Can you have a healthy, active love-life after menopause?

You've heard the saying, "Life begins at forty..."? I think that gem has been repeated for the beginning of every decade I have so far encountered, starting back at twenty. OK, so it hasn't been that many, but each one has brought at least one funny card about age and hills and calling the fire department because of too many candles on the cake - you know the cards I mean...

I have never received a menopause card, though. I guess Hallmark has seen fit to leave that one alone so far.

I think they're missing out on a great opportunity here. Can you imagine the lovely pictures and the sentiments inside? I am sure the creators of the Maxine line of greetings and paraphernalia wouldn't have missed a "gimme" like this one.

Technically speaking, menopause refers to the changes that take place in a woman's body after her reproductive processes have ceased - after she has not menstruated for twelve consecutive months. I have heard menopause referred to in many ways, some very serious, and some quite humorous. Even though I prefer the more humorous and humane approach to dealing with this issue, I do appreciate that there can be some very serious symptoms that must be dealt with.

About the time I notices I was having trouble focusing on objects that were too close to my nose, I also noticed a few somewhat distressing health issues. No, menopause does not affect your eyesight, but it can appear in your life about the same time as the "you need glasses now" fairy.

Menopause is a perfectly natural process of the reproductive system that occurs at the end of a woman's reproductive years. Just as, when we first began to menstruate, our bodies changed and were flooded with certain hormones, and the uterus was prepared to allow us to take part in creating and sustaining life, now the reverse begins. The production of certain hormones such as estrogen begins to decrease, and the uterus becomes unable to sustain life.

This process happens at different ages and at different rates in different women. There is no set timetable, just some general guidelines as to when and how rapidly this may happen. If your mother and her mother had issues with their "change of life" as this was once coyly called, there is a pretty good chance you may experience some of the less pleasant aspects of menopause. On the other hand, you may experience few or no symptoms at all.

In my case, I had already had to undergo a radical hysterectomy some years before which left em with only half an ovary. My GP, who has since retired from active practice, a much kinder and more humane doctor than the gynecologist who performed the surgery, warned me that though the remaining piece should be large enough to produce adequate hormones, we might want to discuss HRT, Hormone Replacement Therapy, at some point, should I feel the need.

The ovary, however, didn't know that it was supposed to be potentially inadequate. It dutifully "pinged" me once a month or so, stabbing me with a sharp twinge just to let me know it was still on the job, turning out a totally superfluous egg which now had nowhere to go. The eggs were reabsorbed, but the hormones continued to be produced in tune with my monthly cycle.

Finally, many years after the surgery, I realized I hadn't been "pinged" for some time. I had also, by this time, noticed occasional night sweats, which I put down to being overtired or fighting off some or other bug, and the odd really nasty dizzy spell on standing up too quickly, which I put down, again, to being really overtired. The postural hypo-tension that dogs me to this day was acting up a bit, I thought.

Hot flashes can occur at any time. A friend of mine always referred to them as "power surges". Lasting anywhere form a few seconds to several minutes, they can resemble night sweats causing you to arise and change your nightwear as well as your bedding.

Decreasing testosterone levels can cause lessening of libido, as well as thinning and dryness of the vagina. A lack of vaginal lubrication can cause sex to become quite painful for some women. This can exacerbate the lessening libido even further by creating a reluctance to indulge in sexual activities.

Some women experience headaches and depression.

In the past, such women had little recourse to remedy their situation, but with the advent of modern medicine in the west, at least, many women found relief in hormone replacement therapy. This therapy required careful monitoring by both the woman and her doctor to adjust the hormone levels to relive the woman's symptoms without creating new ones, or worsening the existing ones.

One of the more common side effects of some HRT programs was breast enlargement. Though I am sure some may not see that as a drawback, the additional strain on the neck and back muscles can be quite painful results, and can negatively impact a woman's posture as she ages.

HRT is well past its infancy these days, but many doctors are not automatically prescribing drug therapy, offering instead some of the natural and herbal remedies that have always been available to our sisters from the Orient.

Some of the more interesting studies I have come across of late suggest that a woman's attitude has a lot to do with how she progresses through menopause, as with any other naturally occurring phase of her life. Most exciting news is that with a different outlook on this new stage of development, with a positive regard for an ongoing life-process, most symptoms can be almost completely avoided, or at the very least, greatly lessened.

If you have been brave enough, or curious enough to read this, you may want to enter the poll as well. You will never experience menopause first-hand, but I guarantee if you are in a relationship with a women, you will experience menopause, however vicariously...and as a famous fellow once said, "We're all in this together..."