Nancy was a thirty-something breastfeeding mother of three little ones who presented to my clinic because she had concerns about the sexual desire discrepancy between her and her husband of ten years. As the “initiator” in the relationship, she was always the one ready for a romp and he seemed to take it or leave it. Her husband did not have as much energy as she did and I suggested it might be a good idea for her husband to have a physical examination by his doctor.
Since the birth of her last child (9 months ago) she was experiencing vaginal dryness, so the desire discrepancy was not as big of a deal because when they did have sex she was finding it to be painful. She was also a bit on the tired side of late, a very common reason for low sexual desire.
Through her sexual assessment I learned she was on oral contraception and antihistamines. Nancy had spoken to her doctor about vulvar and vaginal dryness and her doctor thought it might be eczema as Nancy did have a history of this skin condition, but she was reluctant to use the prescribed cortisone cream because of the risk to thinning her vulvovaginal tissues. She did, however, use it for a short time to no avail.
I explained to Nancy that she could be experiencing vaginal dryness, a condition that can be associated with breastfeeding, oral contraceptives, and other medications like antihistamines. Nancy knew that older women were at risk for vaginal dryness but never thought this to be the case for herself; she thought she was too young, but I often advise that women as young as age 31 may experience vaginal dryness.
Intimacy in a relationship is very important and I suggested that Nancy try a hormone-free personal moisturizer (like RepaGyn®) to help treat her vaginal dryness. Nancy was happy that RepaGyn® was hormone free because she was breastfeeding her son and she was nervous the hormones would be transferred through her breastmilk.
Nancy tried RepaGyn® and, within a few weeks, found that her vagina was more moist than it had been. Regarding her husband’s low sexual desire, he had followed up with his doctor and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism of which fatigue and low sexual desire are common symptoms. With both Nancy and her husband treated for their medical conditions, both were heading back to the bedroom for sex more than sleep way more than ever before.
