Of all health problems you could have, a diminished libido doesn’t seem terribly urgent; however, it could be a sign of underlying hormonal imbalances. It can be tricky to figure out what’s really going on, though; not only do all kinds of different hormones affect your libido, but everyone has their own baseline for what a “normal” libido is. You can’t simply ask a few diagnostic questions to determine exactly how far below normal your sex drive is, like you can for many other issues.
Fortunately, when biology closes a door, it opens a window. There may not be a universal measure that’ll tell you how well your sex drive is doing, but you have other options if you want to find out what’s happening. For one thing, you can definitely measure the root of the problem – your hormones. Any doctor can order hormone tests, or you could get a sex drive test that you can do at home, like the kind that’s available from Base. For another thing, there are some symptoms that are indicative of hormonal imbalances. You won’t experience all of them, but even if you recognize just a couple in yourself, you should probably consider getting some more concrete information on how your hormones are doing.
Sexual dysfunction (in men)
ED is generally associated with low testosterone, but it can be a bit more complex than that. Even though sexual dysfunction and testosterone levels are linked, that link isn’t fully understood. There are plenty of men who have totally normal levels of testosterone, but clearly have some other imbalance that’s causing mechanical issues – it just might take a few different tests to find out which one.
Pain during intercourse (for women)
A typical female sex drive may not be naturally as intense as a man’s, but that’s partly because of the fluctuations that go along with the menstrual cycle. This makes it slightly harder to determine if a woman’s low sex drive is because of where she’s at in her cycle, or if it’s an indication of a hormonal imbalance. What isn’t hard to notice, though, is when a woman experiences discomfort or irritation during intercourse. If a woman notices both pain and a consistently low libido, that’s a pretty clear sign that something’s wrong.
Reduced sexual desire
You might think that this should be an obvious sign, but it’s also tough to admit to; plenty of people end up trying to explain it away as if it’s just a result of last week’s choices. They haven’t slept very well lately, so they’ve been drinking more coffee. Bad sleep and caffeine can put a dent in your libido, right? This may be true, but you should be able to do those things every now and then without affecting your sex drive. If you just can’t seem to bounce back from a few bad choices, that’s another sign that your sex hormones need some extra love.
Mood swings
You know how kids are more likely to have emotional breakdowns if they’ve eaten too much sugar recently? That’s partly because of how the sugar affects their hormones; it causes a temporary imbalance. Then there’s estrogen – the hormone that’s famous (or infamous) for causing unnecessary tears over the smallest thing. Your mood is dependent on all kinds of hormones and processes; when any of these become imbalanced, you’re more likely to get upset, even if it’s from something as small as your shoelace becoming untied.
Low self-esteem
Low sex hormones often lead to low sex drive, which can then result in feelings of sexual inadequacy. It can be especially intense if someone has a partner, and feels guilty about not wanting to have intercourse; even though it isn’t their fault, they often still blame themselves. This can cause their self-esteem to drop. Therapy might be the first thing they try in order to fix the issue, but they might not be able to correct it without also addressing the hormonal aspect of the problem.
How can a sex drive test help?
All of the above symptoms have one thing in common – they’re caused by imbalanced or low hormones. The next step, then, is to find out which hormones are causing the problems, and fix them. Here’s an example of how this could work:
A man is dealing with ED, but his testosterone levels are within the normal range. This could be caused by high SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin), which essentially takes testosterone out of circulation, so that it might as well not even be there. It could also be because he doesn’t have enough of a certain hormone precursor, like Vitamin D or DHEA. Or, his levels could be excellent, but there’s too much of another hormone like estradiol (a form of estrogen), that’s throwing the ratio off. These are a few ways in which just one hormone can become imbalanced, and that doesn’t even touch everything that can happen with female hormones; imagine how many factors influence the big picture!
Unless you’re willing to make frequent trips to the doctor’s office to complete tests and discuss the results, you might not ever get to the bottom of your hormonal imbalances. That’s why Base offers multiple sex drive tests, so you can get a comprehensive look at what’s going on without turning it into a part-time job. These saliva tests are easy to complete, and the results usually take less than a week to appear in your Base app. You get more than just your test results, though; you also get expert advice on what the numbers mean, and how you can improve them using supplements or dietary changes.
As you get new test results each month, you can see how you’ve improved from the last month, as well as how you can fine-tune your strategy in order to keep the progress going. If you’re interested in not just fixing your hormones, but in learning how they work, this is a great place to start.
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