Cope with hormonal chaos when mom is going through menopause and kids are going through puberty
If you’re in your 40s or 50s and you have kids in the house, you’re probably familiar with what I like to call “dueling hormones.”
This is that ever-so-special time when mom is going through perimenopause and menopause, and her kids are going through puberty, all under the same roof. With all these hormonal fluctuations happening at once, things can get more than a little hectic!
Barriers to parenthood are crumbling, opening up motherhood to women over 50. But should they do it?
According to an article in New York magazine, over the last decade the number of women having babies over the age of 50 has doubled. Plus, 25 percent of parents who adopt are over 45. Is this unnatural and unfair to children, or an extension of the women's liberation movement?
In addition to hot flashes and night sweats, a woman's sex life is also affected.
While many women are aware of menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats, the vaginal and sexual symptoms associated with menopause are less well-known.
Maybe your fumbling and forgetting the little and big things is not about your age, it's just life!
Let me start by saying I know plenty of young females in their 20’s who forget a child’s dentist appointment, or cupcakes for a school party, or even that they have something cooking in the oven. And it’s only the burning smell that reminds them they forgot to take dinner out on time. In fact, it makes me feel better - more normal - when I hear of the “younger generation” struggling with their forgetfulness.
We are about to dive into another sexual revolution but it's not going to be led by 30 somethings!
Erica Jong, known best for her book “Fear of Flying” is waxing poetic in the Sunday New York Times about what has happened to the sex lives of the younger generation. According to Jong, younger women are yearning for the nostalgia of a 50’s era happily ever after notion of monogamy, marriage and motherhood. Jong says it’s a kind of rebellion and a desire for control.
Dropping hormone levels are to blame for this common mid-life condition.
If he's been feeling rundown lately, become unusually short-tempered and restless, has less interest in sex, complains that his joints ache, or wakes in the middle of the night sweating, the reason could be male menopause—or, as some doctors call it, "andropause." It's triggered by dropping hormone levels in middle-age. Sound familiar?
The 4th, 5th, and 6th decades of Life, for Women can be confusing. Here's some relief.
Does that feel familiar? When did it happen that everything you thought you wanted when you were in your blooming 20s has either come to pass – and passed on by - or has lost it’s allure, or you’ve outgrown it?
It happens to all of us at some level. Some are more conscious of the discomfort than others and are willing to look at it squarely and address it. Others go on trying to recapture the lost glitter forever (yikes!
Women report an increased desire for sexual activity after menopause
For the majority of women, menopause causes no disruption in sexual relations. The hormonal and other changes taking place in her body need not affect a womans desire for sex or her capacity to experience pleasure.
Is that loving feeling absent in the bedroom? Take our poll to learn you're not alone!
I feel like my sex drive must be a distant relative to a bear, because it's in hibernation.
7%
I feel like Charlotte was right when she said, "My vagina's depressed."
9%
I feel like the only drive I have left is in my car. Because the bedroom one, that's MIA.
4%
I can't remember the last time I had sex in an interesting place.
32%
I wonder how my husband could possibly want sex after a long, tiring day.
11%
I have a wandering mind before (and during) sex. And thinking about errands or who will win Idol just kills the mood.
18%
I would rather burn calories at the gym than in the bedroom
0%
I love my baby, but had no idea that loss of interest in sex (plus leaky breasts) was part of the deal.
4%
I feel like Alanis Morisette's "Ironic" is my theme song -- it's crazy that birth control pills can diminish my sex drive!
5%
Even after menopause, it's possible to have an active, healthy sex life.
As we lucky ladies reach our middle years, it's as inevitable as death and taxes that we'll experience menopause. Taken from the Greek words "pausis" (cessation) and the "men" from mensis (month), menopause literally means reaching one's last menstrual period. Hooray! No more cramping and tampons! On the downside, your body experiences a depletion of estrogen that leads to hot flashes, mood and sleeping problems, not to mention a lack of moistness down below. Due to a toxic mix of bodily and hormonal changes, many women find their sexuality, physically and emotionally, dwindling. So is there a way to still feel sexy when you're body's grappling to adjust to menopause? Absolutely. Here are 7 pointers.
