# Hypothyroidism question



## Middle of Everything (Feb 19, 2012)

Not sure if this is the best spot to ask, but as hypothyroidism is fairly common in women i'll give it a shot here in the ladies lounge.

Wife recently had her blood levels checked for her hypothyroidism and was found she needed a bump from 75mmg to 100mmg. I know this will help with her energy levels and possibly with some very small weight gain she has struggled with recently. Her libido has also been seemingly kinda low lately. I read that this can be the case when not properly treated.

Just wondering if any ladies here have gone through this themselves and possibly relate how it affected their sex drive.

Thanks


----------



## kristin2349 (Sep 12, 2013)

Middle of Everything said:


> Not sure if this is the best spot to ask, but as hypothyroidism is fairly common in women i'll give it a shot here in the ladies lounge.
> 
> Wife recently had her blood levels checked for her hypothyroidism and was found she needed a bump from 75mmg to 100mmg. I know this will help with her energy levels and possibly with some very small weight gain she has struggled with recently. Her libido has also been seemingly kinda low lately. I read that this can be the case when not properly treated.
> 
> ...


I assume she is on Sythroid? Hypothyroidism can cause all sorts of symptoms, from hair loss, fatigue, weight gain, brain fog...and yes lack of sex drive. The preceding list of symptoms would be enough to kill my libido if the thyroid malfunction didn't. I've got subclinical thyroid issues that can flip from Hypo to Hyper so my levels needed to be carefully managed until they leveled out. Synthroid was not enough, I went to a Naturopath that prescribes Armour Thyroid/Nature's Thyroid, dessicated pig thyroid. It more closely mimics all off your thyroid hormones not just one like Synthroid. Another thing that you might want to check is that she is taking brand name Synthroid, not generic. The generic Synthroid is notoroiously unreliable.


----------



## Rocky Mountain Yeti (Apr 23, 2017)

Not a lady, but married to one.

My wife's thyroid imbalance killed what little sex drive she had. 

It's not clear whether it's the hypothyroidism directly or the loss of energy that results from the hypothyroidism that took her out. In the end it doesn't matter, it's the same root cause. 

My wife found Armor Thyroid to be infinitely more effective than Synthroid. The problem is there is a current shortage of Armor Thyroid/Nature Throid and only the synthetic versions are available.


----------



## Middle of Everything (Feb 19, 2012)

kristin2349 said:


> I assume she is on Sythroid? Hypothyroidism can cause all sorts of symptoms, from hair loss, fatigue, weight gain, brain fog...and yes lack of sex drive. The preceding list of symptoms would be enough to kill my libido if the thyroid malfunction didn't. I've got subclinical thyroid issues that can flip from Hypo to Hyper so my levels needed to be carefully managed until they leveled out. Synthroid was not enough, I went to a Naturopath that prescribes Armour Thyroid/Nature's Thyroid, dessicated pig thyroid. It more closely mimics all off your thyroid hormones not just one like Synthroid. Another thing that you might want to check is that she is taking brand name Synthroid, not generic. The generic Synthroid is notoroiously unreliable.


Yes she is on name brand Synthroid from before I even met her. She cant really switch now as a small variation in active ingredient can affect you, unlike other medications. I think the generics are fine, its just that you cant guarantee getting the SAME generic every time you refill your scrip. And small variations in production can matter here unlike other meds.

Her hypo has always been well maintained, its just lately found its a bit off. So was wondering if that could effect her libido. She recently said as much. Got her new dosage today so it should be improved all around.

Thanks for input.


----------



## Ynot (Aug 26, 2014)

You may want to really investigate the causes of her thyroid imbalance rather than just allowing the doctors to treat it. My ex was diagnosed with Grave's disease and put on thyroid hormone therapy. Upon further investigation she discovered that she had been eating way too much soy and soy based products (even salad dressing is made with soy bean oil. Soy was never meant for human consumption. The Japanese ferment soy before consuming it. Anyways, proteins and amino acids in the soy closely mimic other proteins and amino acids used by the body, but do not react in quite the same way and sometimes block the body's natural reactions creating an imbalance which sometimes manifests itself thru hormonal imbalances such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. So before you dive into pharmaceuticals, look and see if there are some less obvious and cheaper (both financially and healthwise) options. In the end she dropped soy from her diet and had a full remission. Of course she then proceeded to completely destroy her natural hormonal balance (and mental health) by indulging in the HCG diet but that is another story for another time.


----------



## cma62 (Jul 31, 2010)

Hypothyroidism can definitely impact women’s libido.
Menopause is also another huge fact in women’s sex drive dropping off the charts.

My Synthroid dose needed to be increased during peri menopause...but I noticed an increase in my sex drive due to this.
That being said....I also started eating healthier and working out regularly....so the combination of my med dosage increase and lifestyle change had an impact on my sex drive. 

A combination of feeling good, making some personal and lifestyle changes that gave me a more positive outlook on life impacted many areas of my life for the better.


----------



## aine (Feb 15, 2014)

Middle of Everything said:


> Not sure if this is the best spot to ask, but as hypothyroidism is fairly common in women i'll give it a shot here in the ladies lounge.
> 
> Wife recently had her blood levels checked for her hypothyroidism and was found she needed a bump from 75mmg to 100mmg. I know this will help with her energy levels and possibly with some very small weight gain she has struggled with recently. Her libido has also been seemingly kinda low lately. I read that this can be the case when not properly treated.
> 
> ...


She probably needs HRT, I had this issue and went on Bioidentical HRT


----------



## toblerone (Oct 18, 2016)

Does being on synthroid affect sex drive? Or just the hypothyroidism itself?


----------



## Middle of Everything (Feb 19, 2012)

toblerone said:


> Does being on synthroid affect sex drive? Or just the hypothyroidism itself?


Not sure what you are asking here? Responding to my original post?

I was asking if any ladies here (or men for that matter) who suffer from hypothyroidism which means you are on synthroid or some other HRT, have had instances where they remember their sex drive suffering from their hypothyroidism not being treated correctly. So their levels are off. If one has hypothyroidism their blood levels are routinely tested, but not so often as to rule out the possibility of there being some kind of change in their hormone levels. 
So I do know from googling this and my wife talking to her doctor that thyroid hormone levels being low can affect sex drive. Was just curious if any ladies had any first (or even second) hand experience with this and could say, "oh yes it really made my libido crash when my levels were off" or maybe "yes it affected my drive some but not a lot."


----------



## toblerone (Oct 18, 2016)

It was a general ask to the thread to see if anyone could clarify because I'm too lazy to attempt to google it.


----------



## Loveless17 (Oct 16, 2017)

Yes, it can but for me it hasn't affected that. I'm in my 40's and have been on Synthroid for 25 years. My sex drive has always been much higher than my husband's. I really don't believe any illness can affect a sex drive but if there isn't chemistry being felt, the desire to be intimate isn't going to be there.


----------



## Middle of Everything (Feb 19, 2012)

Loveless17 said:


> Yes, it can but for me it hasn't affected that. I'm in my 40's and have been on Synthroid for 25 years. My sex drive has always been much higher than my husband's. I really don't believe any illness can affect a sex drive but if there isn't chemistry being felt, the desire to be intimate isn't going to be there.


During that 25 years have your levels ever had to be adjusted though? This is the first time in 15 years of marriage and a few years before that, that my wife's levels have been low and needed to be adjusted with her synthroid scrip.

Dont see how someone can say that any illness cant affect sex drive. The very nature of this illness is hormone levels. If you feel it never has for you, that is great.


----------



## cma62 (Jul 31, 2010)

A lot of hormone related illness...Hypothyroidism, Menopause....even psychological ailments such as depression can all have an impact on sex drive.
Working out regularly can gave a positive effect on sex drive as the biggest sex organ is the brain. Your body releases endorphins during exercise which boost self esteem and ward off depression and keep the body healthy and ward off weight gain. 

Depression and weight gain can be side effects of a low thyroid.

Not sure how old your wife is but peri menopause and menopause can wreak havoc with hormones , impacting sex drive.


----------



## Ynot (Aug 26, 2014)

Loveless17 said:


> Yes, it can but for me it hasn't affected that. I'm in my 40's and have been on Synthroid for 25 years. My sex drive has always been much higher than my husband's. I really don't believe any illness can affect a sex drive but if there isn't chemistry being felt, the desire to be intimate isn't going to be there.


Your sex drive could have always been high, but it might be higher or lower than otherwise. Hard to really know as you have been treating your condition your entire adult life.


----------

