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Talk!
Don’t Shy!
Sex drive needn’t take a nose dive
during menopause. It can be treated but only if women throw away their
inhibition and communicate the problem early
M
enopause – the “M” word that marks the end of fertility – is a
enopause – the “M”
word that marks the end of fertility – is
a natural event that women
hate to hear and talk about. It happens when ovaries stop releasing eggs
and the production of sex hormones (namely estrogen and progesterone)
decreases.
This
is also a period when sex drive decreases, affecting a woman’s relationship
with her husband. Other symptoms that can make a woman’s life insufferable
during menopause include hot flushes, sleeplessness, fatigue and mood swings.
“We
really cannot predict who’s going to have a harder time with menopause and we
can’t tell how long it will last,” says Professor Susan Davis, director of
research at Jean Hailes Foundation in Melbourne, Australia.
Suffer in
silence
Sex for peri- and
post-menopause women is a taboo subject and many women are too shy to discuss
the topic with their spouse or doctor.
There
is really no need to suffer in silence as sex is an important aspect of a
woman’s relationship – regardless of age. In the report, Are Changes In Sexual
Functioning During Midlife Due To Ageing Or Menopause, 620 Australian women
aged between 45 and 55 reported reduced sexual interest associated with natural
menopause rather than with age. So, women shouldn’t think they’re alone with
the problem.
Most
physicians attribute poor libido to decrease in female sex hormones, compounded
by negative changes in mood and poor wellbeing after menopause. But according
to Professor Davis, another reason is the decline in androgens or testosterone.
“Testosterone
affects a person’s
vitality and is related to a woman’s sexual wellbeing, sexual interest and
responsiveness,” she says. Androgen levels start to decline over the 10 years
before menopause when women are in their 40s.
Sexual
boost
There are various ways of
stoking the sexual fire. Once organic causes for hypo-active sexual desire
disorder or low sex drive are ruled out, doctors will explore solutions like
antidepressants, various hormones and even erectile dysfunction drugs for men
like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
Alternatively,
Professor Davis recommends a menopausal drug called Livial, which contains
tibolone. It is a synthetic steroid which exerts effects similar to a woman’s
natural hormones, including testosterone effects. So Livial increases women’s
free testosterone and may therefore improve sexual wellbeing.
The
latest buzz in the market is Procter & Gamble’s testosterone patch,
Intrinsa, for the treatment of low sex drive in surgically menopausal women
receiving concomitant estrogen therapy. At press time, however, it is pending
approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
There
is no cut-and-dry method of boosting sex drive in peri- and post-menopausal
women and the most appropriate solution will differ from individual to
individual.
Hypo-active
sexual desire disorder during menopause is amenable with hormone therapy and
drugs. But women can’t go on the road to healing without open and early
communication of their problems. Why? Perhaps by the time they’ve received
treatment, they’d have drifted too far from
their husband to initiate that special,
intimate moment •
natural event that women hate to hear and
talk about. It happens when ovaries stop releasing eggs and the production of
sex hormones (namely estrogen and progesterone) decreases.
This
is also a period when sex drive decreases, affecting a woman’s relationship
with her husband. Other symptoms that can make a woman’s life insufferable
during menopause include hot flushes, sleeplessness, fatigue and mood swings.
“We
really cannot predict who’s going to have a harder time with menopause and we
can’t tell how long it will last,” says Professor Susan Davis, director of
research at Jean Hailes Foundation in Melbourne, Australia.
Suffer in
silence
Sex for peri- and
post-menopause women is a taboo subject and many women are too shy to discuss
the topic with their spouse or doctor.
There
is really no need to suffer in silence as sex is an important aspect of a
woman’s relationship – regardless of age. In the report, Are Changes In Sexual
Functioning During Midlife Due To Ageing Or Menopause, 620 Australian women
aged between 45 and 55 reported reduced sexual interest associated with natural
menopause rather than with age. So, women shouldn’t think they’re alone with
the problem.
Most
physicians attribute poor libido to decrease in female sex hormones, compounded
by negative changes in mood and poor wellbeing after menopause. But according
to Professor Davis, another reason is the decline in androgens or testosterone.
“Testosterone affects a person’s
vitality and is related to a woman’s sexual wellbeing, sexual interest and
responsiveness,” she says. Androgen levels start to decline over the 10 years
before menopause when women are in their 40s.
Sexual
boost
There are various ways of
stoking the sexual fire. Once organic causes for hypo-active sexual desire
disorder or low sex drive are ruled out, doctors will explore solutions like
antidepressants, various hormones and even erectile dysfunction drugs for men
like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
Alternatively,
Professor Davis recommends a menopausal drug called Livial, which contains
tibolone. It is a synthetic steroid which exerts effects similar to a woman’s
natural hormones, including testosterone effects. So Livial increases women’s
free testosterone and may therefore improve sexual wellbeing.
The
latest buzz in the market is Procter & Gamble’s testosterone patch,
Intrinsa, for the treatment of low sex drive in surgically menopausal women
receiving concomitant estrogen therapy. At press time, however, it is pending
approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
There
is no cut-and-dry method of boosting sex drive in peri- and post-menopausal
women and the most appropriate solution will differ from individual to
individual.
Hypo-active sexual desire disorder
during menopause is amenable with hormone therapy and drugs. But women can’t go
on the road to healing without open and early communication of their problems.
Why? Perhaps by the time they’ve received treatment, they’d have drifted too
far from
their husband to initiate that special,
intimate moment •
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