SEXUAL FEELINGS: MENOPAUSE
Many women experience several menopausal symptoms, including depression, flushes, perspiring, and a general loss of motivation. These symptoms can aggravate your emotional feelings and cause you to turn away from sex. This, in turn, reinforces your partner’s belief that after menopause sexual needs and abilities decrease in women. You may even try the opposite approach and become more sexually active in an attempt to overcome your fears. This, too, can lead to uncomfortable sexual interactions if your partner is not aware of why this is happening.
Menopause does not change your ability to have and enjoy sex. The fact that you are no longer fertile does not interfere with your ability to respond sexually or to delight in the same physical rewards of intimacy that you enjoyed previously. If your menopausal symptoms are pronounced, many physicians will prescribe small doses of female hormones, which may improve both your physical and emotional feelings.
If you have had a hysterectomy, you may also feel that your ability for sexual fulfillment will be curtailed. Your reproductive organs have nothing to do with the physical or emotional aspects of sexual enjoyment. After they are removed, you should be able to return to normal sexual activity. If the surgery has somehow affected your vagina, you should ask your physician how it can be treated. Some women may develop a painful thinning of the lining of the vagina many years after menopause or after a total hysterectomy. You may require some assistance in vaginal lubrication. Rather than experiencing pain during intercourse, consult your physician about how to achieve proper lubrication. Some women benefit from small amounts of locally applied female hormone cream (estrogen) or lubricant jelly.
*17\166\2*
