A massive 91% of the women in my new survey feel their relationships are strained by their menopause. For the 76% suffering with vaginal dryness, 64% experience pain on intercourse and 79% are experiencing difficulty having an orgasm. Plus, a whopping 93% said they experienced a loss of libido at this life stage.  Those figures don’t bode well for happy and fulfilled relationships. And, my survey of men found that 82% felt rejected, saddened or bewildered by the change.

Vaginal dryness and painful sex are two of the best kept secrets as most women admit it isn’t something they speak about, even with their best friends.  In fact, two women on my Cruising Through the Menopause Boot Camp recently cried as they had never said the words vaginal dryness out loud! So, even though it’s a taboo subject, I’m focussing on vaginal dryness this week so that women, and their partners, come to understand that vaginal tissues can be restored naturally allowing happy loving physical relationships to continue.
 
Why do I get vaginal dryness?
When you get to menopause your ovaries stop producing estrogen, a hormone you depend upon to function normally, as you did before pre-menopause. Oestrogen helps to produce the cells that create mucus in the vagina and keeps the high elasticity in the walls of your vagina and the skin there supple. When there’s little or no oestrogen circulating around your system, that factory that produces those cells virtually goes out of business.

Other symptoms of vaginal dryness include frequently needing to pee, narrowing or shortness of the vagina, vaginal irritation, painful sex, reduced sex drive, repeated urinary tract infections (UTI).

It can be a very difficult, isolating time for many women. In a recent survey 58% of women admitted finding it very difficult to have conversations with their husbands or partner about menopause as they don’t know where to start and are often afraid that a conversation will only make things worse.

There is a palpable lack of knowledge amongst both women and men.  But, it’s so important to have an open discussion about this because menopause is just another transition that women go through. When you went through puberty and your periods started, you talked about it. When you were pregnant and gave birth, you talked about it. So there’s nothing to be ashamed of and you have to bear in mind that you’re in a transitional period in your life.

If you get the right knowledge you can fix this and start feeling like yourself again and have comfortable physical relations with your partner.
 
How can I treat vaginal dryness?
You need to focus on restoring the moisture in your vagina and repairing the tissues.  It takes a while, but is worth the patience. Consume naturally occurring oestrogen in your diet, like soya and flaxseeds, to help fool your brain into thinking you once again have circulating oestrogen which will help your body to start producing those mucus cells to lubricate your vagina. I highly recommend a product such as Pharma Nord Omega 7 SBA24 Sea Buckthorn Oil. This formulation has been through clinical trials and been shown to produce mucus in the vagina and to heal and restore the tissues and making the vagina a comfortable environment.

The trials go on for 12 weeks, so to see a difference you will need to take it over that period to reap the benefits. You should find that in conjunction with an oestrogen rich diet, Omega 7 supplements will help you restore the conditions in your vagina so you can go back to having physical relations with your partner.

If you’re looking for a short term solution, you can use the Yes Water-Vaginal Moisturising Gel and your partner can use the Yes Oil-Based Organic Intimate Lubricant.

In the meantime, get some loving on the menu! You’ll feel so much better and switched on again.

Hopefully you’ll take this information on board and see some improvements down below.