How Menopause Can Affect Your Sex Life

How Menopause Can Affect Your Sex Life

Menopause can bring with it a smorgasbord of ailments including headaches, insomnia, hot flashes, and moodiness. When you include loss of libido and vaginal dryness into the mix, there's no surprise that some menopausal women simply aren't in the mood. Sex can be such a touchy subject (no pun intended), and when you add to it the fact that up until somewhat recently menopause itself used to be considered a taboo topic some women may find it difficult to seek help for the menopausal symptoms affecting their sex life.

The hormonal changes during menopause can be to blame for both a lower libido and vaginal dryness. During menopause there can be a veritable hormonal rollercoaster within a woman's body, so it really isn't much of a shock when sexual desire is affected. There are other factors that can cause a low libido, either in conjunction with fluctuating hormones or independently. Poor physical health and thyroid problems can play a part in the lack of sexual interest some menopausal women experience.

Amidst the physiological changes a menopausal woman is encountering, there are also psychological issues that may be affecting her sexual desire. There are a number of women who feel as though menopause has dramatically changed their body, almost as if their bodies are in fact rebelling against them. Some women view menopause as the demise of their femininity, and are either ashamed of the changes they are going through or perhaps feel as though their partners will have a difficult time finding them attractive anymore. For these women, the absence of menstruation and fertility makes them feel less womanly and thus less sensual. In this way, a woman who has always felt quite comfortable with sex may suddenly find herself questioning her own desirableness.

Sometimes a woman's internal dialogue can be her own worst enemy, as it is more likely that her partner finds her just as attractive as before. It may be time for a frank discussion with her partner if a woman has feelings like this, or if the thoughts become overwhelming there are therapists who specialize in problems just like these. Most people would agree that seeking help for sexual problems is preferable to becoming celibate.

A stressful lifestyle can obviously wreak havoc on libido, and for many women menopause just happens to occur right around the time when stressors occur. For some, it's raising teenagers. For others, it may be running a company. Women must take close examination at their lives to deduce if more than hormone fluctuations are at work.

Some menopausal women don't notice much of a change at all in their sexual desire. Not all women encounter vaginal dryness either, and since there are also plenty of products on the market to help with vaginal dryness it is by no means a death sentence for sexual drive. Every woman experiences menopause in their own way, and for some a loss of libido isn't an issue.

There are indeed some menopausal women who find that this period of their lives is the most sexually charged time they have ever had. A benefit of menopause is there is no fear of pregnancy. Also, by this time many women have not only figured out exactly what it is they want in bed, but the kids have left home so if they want to swing from the chandeliers with their husband they can do so without fear of being walked in on. Freedom, after all, is a mighty powerful aphrodisiac. Additionally, some researchers suggest that postmenopausal women are generally happy with their sex lives and able to achieve orgasms more readily than their pre-menopausal counterparts. Postmenopausal women also have an easier time achieving multiple orgasms, according to some researchers.

Menopausal women do not need to simply accept a loss of libido. There are supplements and therapies that are designed to help regain the sexual desire these women once enjoyed. Remember that doctors have heard it all, so there is absolutely no reason to be embarrassed when inquiring about a lower libido. Menopausal women who either have no change in their level of desire or to have a heightened level of desire should consider themselves fortunate indeed.

Controlling your Bladder â€" Yet Another Menopausal Issue to Deal with

You may not be too bothered by some of the symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes…no problem. Weight gain…not really an issue. There is, however, something particularly irksome about not being able to control your bladder. Many menopausal women discover, to their dismay, that they no longer have the bladder control they used to.

The three most common forms of bladder incontinence are urge incontinence, overflow incontinence, and stress incontinence. Urge incontinence is when a woman loses most control of her bladder, with it simply releasing urine on its own in spite of the woman's attempts to control it. Overflow incontinence is characterized by a loss of sensation that the bladder is full, resulting in the bladder releasing urine before the woman realizes she needs to urinate. Stress incontinence is the most common form to menopausal women, and is characterized by unintended bladder leakage when a woman coughs or sneezes or otherwise puts pressure on the bladder. It is important to note that any form of incontinence should be discussed with your doctor.

There are a few factors that may increase the odds of experiencing menopausal incontinence. Some studies suggest that hormone replacement therapy will make a woman more likely to have trouble controlling her bladder, while other studies cite a twice as likely chance that a diabetic woman will suffer from incontinence during menopause. Another factor researchers have suggested is perhaps the method of labor a woman used if she had children. Apparently, women who had vaginal labors are more likely than women who delivered by cesarean to eventually have bladder issues when they reach menopausal age.

Menopausal incontinence isn't just annoying, but it can be so devastating to a woman's psyche that it leads to social withdrawal. It is not uncommon to fear that everyone around her knows that she has an issue with bladder control, and for some women this proves to be enough of a stressor to force them to withdraw from social situations. Take heed: you are not the only one with this problem. Literally millions of people are experiencing the same things you are going through, and it is also pretty safe to say that nobody will notice your problem if you take proper precautions.

So what can be done? Some women are so bothered by bladder control problems that they assume drinking less liquid is the solution, but in fact this practice can lead to other sorts of problems such as infections and dehydration. It is important to keep drinking plenty of liquids, even if you don't care for the method by which your bladder chooses to expel it. Conversely, too much water may result in bladder spasms, so don't go overboard in your attempt to stay hydrated. Relief may come in the form of medication, pelvic exercises, or in the most extreme cases surgery may be recommended.

Sometimes bladder control problems are a result of an infection, as opposed to being a result of menopause, so it is essential that you discuss this with your doctor. It would be a shame to simply accept the incontinence as a byproduct of menopause if it is actually stems from something else completely treatable. Remember, not all menopausal women develop bladder problems.

For some women it may simply be a matter of enduring this inconvenience for a while. There are a myriad of products available in stores that are designed to assist people with bladder control problems (80% of which, by the way, are women), and before you envision shimmying into a pair of bulky adult diapers just know that many of the products available are quite discreet and little more than the size of a sanitary pad. You can even order them online, thereby sidestepping the sometimes-embarrassing motions of trying to bury them in your shopping cart at the grocery store.

It may feel as though your body is rebelling against you sometimes with all the new and perplexing symptoms menopause can bring on, but try to keep a positive perspective. You're in what can indeed be the most fabulous time of your life, and if you have to trade a little bladder control for it then maybe that isn't such a bad trade.