Women undergo menopause - the stopping of the menstrual cycle - anywhere between 40 and 50 usually and this leads to hormonal changes, which in turn can bring about many mental and physical health problems. Often, a woman s sex life is affected. Here are a doctor s suggestions on how to have a satisfactory sex life post-menopause.
Expert Speak: Sex After Menopause The Psychological Factor
by Aishwarya Acharya | March 12, 2021, 16:33 IST
“I thought having reached this point in my life empty nest, career success, or retirement my partner and I could enjoy intimacy in a new, more leisurely way. But my body has betrayed me!” This is the story of most of the perimenopausal and menopausal women. Menopause is a big deal, it’s not a disease but a physiological change and game-changer. When physiology changes you don t feel the same anymore. As menopause approaches, there is a decline in female hormones i.e. oestrogen and progesterone which can produce both physical and emotional changes which directly affect the sex life.
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Ask a woman in her 50s what some of the most uncomfortable symptoms of menopause are, and she’ll likely say hot flashes or night sweats. While this may be true, there are other, less commonly discussed symptoms that tend to be even more bothersome, not to mention permanent.
Some of these potentially life-altering symptoms can include intense vaginal dryness and pain with penetration; urgency and pain with urination; and overall feelings of genitourinary burning and irritation.
Called genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), this constellation of symptoms affects as many as 27 to 84 percent of post-menopausal women and can “significantly impair health, sexual function, and quality of life,” according to a study published in September 2020 in the journal