Women and Hormonal Changes With Aging

Featuring Dr. Janet Franiek, BSc, MD, CCFP

Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds

As women age and approach the menopause, their hormones start to decline, specifically their estrogen and progesterone.

But what some women may not know is that in addition to progesterone and estrogen, testosterone, which is a hormone we normally associate with men, also starts to decline. The decline in hormone levels as we age can cause issues with respect to sexual health in two areas.

First of all, the decline in estrogen can cause problems with the vaginal tissue itself, causing thinning and lack of sponginess and suppleness of the tissue. In addition, women's ability to lubricate may become markedly reduced making intercourse uncomfortable or sometimes quite painful.

Conversely, as testosterone levels decrease a woman may experience changes in her sexual responsiveness, specifically her ability to attain an orgasm or the intensity of the orgasm.

So it is important when you have issues or if you have issues in this area that you see your family doctor and not only get tested for possible defeciences in estrogen and progesterone but that testosterone deficiencies also be tested for testosterone deficiencies, because it's important in the perio and post-menopausal period to replace all three hormones in order to re-establish hormonal balance.

Presenter: Dr. Janet Franiek, Family Doctor, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Family Doctor