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Painful Intercourse During Menopause

According to The Health Guide, painful intercourse is the second most common complaint during menopause. Common symptoms include burning, itching, sharp or dull pain during sex. These symptoms can cause sex to be unpleasant, and reduce your desire to engage in sex. According to The Health Guide, some women find sex so painful that even thinking about sex becomes frustrating.

  1. Why Intercourse is Painful

    • Intercourse is painful as a result of reduced hormones in the body. When you enter into menopause, your body stops producing as much estrogen. Estrogen, among other things, helps with sexual response. A decreased level of estrogen in the body can also lead to a thinning of the protective vaginal lining. The thinning of the lining can make sex painful, and can also make you more prone to vaginal infections which make sex painful.

    Diagnosis

    • Your doctor can help you to diagnose the cause of painful intercourse, and help you to determine whether the pain during sex is caused by the reduced hormone levels, or by secondary vaginal infections which are common during menopause. If the painful intercourse is caused by an infection, a prescription antibiotic can resolve the problem. However, if the painful intercourse is a result of menopause itself, other treatment options may be necessary.

    Medical Treatment

    • Doctors may prescribe an estrogen cream for patients who have thin vaginal linings or other irritation of the vagina not caused by infection. These estrogen creams can be applied daily, right to the vagina. The creams help to reduce itching and burning, which can make sex painful. A lubricant may also be helpful during sex, and various lubricants are available in nonprescription forms in drugstores.

    Hormone Therapy

    • Doctors may put menopausal women who are experiencing painful sex on an oral estrogen supplement. These hormonal supplements can relieve many of the symptoms associated with menopause, including painful intercourse, hot flashes and moodiness. However, there is an increased risk of certain cancers (primarily breast cancer and uterine cancer) associated with estrogen supplements. Often, a progesterone supplement is also prescribed in conjunction with the estrogen therapy. Irregular vaginal bleeding is common in women prescribed hormone therapy and usually resolves itself within 6 months.

    Additional Advice

    • Your Health Guide recommends being honest with your partner about your difficulties with intercourse. You should feel comfortable explaining that you may not feel like engaging in sexual intercourse at times. You can also urge your partner to make sex slow and gentle, in order to decrease pain. Your Health Guide cautions women to remember that this painful intercourse is likely only temporary, and that you should be patient and give yourself time to cope with the changes your body is experiencing.

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