It is easy to blame stress, your kids, a demanding job, a lack of sleep, and even your age for a serious lack of libido. Medications, birth control pills and many medical conditions could also affect your mood inside the bedroom. After all, these are known and common factors, which mess up your sex drive.
Did you know that high blood glucose levels could also be the culprit for a lack of sex drive?
Yes, diabetes is one of the many libido killers affecting both men and women inside the bedroom. Diabetes is a type of chronic disease where your body cannot regulate sugar in your blood.
Your body produces little insulin or the hormone controlling the blood sugar by moving the glucose from your bloodstream to various areas in your body, or your body becomes resistant to insulin, or both.
Apparently, 35 percent of women with diabetes experience problems inside the bedroom.
If you are wondering how diabetes messes up your sex drive, then here’s seven ways how:
1. Yeast Infections
Fact: yeast infections are not a dangerous condition. In fact, there are various ways to help you get rid of them. If you happen to be diabetic, you are more at risk of developing a yeast infection. After all, the vagina is a moist place, which is perfect for yeast overgrowth. Unfortunately, it could affect your sex life, too, because of the discomfort and the stress of passing it on to your partner.
Candida albicans, the fungus that causes yeast infections, works with other microorganisms inside your body. However, any imbalance due to extra sugar in your blood could cause overgrowth of this fungus, thereby leading to yeast infections. More so, that sugar means you also have extra in your vagina and other tissues, which stimulates yeast growth.
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A yeast infection does not spread through sexual contact. However, up to 15 percent of men could get a rash on their penis after having unprotected sex.
This is why it is best to treat yeast infections first before having sex. Using condoms may not offer the kind of protection you expect,and could even irritate the infection more.
2. Urinary Tract Infections
A urinary tract infection or UTI is a type of bacterial infection that grows in the urinary tract, including the kidneys, bladder and through the urethra. Symptoms include pain or burning sensations during urination, frequency in urinating, pain in the lower abdomen, and cloudy or foul-smelling urine.
Sadly, diabetes and UTIs are two concepts that go together. In fact, if you have diabetes, you are more prone to UTIs, which could make sex uncomfortable. Your immune system is weaker and the high blood sugar could spill into your urine and stimulate bacterial growth down south. Nerve damage is another issue, which affects diabetics, thereby preventing your bladder from fully emptying. That’s not all. The burning sensation and pain associated with a UTI could make sex uncomfortable for you.
3. Difficulty Reaching Orgasm
Let’s face it, orgasm is the end-goal in every sex session. For people with diabetes, the big O could be an unattainable goal.
A study published in the Journal Obstetrics & Gynecology reported that middle-aged women with diabetes are 80 percent more likely to have difficulty getting the big O, than women without diabetes.
Arousal and orgasm need your neurovascular system to be able to work properly. When this mechanism is not working due to uncontrollable blood glucose,the small nerves are likewise not functioning. This could spell issues in sensations, and eventually, orgasm, too.
4. Vaginal Dryness
This is perhaps the biggest bedroom issue that affects women with diabetes. It is easy to blame menopause or post-menopause for the lack of lubrication down there. Apparently, if you are in your 30’s or older, and you suffer from diabetes, vaginal dryness can become a major issue.
This is because diabetes creates damage to the nerves, which helps lubricate the area down south. There is limited blood flow in erogenous areas because of the damage, and this affects your arousal and sensation. This makes it harder for you to get in the mood and make your vagina cooperate.
Managing your blood glucose levels is the best way to address vaginal dryness and other issues in bed. Having plenty of lube on hand and lots of foreplay could also help, too.
5. Neuropathy
Aside from blood flow and creating more damage in the blood vessels, too much glucose in your blood starts to destroy myelin, or the protein covering the nerves. Damage to the myelin leads to nerve damage called neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy damages the nerves in your body, including your legs and feet, making sex uncomfortable.
There are different types of neuropathy, which could affect your mood in bed. Among them is peripheral neuropathy, which leads to foot issues, such as tingling sensations and numbness. You might also experience autonomic neuropathy, which affects the nerves that are directly connected to sexual stimulation and arousal. This could lead to difficulty in arousal and lubrication.
6. Depression
If you are diabetic, you will easily notice changes in your physical functions, like a lack of sex drive, vaginal dryness and orgasm issues.
Above all this, there is another aspect that suffers when you are diabetic: your mental health.
When diabetes attacks, you start to feel complications in your normal body functions. This is because too much sugar damages your nerves and messes up your entire system. You start to lose interest in doing activities you used to love. You also know that it could lead to complications, which makes it easier for you to say, “No honey, not tonight.”
As a result, you may feel sorry for yourself, and come up with various excuses to say no to sex. After all, sex could be painful and uncomfortable for you.
7. Low Sex Drive
What happens if your blood sugar levels are uncontrollable? Experts recognize the link between glucose levels and genital stimulation. This means excess sugar damages your blood vessels, which makes proper blood flow in important areas next to impossible.
However, it’s not just about your mindset. You already know that being diabetic makes you more prone to vaginal troubles, such as yeast infections and UTIs.
There is also a higher risk of experiencing pain and discomfort while doing the deed. Sadly, these predispositions interfere with normal sexual pleasure and your mood in bed.
Sex Tips For Diabetics
Diabetes and your sex life are two concepts that have difficulty getting together. The good news is there are ways to help you control diabetes and eventually improve your sex life. This includes the following:
- Learn To Control Your Glucose Levels. This is the first step you need to get your sex life back and to keep your health at bay, too.
In maintaining a normal blood sugar level, your body is able to prevent nerve damage, protect your blood vessels, and helps your body fight infections. 
Choose Your Food Wisely. In relation to the first tip, you need to be careful with what goes inside your body. Stay away from high-glycemic carbs and stick to whole grains, fruits, veggies, and protein. The earlier you start eliminating fat in your diet, the better for the pancreas to produce insulin.- Your PH Level Matters.When your blood sugar increases, the pH balance down south starts to get messy and increases your chance of getting chronic vaginal infections. This could lead to bad bacterial growth, such as yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis. Restore the normal vaginal pH by using an FDA-approved vaginal gel twice a week. It normalizes pH level down there and acts as a moisturizer for added comfort in bed.
Try Sex Toys. Being diabetic means a decrease in blood flow down south. Studies reveal that diabetics have difficulty reaching orgasm because of nerve damage.
Having a vibrator or other sex toys, which provides clitoral stimulation could be of great help. This could also give sensation and arousal a boost.- Consider Sugar-Free Lube. Everything sugar-free must extend inside the bedroom, including the lube you use for down there. Some lubes contain sugar, which could mess up with your vagina’s pH levels. This could also lead to yeast infections. Therefore, make a conscious effort to check the ingredients and go for silicone-based lubricant.
- Visit Dreamland. Sleep is important, and even more so if you are diabetic. Sleep plays a major role in controlling your blood sugar. The lack of it could lead to elevated blood sugar levels. If you are having problems shutting your eyes, try taking a warm bath, listen to soothing music, turn of electronic devices, keep the room dark, avoid coffee after breakfast and limit your afternoon nap.
Get Up And Move. There is a reason why exercise will always be a staple tip in boosting your sex drive. According to research, exercise helps reverse the symptoms of diabetes, thereby strengthening your heart, stamina and flexibility.
More importantly, it increases the blood flow in vital areas, including what’s down there. Yoga and other low-impact workouts are great exercises you can start with.- It’s Okay Not To Have Sex. There are instances where you’re not in the mood to take off your clothes. That’s okay. If you’re not in the mood, you could always find ways to bond and be intimate with your man. Watch a movie, schedule a couple’s massage, read erotic stories or cook dinner together. These are some of the many ways to strengthen the bond.
Diabetes may be a lifelong condition, but this doesn’t mean you should allow it to take over your system, especially when inside the bedroom. You can do something about it as long as you are willing to talk about your condition. Be proactive, and you can increase the quality of your life, and your sex drive, as well.