has very little sex drive most of the time.
Posted by jessicabooklover (Member # 39427) on :
Chris, I have found that lyme did not decrease my( high )sex drive until slightly recently. I have been so weak and exhausted that my sex drive has diminished a bit, but my fiance and I still have a very regular (once a day) and enjoyable sex life.
Is your gf undergoing treatment for lyme right now? Is sex painful for her, or she just doesn't desire it? Jess.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
Loss of libido is a known symptom of Lyme, though has never seemed to affect me personally.
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
I would think just as with any illness if you are in pain, feeling awful etc it would affect your sex drive.
Add to that work, family obligation, household duties etc and many just don't have the energy while feeling so ill
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
I know a lot of people with Lyme disease male/female and all complain of low libido.
With Lyme affecting all body systems, it is a common symptom.
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
Yes. I had a good sex drive but when I got ill - it really bottomed out. It's not fun at all. Low libido also can be associated with other illnesses like CFS, Fibromyalgia & I'm sure many other illnesses.
It doesn't seem to happen to everyone - which makes it really hard to explain to your partner why "you" aren't in the mood & other people who are ill, are...
It may be parasites, too. I know it sounds gross but they can really do a number on the hormones, cause low energy level & pain. It's really a major factor in Lyme treatment these days.
Posted by chris hile (Member # 20701) on :
She is trying to get an appointment with a LLD. She has a lot of unexplained problems (heart palpitations, on and off bladder pain, hair loss, depression, swollen lymph nodes, back pain, sleeps a lot, stomach pain, low libido, etc). She's tested negative for Lyme but lives in the country with tons of ticks.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Yes, this is common for both genders, with Lyme, which affects all the hormones through the HPA axis - hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals -
All those symptoms you mentioned are typical Lyme symptoms. Swollen Lyme nodes can occur with bartonella.
She needs to see a Lyme-literate doc - she needs treatment. Also could test for Bart.
27 reasons for not testing positive for Lyme even though we may have it:
Good treatment will reverse symptoms, including low libido.
Posted by pme (Member # 31621) on :
I definitely experience this in a big way. It is definitely tough on the partner. I want to compliment you Chris, you obviously care about your girlfriend quite a bit and are very familiar with her symptoms. She will benefit from having you in her corner as she goes through this.
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
Chris, lack of sex drive has been one of my toughest symptoms.
Although it's true that being sick in general does little for being amorous, lack of libido is even more extreme and (at least for me) devastating.
I've tried quite a few things to try and restore that, but so far, nothing's worked.
It's terrific that you're trying to understand what's going on. I know it can be an awful blow to a partner, but if she's anything like me, the one thing you can know is that it's NOT personal.
For some people with Lyme and co-infections, treatment seems to help. I'm hoping that will be true for your girlfriend, too, Chris.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Have her ask her Dr to check her hormone levels... including testosterone levels.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
Look at page 10 of the Burrascano Guidelines and you will see "loss of libido" as one of many lyme symptoms.
This can be TOTAL loss, as in sex doesn't even make sense to the brain or body anymore. No sexual response whatsoever. Nada.
The switch is turned to "OFF."
All female sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) can drop way below the normal range. In that case, the woman has to go on hormone replacement therapy. The ovaries can stop functioning all together, shrivel up, etc. The entire gynecological system can be affected and can totally shut down. Lyme will produce a false menopause in such cases. It doesn't matter the age of the woman. I lived it.
Good lyme treatment can restore normal functioning again. But, it could take time.
AND, don't expect to find any gyn that understands this. They know nothing about what lyme can do. Only a lyme doctor understands.
Posted by Jessig627 (Member # 36240) on :
Chris, fortunately I had a very high sex before lyme life. Unfortunately, once that set in, forget it, it no longer exists.
I haven't yet found a cure for it although I haven't tried any herbal treatments for it.
I would have her adrenals, hormones and thyroid all tested as well. These all play a major roll in that department.
Wishing you both the best!
Posted by Indica440 (Member # 39461) on :
Im male and after years of lyme and coinfections i lost a lot of my libido. It was very strange for me. Some girls me whats wrong with me when they wanted to turn me on - sometimes days later when i was normal again i realized what i missed. They take it personal. A few days... it still works great though. But .... yeah you get the idea. Before Lyme is was a pornstar
Testosterone treatment helped and thyroid/growth hormone too.
Posted by OtterJ (Member # 30701) on :
agree with the hormone testing. I am sure having a major illness doesn't help the situation, but affected sex hormones due to any illness-lyme, bartonella, babesia...will interrupt the sex-drive.
Posted by lymetwister (Member # 19590) on :
Ditto on Hormones..
This illness is multi systemic, multi organ as you all know.
That being said, I have ran so many labs. My Testosterone was that of a 90 year old man. I did take injections for a while, but then I stopped.
I stopped b/c so many things were out of whack and I personally think it's impossible to fix every imbalance.
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