Although estrogen is the primary hormone for women, a dash of testosterone is essential for them as well. Although they secrete it in far skimpier amounts than men, women derive from K sexual desire, energy, assertiveness, elevated mood, and a sense of well-being.
Testosterone surges and ebbs daily in men, fluctuating every 15 to 20 minutes and normally reaching its peak around 7 or 8 A.M. It fluctuates seasonally as well: We all know the metaphor about sap rising in spring. Personal situations, culture, and environment also influence male testosterone levels, including social rank, competitive success, sexual cues, stress, and aging. Our body responds to our environment, but in predictable, programmed ways. Nature and nurture, utterly interactive.
During the male life span, testosterone peaks during fetal development, at birth, and at puberty. It remains high throughout early adulthood, dipping only slightly among men in their late thirties. At that point levels begin to drop by about 1 percent a year, declining by 30 to 40 percent by the time most men reach retirement age. After that it's downhill for the muscles, bones, and alas, the libido.
While the adrenal glands of both sexes, and women's ovaries, produce trickles of testosterone, the testicles of adult males make floods of the stuff--20 to 40 times what ovaries produce. Surprisingly, most testosterone doesn't do much of anything. About 95 percent of it is bound to protein molecules and is thought to be metabolically inactive. The remaining 5 percent is free to make the rounds, kicking up a good kiss here and there. This is the molecular juice that makes a man a man by triggering the actions associated with virility.
In men, the decline of testosterone with age is gradual. But in women, testosterone declines precipitously at menopause. While the simultaneous disappearance of estrogen is more urgent for women, the loss of testosterone matters, since it often results in fatigue and the decline of sexual appetite. As a result, many postmenopausal women find themselves in the middle of a medical quandary: Should they risk taking a dollop or two of testosterone to regain some of their sexuality, sensuality, and vitality? The question is especially difficult to answer since it I depends in part on the infinitely variable physical and emotional characteristics of individual women. Some doctors do treat postmenopausal women with small, carefully-dosed amounts of testosterone and see renewed libido. But other doctors are hesitant about carrying hormone therapy quite this far, citing, such possible side effects as the growth of unwanted facial and body hair.
Then, of course, there's the possibility that a woman's revived libido will so far out-pace her partner's that he'll find himself considering testosterone replacement just to keep up with her.
--ALFRED MEYER
PHOTO (COLOR): Can the new testosterons patch really rekindle a listless libido?
PHOTO (COLOR): ALFRED MEYER takes the patch out for a month-long test-drive.
PHOTO (COLOR): On the third day I felt bubbles of endearment toward Laura rising in my system. Something was definitely stirring.
PHOTO (COLOR): Lint circles appear where the patch adhesive used to be. It's kind of exciting--I look like a tattooed tribesman.
Science writer and former ferryboat captain Alfred Meyer wrote about Paxil in the July/August 1996 Psychology Today.
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