What to expect from sex after the menopause

Do you have reason to believe you are entering the menopause? Going through menopause symptoms like hot flushes and mood swings can be hard... but what will life be like after you have stopped having those symptoms, and after you have been free from menstrual cycles for more than a year? Once you are officially post-menopausal, what will sex be like?

There are plenty of post-menopausal women whose libido did not undergo any changes, and who still have great sex. If you're lucky, it may actually be better than ever before! Women who are currently approaching the menopause, don't fret what we're about to discuss may not apply to you at all. If it does, there's help available. This post about sex after the menopause was triggered by a friend, who recently entered the menopause and said her libido was higher than it was when she was still experiencing menstrual cycles. Sadly, she couldn't enjoy any of that, because vaginal dryness made intercourse extremely uncomfortable.

This is one problem that can crop up due to hormonal changes in post-menopausal women. There's roughly four types of issues you can experience, and they are:

Painful intercourse or other sexual stimulation. Some women even experience pain in the vaginal area without any touching. The inability to achieve orgasm. Your libido has decreased, or has left the building altogether. The thought of sex still appeals to you, but you can't get or stay aroused when the opportunity actually arises.

People are complex beings, and the culprit of any of these four problems may not be quite so easy to identify. The cause of your sexual issues could be hormonal, but it can also be psychological, or due to a physical problem. Hormones are often recommended as a fix all for women who have entered the menopause, and they certainly benefit many women experiencing sexual problems but they won't help everyone. Estrogen can often help with vaginal dryness issues, and testosterone may increase a woman's libido.

Or, her trouble could be due to something non-hormonal. That's why women who would love to continue to have a great sex life after the menopause, but who have run into some problems, shouldn't hesitate to visit their family practice doctor, gynecologist, or sexologist about their issues. These problems are not uncommon, and once your healthcare provider has identified the cause, things should get a lot better.