Women

3 Things You Wish Your Spouse Knew about Menopause

While menopause affects every woman differently, there is no denying that this inevitable phase of life causes drastic physical and emotional changes to those going through it. But it doesn’t only affect the woman experiencing the changes, it can also affect a spouse who may feel helpless and confused. Below, we discuss three common things that most women wish their husbands knew as they witness them going through this new life milestone.

1. It’s Ok to Talk About It

Many women are not entirely sure what to expect of perimenopause and menopause — let alone their spouses — but communicating with each other can be greatly beneficial for both individuals. Men may have many questions during this huge life change, but feel uncomfortable to discuss them. It’s important to break the stigma and encourage honest conversations.

As the woman experiencing menopause, share what symptoms you are facing and ways your spouse may be supportive. As the spouse, ask any questions to help you better understand menopause and what to expect. To recognize the common symptoms and have a better understanding of what your wife may be experiencing, you should first learn what exactly are perimenopause and menopause.

Perimenopause involves the body decreasing hormone production usually 8-10 years before the full onset of menopause. Once menopause begins, the menstrual cycle has fully stopped, ovaries stopped producing a majority of estrogen, and a wide range of symptoms may become present. It’s a natural part of life and, with some support, you will both get through these changes.

2. There are Ways to be Supportive

For a spouse, watching the woman they love endure the challenges of menopause can be difficult and make them feel helpless, but there are ways to be supportive. Make the transition easier by asking how you can help. Menopause isn’t something that can be “fixed,” but the symptoms may be eased.

While it may be hard at the moment to recognize, mood swings are not always aimed at you or something you did, but rather a symptom of menopause. Help her feel relaxed and enjoy her favorite activities with her, or give her some time and space if that is what she prefers. Another common change that may occur during menopause is weight gain which can diminish a person’s self confidence. One way to be supportive is by joining them in the gym, helping them make healthy meals, and reassuring them that they are perfect just the way they are. Empathy and small actions to show you care go a long way. We’re not always looking for unsolicited advice or solutions, just support and kind words to know we’re not alone in this journey.

3. I Still Love You

Perimenopause and menopause bring many physical and emotional changes to the body. Hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings/irritability, and vaginal dryness can all drastically impact a woman’s quality of life, her marriage, and her sex life. In addition to the uncomfortable symptoms turning many women off from sex during menopause, the reduced production of hormones has also been known to dramatically lower libido.

Be open and honest about what each other expects in their sex life and what they’re comfortable doing. If sex is painful, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy may be your solution or find other ways to keep the intimacy alive in your marriage. Ideas include planning romantic date nights, writing each other love letters, or taking walks to talk and catch up. Just because aging and menopause have changed what your sex life may look like, it does not mean your spouse no longer loves you or finds you attractive and it won’t last forever. Be honest and patient with each other to find what works for both of you.

Find Your Balance

Regardless of how severe your menopausal symptoms are, Renewed Vitality is prepared to get your body back on track with a personalized solution that works for you. Schedule your consultation today and get the balance back in your life!

Quick! Take a look around. Draw the curtains, pull down the shades, we’re going to talk about it. What’s the big secret? This: Your sex drive can take a hit as you age. Really, it’s no surprise.

It holds true for just about everyone that the older you get, the one activity that once dominated large aspects of your private life can struggle to find its footing amid other stressful concerns like aging parents, planning for retirement, the lives of your children and grandchildren, and of course, sleep.

As a result of these factors, and perhaps in association with a few physical factors, sexual drive has been known to decline naturally as we age. However, it’s not just the physiological factors that can be encumbered by a reduced libido. Romance and emotional closeness can also be affected. This thought is concurred by Sheryl Kingsberg, PhD, a sex psycholgist and associate professor of reproductive biology at the Case Western Reserve School Medicine.

“[Libido] is about your body signaling that it wants to be sexual,” Kingsberg says. “Above and beyond horniness, it is the sense of intimacy in the relationship. If you are mad at your spouse, you could be horny but you’re not going to want to be sexual with that particular person.”

It’s because of factors like these that it is important to examine all aspects of sexual desire in order to get to the root of, and eventually solve, the problem.

What Elements Can Contribute to a Reduced Sex Drive?

Unfortunately for many older folks, aging can come with a wealth of side effects, not the least of which is a reduced sexual libido. Here are some common causes of a stunted sex drive among older women.

• Menopause: This is a big one. During this naturally occurring process, a woman’s ovaries stop producing estrogen, the vital hormone in physical femininity. As a result, the vaginal lining can become thinner, arousal may take longer, and muscle tone, lubrication, and vaginal elasticity can be compromised. As a result, women may experience pain during sex, difficulty or inability to climax, and finally, a dramatically decreased libido.
• Interpersonal Relationship Issues: We touched on this before. One big factor in sexual drive is a keen desire in your partner. Many factors can influence how you view your sexual partner, including emotional dissatisfaction within a relationship, partner performance problems, the birth of a child, and having to shoulder the responsibility of caring for aged loved ones.
• Sociocultural Influences: Another factor that shouldn’t be overlooked is the effect of outside forces. Everything from job stress to peer pressure can negatively affect libido, as can an overall social perspectives towards your sexual preferences and overly sheltered social groups that may be unwilling to discuss sex.
• Medical Problems: Many illnesses, disorders, or complications are capable of dealing your libido a solid blow. Mental illnesses like depression for example, can impact a person’s sex drive both mentally, while conditions like endometrosis, fibroids, and thyroid disorders, can impact it physically.
• Medications: Lowered libido is a common side effect of many medicines. This is especially true of antidepressants, blood pressure medications, and oral contraceptives. All of these medications can lower sexual drive in many ways, such as decreasing blood flow and altering brain chemistry.

So What Can I Do About It?

It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to sex as you age, but if you are experiencing issues in this department, don’t worry. There are actually many things you can do that can drastically improve, sometimes even entirely transform, your sex life no matter how much you’ve aged.

• Regular Exercise: Exercise can almost be considered a miracle cure for a number of mental and physical health issues, including a lowered sex drive. It can improve sexual function and desire by improving blood flow and strengthening the heart.
• Limit Tobacco and Alcohol Use: This is another possible solution that gets brought up often, but we wouldn’t recommend it if it weren’t true. Quitting smoking and drinking alcohol in moderation can improve blood flow and organ function dramatically. Large amounts of mood-altering substances, like alcohol and tobacco, can dampen secual relexes, trigger hot flashes, and disrupt sleep.
• Try to Have a Little Fun Sometimes: Bringing some enjoyable, light-hearted novelty into your life can have incredible benefits on mental health, which in turn can help you with a sluggish libido. Take vacations, go on dates, and be spontaneous, even if it’s just once in a great while.
• Hormone Therapy: Hormone Replacement Therapy has been shown to have a wealth of positive effects on people of all ages from all walks of life. Renewed Vitality offers safe, effective hormone imbalance treatment options for both men and women. Click here to learn more about what hormone therapy is, and how much it can benefit those looking to reclaim control over their own bodies, minds, and spirits.

It rarely ever gets said, but for many people, sex is important. At Renewed Vitality, we want you to have the opportunity to live your life to the fullest, no matter how old you are. To schedule a consultation or for more information about managing your sex life as you age, don’t hesitate to contact the judgment-free experts at Renewed Vitality today!

Aging can have all manner of side effects on our bodies. Muscles might lose tone, we might put on weight more easily, and our joints ache after less activity. The shine may not come as easily for day to day activity. Another part of our bodies changes as we age: the hair. 

It’s no secret that hair does different things as we get older. It can change colors, consistency, or just stop growing all together. Why though? What makes it so that our hair, which has been with us for decades, suddenly stop being the same top mop we’ve grown so accustomed to? Women tend to face a different set of struggles than men in this regard. 

Societal norms say it’s okay for men to go gray and lose hair, but women are still expected to handle the same obstacles. Let’s unpack some ways to adapt to the changing needs of hair as it ages.

Why does hair change with age?

As with many things in our bodies, our hair is largely dictated by our hormones. These chemicals tell our hair follicles to continue growing, or to produce more oil, and can even adjust the chemical composition of our hair. During significant hormonal shifts such as those during menopause, hair is one of the casualties.

When your hair follicles get different combinations of hormones it might go through all of the usual changes associated with aging. It might change and then lose its color, dry out, become brittle, and be more prone to breaking. This means that all of the work you put into your hair care routine has to start over. It’s still your hair, but you just have to treat it a little differently.

Drying Hair Treatments

When your hair is drying out, that’s largely due to your hair follicle not producing the same amount of oils that it once did. It is possible to find oils and shampoos that can replace this and protect strands of hair from the elements. In addition to adding something to your routine, it might be time to take something out. 

Hair dryers are the go to for a quick and easy hair drying experience. If your hair is already drying out however, adding blasts of hot air is definitely not going to make things any better. This and other heat based methods of drying can actually reduce the effectiveness of oils and set you right back to square one.

Brittleness

Brittleness has a few different causes, but one that aging hair sees a lot of are the constant chemical changes being applied to restore a youthful appearance. Dyes, straighteners, and bleaches all result in damaged hair. When you no longer produce the oils your hair needs, these kinds of changes strip away the structure of the strands making it prone to breakage. It can be argued that this is less of a direct side effect of aging and more of a combination of factors, but we think that’s kind of splitting hairs.

The Gray Shift

Going gray is a natural part of growing older for most people. At the very least a majority of people see a lightening of hair color as they age. This is because the hair follicles produce less pigment. When compared with the other changes in hair, this is largely cosmetic. The color of the hair doesn’t necessarily determine the strength. 

Some people dye and treat their hair to maintain color, but as we mentioned above, this can actually further damage hair. Going gray is not the end of the world, but there are some preventative measures in the works. A gray hair prevention pill by L’Oreal looks to make it possible to keep from going gray, but embracing it as a natural part of living in your body is always a great alternative.

Thinning Coverage

When hair ages, it can also grow thinner. The follicles still produce hairs, but they don’t offer the same coverage as they used to. This can be a natural part of aging, but also potentially caused by vitamin deficiencies and thyroid hormone changes. By shifting diet or talking to a doctor, there may be a prescribed solution to this issue in the form of supplemental vitamins or hormone treatments. Otherwise, there are oils and products that can be used to give your hair a thicker appearance overall. Finding the best method comes down to individual taste and the kind of look you want to maintain.

Explore New Looks

Different kinds of hair look better in different styles. You may have styled your hair in one particular way for years, but now that it’s different, maybe it’s time to try something new. Longer hair has obviously been growing for longer and has been exposed to more of the elements.

Because of the factors mentioned earlier, this can lead to difficulty in maintaining a longer hair style. Cutting it shorter can give you a new look and reduce the stress on your follicles. It’s also less maintenance and makes it easier to style when there’s less of it!

Aging Hair Is Natural

Hair ages just like the rest of the body, and while everyone ages differently, everyone does age. Because of the hormonal origin of many of these changes, talking with a qualified professional can help identify the causes and even counter the effects. The experts at Renewed Vitality can help identify causes and establish treatment regiments if necessary. Reach out to set up your consultation today!

Aging changes quite a few things about our bodies. Sometimes we gain weight, we have less energy, and our bodies don’t move like they used to. Mood and mental health can then be affected by these physical changes. This can have an impact on how we take care of ourselves and stand in the way of our health.

Knowing how to best approach these changes makes a huge difference in how they can affect your life. One way to combat the effects of aging is by engaging in exercise as it has been found to improve mood and mental health in aging adults. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of exercises specifically selected to meet those particular needs.

What Is Low Impact?

Low impact exercises generally refer to activities that put less harmful stress on the body. This refers to activities such as running. When you run, all of your weight is bouncing on your skeleton and joints, causing strain and potentially pain. Having that weight coming down on one hip joint, knee, or foot can lead to new pain or exacerbate existing joint problems.

Low impact exercises involve smoother motions where weight and stresses are transferred throughout the body more smoothly—avoiding that jolt of stress that can cause pain. Low impact is all about raising the heart rate and improving health without wearing on your joints.

Walking

We do it every day, and most people don’t consider it that much of a struggle to walk. If you’re looking for a good intro to low impact exercises, walking is a great option. For added difficulty, set your walk on an incline or with added weight like a backpack.

Cycling

Just like walking, cycling is a straightforward low impact exercise. Your body is in fluid motion and muscles are always working. It’s possible to either bike out and about or at home on a cycling machine.

Tai Chi

When it comes to smooth fluid motions, there’s really one activity that stands out as obvious. There are a variety of health benefits associated with Tai Chi, from improved balance and physical self-awareness, to improved mood and reduced stress. Unlike some other exercises, you don’t need any additional equipment to start practicing, and Youtube has plenty of videos for beginners looking to try their hand at this relaxing low impact exercise.

Yogo

Along the same vein of smooth motions and body control, yoga is a fantastic way to improve flexibility and balance. The awesome part about yoga is that you don’t need to be a master contortionist to get started (or even maintain the practice), and you can measure your improvements in easily identifiable ways. After a week or so of these stretches, you might notice you can reach down and touch lower on your legs or even get to your toes when you previously could not!

Swimming

Swimming is the ultimate low impact exercise. Your full weight is being supported in the water, meaning at no point is your body working to support it. Simply treating water is a fantastic way to increase your heart rate and improve cardiovascular health. Walking through water is even less impact than walking on dry land! You also get the added benefit of walking through the resistance of the water, meaning your exercise is even more effective. For an even more practical reason to try out this exercise, consider it a great excuse to hang out in the pool during the hot summer days!

Reaping The Benefits

There are a few reasons to do these exercises as we previously mentioned: physical, mental, and emotional health. Unlike heavy weight training or running where you can mark your success by checking your increased mileage and added weight on the dumbbell, low impact training requires something more internal.

Taking a look at your overall daily experience both in and out of your training is important. Some of these exercises allow for measuring of physical benefits—how far you might swim; can you touch your toes; length of a cycling session—but it’s hard to quantify the emotional benefits.

Try to notice how you feel before, during, and after an exercise. Even if you aren’t motivated before a workout, most people will testify that their mood has improved after the fact. Once you recognize this in your own experience with low impact exercises, that becomes a motivation in itself.

Doing regular personal check-ins about how you feel throughout the day, both before and after, can also put everything in perspective. Having a regular mental check-in regiment about your exercise routine can keep you sharp and improve/maintain overall functionality.

The Takeaway

Getting older doesn’t mean your body can’t continue to improve and maintain mobility and strength. By engaging in these simple and accessible low impact activities, you can hold off the more negative impacts associated with growing older.

Working with a professional to identify which exercises and practices might be most effective for you is always a good idea. The experts at Renewed Vitality are especially knowledgeable about these kinds of practices. Give us a call  to set up an evaluation and check in today!

No matter what your gender is, sex, and our relationship to it, changes over time. Attitudes, conversations, and the actual performance of the act vary with age and preference. Just because it changes however, doesn’t mean it can’t still be enjoyable for you and your partner. We’ve compiled a few simple tips on how to keep the magic alive in the bedroom (or wherever) throughout the years:

1.	Accept That Things Change This is point number one for a reason. Over the years, our bodies change and so does what works for each of us. Treating your body like it’s 20 when you’ve been using it for 60 years or more can have repercussions. Know your body and embrace those changes!

 

Communication Is Never Not Important When it comes to sex, communication is always a major part of the partnership. If you’ve never clearly and openly talked about sex with your partner, then maybe it’s time to start that ball rolling. Communicating expectations, desires, likes, and dislikes is key to adapting to the natural evolution that a sexual relationship goes through.

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Talk To Your Doctor Some changes related to sex are less about being in the mood, and more about your body behaving differently than it used to. If an open dialogue about sex with your partner is important, then it’s equally important to have conversations with your doctor or a medical professional as well. Some common issues adults run into as we get older involve blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of others. Talking with your doctor about these factors and how they apply to you is always a good idea to get a solid baseline to plan from.

It’s Not Just About You Whenever there is a piece of advice here, remember that it applies to both you and your partner. Talking about your desires is important, but just as important is listening to the person you are with. Understand that if you have concerns or hangups about sexual intimacy and sexuality, your partner might as well. Try to create an open and free atmosphere that you both feel comfortable engaging in these discussions that are about both of you.

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Apply What You’ve Learned Life is all about learning and growing from applying that experience. Don’t ignore this, especially when it comes to sex! Rather than the trial and error that goes along with young age, you now have the confidence in your body’s capability. Being sure of what you want and what fits in with your body can be a major boost to self-confidence and a huge factor when it comes to your sex life.

 

Don’t Rush Things Make it about more than the act of sex—turn it into an evening. Set aside time to make the whole experience more romantic. Try to reinvigorate the time leading up to the act. Have intimate conversation, read suggestive poetry, engage in something together that you have not yet experienced but have an interest in. Bring you and your partner closer together to draw out that intimacy and pleasure.

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Don’t Stress So Much Stress isn’t a great thing to bring into sex at any age, but as we get older, stress can seriously hamper our ability to enjoy intimate experiences. Depending on your stress contributors, sometimes an honest conversation with your partner can help alleviate it. Many people attach a great deal of stress to sex in general. Take that well-earned confidence from over the years and realize that sex is nothing to stress about.

Sometimes It’s Chemistry It’s not just the joints and bones that change over the years. Hormones shift over time which can lead to decreased sex drive or a total shift in what sex can mean for a person. If your hormones are causing issues when it comes to sex, seeking out hormone treatments or supplements can yield results. Talking with experts in the field of hormone replacement therapy is a great starting point for determining what your needs might be.

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Experiment With The Formula Over time, anything we do can become routine. Even the most enjoyable tasks can fall into a regular rhythm. In order to break that sameness around sex, it’s time to shake things up. Trying new sexual positions, different kinds of sex, even where you have sex can spice up your sex life in unexpected ways. Being open to these changes necessitates conversation for everyone involved, so remember that communication!

 

Work On Yourself Outside Of Sex Your life out and about can also impact your sex life. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, your sex life can suffer. Increasing your physical activity, even when it’s just around the house can result in improvements all over including sex. Reducing the amount of alcohol you drink and quitting smoking are also both major steps you can take to greatly improve your quality of life in addition to helping out with your sex life.

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Embrace The Change

Sex is something that can be enjoyed even as you get older. It can improve your mood, bolster your health, and creates and strengthens interpersonal connections. Even when it’s different from what it used to be, it can still be a fantastic and intimate experience. Don’t let age change your ability to enjoy your life.

Sex changes over time. The frequency, purpose, feeling, all of it. But when should it stop? The easy answer is it shouldn’t have to! There are no hard and fast rules about when women should stop having sex, because every person is different. As we get older, we experience more stress and need relief more than ever. Well, studies have shown that sex relieves stress! But what happens when your body is making it difficult or impossible to have sex as you get older? We have some ideas.

Why Do Sexual Changes Happen As We Get Older?

Hormone levels shift with age and can lower libido and sexual pleasure. While these changes can be minor, some women experience more significant shifts in what sex means for them as they get older.

Once menopause kicks in, women can go through some pretty drastic changes in their sex lives. Many experience decreased libido, difficulty with lubrication, and obstacles related to reaching climax. These issues can typically be traced back to the lack of hormones being produced by the ovaries, in particular estrogen. However, some issues are related to psychological issues including self-confidence issues, general stress, and anxiety.

The common thought about how to handle these kinds of issues is that women experiencing these kinds of sexual dysfunctions should seek out assistance. By having an honest conversation with your doctor about your concerns you may be able to find ways to alleviate and address those concerns. These fluctuations are natural, and can be countered in a variety of ways.

Mental Strategies

A good chunk of issues that can get in the way of enjoying a sexual relationship can involve the mentality around sex. The way we think about sexual health and relationships has the potential to affect the body’s physical performance. Talking with a sex therapist to get a better idea of how they can improve their mental relationship to sex.

The Sexual Advice Association says that, “Sex therapy is considered highly effective in addresssing the main causes and contributing factors of sexual difficulties.” By working out what exactly your mental blocks are regarding sex, you may be able to shift that thinking or find ways to improve sexual confidence and communication.

This strategy is also effective at helping to identify emotional roadblocks for sexual satisfaction.

Emotional Strategies

When addressing issues related to emotional health, some of the most common causes are depression and anxiety. These problems can arise as the result of hormone imbalances and shifts in the body related to menopause. Because every woman will experience menopause, there are plenty of resources to help identify these issues. You’re not alone!

Discussing these issues with a doctor or hormone specialist can return some solutions that were previously not considered such as hormone therapy. Hormone replacement therapy can help return the balance your body is used to. Sometimes, restoring this balance is exactly what someone’s sex life needs!

Physical Strategies

While the mental and emotional side of sex is always worth exploring and addressing, the other obvious side to addressing sexual issues involves physicality. Sex is a physical act, and if your body faces challenges when it comes to physical activity, those will transfer over to sexual activity.

Blood pressure, diabetes, and similar issues are common obstacles, and medications used to treat these conditions can affect sex in their own ways. Heidi Godman, the executive editor at the Harvard Health Letter, says that some treatments for these issues “can blunt interest in sex or cause difficulty reaching orgasm.” When you have these medications to make life better in some areas, but they interfere with other important factors, life can be complicated. Discussing these issues with your doctor makes it possible to start exploring other options for medications.

There are some strategies that you can embrace every day that can improve physical health, and will likely have a positive effect on your sexual health. By engaging in exercise and eating a healthier diet, you can increase blood flow and improve your heart health. A proper diet can also give you more energy without weighing you down.

Smoking and drinking can also interfere with how the body functions in relation to sex. Cutting out smoking entirely, and moderating how much alcohol you drink are huge when it comes to getting your sex life back on track.

How To Apply

When you have all of this information and are trying to figure out the best way to go about implementing it into your own life, it can become pretty overwhelming. When you find that the prospect of handling your stress is becoming stressful, it can quickly spiral out of control. As previously mentioned, seeking out assistance should always be a part of your strategy.

By talking with a professional either about your medications, or other physical, mental, or emotional issues related to sex, you’re laying the groundwork to start taking steps. By even talking to someone, you’ve already taken the first ones! Working with your doctor is a key factor when constructing future strategies for improving overall sexual health.

Sex is an important part of life, and getting older doesn’t mean it has to stop! There are ways to adapt to your body’s changing needs, and by exploring those possibilities, you can keep your sex life going strong!

It’s Normal But Don’t Settle

As we get older our sex drives do have a tendency to diminish a little. This is nothing to be ashamed of, we’re not the young, energetic, sex driven 20-somethings we used to be.

It’s normal to see some drop in your sex drive, but if it seems like getting in the mood is just impossible now, it could be a sign of something more than just typical aging effects. You could be effected by a number of serious issues including hormone imbalance. 

Below are some of the potential causes of lowered libido, and keep in mind a lot of these issues can be fixed or helped!

Interpersonal Issues

While your libido is a very personal thing, it can actually be connected to your interactions with others. If your partner is experiencing performance problems, this could cause your libido to fall. This is no fault of theirs or yours, so you should feel no shame. There are options to help with sexual performance, and it could be something you two could do together to help things out in the bedroom.

Another interpersonal issue could be the birth of a child. Child birth while obviously caused by sexual activity can unfortunately lead to less of it. This can be because of stress and worry, hormonal changes, a lack of sleep, postpartum blues, or body image issues. These are all temporary issues that you have the power to work through, but if you need to don’t ever feel ashamed of seeking help. 

It’s important to remember that your libido is linked to so many factors in your life, and that it’s never something you should be ashamed of no matter what’s causing it to fall.

Medical Problems

illnesses both mental and physical can cause problems with your sex dive. Depression can destroy your drive, and anyone suffering knows that fighting depression is a very hard battle. Depression, while caused by a myriad of things, could be caused by a hormone imbalance. Fixing the root cause is the best way to get every aspect of your life back, including your sex life.

Something physical that can cause sexual drive drops are thyroid issues. If your having hormonal issues with your thyroid you could experience weight gain, fatigue, depression, and a lowered sex drive. If your having issues with your libido the first place to look is the thyroid.

Low Testosterone

It may seem odd, but testosterone is actually important to the sex drives in both men and women, and low testosterone could cause a lowered sex drive. Women’s testosterone levels peak around the mid-20s and then steadily decline until menopause where they drop dramatically. 

We don’t really think of testosterone as a feminine thing, but a having the right levels of testosterone in your body could make you feel like a 20-year-old all over again. Well, that or just make you feel much more like yourself.

Medications

Our medications are important to our health, but sometimes they can also be detrimental to it. It’s important that we know the interactions that our medications have with every aspect of our bodies, and that we know how we can counteract some of the undesirable effects.

For example, some antidepressants can actually lower your sex drive, which might be completely counter intuitive. And, blood pressure lowering drugs are almost certainly going to lower your libido. It’s important that your consult with your healthcare provider to find the best way to protect everything aspect of your emotional and physical well being. 

Getting Back Your Desire

Your sex drive isn’t gone for good. There are number of treatment options available, and hormone treatment might be the best for you. With testosterone and/or estrogen treatment you could see results that will make you feel like you did pre-menopause. 

You don’t have to settle for the “inevitable.” 

Talk to your healthcare provider about options for getting your libido back!

Throughout pregnancy and for some time after, the body’s hormonal balance and composition shifts. Once the pregnancy ends, many women find their bodies in a state of hormone shock. In addition to all of the fresh duties motherhood brings with it, the body must also adjust to the new normal of postpartum life.

What causes these hormonal imbalances?

While the simple answer is “childbirth,” there’s more specifics going on here. The most common imbalance is that of estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones are incredibly important to the development and continued health of both mother and child during pregnancy as well as after. The reason these fall out of balance is because throughout pregnancy, the placenta produces large amounts of progesterone, and the rest of the body adjusts estrogen production to match.

Once the placenta is delivered, the regular source of progesterone is gone, but the body is still producing far too much estrogen. This is known as estrogen dominance. Symptoms of estrogen dominance include insomnia, mood swings, and difficulty losing weight to name a few. Usually these levels balance out over time, but there are several ways to speed up the process.

How do you combat these imbalances?

Increase Fiber Intake

Increasing fiber intake can go a long way towards cutting down on abundant estrogen in the blood. Fiber binds to estrogen as well as cholesterol, and carries it out of the body. High in fiber foods like lentils and whole wheat pastas are great sources of the fiber your body needs.

Avoid Refined Sugars

Excess carbohydrates and sugars are stored as fat in the body. Bodies that have more stored fat produce more estrogen, which would exacerbate the situation. Instead of eating foods like white bread or most kinds of pasta that contain processed sugars, shoot for some low-carb options. Replace the bread on your sandwich with some crisp lettuce leaves!

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine

These substances can cause your hormone levels to shift unpredictably, making it difficult to treat any existing hormone imbalance. By interfering with the hormone producing glands like the thyroid, ovaries, and pancreas, these imbalances can become much worse and lead to long term problems.

Increase Vitamin D intake

Vitamin D can potentially lower estrogen levels in the blood. You can raise your vitamin D intake by spending more time in the sun, or adding a supplement to your diet.

Get More Rest

Make sure to schedule in plenty of rest, as lack of sleep can lead to even more problems when it comes to hormonal imbalances. Sleep is a time for our bodies to recover, and without that rest period, the body is more susceptible to future hormone imbalance issues.

Speak with a professional

If your hormone levels are out of sync, it can seem like you are alone, but you’re not. Millions of women experience the same imbalances after pregnancy, and there is help out there. If you’re looking for assistance with your postpartum hormone imbalance, the experts at Renewed Vitality are ready to help! Schedule a consultation today.