Menopause is a critical time in a woman’s life when menstruation and ovulation finally stop, and women are no longer able to bear natural children. Menopause isn’t official until menstruation has stopped for a full year. But, even in the years leading up to menopause, women may experience the following:
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal dryness
- Tender breasts
- Low libido
- Fatigue
- Moodiness
- Insomnia
- Severe PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)
- Urinary incontinence during sneezing and coughing
These Perimenopause symptoms usually begin when a woman reaches her 40’s and is producing less estrogen but can even start in women who are just 30 years old. The perimenopause symptoms can last for ten years or just a few months.
The Changes Menopause Brings to a Woman’s Sex Life
When a woman reaches menopause, her estrogen levels plummet. She no longer requires the physical elasticity of the vagina to expand and bear children. As a result, the vagina tends to dry out and become tighter.
This makes the tissues thin and delicate because menopause often coincides with a decrease in collagen production. The collagen is what gives the tissue firmness. A fresh steak has a lot of collagen in it.
When you add the lack of natural vaginal sweating from the estrogen levels dropping off, it is plain to see that menopause can have a dramatic impact on a woman’s life. The lack of estrogen reduces the blood vessel dilation that stimulates vaginal wetting.
How These Changes Affect Her Sex Life After Menopause?
Most negative menopause symptoms are psychological: a lack of self-confidence, depression, anxiety, loss in interest in sex, irritability, etc. They may be regrets about failing to bear more children or about growing old. Women who feel sex is an important part of their relationship may worry about problems developing and losing their partner.
Because the vaginal tissues are dry, lack elasticity, thin, and easily damaged after menopause, sex can lose its enjoyment. Painful sex can lead to a psychological aversion to avoid the pain. Most sexual problems are rooted in these vulvovaginal atrophy menopause symptoms that are chiefly caused by low estrogen levels.
Dry sex can be very painful and may lead to bleeding and burning sensations. The dryness does not only affect a woman but will also affect her partner equally from the abrasive friction of unlubricated skin tissue. Because the vagina requires vaginal wetness and blood vessel dilation for sexual intercourse, the tightness of the vagina can become a problem.
The exception may be in Asian cultures where dry vaginas are coveted for more enjoyable sex when lubrication is added. Yet, lubricating a dry vagina is not like moisturizing your hands. You cannot use oil or any sort of lotions inside the vagina because they will prevent it from breathing and often lead to infections.
How to Maintain an Enjoyable Sex Life After Menopause?
When it comes to enjoying sex after menopause, you should keep in mind that most of the negative symptoms of menopause dissipate over time. Learning how to care for your vagina with moisturizers, lubricants before sex, and avoiding soaps and hot water that can dry it out are all important aspects.
There are also numerous natural remedies available on the market for women because it is such a common problem dating back to ancient times. These remedies include supplements that contain DHEA, Kava Kava, phytoestrogens found in Soybeans, dong quai, wild yams, red clover, and black cohosh.
Supplement producers are hard at work formulating and testing alternatives to synthetic hormone therapies. This is because synthetic hormone therapies are associated with increased risks of cancer and blood clots. Pharmaceutical companies are also engineering plant-based bio-identical hormone therapies for the same reason but at a much higher cost.
Traditional hormone therapies such as estrogen and progesterone may be applied topically or taken in low doses orally. But these treatments are generally unavailable to anyone with a family history of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, or at risk of excessive clotting or bleeding.
Conclusion
Sex after menopause can improve on a spiritual level if you spend more time cuddling and engaged in foreplay with your partner. It may also lead you to be creative when you are trying to find your passion. Because the negative symptoms will decrease over time, you should use whatever natural substances that you can to avoid the psychological fallout.
Sources & References:
https://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/guide-perimenopause#1
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317542.php
https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/tight-vagina-asian-stereotype
