A healthy sex life brings a multitude of benefits throughout adulthood. While menopause brings a range of physical and mental changes, you don’t have to say goodbye to a fulfilling sex life as you enter and move beyond this natural transition out of your childbearing years.
Karl Baurick, MD, and Doris Heilman, MD, are here to assist you with any uncomfortable or disruptive changes that arise during menopause. At Interior Women’s Health in Fairbanks, Alaska, you have access to state-of-the-art technology and team members with the skills and experience needed to navigate any women’s health need.
Menopause marks the end of your reproductive years. For most women, this transition happens during their mid-50s, but some women begin experiencing symptoms much earlier. You can also enter an “artificial” menopause if you need to have your ovaries removed surgically.
Once menopause arrives, your ovaries begin to produce less estrogen than in previous years. Estrogen is a hormone that facilitates numerous aspects of your reproductive abilities, including prompting your ovaries to release eggs, thickening your uterine lining, and thinning cervical mucus to make fertilization easier.
Estrogen also plays a role in vaginal health, keeping your vaginal walls thick and elastic. The hormone also prompts your body to produce the natural vaginal lubrication needed to make sex comfortable and enjoyable.
As you create less estrogen, your vaginal walls can thin and lubrication can be less plentiful. This creates undue friction during vaginal sex, making it uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.
MonaLisa Touch is a treatment that uses laser energy to enhance sexual function in women. Treatments are delivered through a comfortable wand inserted into the vagina.
Laser energy is created by carefully controlling a beam of light. That light energy creates changes in targeted tissues, stimulating your body’s natural healing response. MonaLisa Touch uses fractional laser technology, which means that only a portion of the targeted tissue is altered during treatment sessions, leaving the surrounding cells unchanged.
MonaLisa Touch treatments create gentle heat in your vaginal tissues. Your body reacts to that heat by increasing circulation to the area and building new collagen and elastin. These changes restore normal vaginal lubrication and thicken your vaginal walls.
These changes take a few weeks to develop, so be patient as you go through the treatment process. Most women benefit from a series of MonaLisa Touch treatments spaced out over time.
MonaLisa Touch appointments take very little time and require no advance preparation. There’s no need for anesthesia, although your provider may apply a numbing cream to your vaginal opening prior to treatment to reduce sensation.
You simply lie back on the treatment table or chair as your practitioner inserts the comfortable treatment wand. Treatment takes only five minutes. During that time, some women report feeling a mild vibration, while others don’t notice any sensations at all.
Once your treatment is complete, your practitioner removes the wand, and you can get dressed and return to the rest of your day. Some minor irritation or discomfort is normal for a day or two after your sessions, but it’s nothing that over-the-counter medication cannot improve.
You’ll need to avoid having sex for a couple of days after treatments to give your body a chance to adapt. You may want to avoid any other activities cause vaginal irritation, and consider using ice packs to soothe the area if you experience any discomfort.
Vaginal changes during and after menopause are normal, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept those changes as an inevitable part of growing older. MonaLisa Touch is a noninvasive treatment that can help restore a healthy and enjoyable sex life.
When you partner with skilled and caring practitioners like Karl Baurick, MD, and Doris Heilman, MD, for your women’s health needs, you have access to a wide range of treatment options, including MonaLisa Touch. Simply reach out to the team at Interior Women’s Health to schedule a visit. You can connect by phone or try the online booking page.
