At The Coach, we always consult with medical professionals when developing our product. We strive to share the useful information we learn from doctors with our users.
Today, our questions will be answered by Dr. Amy Pearlman. She is a certified urologist specializing in men’s health and hormonal health.
Q: Can you improve fertility by changing the lifestyle?
Dr. Amy Pearlman: The connection between lifestyle and fertility is fascinating. Research indicates that making positive lifestyle changes can boost reproductive health naturally. Here are key practices to consider.
Incorporate regular exercise to support your overall well-being. Opt for a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats. Maintain a healthy weight. Get rid of the tobacco. Limit alcohol intake. Reduce stress and get good quality sleep.
While these lifestyle modifications can contribute to improved fertility, it’s also important to recognize that they’re just one piece of the fertility puzzle and it’s really key to have a holistic approach and to see a specialist for additional testing and evaluation if the lifestyle changes aren’t quite doing the trick.
Q: Which hormones upregulate libido and sex drive?
Dr. Amy Pearlman: Understanding the factors that influence libido is crucial and while hormonal imbalances can contribute, it’s not the only factor. There are actually many reasons why your libido may change, including medications, depression, chronic illness, sleep problems, aging, stress, low self-esteem, exercise levels, alcohol, and drug use.
When considering blood work, these are the key hormones to check: testosterone, prolactin, and estradiol.
Q: I have been taking antidepressants for several months, and I noticed a sharp decrease in my libido. Is it connected?
Dr. Amy Pearlman: It’s not uncommon to notice a decrease in libido while taking antidepressants.
These medications, although effective for treating depression, can impact sexual function. So here’s a concise guide for addressing this concern.
Number one, acknowledge the connection. Changes in libido can be a side effect of antidepressant medications.
Number two, communicate with your prescriber. If the decrease in libido bothers you, reach out to whichever provider is getting you that medication. You can discuss potential alternatives such as trying a different antidepressant with fewer known sexual side effects.
And consider non-pharmacologic interventions. You can explore non-medication options with a psychologist if interested.
Lifestyle changes that improve erectile function can also benefit libido, and these include physical activity, a balanced nutritional plan with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats, maintaining a healthy weight, getting rid of the tobacco, limiting alcohol, reducing stress, and ensuring quality sleep.
So remember that open communication is so key. We have to balance optimizing our mental health with our sexual drive and our function, and it really comes down to having this nuanced and great open communication with your prescribing provider to see what is going to work best for you.
Q: I’ve been taking Viagra for a couple of years now, is there a way to cure my ED without treatments?
Dr. Amy Pearlman: It’s never too late to explore options for improving your erectile function without relying on medications like Viagra. Here are my top tips for evaluating and potentially enhancing your erections without the need for ongoing medication.
Number one, assess how you’re doing without the medication. You can stop taking Viagra temporarily to evaluate your baseline erectile function. This step helps you understand any changes or improvements since starting the medication.
Tip number two, address the underlying causes. So identify and address these underlying causes for your specific erectile dysfunction. Common factors for ED or contributors include heart and blood vessel disease, diabetes, Peyronie’s disease or penile curvature, medications, and pelvic surgery. So if you treat the root cause, this can potentially lead to improvements without the need for ongoing treatments.
Tip number three, optimize lifestyle factors. So you can make small positive decisions to optimize your lifestyle, and these include engaging in regular physical activity to enhance your cardiovascular health, adopting a well-balanced nutritional plan, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats, maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake — I know I’m a Debbie Downer. Managing stress through activities like meditation, exercise, or therapy, and ensuring that you get restful sleep.
And tip number four is to consider innovative therapies. So therapies like Focus Shockwave can be an innovative approach that’s supported by recent research, and this therapy can be beneficial for men with mild to moderate ED who haven’t yet started medications like Viagra, who want to get off medications like Viagra, or who have found medication less effective.
Q: Will raising my testosterone levels improve my libido as well?
Dr. Amy Pearlman: In the realm of men’s health, the correlation between testosterone levels and libido has been a subject of a lot of interest and discussion. So let’s delve into this nuanced relationship and explore whether increasing testosterone levels can truly make a significant difference in one’s libido.
So first of all, testosterone does play a pivotal role in various aspects of men’s health, including sexual function. The relationship between testosterone and libido is multifaceted and really is influenced by numerous factors.
So libido is not solely dependent on testosterone levels, and while optimal T levels are essential for a healthy sex drive, other factors such as cortisol, estrogen, and neurotransmitters also contribute to this intricate balance required for a satisfying libido. Lifestyle modifications like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management can also positively impact testosterone levels.
So engaging in healthy habits as part of this holistic approach to support your overall well-being potentially can also impact libido in the process. So while optimizing T levels through lifestyle changes can contribute to a healthier libido, we just go back to this approach as a holistic perspective, and the key really lies in understanding that libido is influenced by a combination of factors, including but not limited to testosterone levels.
The Coach team expresses great appreciation to Dr. Amy Pearlman for her assistance in preparing responses to these questions. You can learn more about the work of Dr. Amy Pearlman here:
Instagram: @amypearlmanmd and @primeinstitute.us
Website: primeinstitute.us
Youtube: PRIME Institute
