Wife Has Low Libido (FLR101)

This is the one of a few blogs that were published by Yoga Girl at her website at http://flr101.blogspot.com. This site is now offline but all credit goes to her.

“Hi again, 
I have read and reread everything I think. My placement of this comment here seems somewhat random but here goes: in your relationship semen retention and orgasm control have been very useful tools for a relatively dominant woman with a high sex drive to contain and regulate her husband’s sexual and emotional energy both to maximize marital passion and meet both her needs and his (though he might not have recognized his needs prior to embarking on this journey). From the outside it appears that female dominance and male submissiveness might have been necessary starting points from which practices like semen retention and the prohibition of male masturbation have relevance and utility. Certainly there needs to be enough desire for physical intimacy by both parties for the practices you describe to present a pathway that both parties want to journey down. I wonder whether your practices would speak to a woman with with a low libido, who is menopausal and not interested in sex, who has little desire for an orgasm and seems to view her husbands sexual energy as an unwanted excess, a threat and not a a potential resource for her pleasure. In an almost sexless marriage my wife has no issue with my masturbating and sees it as a discharge of energy that she has little to no use for. She claims that she does not masturbate or think about sex these dat.To the extent that I can restrain myself and have done so I can feel my affection for and focus on my wife increase but unfortunately it is unwanted and leaves me feeling a bit lost, like I am pushing on a string… 

I suppose that I’ve put this comment here under the “Awakening your Yoni” because I specifically wonder whether there is any literature on yoga, or similar practices providing a post menopausal and estrogen depleted female with an augmented libido. Unfortunately because of a family history of breast cancer oral or topical hormone therapy is not a good option. I’m quite impressed by your thoughtful description of your successful marriage and am eager to find a truth or a tool here for us. I know that you have written this blog for women so that they might be empowered by your words and not necessarily for men, and that you are not marriage counselors either but I am eager to her you thoughts on my hypothetical.”

 Thanks for reading and your comments.  First of all, a woman needs to be in good health and have good energy to have a healthy libido.  There are many things that can get in the way of this.  Stress is a biggy, and sometimes men forget how much can be on a woman’s plate between work, kids, housework, and all the other activities that keep everything going.  It takes a lot of energy.  Unfortunately, many women suffer from sleeping issues during peri-menopause and menopause and can have multiple sleep interruptions during the night because of hot flashes or other reasons.  If you have an enormous amount of energy that needs to be spent on the tasks that keep all the wheels turning, and you’re not able to get adequate sleep, sex is the last thing on your mind.  Anything you can do to lighten her load and lessen her stress may be helpful. 

I’ll admit that there was quite a long period where we didn’t engage in much sexual activity.  I could take it or leave it, and it was much easier to leave it.  Once engaging in the actual act, I would get into it and enjoy it, but I didn’t really want to expend the energy to get it going mostly because before retention, he only lasted a couple of minutes anyway.  I think that also went a long way to killing my libido.  He didn’t do anything long enough to wake me up down there.  It’s a shame that many women’s libidos are probably killed by thousands of minutemen out there.  It’s also why going back to “normal” sex for us is not an option.

Once I learned of the longevity hormones produced during sex and how beneficial it was for health and to keep one looking younger, I became motivated to make it a priority.  This is more Eastern philosophy than Western medicine.  It doesn’t matter if there is actual truth in it.  If there is a chance it will help keep me youthful and beautiful, my vanity wins.  I make sex a priority now.  Even if I’m not in the mood to work out, I still have the discipline to start.  And like a workout, afterwards I’m glad I did.

I would also like to share a book that I am reading that I think could be invaluable for you and your wife.  Again, this is not coming from conventional medicine, but it truly speaks deeply to me.  The name of the book is “Thyroid Healing” by Anthony William.  The man who calls himself the Medical Medium, so you may need to take it with a grain of salt.  I have seen the things he talks about in his books supported clinically in my practice many times.  Honestly, I don’t care where the source comes from if the information really does help my patients get better.  He says that when a woman has no libido, it is because her adrenal glands are fatigued.  But it may not just be all her activities and demands that are fatiguing her adrenal glands, it may be the Epstein Bar Virus as well, and he has an awful lot to say about this virus.  I really feel prompted to bring this up because you mention a family history of breast cancer which means your wife could be at risk of developing breast cancer.  Mammograms and self exams are great for detecting cancer, but they don’t prevent it.  Without knowing and understanding the cause of breast cancer which he talks about in this book, it becomes much more difficult to prevent.  I highly recommend reading the book.

So let’s say there is an issue with the adrenal glands.  What can you do for them?  One of the best herbs out there to give the adrenal glands a boost is licorice root.  You can take it in capsules or drink it in teas.  For any readers out there who may be considering becoming pregnant or who are pregnant, I don’t recommend this.  I would also recommend monitoring your blood pressure as well as this has been known to sometimes elevate blood pressure which can be wonderful for people out there with too low of blood pressure.  Other herbs that are beneficial for the adrenal glands include Ashwaghanda, Passion Flower, Rhodiola, and Hops.  There are herbal sleeping aids such as Power to Sleep PM that I believe can be found at Wal-Mart that have a combination of Ashwaghanda, Passion Flower, Hops, and Lemon Balm with melatonin too that can really help a woman in menopause have a much better night of sleep while supporting the adrenal glands too.  It’s hard to feel sexy while tired.  A good night of sleep can go a long way to changing everything in the bedroom.

From the conventional medicine side of things, there is a cream that a compounding pharmacy can make with a small amount of testosterone the female can massage onto her clitoris before engaging in sex.  This helps the woman become more aroused and find more pleasure in the sexual experience.  Our local pharmacy calls it the “Scream Cream.”  Something like this would require a visit with your local health care provider for a prescription.  This is using a  hormone, but not a hormone related to increased breast cancer risk.  However, if you have no energy to engage in sex, you won’t feel motivated to apply the cream and use it.  So addressing those adrenal glands and alleviating the stressors around her may be the better approach for your wife from the information I’ve gleaned from your letter. 

There my be other psychological aspects going on.  Talking about what her needs and desires are could be helpful.  And maybe she feels that there is nothing wrong with the current way the relationship is and has no interest in ever rekindling the passion.  People go through many changes in their lifetime and have different needs and desires than the desires they had as a younger person.  Maybe there is a way that you can both continue in your current relationship without trying to shape her into a situation she doesn’t desire.  Maybe she can’t see the vision now but will one day in the future.  It took me several years before I really understood the magical beautiful place that could exist with me controlling my husbands orgasms.

Again, I’m not your doctor.   Consult your healthcare provider, and get a second and third opinion.  Every healthcare provider will bring something different to the table. 

I hope this was helpful for you and hopefully will be helpful to other readers out there.

~Namaste

 Thanks to my hubby for help with the website …and the orgasms!

DISCLAIMER: This blog depicts the loving consensual agreed upon relationship between the author and her husband.  Every relationship should be safe, sane, and consensual.  Anything else is illegal. This blog is not meant to substitute for your personal due diligence and is not to be taken as medical advice.