In bygone years, menopause was a sign of old age and the end of life.
Women had to give up work and were cursed to a life of solitude and asexuality.
These menopause misnomers were moulded out of myths and a low mortality rate for women, who barely lived into their late 40s.
For generations menopause was ‘secret women’s business’. Our mothers and grandmothers were never encouraged and often not game to talk about it, let alone admit they were going through it.
Society still looks down on menopause somewhat but back then there was very little access to information to know what to expect and if an older woman appeared to be cranky and so much as looked sideways at someone, she’d be immediately branded in whispered asides as ‘must be going through the change’.
Lucky for us we live in the 21st Century, where we’ve doubled our life span and have an abundance of information about perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause at our fingertips so we now know better.
Today we are encouraged to embrace menopause as a natural part of womanhood and this is leading to a much greater acceptance of this phase in a woman’s life.
There were times during my perimenopause and menopause when I wondered if my menopause madness was ever going to end.
Speaking first hand; life is awesome post-menopause.
You can read my horrendous experience through menopause by clicking on this link (click here)
A woman must wait for her ovaries to die before she can get her rightful personality back. Post-menstrual is the same as pre-menstrual; I am once again what I was before the age of twelve: a female human being who knows that a month has thirty day, not twenty-five, and who can spend every one of them free of the shackles of that defect of body and mind known as femininity.”
― Florence King US Author
Today women live over a third of our lives after menopause and many are as busy as ever; working, running a household, raising children and grandchildren and caring for aging parents.
For me, post-menopause has brought with it a welcomed sense of calmness but also an acute awareness of the importance of staying healthy as I age.
Eating well and exercising regularly have become the corner stones to maintaining not only my size and shape but also in balancing my moods and keeping my internal organs in good working order too.
Here’s a link to my weight loss tips in the article I wrote in the AMC Newsletter in February 2017 (click here)
My latest book Still Half My Size (New Holland) has just hit the bookstores and there’s an extensive interview in it with AMC Founder Dr Gary Aaron in the Chapter I’ve aptly called Managing the Menopause Madness.
As an AMC Newsletter subscriber, New Holland Publisher is offering you a $5 discount off my new book Still Half My Size. It normally retails for $29.99 but you can purchase it for only $24.99 plus postage if you clink on this link; (click here)
I’m trying very hard to understand this generation. They have adjusted the timetable for childbearing so that menopause and teaching a sixteen-year-old how to drive a car will occur in the same week.
– Erma Bombeck US Humourist
If you’re currently having a terrible time with perimenopause or menopause then you’ll no doubt relate to a mate of mine, who can’t believe that having your periods, pregnancy, labour, delivery, breast-feeding, stretch marks, sagging breasts and cellulite aren’t punishment enough…then along comes menopause.
I always get a chuckle from the names she’s given her 7 Dwarves of Menopause; Itchy, Bitchy, Bloated, Forgetful Sleepy, Sweaty and Psycho.
When you’re experiencing any or all those symptoms you can’t help but worry about what life’s going to be like when it’s all over and if it is ever going to be any better or if it gets even worse.
You can put your fears to rest, because life after menopause can be very enjoyable in many ways but it doesn’t happen overnight.
Like the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause that creep on slowly, so too do they gradually decline in post-menopause.
Sexual Well-Being
Many postmenopausal women wonder what their sex life will be like once they have completed menopause. Some worry that they will lose their libido or that their partner will no longer be interested in them sexually.
The good news for women is that sex is like a fine wine. It gets better with age!
According to Hilda Hutcherson, M.D. Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Columbia University Medical Centre and author of Pleasure: A Woman’s Guide to Getting the Sex You Want, Need and Deserve, “As we age, most of us become more aware of what we need in the bedroom and how to get there. We feel more deserving of sexual pleasure and are more willing to ask for what we want from our partners.”
Dr Hutcherson believes, “In our 50s we are more likely to focus on our pleasure than in our 20s, when we tend to focus almost exclusively on his experience.”
Recent research published in the American Journal of Medicine shows that women’s sexual satisfaction actually tends to increase with age — even despite the hormonal throes of menopause.
A recent study in the UK found that most postmenopausal women actually have a better sex life than they did before menopause. 65% reported being happier in their sex lives and this may be due to the lack of concern over an unplanned pregnancy.
The study concludes that postmenopausal women may find themselves free to enjoy sex now that many of the worries associated with it no longer apply. Postmenopausal women also seem to have an easier time reaching orgasm, and are more likely to experience multiple orgasms during intercourse.
Hope I meet a nice bloke soon to be able to test out the theory.
The study also revealed that a small percentage of women do experience a reduced sex drive during and after menopause and that may be due to physical changes in the body, such as vaginal dryness, which can make sex uncomfortable.
Emotional concerns can also impact your sex drive after menopause. If you are worried about the way your body looks or the way your partner may react to your body, then this could impact on your sex drive negatively.
Health concerns such as heart disease or osteoporosis may also affect your desire to have sex.
If a lowered sex drive is becoming a problem for you or your partner, discuss it with your health professional immediately.
Ellen Dolgen is an outspoken women’s health and wellness advocate, author, and speaker and her motto about menopause is;
Reaching out is IN! Suffering in silence is OUT!
This comment said in jest by US actor John Wayne might be right but remember there is a great life to look forward to after menopause;
Male menopause is a lot more fun than female menopause. With female menopause you gain weight and get hot flashes. Male menopause you get to date young girls and drive motorcycles.
– John Wayne
Be kind to yourself…cheers x susie
Susie Elelman AM JP
Author, TV & Radio Broadcaster
AMC Ambassador
About The Author - Susie Elelman
Susie Elelman is an Australian television presenter, radio broadcaster, and author, most famous for her appearances on daytime television in Australia. She has been an ambassador of the Australian Menopause Centre since 2016 and it is a pleasure to have such an influential figure support our work.