Female hormonal desires

In every fitness magazine, bodybuilding magazine or something like Men’s Health, we read about female sexuality. We enjoy pictures of scarcely dressed models. The same thing with all the discussion forums. And that goes on issue after issue. This made me come to the conclusion that this was very suitable as a subject.

Sigmund Freud

"The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?'"
-From Sigmund Freud: Life and Work by Ernest Jones, 1953

Penis envy is the female counterpart to Freud’s concept of castration anxiety. In his theory of psychosexual development, Freud suggested that during the phallic stage (around ages 3-5) young girls distance themselves from their mothers and instead devote their affections to their fathers.

According to Freud, this occurs when a girl realizes that she has no penis. "Girls hold their mother responsible for their lack of a penis and do not forgive her for their being thus put at a disadvantage," Freud suggested (1933).

Bodybuilders know that most things can be achieved with chemical aid. When they are in a cycle they have an extreme libido. Often followed by a wrong PCT that results in very low libido. Declining hormonal levels often require Hormone Replacement Therapy and many bodybuilders from their forties start to inject Growth Hormone to stay young and be able to perform sexually. Bromocriptine and Testosterone for sexual performance etc.

Hey we would discuss Female sexuality, right?

In fact, a women's sex drive will vary from individual to individual. Like most individual differences – libido is a combination of biological, psychological, and cultural factors

While culture and upbringing play a part, biology is the driving force in a woman's sex drive. Testosterone has a lot to do with, because testosterone has a direct effect on sex drive. I also think that cultural norms play a big part too. It's mostly frowned upon for women to be as free with their sexuality as men.

Alessandra Graziottin, MD Director of Gynaecology and Medical Sexology did an overwhelming amount of research into female sexuality and all kinds of related problems. She shows a very open-minded look on all these problems and their solutions.

For decades, research on the role of sexual hormones on women’ and female animal brain has been focused on estrogens, with scant data on androgens (testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate/DHEA-S), in spite of the fact that the serum levels of testosterone and of pro-androgens exceed that of estradiol, even during peak reproductive years. Only in the last decade the focus has definitely shifted on the role of androgens.

To analyze the current evidence on the role of androgens on women’s brain with focus on three main topics:
1. Effect of androgens on neuronal physiology and pathophysiology;
2. Effect on cholinergic (cognition), serotoninergic (mood) and dopaminergic (motor) systems;
3. Effect on sexual function, where multiple neurotransmitters are involved.

1. Androgens have a powerful trophic and reparative effect on neurons and glial cells via a direct (membrane, non-genomic) and indirect (genomic) mechanism of action. Testosterone effects are either via the Dehydrotestosterone (DHT) and the AR; via estrogen and the ER, after aromatization; or via conversion of DHT to 3α-diol and non-genomic signals (GABA-A receptors). Their effect on neuroplasticity is the biological correlate of psychoplasticity, a key issue when considering the current concern on women’s brain aging. As androgens peak at 20s, are halves at 40s with a further decline with increasing age, the issue of the impact of this loss on the brain if of the highest importance, more so in women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy during the fertile age. The evidence on the effects of testosterone and DHEA-S on the female brain is still scant. Specific concern is raised by the long term effect on women’s brain and mental functions of aromatase treatment in breast cancer survivors. The evidence is surprisingly lacking.

2. Systems and functions where testosterone have a definite role include:

a) the cholinergic system, involved in cognition and memory: difficulty concentrating is negatively correlated with testosterone. Women who underwent oophorectomy before the onset of menopause had an increased risk of cognitive impairment. The risk increases with younger age at oophorectomy. Biologically, sexual motivation is influenced by hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, and vasopressin

b) the serotoninergic system, involved in mood: estrogen and add-back testosterone have both been shown to positively affect mood and well-being;

c) the dopaminergic system, involved (also) in neuromotor competence, the system most neglected when discussing women’s brain: the risk of parkinsonism increases following oophorectomy, with a borderline significance for Parkinson’s disease. In particular, there is a linear trend of increasing risk with younger age at oophorectomy.

3. Androgens have a powerful effect in boosting women’s sexual function. Neurobiology of sexual desire and central (mental) arousal, and the peripheral neurovascular response are substantially modulated by sexual hormones. Androgens have a leading role in the initiation and modulation of sexual function, in women as in men. In men they are ten times higher than in women, contributing to the stronger intensity of sex drive in men. Multiple neurotransmitter systems in the brain, especially the areas known to regulate mood and desire (including the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus) are heavily influenced by sex hormones.

Testosterone specifically increases physical and mental energy (which potentiate sexual desire), assertiveness and lucidity; stimulates mental and genital sexual arousal, erotic dreams, voluntary and spontaneous sexual fantasies; increases nipple and genital excitability, of the clitoris and cavernous bodies; reduces the lag-time between the beginning of the fore-play and the achievement of orgasm with a central and peripheral mechanism; increases the intensity and pleasure of orgasm and facilitate the achievement of multiple orgasms.

The conclusion of dr. Alessandra Graziottin:

The women’s brain is a key target of testosterone. All brain functions are modulated by androgens. More research is needed to substantiate the role of androgens on neurons and glial cells and the complex benefits appropriate androgen replacement may offer women who want to age mentally at their best.

Of course it also works for the brains of man as far they have some. If you do let your wife or GF read the above.

Documentary

A few years ago I saw a nice documentary from the UK. It gave a fascinating look at the side effects, good and bad, of the fastest selling smart drug in America – testosterone. Testosterone was fresh available in a tube, and people were starting to wipe it on their bodies. Users claimed it made them richer, sexier and more youthful. A lot of older men said it had given them more drive in the boardroom and the bedroom. In the documentary females said it is an effective female aphrodisiac. Women using testosterone claim it’s a cure for falling libido, and that it increases their confidence and assertiveness. The program makers followed a fascinating young French woman using testosterone as a power drug to compete against men in the business world. Women said that after raising their testosterone level they were able to understand men’s fascination for porn. Some became addicted to the T-feeling. It was not just a higher libido, but they had a bigger self-esteem and were much more active.

As stated above some women have a bigger libido the others and some are insatiable. And that okay as far as they are satisfied with it. But some women want to upgrade their sex-life. On the documentary some women said they applied the cream or gel directly on their genitals parts.

What is the correct dosage and how do I apply it?

Testosterone cream or gel is applied in a small amount directly onto the small labia, clitoris, and G-spot to help improve sensation. It also helps build up thin, atrophic genital tissue. the cream to be highly effective in increasing genital sensation in women during sexual stimulation and intercourse. It is available at compounding pharmacies. The preferred dosage is 2 percent testosterone in cream form, although it can vary from 1 to 3 percent. It should be applied three times a week at bedtime and half an hour before sex if it doesn't fall on one of those days, in carefully dispensed amounts. Using too much can result in increased genital hair growth or an enlargement of the clitoris.

Prescriptions for transdermal testosterone start off with a very low 2.5 mg. dose, applied in the morning only below the waist.  Testosterone is an energizer, so is best taken early in the morning.  It is applied along the pubic hairline or inner thighs or on the clitoris, as the side effect of hair growth, if it occurs, will then be less noticeable.  Local application is more effective with fewer adverse side effects.  It is recommended that blood levels be tested after an interval of four to six weeks, on a day when the patient has applied the cream.  If not effective on one daily dose, we gradually increase the dose to twice daily and/or increase the individual dose levels from 2.5 to 5 or 10 mg per dose as required to bring the individual woman’s levels into normal range for them.

While there are no standardized, agreed upon thresholds for what is "normal" testosterone levels at this point, we do find that women who have total testosterone levels of less than 20 ng/dl and free testosterone of 0.9 or less do have symptoms of low libido and/or response

Tefina

Women who can't reach orgasm or lack an interest in sex with their partner may soon have a pharmaceutical boost with a new drug dubbed "female Viagra."

Canadian company Trimel Pharmaceuticals has developed a new testosterone-based treatment called Tefina that is administered in gel droplets via the nostrils two hours before sex. The effect -- which is both an increased sexual desire and enhanced blood flow to the genitals -- can last for six hours.

"We have previously shown that for women with low sexual interest, testosterone therapy not only improves sexual desire and arousal, but also enhances a woman's ability to reach orgasm," lead researcher Susan Davis from Monash University in Australia.

Announced last week, she and her team are currently leading a Phase II study in Australia, while clinical trials are also reportedly taking place in the US and Canada.

According to the Medical Daily website, Davis has also said that Tefina would be "most helpful for patients who say that sex has become a chore rather than a pleasurable experience," and for those women who have sex with their partners just to "maintain relationship harmony," but not out of any real interest.

Fertility expert Ric Gordon said that the new drug may bring big money to Big Pharma but overlook the real factors behind a reduced libido. "Men use sex to de-stress and women need to be de-stressed to have sex, so that's a very complex emotional issue," he said.

"A lot of people have thought drumming up the idea of a female Viagra is just for pharmaceutical purposes," countered researcher Fiona Jane, "but in actual fact there is a huge need for women to have their sexual dysfunction addressed."

The other side of the story

Of course women themselves do have different opinions. Female activists or feminists are strongly opposed to the idea that something could be wrong with women. Still some points in this documentary are well thought over and perhaps put into perspective.

The documentary filmmaker Liz Canner made a documentary called Orgasm Inc. — about the companies and entrepreneurs who are trying to convince women that it's a physiological problem if they don't climax every time they have sex, one that can be "fixed" with pills or creams. Canner asks the questions: Is "female sexual dysfunction" really a disorder or a genius marketing stroke? And could the products that are being developed do more harm than good? Find out her answers...

Is there really a widespread epidemic of female sexual dysfunction?
All over the media you hear that a shocking 43 percent of women suffer from female sexual dysfunction. I first heard this statistic when I was working for the pharmaceutical industry in the early 2000s, and it surprised me. If so many women had female sexual dysfunction, why weren't my friends talking about it? In fact, I hadn't even heard of the disease until I took a job with a drug company that was developing an orgasm cream for women.

In Orgasm Inc., the 43-percent statistic is investigated. It turns out that it was taken from a sociology survey that was conducted in the early '90s to find out what people's sex lives were like. It was never meant to measure the number of women with a disease. Using exaggerated statistics manipulates women. It also says to Wall Street that there is a large market for this drug.

How might pharmaceutical companies benefit from propagating the idea that there is such prevalent female sexual dysfunction?
The media talks about female sexual dysfunction as if it always existed — when in fact it was a term that came about in the late '90s. When Viagra was released it was such a blockbuster drug for men that companies like Pfizer began to think that there was also a big market for Viagra for women. The problem was, in order to develop and test a pharmaceutical drug, the FDA requires that there be a clearly defined disease. Pfizer and a number of other drug companies sponsored the first meetings on FSD. In the end, 18 of the 19 authors of the definition of the disease had ties to 22 drug companies. This definition was extremely broad: Almost any sexual complaint you have, whatever causes it, will fall into this disease category.

It's a bizarre disorder because you have to self-diagnose and you have to be distressed by it. So in other words, if you never felt an iota of sexual desire in your life but it didn't bother you, you don't have the disease. If you never had an orgasm, but it didn't bother you, you don't have the disease. Now, real physiological conditions, like hysterectomies and diabetes, can cause sexual problems We can't ignore that. But for the most part, the majority of women's sexual problems are caused by socio-cultural conditions like past sexual abuse, relationship problems, poor sex education, and stress.

The thing about sexual experience is that our sense of satisfaction comes from our expectations. In other words, if the pharmaceutical industry, through their savvy marketing, can convince women that they should be having an orgasm every time they have intercourse, then a lot of women are going to believe they have female sexual dysfunction. If women think they should have the same libido at 60 as they had at 20, a lot of women are going to think they have a disorder.

Right now, there is a cultural shift going on, but this is not a new phenomenon. In our grandmother's time, women with low desire were said to suffer from frigidity. During the feminist movement of the '60s and '70s, terms such as "nymphomania" and "frigidity" were no longer used. Recently, the clocks have been turned back. Low desire is now classified as a disorder, and there are quite a number of drug companies racing to find a nose spray, pill, cream, or patch to "cure" it.

What are the female orgasm drugs being developed?
In Orgasm Inc., the pharmaceutical industry is followed over a period of nine years as they raced to develop a female Viagra. They kept claiming they were developing a magic bullet, but most of the products did not work much better than a placebo. In fact, when I filmed the hearing for Procter and Gamble's testosterone patch Intrinsa, one of the doctors on the FDA panel suggested to P&G that they should consider developing a placebo for women instead. He said that it worked almost as well and there were no awful side effects. Unfortunately, many of the drugs under development have potentially horrific side effects including breast cancer and cardiovascular problems.

If women are having problems with orgasm, what are some non-drug alternatives that might help them?
First of all, it is important to know that 70 percent of women need direct clitoral stimulation in order to have an orgasm during sex.

This speaks to the importance of using things like vibrators to enhance sexual experience. If women feel uncomfortable with sex toys, there are sex coaches like Betty Dodson and sexperts like Kim Airs who can help them. Also, sex therapists such as Dr. Leonore Tiefer in New York City have helped women overcome trauma from past sexual abuse and given them tools to communicate better with their partners. There are lots of good books that provide valuable information about sex, like Our Bodies, Ourselves. The key is to take the time to find out what makes you feel good. Sexual experience is very individual. There is no "normal."

"Men have their Viagra, women want theirs, too" — or so some advertisements would have you believe. Do you think that's true?
I'd love to know which PR firm came up with this slogan because it's very effective. The question is what do women need Viagra for? As I've mentioned, most of women's sexual problems are not caused by a physical medical condition but are the result of socio-cultural issues. So, I think the only way that most woman will be satisfied with their sex lives will be if they can take a product that makes them feel comfortable about their bodies, that ends sexual abuse towards women, that creates equality in the workplace, and that gives women good sex education so they can fully know about the clitoris and about how their bodies function.

There are many other reasons for a loss of libido and desire like ovariectomy, increasing age and menopause I didn’t mention them in this article for obvious reasons..lol..