I was on the fence about taking them, but when I finally did, my man and I were back to fucking fireworks! The research continues to go back and forth on whether women should take hormones at age 50+ because of the possible scary side effects like strokes and heart attacks. Apparently, his wife had had the same symptoms at my age, and he put her on hormones, the same ones he now was recommending for me. Eventually, the pain became so intense, and the sex so infrequent, that I talked to a few older friends and my therapist and finally consulted with my doctor. But suddenly, I found myself no longer wanting sex because I did not want to hurt so badly down there. I could have sex for all three meals and as a snack. What I did not realize was that with menopause would come awful, excruciating and miserable pain during sex. вЂњMy period turned off like a faucet at age 44, and I was thrilled. Sex is not a top priority with work and travel taking a first seat, but IвЂ™m not worried.вЂќ

вЂњMy husband and I have been together 31 years and married for 27. Now in my 50s, I am so freaked my twenty-something sons will hear us having sex!вЂќ вЂњWhen I was twenty-something, I was so freaked my parents would hear my now-husband and I having sex. Physical activity keeps your body and senses awake.вЂќ I think itвЂ™s important to keep in shape and remain active. IвЂ™m in good shape and I feel sexy and attractive. вЂњWith menopause, sex happens less often (somehow you forget about it), but I feel more confident than when I was younger. вЂњMy husband takes me on his business trips. If this is as good as it gets here on out, IвЂ™LL TAKE IT.вЂќ I do not want to give up on the effort it takes, because I know many friends have. IвЂ™m faced with the ongoing challenge of dryness (itвЂ™s ridiculous) but do my best to grease up! Sometimes I like to put on dirty movies as it helps me during foreplay. Now, do we have sex a lot? NO, but I must say when we do, it is still very good. вЂњI am a 65-year-old woman and have been married for 38 years to the same man. *I included quotes from a couple women in their late 40s who wrote in, too. Hanks to an abundance of stereotypes proliferated by popular culture, the sex lives of women above a certain age are either ignored completely or written off as вЂњnonexistent.вЂќ Who better to chip away at that oversight than those women themselves? I put a callout on Man RepellerвЂ™s Instagram asking for women over the age of 50* to anonymously share some thoughts about sex-how they feel about it, if they have it, if they donвЂ™t have it, what theyвЂ™ve learned about it, a funny story about it, how their sex lives have evolvedвЂ¦or something else entirely.

In case you need a reminder that every person and body is wildly different, enjoy the below story, originally published in June 2018, wherein 47 women over the age of 47 weigh in on the state of their sex lives.

I think love is over rated