There have been many posts recently by people experiencing problems with an overactive libido.

This is a topic which is largely overlooked, because the media industry focuses on men & women who want to increase their drive and/or performance. Lots of us want to "crank down" our sex drives, or in some cases eliminate them altogether.

Testosterone is a major culprit in overactive libidos. Testosterone triggers the areas of the brain that control male erections and female lubrication. Controlling t-levels can be tricky, however.

Some women & men experience a "natural" reduction in testosterone as they age. Many do not.

Forget about anti-depressants -- they don't alter hormone levels, they merely create "disconnects" in the brain by preventing seratonin reuptake. These disconnects mainly interfere with male erections and female lubrication, and make it harder to concentrate on achieving orgasm. They don't reduce libido much, if at all. They merely leave you horny with a decreased ability to relieve the situation.

Women can sometimes "offset" elevated testosterone levels by the addition of the female hormones found in birth control pills/injections/patches. But estrogen can also sometimes be converted to testosterone within the body, so it doesn't work for everyone.

Similarly, as some pre-op transsexuals know, when men are given female hormones, there can often be a reduction in sex drive -- but not always. Testosterone in some people simply dominates, and estrogens in such people can also be converted to testosterone.

For women, when the ovaries begin to shut down during menopause, some experience an elevated libido -- because the hormones are then largely from the adrenal glands, which raises the ratio of testosterone to estrogen in the body. This is also why suddenly in middle age, some women start getting chin hair as well. Hysterectomy can also cause these same changes. But, once again, the body has an ability to convert one kind of hormone into another, so one woman's high testosterone can be another woman's excessive estrogen (too much estrogen can dampen libido).

For men, the easiest and least utilized method of libido reduction is orchidectomy (removal of the testicles). It's obviously ill-advised for anyone wanting a family, but more to the point, there are certain cultural "taboos" about it. But there are plenty of men living happy sexual lives after such minor surgery -- some are removed for disease (testicular cancer), some to help address other diseases (prostate problems) and some folks simply have them out to reduce/eliminate libido. Such men can still have sex if they want -- the adrenals produce at least as much testosterone as women enjoy, and as we all know, that can be more than enough for some women!

Libido reduction can certainly be achieved short of removing testicles and ovaries, of course. Anti-androgens (testosterone blockers) such as Androcur, Lupron, Provera, etc. are drugs which target androgen receptors in the body and prevent hormone molecules from finding their usual receptors. They're mostly effective, and dosages can be modified to achieve the optimal libido reduction. They're probably not the best bet for a long-term solution -- but for those of you who would like to "try on" a reduced or eliminated libido, they're the best bet. No one should ever just assume they'd be happier living libido-less and rush into surgery -- it's worthwhile to try the hormone blockers for a few years first. You can always stop taking a medicine, but you can't put back the ovaries or testicles once they're gone.

No matter which way you choose to reduce your hormone levels, one of the side effects will be an increased risk of osteoporosis, so be advised that "fixing" your libido may put you at risk for bone fractures or at the very least spending the rest of your life on supplements/medicines to protect your bone density.

Also be advised that reduced testosterone levels will affect your body's ability to make/maintain good muscle tone. You may put on some weight and find it harder to stay in shape.

Hormones are still somewhat of a mystery in some ways, and they vary widely from person to person. Your physician can perform blood tests to find out if you truly have excessive testosterone (or estrogen), and can most likely prescribe a hormone blocker (or in some cases, additional hormones) to try to get things into balance.

It's sometimes too easy for a woman to get a hysterectomy and too difficult for a man to get an orchiectomy. This requires women to be extra careful (i.e. not rushing into an unnecessary surgery) and men to be very proactive (find a doctor who isn't going to brush off your hormone problems). For men, finding a urologist to perform an orchiectomy isn't impossible, but it may require a lot of "extra" work, such as second opinions and/or psychological referrals (to make sure you're not just a "body dysmorphic" looking to have bits chopped off for the heck of it).

Good luck to all of you who are afflicted by high libidos. I hope some of this helps. ;-)

Been there, done that.