Low libido often happens gradually. Over time, intimacy becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. You might find yourself making excuses to avoid moments of closeness, or feel disconnected from your partner in ways that extend far beyond the bedroom. The spark is gone, and it’s hard to remember when or why.
Changes in intimate function and desire don't just affect your romantic relationships – they can impact your confidence, self-image, and how you approach challenges in other areas of life. When you don't feel vibrant and connected to your own body, it can cast a shadow over your work, social interactions, and overall sense of well-being.
At The Center for Fully Functional Health, we understand that intimate health is an essential component of your overall vitality. Declining desire or function is incredibly common for both men and women, and these shifts often signal underlying imbalances in hormones, circulation, stress levels, or other health systems. Rather than relying on medication to mask your symptoms, our goal is to find the root causes and address them, so you feel energetic and fully engaged in every aspect of your life.
Just as your definition of health or happiness is personal to you, sexual dysfunction and low libido can manifest in various ways. These issues can affect people of all ages, though the underlying causes often differ between men and women. If you feel like something isn’t quite right, one or more of these might apply:
Involves a significant reduction in interest in intimate activity that causes personal distress or relationship concerns. This isn't about having different preferences than your partner – it's about feeling disconnected from your own natural desires.
Can include difficulty achieving or maintaining the physical responses necessary for satisfying intimacy. While often thought of as primarily affecting men (erectile dysfunction), women can also experience issues with arousal, comfort, or physical response that interfere with intimate connection.
During intimate activity can make what should be pleasurable feel uncomfortable or even distressing, leading to avoidance and decreased desire over time. This is more common for women, especially those who are experiencing perimenopause or menopause, or who have a history of endometriosis, abdominal surgeries, or difficult childbirth.
The impact of relational intimacy extends beyond physical symptoms to affect emotional connection, communication, and overall relationship satisfaction. Many couples report feeling distant or frustrated when intimate health becomes a persistent concern. The stress and isolation this causes can open the door to additional health challenges and negatively affect overall your well-being, creating a challenging cycle for everyone involved.
Because it can be a tricky subject to discuss, there are many common misconceptions about sexual dysfunction and its treatment. Understanding the facts about your sexual health and libido makes it easier to have a straightforward, honest discussion with both your partner and your healthcare provider.
Here are some common myths about sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, and low libido and the truth behind them:
Myth: "It's just part of getting older."
While hormone levels naturally change with age, significant sexual dysfunction isn't an inevitable consequence of aging. Many underlying causes are completely treatable, and people can maintain healthy intimate lives in their later years – in fact, we encourage it!
Myth: "It's all in my head."
Sexual health issues often have real, measurable physical causes including hormone imbalances, circulation problems, nutritional deficiencies, or chronic infections. While psychological factors can contribute, dismissing symptoms as purely mental can prevent proper diagnosis and treatment. It also adds emotional stress that can further worsen your symptoms.
Myth: "Low libido always means low testosterone."
While testosterone is important, sexual dysfunction can result from thyroid issues, chronic stress, poor circulation, medication side effects, or other factors. Self-prescribing testosterone replacement therapy without a complete workup is never the answer.
Myth: "Women don't experience sexual dysfunction as they age."
Women's sexual health is equally affected by hormonal changes, particularly during perimenopause and menopause. Declining estrogen can cause physical discomfort, while other factors can affect desire and satisfaction. While changes in a woman’s libido or sexual performance may be easier to hide, they deserve equal attention and care.
Myth: "If I’m in a good relationship, I shouldn't have these problems."
Sexual dysfunction can affect anyone. Physical health issues, stress, hormones, and other medical factors don't discriminate based on how satisfied you are in your relationship. Struggling with your sexual health is not a comment on your partner, and it’s not something to hide or feel any shame about.
Myth: "Viagra-type medications are the only real solution."
While these medications can help with blood flow, they don't address underlying causes like hormone imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, or chronic health conditions. Comprehensive treatment often provides more lasting results than any little blue pill.
Myth: "I should be able to fix this on my own."
Sexual health involves complex interactions between multiple body systems. Professional evaluation can identify treatable causes that aren't apparent to you, and many patients are surprised by how easily and quickly treatment can change the way they feel about themselves and sex.
Sexual health is complex, and oversimplifying your symptoms and needs can actually keep you from getting the help you deserve.
Any changes in intimate desire or function that cause you distress or affect your relationships deserve professional attention. You don't need to wait until the problem becomes severe or relationship-threatening. While there are stereotypes about men encountering sexual dysfunction as a part of aging, sexual health is actually a much more complex system than people acknowledge, and troublesome changes can happen at any age for both men and women.
Please consider seeking comprehensive evaluation for sexual dysfunction treatment if you're experiencing:
Many people assume these issues are psychological or simply part of growing older, but they often have identifiable, treatable physical causes that can be addressed effectively. There is no reason to feel shame or embarrassment about discussing your concerns with your healthcare provider, and the care team at The Center for Fully Functional Health in Carmel, IN, will always treat you with dignity and respect.
The Connection Between Hormones and Sexual Health
When identifying the causes of sexual lower libido or sexual dysfunction, hormonal balance is always our starting point. Hormones are the primary drivers of sexual desire and function, but their roles are more complex than many people realize. Understanding how these chemical messengers affect intimate health helps explain why hormone optimization can be so transformative.
Testosterone is crucial for libido in both men and women, though women need much smaller amounts. It drives desire, energy, and confidence while supporting the physical responses necessary for satisfying intimacy. When testosterone levels decline due to aging, stress, or other factors, both desire and function typically decrease.
Estrogen helps maintain vaginal health and lubrication in women, making intimate activity comfortable and pleasurable. Declining estrogen during perimenopause and menopause can lead to physical discomfort that makes intimacy less appealing. Likewise, climbing estrogen levels in men during andropause (male menopause) can decrease sexual drive and performance.
Progesterone has calming effects that can enhance relaxation and receptivity to intimate connection, while also balancing other hormones that affect mood and desire. Aging and health challenges can diminish progesterone levels, causing you to feel increasingly tense and disconnected.
Thyroid hormones also help regulate overall energy and metabolism. When thyroid function is low, everything slows down, including libido and physical responsiveness.
Cortisol (the stress hormone) has an inverse relationship with sex hormones. When cortisol is chronically elevated due to stress, it suppresses the production of testosterone and other hormones essential for healthy intimate function. This stress can be from the demands of your lifestyle, work, or relationships, but it can also result from chronic infections or illness.
Functional medicine for sexual health in Carmel, IN, involves listening carefully to your health history and current needs, as well as performing a thorough analysis of your hormonal health and other potential physical factors. By combining state-of-the-art testing and compassionate care, we can find the root causes of your sexual challenges and offer effective, science-based support. This may include testosterone replacement therapy for low testosterone, or other hormone replacement designed around the connection between menopause and low libido.
When hormone imbalances are identified as contributing factors to intimate health issues, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can be remarkably effective for restoring function and desire.
Unlike synthetic hormones, bioidentical hormones have the same molecular structure as the hormones your body naturally produces. This means they're recognized and utilized more effectively, with fewer side effects and more natural-feeling results.
BHRT options available:
Treatment is always personalized, based on comprehensive hormone testing and individual symptoms. Regular monitoring ensures hormone levels remain optimal while minimizing any potential side effects.
Many patients report significant improvements in energy, desire, and intimate function within weeks of starting properly balanced BHRT, with continued benefits as hormone levels stabilize.
While hormonal balance is always important to consider, sexual health involves complex interactions between hormones, circulation, nervous system function, and psychological well-being. When any of these systems become imbalanced, it can significantly impact intimate function and desire. At The Center for Fully Functional Health, we recognize the culprit can be a combination of:
This is why our approach addresses multiple factors that contribute to intimate wellness.
One of the benefits that sets functional medicine apart is that we consider the whole human, no matter what symptoms bring you through our doors. This is never more important than with libido or sexual performance challenges. It’s vital that your personalized care plan considers your complete physical wellness, as well as your lifestyle and emotional needs.
We use detailed hormone panels to understand your unique hormonal profile and identify specific imbalances affecting intimate health. Treatment may include bioidentical hormone replacement customized to your individual needs, along with support for natural hormone production through targeted nutrition and lifestyle modifications.
Since blood flow is essential for intimate function, we assess and support cardiovascular health through nutritional protocols that support healthy circulation, lifestyle modifications to improve vascular health, and targeted supplementation to enhance blood flow and energy.
Understanding that stress and poor sleep significantly impact intimate health, we provide comprehensive support including stress reduction techniques that actually lower cortisol levels, sleep optimization strategies to support natural hormone production, and nervous system regulation approaches that enhance relaxation and receptivity.
We address nutritional deficiencies and metabolic imbalances that affect intimate health through targeted supplementation with nutrients essential for hormone production and energy, dietary modifications to support optimal hormone function, and metabolic optimization to enhance overall vitality and stamina.
We offer innovative treatments specifically designed to support intimate health, including the VFit line of products that use red light and gentle warming to enhance comfort and function, IV nutritional therapy to provide concentrated nutrients for energy and hormone support, and other cutting-edge treatments that promote healthy intimate function.
We recognize that intimate health affects relationships and provide resources for improving communication with partners, addressing emotional aspects of intimate health challenges, and rebuilding confidence and connection in relationships.
Why Choose The Center for Fully Functional Health for Sexual Health
As award-winning physicians with decades of emergency and integrative medicine experience, Dr. Ellen and Dr. Scott Antoine provide personalized treatment protocols that address the complex interplay of factors affecting intimate health. Their comprehensive approach goes beyond quick fixes to identify and treat the underlying factors affecting sexual function and desire.
As a married couple, Dr. Ellen and Dr. Scott also understand that intimate health is a crucial component of overall well-being and quality of life. Their approach is always respectful, professional, and focused on helping you achieve optimal vitality in all areas of life.
Vibrant intimate health is possible at any age. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, our care team is committed to helping you reclaim the energy and confidence that contribute to satisfying intimate relationships and overall life enjoyment.
You deserve to feel fully alive and connected in all aspects of your life. Call our supportive team at (317) 989-8463 Monday to Thursday, 8AM to 5PM Eastern, or fill out the simple form below to find out more and schedule your Initial Consult.
Schedule an Appointment Today.
The Center for Fully Functional Health® is led by a team of award-winning, internationally recognized physicians, committed to providing personalized, life-changing care.
