Association of Women for the Advancement of Research and Education | Today is | |
|
|
You are here: Home > Managing Menopause > Alternatives > Remedies > Libido |
![]() |
|
![]() |
Remedies for Menopausal SymptomsThe Menopause Self Help Book
by Susan M. Lark, M.D.,
|
CAUTION: Senecio can cause temporary distressing changes in menstrual and premenstrual patterns during the first few months of use. Because of the potentially toxic alkaloids concentrated in the roots, only the flowering tops and leaves of liferoot should be used.31 |
Ginseng (Panax) is also said to improve libido, reduce hot flashes, and aid a variety of other menopausal symptoms.31
Certain plants such as Spanish fly or nutmeg, held in high esteem by many cultures for their aphrodisiac properties, have been found to be genitourinary irritants, rather than sexual stimulants, according to Dr. Susan Lark. Traditional Indian medicine considers a number of plants such as saffron crocus and priya-darsa to have extraordinary aphrodisiac powers. Yohimbe, a plant aphrodisiac, is the base of several drugs currently prescribed to treat impotence.
In his practice, Dr. John Lee found that "the women losing interest in sex had water retention, fibrocystic breasts, depression, dry and wrinkling skin, and irregular, sometimes heavy periods." He "gradually came to understand that these signs and symptoms were indicative of a progesterone deficiency caused by a failure to ovulate while estrogen continued to be produced, which is to say loss of sex drive correlates with progesterone deficiency, not estrogen deficiency." When these women used the progesterone supplementation he recommended, the story changed, and they reported that their sex drive had returned.
Dr. Lees clinical experience was at odds with what he had learned in medical school where he had been taught that only estrogen and testosterone were vital to normal sex drive. In 1994 a study found that physiologic doses of progesterone restored sex drive, whereas abnormally large doses had been found to inhibit sexual behavior.
Previous Symptom | Symptom Index | Next Symptom |
Researched and written by the ProjectAWARE group, 2000
Copyright © 1997-2010 ProjectAWARE. All rights reserved.
Questions or comments about this site? Contact the Website Editor, <aware.editor@project-aware.org>
Updated 09/29/2010