I'm Not in the Mood: What Every Woman Should Know About Improving Her Libido FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Improving Your Libido
Judith Reichman, an OB/GYN and the medical correspondent for the "Today" show, is the first to point out that she's not a sex therapist. But as she writes in the prologue to her new book, I'm Not in the Mood, her practice caring for women's health had become more and more focused on the myriad effects of the changes in hormone levels that women experience as they age. One of the effects her patients most often noticed, and asked for help with, was diminishing libido. But it wasn't until syndicated TV talk-show host Christina Ferrare announced on her program that she had lost her libido, and that Dr. Reichman (whose book I'm Too Young to Get Old: Health Care for Women After Forty was a national bestseller) had helped her get it back, that the real fun started: An "Oprah" appearance later, Reichman was confirmed as the country's new libido doctor.
Whatever reservations she had had about this designation were swept away by the stories that began to pour in. Letters and phone calls came from women around the country — from the 46-year-old, married for 20 years, whose doctor recommended finding a new partner to rev up her faltering libido, to the breast-feeding mother of two toddlers, her sex drive scuttled by sheer exhaustion, whose doctor told her to buy some lubricant and grin and bear it; from the 34-year-old who was told that she was lucky to be alive after a hysterectomy and that the loss of her libido was trivial, to a 50-year-old on hormone replacement therapy whose doctor told her that the decline she was feeling inhersexuality was a normal part of getting older and she'd get used to it. Reichman writes that learning of the "denial, dismissal, and discouragement" that women who seek help from their doctors are so often confronted with spurred her on to try to set the record straight on libido. And so in I'm Not in the Mood she looks at sexuality and libido from a medical point of view, exploring the role of hormones, the interaction between the physical, psychological, and social aspects of sexuality, and even the effects that illnesses like cancer and common over-the-counter and prescription drugs can have on libido.
Reichman emphasizes that "there are few cures in medicine with the exception of antibiotics, but there is help and improvement." She thoroughly explores the role that testosterone plays in female libido (natural levels decline markedly in the female body between ages 20 and 50), and recommends small doses of the hormone as one very promising potential solution. She provides full information on pros and cons of testosterone therapy and the specifics on a number of treatment options. Reichman also gives advice on evaluating how close to your biological sexual potential you are functioning; on talking to partners, doctors, and sex therapists; and on available herbs, medications, and products like lubricants that can have a beneficial effect. A complete resource list is included as well. With I'm Not in the Mood, Reichman goes a long way toward accomplishing what she believes is the most important part of being a doctor: "helping women understand their bodies so that they can make sense out of all the medical information, misinformation, sense and nonsense with which we are bombarded."
— barnesandnoble.com
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The "hormone of desire," testosterone, acts on the brain to stimulate sexual interest, sensitivity to sexual stimulation, and orgasmic ability in both sexes. The amount of testosterone circulating in a woman's blood declines by about 50 percent between her twenties and fifties. The most common complaint associated with this decline is a seemingly unexplainable decrease or loss of sexual desire and enjoyment.
In I'm Not in the Mood, Dr. Reichman reveals the effectiveness of small doses of testosterone in reviving sexual desire and pleasure for women. Questions answered and topics discussed include:
Why and when do women make male hormones?
Where do all our male hormones go?
Behavior, life changes, and medical problems that affect our libido
Medications that affect our libido
Will creams, pills, lozenges, patches, or shots help?
When you should see a psychiatrist, psychologist, or sex therapist
How to discuss libido issues with your doctor
How to reach your biologic sexual potential
FROM THE CRITICS
Laura Schlessinger
"Real-life vignettes, understandable medical information, and humor make this important book on women's sexuality a winner."
Cristina Ferrare
"I wish I had this book three years ago. Finally, a medical book that you can understand and that gives you answers then and there. . . . Dr. Reichman speaks franklly and with humor. It's like she's talking to you."
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Real-life vignettes...understandable...a winner. — Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Gives you answers. -- Author of Okay, So I Don't Have a Headache: What I Learned (And What All Women Need to Know about Hormones, PMS, Stress, Diet, & Sex) — Cristina Ferrare
For women, the issue of diminished libido is neither cute nor ultimately sexy. It's a true medical/health problem and I wrote this book to adress it with the seriousness it warrants. — Judith Reichman, M.D.
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