Sex after menopause

Fennel... you saucy minx!

I'm 59, had my last period last October. I haven't been even remotely interested in sex for years! I had terrible flooding for weeks at a time (10 weeks continuously the longest) for the previous 5 years.

On the odd occasion I have had sex with my long-suffering husband, it's been very painful. Perhaps I should try the things suggested on here.

If you can take HRT I'd say go for it and stay on it.

I stopped on the advice of a new GP and regret following that advice. I used vagifem when I experienced the difficulties described by the OP. I had a bleed, so the GP stopped the prescription (for reasons I accept)

Painful sex is awful. I hope you can get something to help.

I was having problems with urinary frequency post menopause and my gp prescribed Vagifem,I found that using Vagifem made sex much more comfortable even though I hadn’t found it really painful up to then and DH said he noticed a difference as well It hasn’t helped much yet with the frequency but I live in hope.

Good for you Fennel. Hope for us all yet.

Same as posters above.
As well as that if you leave it too long it can lead to painful urinary infections, needing antibiotics.
At 82 I still use vagifem. Sex life almost over {blush}

Oestrogen cream is great for this problem, I had no other menopausal symptoms so didn't feel the need for HRT, so just treated the one problem that was threatening my relationship. Painful sex is so difficult to discuss at first but your GP would have heard it all before, go and have a word as it is so easily solved.

I took HRT for ten years and didn’t regret it. If you don’t like the thought of taking oral HRT, have a word with your doctor about whether a low dose oestrogen cream applied directly to the relevant tissues would work for you. You are far too young to give up sex. Talk to your doctor.

I don't suppose you want to talk to your doctor either but tbh they're the best person to check it out for you. Apart from that it's generally recommended to use a vibrator if you're not having sex other wise atrophy sets in.

After menopause, decreased estrogen levels in the body can lead to loss of elasticity around the vaginal muscles — essentially shrinking the opening and making it difficult to have intercourse. You need to replace those lost hormones - get along to the doctor and start taking some hormone replacement therapy. It works wonders and brings your vaginal area back to it's younger self. I used it and it and the problem was cured in a matter of a few weeks. Good luck !