Menopause marks a powerful transition in a woman’s life, one that extends far beyond the end of menstrual cycles. For many women, shifting hormones quietly reshape intimacy, desire, and how connected they feel to their own bodies. Yet these changes are often minimized or dismissed as “just part of getting older.”
They don’t have to be.
Menopause is not the end of your sexual self. With the right medical support, it can become the beginning of a more confident, comfortable, and fulfilling relationship with intimacy.
As a leading provider of menopause care, Shamsah Amersi, MD, understands how deeply these changes can affect quality of life. She offers compassionate, personalized care to help women restore comfort, confidence, and connection during this new chapter.
Menopause isn’t just about hot flashes or night sweats. Hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause — including declines in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — affect vaginal health, arousal, and desire.
These changes can lead to:
When estrogen levels decline, vaginal tissue becomes thinner, less elastic, and receives less blood flow. For many women, sex shifts from pleasurable to uncomfortable — or even painful — leading them to avoid intimacy altogether.
This experience is extremely common. And it is highly treatable.
One of the most common, and distressing, menopause-related changes is vaginal dryness. Reduced estrogen affects lubrication, tissue strength, and nerve sensitivity, often causing discomfort during sex and even during daily activities like sitting or exercising.
These symptoms are now recognized as part of a medical condition called genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). Understanding this is critical, because GSM is not something women have to “live with.”
One of the most painful things many patients say is:
“I thought this was just aging.”
It isn’t.
Menopause-related sexual and vaginal changes are medical conditions with effective, evidence-based treatments that can restore comfort and pleasure.
One of the most effective treatments for GSM is vaginal estriol, a bioidentical estrogen applied locally to the vaginal tissue.
Unlike systemic hormone therapy, vaginal estriol works directly where it’s needed and helps to:
Because estriol is a weaker estrogen and used locally, it is considered very safe for most women, including many who cannot or choose not to use systemic hormones. For many patients, this treatment alone is life-changing.
For women who prefer a non-hormonal option or need additional support, MonaLisa Touch® laser therapy offers another effective solution.
This gentle, in-office treatment stimulates:
Over a series of treatments, many women experience less dryness, reduced pain with intercourse, improved sensation, and better urinary comfort. Treatments are quick, require no downtime, and can be used alone or alongside vaginal estrogen therapy.
True intimacy begins when your body feels comfortable and supported again.
When dryness and pain are addressed, the nervous system can relax. Desire has room to return. Touch feels welcoming instead of stressful. Many women rediscover pleasure they believed was gone forever.
If menopause has affected your sex life, know this: help is available, and you are not alone.
To learn how Dr. Amersi can help you reclaim comfort, confidence, and intimacy, request an appointment online or by phone at her Santa Monica, California, office today.
