This might bemuse a few readers and make others blush, but if you have read my past posts, you know I have no shame, and say 'bah! rubbish!' to dignity when it stands in the way of helping others.
I'm just going to say that I think my Dad's illness has had a hugely negative affect on my sex drive.
There I said it, just wanted to put it out there for anyone else who is wondering, is it me, is it age, is it my partner, is it hormones....when instead it could very well be this situation you are in ,caring for a loved one (I don't know if this happens when the loved one is your wife or husband, thus am posting it here in the younger dementia section for those more likely to be caring for a parent).
Before AD I had a wonderful sex drive but over the past few years it has dwindled and dwindled away as Dad got worse. I have been to doctors, I have been to therapists but the fact of the matter is, the problem I find is, as soon as i relax and start to let down the walls, what crops up in my mind? My dad, my concerns for him, my sadness, my love for him....this is a real killer for the libido to say the least!
There are moments when my hormones win out, but the majority of the time, AD is the stronger competitor. So if lack of sex drive is stressing you and your partner out, this little post may help ease your minds. Unfortunately it does not rectify the problem, but it brings me some comfort at least, that it is not a permanent problem and it is not due to other scarier reasons. (Don't hesitate to check out your problems though, to ensure that something physically dastardly isn't also going wrong as well.) Last but not least, I have talked about this with a psychologist and she confirmed that this is indeed a very plausible reason for such troubles.
I don't expect too many replies on this post (if you are brave enough though please do let me know if you have suffered the same, even if it is by private message). Just wanted to help out by offering myself up as the example on a generally taboo subject.
I'm just going to say that I think my Dad's illness has had a hugely negative affect on my sex drive.
There I said it, just wanted to put it out there for anyone else who is wondering, is it me, is it age, is it my partner, is it hormones....when instead it could very well be this situation you are in ,caring for a loved one (I don't know if this happens when the loved one is your wife or husband, thus am posting it here in the younger dementia section for those more likely to be caring for a parent).
Before AD I had a wonderful sex drive but over the past few years it has dwindled and dwindled away as Dad got worse. I have been to doctors, I have been to therapists but the fact of the matter is, the problem I find is, as soon as i relax and start to let down the walls, what crops up in my mind? My dad, my concerns for him, my sadness, my love for him....this is a real killer for the libido to say the least!
There are moments when my hormones win out, but the majority of the time, AD is the stronger competitor. So if lack of sex drive is stressing you and your partner out, this little post may help ease your minds. Unfortunately it does not rectify the problem, but it brings me some comfort at least, that it is not a permanent problem and it is not due to other scarier reasons. (Don't hesitate to check out your problems though, to ensure that something physically dastardly isn't also going wrong as well.) Last but not least, I have talked about this with a psychologist and she confirmed that this is indeed a very plausible reason for such troubles.
I don't expect too many replies on this post (if you are brave enough though please do let me know if you have suffered the same, even if it is by private message). Just wanted to help out by offering myself up as the example on a generally taboo subject.