Handling painful intercourse during menopause
Dr Steven R. Goldstein MD is a well-known Menopause specialist in NYC and Osteoporsis specialist who has helped thousands of women over his 30 plus years of private practice to combat the symptoms of menopause. One of the situations menopausal women encounters is painful sex during menopause. This does not have to be.
Today, women are spending 40% or more of their lives in a menopausal state. They are familiar with the hot flashes night sweats and so on. However, roughly 80% of menopausal women will see those symptoms go away in four to five years, though it may last indefinitely for some women.
The lack of estrogen in the vagina causes atrophy changes, meaning a wasting away or diminution of tissue, that gets worse and worse over time. This can make attempts at sexual intimacy extremely painful. Sadly, studies have shown that over fifty percent of menopausal women think this is the way it has to be. Only seven percent of healthcare providers even initiate a conversation about sexual intercourse after menopause.
As a hormone specialist in NYC, Dr Goldstein says there are a number of very safe products. There are estrogen creams, tablets, rings that go into the vagina with very low doses of estrogen. These low dose vaginal estrogens, when used appropriately do not cause any adverse effects and are not absorbed into the blood stream. In fact many women under treatment for breast cancer are allowed to use these low dose vaginal estrogens by their oncologists.
In addition, there are some non-estrogen products such as SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators). One of them is taken orally and treats the vagina. There are more.
These products help restore some normalcy to the vagina, such as normal PH, normal elasticity, and so on. Menopausal women do not have to endure painful intercourse. To discuss this further, menopausal women may schedule an appointment with Dr Steven R. Goldstein MD, a highly regarded menopause specialist in NYC.
Dr Goldstein is dedicated to the entire health of the menopausal woman, with a particular interest in their bone health. He is also one of the best osteoporosis specialists in NYC One of the conditions that can occur as a result of menopause is osteoporosis, which is bone loss that occurs in women because of the loss of estrogen. When a woman enters menopause, her body stops producing the hormone estrogen, which is very necessary for bone health. So, bone loss occurs and bones become brittle.
If you are approaching menopause or are already menopausal, schedule an appointment with Dr Goldstein, a top hormone specialist in NYC to be evaluated and see if hormone replacement therapy can help you with painful intercourse.