Menopause is part of every woman’s life. For many, it is one of the most significant midlife changes to happen to their reproductive systems. Depending on each woman, their feelings about menopause may vary. Many woman understand the big changes and adapt throughout the entire process, while others may have a much harder time figuring out their emotions and how their body is transforming physically.
Of course the swing of emotions, feelings and changes in the body is very normal. If you aren’t in the stage of your life where menopause is soon coming, you might not be too familiar with what it is and why it happens.
No worries, let us first talk about what menopause is, so that you understand the phenomenon a bit more. You first have to have some knowledge about the symptoms and the changes that menopause does to the female body, including her sex life.
The Menopause Mystery Solved
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You may be asking yourself exactly what menopause is. It really isn’t too hard to explain this phenomenon without using confusing medical lingo. Menopause is a time in a woman’s life when her monthly period stops and she can’t become pregnant anymore. This entire event can really effect women emotionally and not just physically.
Imagine, since you were 11 or 12 years old, depending on how old you started your period, you have had to deal with your monthly cycle.
You have had gone through the entire process of being fertile, having a chance to get pregnant, feeling the premenopausal symptoms and everything else related to your period.
Think of menopause as a permanent vacation from your monthly period. What a relief, right? Wrong. For many women, menopause seems more like a death sentence than a relief since their reproductive organs are going through a rather significant change.
Many experts say that technically, menopause is confirmed when a woman does not get her menstrual period for one year. Besides not having your period, there are also other symptoms that come along with “the change,” such as:
- Irregular Menstrual Cycles. This is the most common first symptom that woman encounter. Some woman may have their period every two to three weeks, while others will not get their period for months at a time.
- Lower Estrogen Levels. Estrogen levels will drop significantly, which is the reason why your likelihood in getting pregnant is much lower.
- Massive Hormonal Changes. During menopause, there is a huge change in hormones that occurs in a woman’s body.
- Vaginal Dryness. This symptom may also be accompanied with discomfort and itching.
- Dyspareunia. This when a woman experiences pain during sex due to the thinning of the vaginal wall.
- Hot Flashes. Many woman feel sudden heat in their upper body, which may cause them to sweat, flush and redden. Hot flashes can even cause an increase in your heart rate.
- Sleeping Problems. Some women experience disturbances in their sleeping patterns due to the hot flashes and discomforts.
- Irritability And Depression. Lack of sleep can cause women to be moody and irritable. Since hormones are also affected, it may contribute to depression and anxiety, too.
When Sex Isn’t Fun Anymore
If you have a close family member or friend who is going through menopause, try to ask them about their sex life. We bet you anything that they will give you a long sigh and say something like, “It isn’t how it used to be anymore.”
You may be wondering why, since sex is basically sex. However, during and after menopause, woman may not feel the same pleasure that they felt with sex before. Here are the main reasons why:
1. Life Stress
Believe it or not, menopause is a stress in a woman’s life. It is the midlife crisis that women go through around 40 to 50 years old.
Like mentioned before, you have had your menstrual period for many, many years of your life, but now imagine not having it anymore. This is definitely a major change that could play with your psychological well-being.
Besides the stress of work, marriage, raising kids and taking care of your aging parents, menopause is just more added stress. Woman going through menopause may think so much about the changes and pressures in life that sex isn’t as enjoyable anymore.
2. Estrogen Changes
Since menopause does affect woman’s hormones, it is no doubt that estrogen is one of the leading hormones it affects. Here is a little fact, before menopause, a woman’s sex drive is high right before and after they ovulate.
However, when the menstrual period stops, the estrogen levels dips and those ovulating days are over. Woman going through menopause may not respond the same way to touch as those who still experience their monthly period.
That means, it may be harder to turn a woman on during this stage in their life. Having low estrogen levels means that there is decreased blood flow to the vaginas, which also is a reason for vaginal dryness.
That is why men love it when women are “wet,” because it is slippery and they could put their package right in without having a hard time. However, for menopausal women, since vaginal dryness is a common symptom, “getting wet” may be a big problem.
3. Androgen Changes
This is greatly related to having the desire for sex. This is quite normal for both sexes as a person gets older. It is a fact that women are two to three times more prone to having a lower sex drive than men.
If you thought androgen is only found in men, you are very wrong, because women also have some levels of androgen in their bodies. Since this is impossible to prevent, there are therapies that women could take if they have sexual problems. Talking to your doctor regarding problems with your sex drive is a good idea.
If you thought your sex drive will always stay the same throughout your entire life, you may want to think again after reading this article.
If you are a sex machine now, you may have worn out your engine and batteries for when you reach midlife.
You don’t have to be worried, though, because it’s a normal part of life. All human beings, not just woman, will experience their sex drive being zapped. Just be ready and be knowledgeable about the upcoming changes in your body, so you will know what to do when it happens.