Saturday 16 March 2013

Menopause: further changes in the vagina




Something no one talks about is that menopause and aging inevitably leads to deterioration of the female genitals. I cannot make too many general statements because I am only an expert on myself, but I hope what I have to share may help.    

Many women just accept genital atrophy and get on with putting up with the discomfort and not having sex. I imagine that is one of the reasons many single older women choose not to find a new partner.

I also imagine genital atrophy is a reason married women give up on sex. Pain combined with lack of hormonal driver (i.e. lack of libido), dissatisfaction with partner, fatigue and beliefs that older women don’t have sex could make it easy to just avoid sex.    

One of the first signs of atrophy can be pain on intercourse or other sexual activities. There might also be chronic inflammation of the genitals. Another sign is malodorous yellow discharge (or indeed just yellow discharge).

I started off with yellow discharge plus a moving feast of different distressing smells. After my hormones stopped I started to feel pain upon intercourse, possibly due to lack of lubrication and more fragile tissues.

Ovestrin cream alleviated my genital atrophy problem for about a year, then the irritation and pain upon sexual activities including .intercourse began again. <sigh>

At first I put up with the pain and soreness after sex. My partner travels a lot for business and is very considerate, so I had time to recover in between. However, the problem became worse and my ability to have sex decreased.

I tried all sorts of remedies that had worked in the past – yogurt, probiotics and even some aggressive treatments that worked on fungal / microbial infections on other parts of my body. BIG MISTAKE!!!! Things that work with robust pre-menopause private parts may not solve post-menopause problems and make things much, much worse!!!.    

Eventually my vagina and surrounding area was flaming red and very sore. POOR ME!

SOLVING THE PROBLEM TOOK MANY MONTHS. This is something hard for men to understand. It was also hard for me to understand. Awesome commanded “see the doctor and get it fixed”. This started months of experiments. Thank goodness he is patient! 

Please see the next post for the management system I've devised ...:-)


3 comments:

  1. It's difficult for men to understand due to the fact this problem is hidden in many cultures. The little blue pill draws attention to aging men and increasing inability to get and maintain an erection for sex. This can inspire derision, mocking and looking down on those who use viagra or cialis. However women's issues down there are not as openly discussed even hidden at times.
    bj

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    1. Thank you BJ - I do appreciate your comments! It is distressing that people mock men (couples) using viagra or ciallis. As long as the doctor agrees they are safe for a particular person, they are a great way to overcome an age related barrier to great sex.

      When my partner wanted to try ciallis I took a neutral stand as I did not want to support anything that could prejudice his health. However, in our case it was a great temporary measure until the underlying health issue was repaired. Ciallis even seems to have positive benefits for those with high blood pressure!

      As erection problems can be a result of more fundamental health issues, its important to discuss them with a helpful doctor. In our case, a life-threatening heart condition also affected his ability to gain an erection.

      As for ladies' problems - hidden both physically and culturally - consequently they tend to be a surprise for everyone involved! I might write a update on my progress so far. I believe that would be useful for some readers.

      Thanks :-) C

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  2. As much as we’ve progressed in the past decades, it’s still taboo to discuss such things openly in some quarters. Although with the proliferation of the internet, people now have a place to talk about it and share their experiences, while still keeping the veil of privacy. Also, they now have an avenue to find out that they are not alone in experiencing the changes their body undergoes during menopause, and the effects it entails on their physical, emotional and sexual well-being. More so, they can get tips and advice from people that are having the same conditions from postings such as yours, and not just be brushed off and told to “go consult the doctor”. While that is a valid argument, knowing alternative solutions for some of the symptoms wouldn’t hurt. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

    Greta

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