Will libido ever return - someone please give me hope!

[SilkieChick]

Libido took a nosedive since entering perimenopause. I've been on HRT for over a year now, upped my dose three months ago to 100mg patches and thankfully am managing vaginal dryness more successfully now too. But - still no desire, no flutters, no urges to jump into bed. It's getting me down, and it's getting DH down too - we're both missing that level of intimacy.

I really do wonder if testosterone is the missing element here, and I'm going to see my GP again next week, but she was quite dismissive of testosterone the last time I went. Am seriously considering if I should order some online from Superdrug just to give it a trial run.

I'm really worried that this is it. If menopause = no oestrogen, and that's what's got me going before, then what hope is there? Can anyone reassure me that they've gone back to normal during or after perimenopause - or at least a new normal that means they have some kind of half-decent sex life?

Sorry you are experiencing this, it's really distressing isn't it.

When I was on a decent whack of oestrogen , things did work better libido wide and I didn't need testosterone.

Maybe give testosterone a go and see what happens? Your GP should prescribe it for low libido. Failing that, as you say, Superdrug!

Hope things resolve soon.

Thanks @Enigma52. Maybe I need to give the higher oestrogen dose a little longer. I guess I'm just looking for a little bit of hope that it does get better eventually...

Yes, you never know, things may just improve given time. I think I was on a 100 patch dose for a few months, when my libido returned.

I was also prescribed testosterone by a private MS, but it did make me feel rather irritable, so I gave up with it.

Just see how you get on and if you feel that you need an extra boost, then definitely give the T a go. You have nothing to lose.

Good luck 🤞

I have found that testosterone works. I also found improvement on stopping the minipill. I now feel like I have proper blood flow to the parts involved, whereas before they felt rather dead and unresponsive 😆

Yikes @iamyourequal! It's so difficult to know which combination of hormones will do the trick isn't it?! And everyone is so different... I know there are pros and cons to testosterone but I feel it could be worth a try, I could always come off it if it didn't agree with me or didn't work.

Yeah, it's definitely the testosterone you need. Makes a big difference.

@@SilkieChick Just go for it and see how you get on. I wasn’t given it at first, but after a couple of reviews where I said low libido was an issue they prescribed it. This was on the NHS, but my GP said she checked it with a specialist- I didn’t need to go and see them, but that had counted as me being ‘referred’.

Yes I think if I keep raising this with the GP she may help me move forward, but I think that will involve referral to the NHS meno clinic, not sure how long that would take. So I guess it would be good to begin the process now, or perhaps things will improve before I need to go - either way, it's worth doing probably.

@mildlydispeptic wondering how long did it take to improve things for you?

I think different people absorb it differently, but pretty sure I saw a difference within a week.

Careful with testosterone. I had a blood test which showed that my testosterone was quite high. If I'd added testogel I was risking male pattern baldness!

I found the more sex I had the more I wanted it. Vagifem was a game changer for me