Written By Dr. Marc Gittelman
Q: I’m 46 but I feel like I’m 76. I have no sexual desire or response. I have been moody at work and at home. I have had occasional hot flashes but my friends tell me that I’m way too young for menopause. What’s happening to my sexuality?
A: It sounds as though you might be entering the beginning stages of menopause. Although the average age for an American woman to enter menopause is 52, the actual age can vary. Some of the earliest symptoms include hot flashes, sleeplessness, headaches and fatigue. Many women exhibit moodiness as well. As menopause progresses, patients may also experience a variety of urological problems including sexual issues. Many women will have vaginal dryness or itchiness. Often there is difficulty with lubrication during sexual arousal. This may directly cause pain during sexual relations, which can create a lot of sexual inhibition and relationship problems. Often this leads to a decrease in sexual libido as well as difficulty in experiencing strong orgasms. Mood swings and all the negatives surface.
A quick trip to your gynecologist can determine whether you have truly reached menopause. If your body has begun to experience these age-related hormonal changes, your physician may offer options that can alleviate your agony. Many women will benefit dramatically from hormone replacement with estrogen and possibly progesterone, although we learned a few years ago from a large medical study – the Women’s Health Initiative -that hormones are not right for every woman. But there are many women who may benefit from pharmaceutical or natural bioidentical hormones used to replace the natural hormones that were made in a woman’s body before she experiences the changes that occur with menopause.
Your physician’s treatment could lead to fewer hot flashes, fewer mood swings and improved vaginal health. That may lead to an improved libido, more natural lubrication and better sexual relations. Equally important, the normalization of your hormones may also translate into an improvement in your relationships with your colleagues, your family and friends.