Alright, let's get a little uncomfortable this week and talk about your sex drive.
No one wants to think they have a low sex drive, or that their illness could be affecting it. Unfortunately, MANY of those who suffer with Gastroparesis, also deal with many side effects, one of those being low sex drive.
Something I wasn't ready for when I started seeing clients for their Gastroparesis, was how many would ask me why their sex drive was low, or if was because of their Gastroparesis. This is not my area of expertise and at first I would just have to tell them I am unsure, and maybe it was just being tired from fighting this condition.
Well, after getting this question many more times, I decided that I needed to be able to give my clients a little bit of a better answer, so I started doing a little bit of research on my own.
What Does Low Sex-Drive Look Like?
In it's simplest form, low libido is,
lack of interest in sex
lack of ability to engage in sex
Underneath the main symptoms, many feel
depression about low sex drive
guilt because they don't want to let their partners down
fatigue due to chronic illness
irritation with yourself
All of these are completely normal.
So, you might ask what is the correlation with Gastroparesis? Well, while there are no official studies out there connecting these two, the nature of Gastroparesis and how libido actually works has some interesting connections. Let's take a look
How Does Libido Work?
What actually determines sex drive, or libido?
The definition states that, "Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act upon the nucleus accumbens (primarily testosterone and dopamine, respectively) regulate libido in humans. Social factors, such as work and family, and internal psychological factors, such as personality and stress, can affect libido. Libido can also be affected by medical conditions, medications, lifestyle and relationship issues, and age."
So, breaking that down, libido is influenced by the production of particular hormones & associated neurotransmitters. Being that Gastroparesis is a nerve issue, there is a high possibility that the damaged nervous system hinders the ability of the hormones making it to the destination to activate that sex drive.
There is the other factor from Gastroparesis, that our bodies are just exhausted and stressed from constantly dealing with the many symptoms and pains. Combine these two things and it's a perfect recipe for low libido.
If you have been down on yourself and questioning why this was happening to you, hopefully this gave you a little peace knowing you aren't alone in feeling this way. Many of those with Gastroparesis are feeling this & searching for answers. Of course, this is not an official answer, but until someone does the research to correlate, this is all we have.
In our next blog, we will talk natural ways to increase your libido and how to address this with your partner so that they are on the same page & understand what you are going through. These two important factors will help relieve some of the stress and guilt you might be feeling. (click here to read part 2)
Until next time,
Keep it Fresh. Keep it Simple. Keep it Real.