Menopause can be a confusing and isolating time both psychologically and hormonally, and added to the stress is the fact that sexual side effects of menopause often get lost in the babble about hot flashes. There are menopausal women who will suffer from sexual dysfunction for years, see a rupture in the relationship or avoid …
Continue ReadingOsphena — Oral medication for painful intercourse.
By far the most common cause of painful intercourse in a menopausal woman is vulvar and vaginal atrophy. During menopause estrogen levels plummet and can result in severe vulvar and vaginal dryness. Some of my patients have described intercourse as feeling like someone was rubbing sandpaper in their vagina. Another patient described her vagina as …
Continue ReadingHRT reduces risk of heart failure and heart attack.
A paper published in the BMJ Group’s Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare cast doubt on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and the Million Women Study, which associated hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with an increased risk of breast cancer. As years go by it is becoming more evident that the Million Women Study is …
Continue ReadingVulvovaginal atrophy.
Vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) is a common condition in menopausal women. It is most commonly caused by decreased estrogen levels which affects the vaginal tissue. This tissue becomes thin, pale, dry, friable and inflamed. Women will often complain about vaginal dryness, decreased lubrication and/or pain at the vaginal entrance. Other symptoms include pruritis (itchiness), bleeding, urinary …
Continue ReadingMemo: Menopause does NOT have a monopoly on hormonal imbalance.
A few months ago, I met a nice woman who was coming to us for treatment for low desire. She had been feeling a decrease in her sexual interest over several years and brought it up at her yearly physical more than once. But when she asked her doctor if it could be hormone-related, she …
Continue Reading