with anastrozole — an aromatase inhibitor that prevents conversion to estrogen. Nonetheless, testosterone has been shown to beneficial for patients with breast cancer. Preliminary data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology have shown that, in combination with anastrozole, testosterone was effective in treating symptoms of hormone deficiency in breast cancer survivors, without an increased risk of blood clots, strokes or other side effects of the more widely used oral estrogen-receptor modulators tamoxifen and raloxifene.

Other benefits cited for testosterone therapy include:

Relieving symptoms of menopause, like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, incontinence and urinary urgency.

Enhancing mental clarity and focus. Researchers at Utrecht University in Holland recently found that testosterone appears to encourage “rational decision-making, social scrutiny and cleverness.”

Reducing anxiety, balancing mood and relieving depression combined with fatigue. Dr. Stephen Center, a family practitioner in San Diego who has treated women with testosterone for 20 years, says the regimen consistently delivers “improvement in self-confidence, initiative and drive.”

Increasing bone density, decreasing body fat and cellulite, and increasing lean muscle mass. Testosterone is the best remedy available for eliminating midlife upper-arm batwings.

Offering protection against cardiovascular events, by increasing blood flow and dilating blood vessels, and against Type 2 diabetes, by decreasing insulin resistance.

Countering the Myths

Some women believe, also incorrectly, that testosterone therapy will produce “masculinizing” traits, like hoarseness and aggression. While the hormone may cause inappropriate hair growth and acne in some women, those side effects can be remedied by lowering the dose.

Testosterone therapy has been approved for a variety of conditions in women as well as men in Britain and Australia. But while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved of testosterone for use in men whose natural levels are low, the agency has not sanctioned it for women, for any reason.

How Treatment Works

Women can take testosterone as a cream, through a patch or in the form of pellet implants, which have the highest consistency of delivery. Synthesized from yams or soybeans, and compounded of pure, bioidentical testosterone, the pellets, each slightly larger than a grain of rice, are inserted just beneath the skin in the hip in a one-minute outpatient procedure. They dissolve slowly over three to four months, releasing small amounts of testosterone into the blood stream, but speeding up when needed by the body — during strenuous activities, for example — and slowing down during quiet times, a feature no other form of hormone therapy can provide.

To determine a patient’s dosage, some doctors measure testosterone levels in the blood.

Side effects of the insertion procedure, which are rare, include infection, minor bleeding and the pellet working its way out or being extruded. Some patients notice improvements within a day or two; others do not perceive benefits for a couple of weeks.

Bottom Line: Since implantation is a surgical procedure, and the pellets are manufactured by a variety of pharmaceutical compounders, who may have varying safety standards, it’s important for women to consult with an experienced, board-certified physician about treatment. Ask your doctor if you feel you are having symptoms related to low testosterone and see if testosterone replacement would be right for you