What counts as sexual dysfunction?
Sexual dysfunction is anything that keeps you from wanting, or enjoying, sexual activity. It can affect anyone at any age, though it is more common after 40.
The causes can be physical, psychological or both. Health conditions, medications, stress and hormone changes are all on the list.
What does the nervous system have to do with it?
The autonomic nervous system runs the body processes you do not control by choice, such as heartbeat and breathing. It plays a key role in sexual function, including arousal and the ability to orgasm.
Its two branches pull in opposite directions. The sympathetic branch drives the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic branch handles rest-and-digest processes.
How does stress affect desire?
Stress from work, family or daily life can lower your desire for sex. Anxiety raises stress hormones that can lower sex drive as well.
Exercise, journaling, meditation and self-care routines can help manage stress. When desire stays low, hormones are worth checking too.
How do hormones affect desire and function?
Changes in hormones, such as low estrogen or low testosterone, are among the physical causes of sexual dysfunction. Testosterone controls many aspects of libido, and levels can drop with age or with a medical condition.
In men, symptoms of low testosterone include low libido, trouble with erections, depressed mood, more body fat and less muscle strength. This is where testosterone testing and replacement therapy can come in, once testing confirms low levels.
How is low testosterone confirmed?
With blood tests, read alongside your symptoms. A total testosterone test usually takes two separate morning samples, when levels should be at their highest.
Mayo Clinic notes that doctors will likely measure levels at least twice before recommending testosterone therapy. One low result is a reason to recheck, not to start treatment.
What does male TRT involve at Reboot Vitality?
Male TRT here uses bioidentical testosterone and, where needed, thyroid hormones. The plan is built from hormone testing, your symptoms and your goals, and doses are adjusted from regular follow-up labs.
It sits with the other hormone, peptide and longevity services in Tampa, in the fourth phase of care.
What are the risks of testosterone therapy?
Known risks include acne, worsening sleep apnea, breast enlargement, prostate growth and shrinking testicles. Testosterone can also limit sperm production, and it can raise the red blood cell count, which adds to the risk of a blood clot.
Prostate or breast cancer, untreated sleep apnea, heart failure or a high red blood cell count needs a careful look first, and regular blood tests follow while you are on it.
Treating normal aging with testosterone is not advised. Testing and your symptoms, not age alone, decide whether it fits.
What about women?
Desire can fall as estrogen levels drop around menopause. If menopause is lowering your sex drive, hormone therapy may help.
Female HRT at the clinic uses bioidentical estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and it starts with hormone testing.
Where should you start?
Some medications, including antidepressants and blood pressure drugs, can affect sex drive. Never stop a medication without talking to the doctor who prescribed it.
If hormones may play a role, a consultation and testing come first. You can read how male TRT is planned and monitored before you book.
Common questions
Can stress cause sexual dysfunction?
Stress and anxiety are among its known causes. Stress from work, family or daily life can lower desire, and anxiety raises stress hormones that can lower sex drive. Managing stress is one way to help.
Can low testosterone cause a low sex drive?
It can. Testosterone controls many aspects of libido, and low libido is one symptom of low testosterone in men. A blood test, usually repeated, confirms whether your levels are low.
Does testosterone therapy affect fertility?
It can. Testosterone therapy can limit sperm production, so say so before anything is prescribed if you plan to father a child.
Should I stop a medication that lowers my sex drive?
Talk to the doctor who prescribed it first. Some antidepressants and blood pressure medications can affect sex drive, and your prescriber may change the dose or switch the medication.
Is hormone therapy the only answer?
No. Sexual dysfunction often has more than one cause, so care can include stress management, relationship support and medication changes. Hormone care fits when testing shows a hormone change plays a role.