His and Her Health

To Greg et al :<BR>Went to see the Boston Dr. today. Very frustrating again....<P>Level's of very recent blood work :<BR>Shbg 62.0 up from 55.0 - normal range 20 -130<BR>Free t 1.7 up from 1.2 - normal range 0.3 - 1.9<BR>% Free 1.5 dn from 2.0 - normal range 0.9 - 3.8<BR>Total T 114 up from 62 - normal range 12-72<P>According to Dr. He has done all he can do by administering the Testim. The results are clear ( he says ) that it is doing what it is supposed to as far as production of the hormone that supports lack of hot flashes and good arousal. I forget the technical name but he is convinced that we are simply in the 30% group that does not have success. He says the test results clearly show the T is in her blood stream and at levels that would be normal in a woman producing proper levels without help from T.<BR>( would like your opinion on that statement ! )<P>Also suggests that a trial of Wellbutrin may be attempted based on a study by Dr. George Nurnberg who is studying the effects of Libido in women with otherwise normal or good levels of hormone numbers.<P>The one level that stands out is the SHBG which is still too high but otherwise he says he has done all he can do up to this point with the exception of following up on a 3 month basis. <P>Reminder that we are only experiencing problems now with lack of Libido. Arousal is fine / orgasam is fine / hot flashes are gone. Vagifem is used for lubrication purposes. No other meds used. 22 yr. Marriage. Up to now fairly solid. However I am ready to take a leap soon ! Or find a nice hooker that at leasts fakes interest in sex.<P>Any thoughts please ? <BR> <BR> <P><BR> <BR>

Paciente, I don't understand something: if your wife is getting aroused and is orgasming.... then how come you say she has no libido?<P>I don't get it.

Hi - i guess that makes two of us... cause I dont get it either. Since her hysterectomy back in 1993. Desire ( Libido ) / arousal - and eventually "quality " orgasams were all problems.<BR>This took many years to get to the point where we investigated possible ways to solve the problems and much stress.<BR>Since visiting the FSD Dr. and trying the Testosterone cream the arousal and orgasam quality have VASTLY improved but her desire or to put it bluntly ( not getting horney ) has been a problem. <BR>I am the one to initiate sex. I am the one that wants it often. Not her. When we do have sex I feel as if she is doing me a favor even though since the T cream she does enjoy it, despite it not being her idea.<BR>I guess it is the male ego that keeps me from feeling good about sex between 22 year long partners and only one of us is " into" it ???<BR>Ya know what I mean.<BR>

Well, I'm not representative of the average woman's viewpoint in this matter - this following is coming from a woman with residual vaginismus and continuing non-existant libido ....<P>However, I think you're doing pretty well, actually! She gets aroused (that's libido, as far as I can tell) and even orgasms!!!<P>Goodness! Surely that puts her in the top 30%?<P>

Actually, arousal and libido aren't the same thing. Arousal is the bodily response that gets a woman ready for sex: lubrication, expansion of the vagina, increased blood flow, etc. <P>Libido is the actual desire for sexual pleasure. You can have one without the other, but it is most desirable to have both.

Pinky - on the one part we agree. It could be much worse. I say 2 out or 3 aint bad. Maybe someday the desire will come back. The issue is how long do you keep putting Testesterone cream on while not fully understanding any long term ramifications? Can you grow an extra leg or third eye. How about heart problems. <BR>I have a son with various learning issues / add etc. and he was on med's for a few years and we finally decided not to let him be a guinnea pig for medical studies.<BR>I think we made the right decision there. I only hope we make the right one here as well.<BR>Thanks for the input

Donna - Today at the Dr. visit we talked among other things about those subjects. Desire / Arousal / Orgasam quality. Two of the three are fine with exception of desire. As well as lack of hot flashes, which according to the Dr. proves that the T cream is doing it's thing.<BR>He said he had a patient in before us who tried a "drug holiday" from the T cream,and decided that despite the similar problem of lack of libido that the other bennifits were too great and went back on it. Things such as arousal and quality orgasam are quite nice once you lose them and have the chance to get it back again.<BR>Does anyone have experience with the addition of Wellbutrin along with T cream? <BR>Supposedly that is the cutting edge now on the 30% group ( of which I am told we are in ) that do not have libido improvement while on T cream????

I took Wellbutrin.<BR>Its a purple pill and you might have a chance with that. It takes a few weeks to to anything or even months.<BR>good luck.<BR>By the way ...I am also in the 30% so dont feel bad.

I took Wellbutrin.<BR>Its a purple pill and you might have a chance with that. It takes a few weeks to to anything or even months.<BR>good luck.<BR>By the way ...I am also in the 30% so dont feel bad.

That 30% figure I came up with is guesswork, not science.<P>

Female sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent, affecting 43% of American women.

lovetotalk, I think the 30% figure in this thread was referring to the rough estimate of how many women don't experience success with T treatment to bring low levels to a more expected range.

The 30% figure has been used in two different contexts in this thread. The figure I came up with refers to the amount of women I imagine are not experiencing arousal and orgasm during sexual intercourse. This was guesswork on my part. <P>Perhaps the doctor's figure of 30% refers to the number of female patients who have sought treatment for libido issues and have failed to find a solution to the problem despite having tried all the available treatments?<BR>

The 30% figure comes from the Boston Dr's claims that 70% of women who come to his clinic with libido problems have some success with testosterone supplementation. This ignores the fact that most women who are given a placebo in controlled studies also experience an increase in libido.<BR><p>[Note: This message has been edited by NEWSHE Moderator]

<BR><p>[This message has been edited by pinky (edited 21 December 2003).]