Causes of Female Sexual Dysfunction: Physical and Hormonal Issues

Sexual dysfunction can be caused by any number of physical conditions.Childbirth, particularly when recovery is prolonged by postpartum depression, can greatly inhibit a woman’s sex drive. Certain prescription medications also inhibit sexual urges and the female orgasm. Menstrual problems and menopause can drastically alter hormonal levels as well as reduce the body’s ability to produce vaginal lubricants, making sexual intercourse difficult and sometimes painful.
 
Female sexual dysfunction is a complicated disorder. Relationship issues can play a factor, as well as psychological disorders such as stress and self-consciousness. Oftentimes, however, a physical or hormonal problem can be the cause of a woman’s diminished sex drive. Luckily, many of these causes are highly treatable once the cause of FSD is identified.

Medications and Sexual Dysfunction

Low female libido is a direct side effect of some prescription medications, particularly antidepressants.
 
For many women, a lowered sexual drive is a small price to pay for successful treatment of depression, but some women find these side effects discouraging and stressful. Blood pressure medications and chemotherapy drugs are also notorious for affecting a woman’s libido. Studies have shown that taking birth control decreases libido in up to 10 percent of women.
 
Sometimes, medications may have side effects that lead indirectly to FSD. Examples are weight gain, hair loss or vaginal dryness. Allergy and cold medications typically cause dryness in all of your mucous membranes, including the vagina. Medications prescribed for mood disorders and epilepsy can cause weight gain, which may make a woman self-conscious about her body.
 
Doctors recommend that you know all of the side effects and risks of the medications you’re taking. If you suspect the side effects of your medication are detrimental to your sex life or they're affecting your libido, talk to your doctor about alternate treatments.

Menopause and Sex Drive

Because of hormonal changes, a woman’s libido may be greatly diminished during menopause. In fact, a diminished sex drive is one of the most common side effects of menopause. Researchers believe that this is due to lowered levels of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in the body during menopause.
 
In addition to these hormonal changes, other symptoms of menopause may decrease a woman’s interest in intimacy. They include:
  • depression
  • fatigue
  • mood swings
  • self-consciousness due to bodily changes
  • vaginal dryness.

The Effects of Pregnancy and Childbirth

Pregnancy can drastically affect a woman’s sex drive; because of changing hormone levels in her body, some days she may feel very sexual, and others she may find that she has no desire for intimacy at all. During pregnancy, bodily changes may make a woman feel sexy and confident, or she may be self-conscious. This can depend, in part, on her partner’s reaction to her pregnant body.
 
After childbirth, a woman’s hormone levels decrease dramatically and often don’t return to normal levels for up to a year. This can cause a drastically diminished sex drive. Women often find that their desire for sex after childbirth is greatly diminished. A woman’s body also changes a great deal during pregnancy, and she may feel self-conscious about weight gain or stretch marks.

Menstrual Cycle and Hormones

A woman’s menstrual cycle can easily be thrown off schedule by disease, medications or stress. Hormonal imbalances can reduce the vagina’s ability to lubricate itself, and they tend to have impact on moods and feelings. In younger women, this is often caused by the side effects of birth control pills, rather than actual menstrual problems. Female hormones during menstruation tend to fluctuate, and this in turn affects a woman's libido.
 
Postmenstrual women often find a lack of lubrication to be a problem, and many turn to hormone therapy to resolve the issue. As with other types of sexual dysfunction, inadequate lubrication may have causes other than menstrual problems. Diabetes can cause a reduction in lubrication and can also restrict blood flow to the genitals.

Disease and Female Sexual Dysfunction

Lowered libido is a direct side effect of many diseases, including:
  • arthritis
  • cancer
  • coronary artery disease
  • diabetes
  • high blood pressure
  • neurological disease.
Other diseases may affect a woman’s body and indirectly cause a diminished interest in sex and intimacy, such as thyroid diseases, severe acne or other skin conditions. Any disease that affects a woman’s appearance can potentially affect her sex drive, as well.
 
Resources
 
Berman, J. (n.d.).When sex drive slows down after childbirth. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from the Pregnancy and Baby Web site: http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/When-sex-drive-slows-after-childbirth-4600.htm.

Epigee Women’s Health. (n.d.). Menopause and sexual drive. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from the Epigee Web site: http://www.epigee.org/menopause/sexdrive.html.

Green Mountain at Fox Run. (n.d.) Medicines and weight gain: Is feeling better making you fat? Retrieved December 1, 2008, from the Fit Woman Web site: http://www.fitwoman.com/fitbriefings/medications-weight-gain-2.shtml.

Mayo Clinic. (2008). Female sexual dysfunction. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from the Mayo Clinic Web site: http://mayoclinic.com/health/female-sexual-dysfunction/DS00701/DSECTION=causes.

Wickman, D. (2004). Sex drive and birth control. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from the Medicinenet Web site: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54692.

Mayo Clinic (n.d.) Female sexual dysfunction. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from the Mayo Clinic Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/female-sexual-dysfunction/DS00701/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs.

Medline Plus (n.d.) Almost half of women have sexual problems. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from the Medline Plus Web site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_71113.html.