Episode 95: Sex and Sensuality with Lisa G - Mini Menopause Pod Series
Welcome back to our mini menopause series with nutritionist and health coach, Lisa G where we chat about some individual aspects of the menopause, or as we’re calling it ‘Four Short Dives from Two Short Divas’.
In this fourth and final episode, we chat about sex, because it’s important, and no one needs to suffer in silence - plenty do - around libido/sex drive, vaginal dryness, ways to feel more sensual and to remind you that everyone’s sexual drive fluctuates during menopause.
We discuss how hormonal changes can impact libido, body confidence, and vaginal comfort, and why women shouldn’t suffer in silence. Lisa shares practical insights around vaginal dryness, pain, UTIs, and the benefits of localised vaginal estrogen, probiotics, and pelvic health check-ups, alongside the importance of honest communication with partners.
The conversation also expands beyond sex into sensuality and self-connection; exploring how touch, creativity, rest, scent, movement, and simple self-care rituals can help women reconnect with their bodies.
Don't forget, Lisa is offering a free 20 min consultation, you can find her contact details on her website!
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
[00:40] - Sex Drive and Intimacy Issues
[01:36] - Addressing Vaginal Dryness
[03:05] - Importance of Communication with Your Partner
[06:40] - Sensuality and Self-Care
[08:38] - Embracing Change and Self-Love
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EPISODE #95 TRANSCRIPT: Sex and Sensuality with Lisa G - Mini Menopause Pod Series
Jemma: Welcome back to Love This Food thing. For number four of four bite size menopausal pods with nutritionist and health coach Lisa G. Hello. Hello. Why are we doing these? Well, if you have a history of eating disorders like me, or if you have still, or if you still have food stuff going on, the menopausal years can be even more challenging, and we think that fundamentally women want to know about weight, mood, and sex.
So number four is about sex and sensuality. And I'm gonna set that pinger and, yeah. Okay. You ready? Yep. Setting the pinger right. Hang on. Okay. So let's talk about sex drive Mine. I think I said this before, just disappeared out the window. Yeah. And. Trotted off down the street. Yeah. I also didn't feel like being intimate or having sex because I didn't feel good in my body and I felt bloated and, um, heavy.
Mm-hmm. And I couldn't be asked. Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't be asked. Yeah. So. I kind of knew that it would come back and I've been married a long time, so we can weather all those kind of storms. But also my husband was in a different phase of his, I'm not gonna talk about him, but his, you know, sexual hormones and so, and whatever, so you know, and stress, blah, blah, blah.
So it's not just the women.
Lisa: No,
Jemma: definitely not. And I wanna talk about vaginal dryness, which we talked about before. Yeah. And I said vaginal dryness, but I'm not gonna say that this time because in fact, let me talk about that now because. Buy a product. If anyone has vaginal dryness, dryness, or tightness, or a feeling of ripping sensation or a burning, you can buy some fantastic products and I'm gonna recommend them.
We don't have any affiliate links. I'm just telling you what works. There's a company called Naday. Yeah. And they do a fabulous, um. Oh God, it's in front of me. Where is it? Hang on. They do, no, that's from, yes, yes, yes. So they do a fantastic victory oil and they do a pH matched vaginal moisturizer and N do some kind of vulva oil Anyway, they do skin products as well, but they're fantastic.
Yeah, you need lots of lubrication.
Lisa: Yes.
Jemma: And I was using coconut oil, which didn't make any difference at all. Yeah. And you also need to have. A pelvic scan, you need to have a gyne checkup. Yeah. To see what's going on.
Lisa: Yeah. Don't you? Yeah.
Jemma: And again, as we said before, you gotta be. Kind to yourself and put an arm around yourself.
Yeah. And trust that whatever's going on for you is the right thing. Mm-hmm. But do not suffer in silence and think, well this is just how it is. Yeah. Because I think sex
Lisa: is so important. Yeah. I also, I think it's really important to be able to talk to your partner. Yeah. Really important. Because your partner may have no idea what you are going through.
This is true. Um, why would they if you don't talk to them? So if you find that difficult, try and find some words or learn some words that they will understand because men. You know, if women don't feel educated in menopause and they're not, and they're not also about their
Jemma: vaginas and v and all sorts and men that
Lisa: really aren't educated in menopause, you have to have with your partner that communication
Jemma: you do, and you,
Lisa: it's all
Jemma: right to say, I just cannot jump off the top of the wardrobe and swing on the chattier for you, Dar, because some women are.
Lisa: Exactly. And also some women, because of the, you know, declining estrogen and progesterone, um, are in so much pain. Oh, okay. Through vaginal dryness.
Jemma: Yes. Okay. And
Lisa: that is unbearable.
Jemma: Some women go the other way, don't they? And have a really high libido. I
Lisa: wish. That'd be me again. I mean it, it's. You know, it depends what their testosterone levels are doing it.
It's, it's very, very dependent, but you can, and it's not a systemic HRT, you can get a localized vaginal HRT you have to get That's, thank you. I think have to get, think a bestin is a really good one. It's a cream. Yeah. You have to get that rather than an pessary. And I think that because your estrogen has, what's happened is that lack of estrogen has made the walls Yes.
Thin. That's why it feels like it's tearing. It's like tissue paper.
Jemma: Yeah.
Lisa: And that is unbearable for women. So I, and also, I think I mentioned last time, sorry to interrupt. No, do it. C buckthorn oil that also inside. Well, you, you can take capsules of cbu. No, I mean, in the vagina. No, but you can, you, well, you probably could, but you could just take a capsule.
Okay. Of CBU Forno, because that's also good for sort of lubrication. But I do think that vaginal estrogen, and again, it doesn't go systemically, so if you don't want to take it, I personally and I, you know, I can't recommend hormones because I'm a nutritionist, but I, I do think it's, it's very beneficial if you use.
Jemma: Vaginal estrogen, it has no impact whatsoever. Absolutely doesn't go systemic on estrogen that you might Yeah, I'm just clearing up that word. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. It doesn't matter if you're taking HRT or supplementing with estrogen or OID or whatever it is.
Lisa: Um, there's also some really good, because a lot of people, women suffer with UTIs.
Yeah. Because there's that whole sort of, uh, bladder. Urine connection. So there's some amazing sort of probiotic supplements in. So I think, as I mentioned before, what happens is we don't want the vagina to be sort of abundant in all these different bacterias, and that's what happens post menopause. The vagina becomes abundant in all these different bacterias, and we don't want it.
We want it to be rich in various strains of lactobacillus. Yeah, so you've got that whole change. So there are some incredible, um, probiotics that can be really beneficial to help that wall as well, because that's what you want. Brilliant.
Jemma: Let's talk about, let's talk about sensuality. Yeah. And how you can be in touch with your body.
Again, this is a huge subject. Yeah. But I, from my own experience, I think it's about. Embracing reengaging or continuing with your creativity. Yeah. Whatever that looks like. Yeah. It might be changing the furniture every day in your room. Exactly. It might be writing a book. Uh, really, really look after your body like it's a treasured possession, so baths and showers,
Lisa: and move your body.
Candles, candles, lip baths. I mean, that's just such a lovely way of, first of all. If it's a magnesium bath, just really, or Epsom salts is really relaxing you and candle lit candlelight is just very sensuous anyway. Yeah. And also you could be in there on your own. You'd have to be there in apartment. Oh God, no.
Be on your own. Be get in touch, learn. You learn about this new journey sense. Yes.
Jemma: Essential oils. Yes. Wear perfume that you love. Yeah. Wear fabrics that feel comfortable. Yeah. Anything that is tactile. Yeah. And under that banner of essential. Yeah. And
Lisa: for everyone it's do what feels right. Exactly. For everyone.
It's, it's completely, completely different. You know, meditation is a really. If you are able to meditate. So a lot of people find it very uncomfortable meditating and that's okay. Well, it is, isn't it? It's not a problem. You know, we all have, I, I sort of call it our little toolbox. We all have our little toolbox of whatever is gonna work for us.
Jemma: I use now.
Lisa: Yeah,
Jemma: the sole physio frequencies. Okay. Which are great. Yeah. Particularly if you have AirPods or headphones, they're fantastic. And there's all sorts of different. Modalities of meditation. Yeah. I've also done vipasana and all those kind of things. Yeah. There's loads,
Lisa: there's,
Jemma: but I, it's very, you know, I'm trying to think of something that will land, but you really have to gather yourself up and be your very, very best friend.
Lisa: Absolutely. You, we need, and it's so very, it's, it sounds so simple, but it's so hard. We need to learn. To love ourselves. Yeah. And that is not easy.
Jemma: I think menopause, particularly if you've struggled with that, which let's say let's. Yeah. Lots of people do have, I think it's an opportunity to learn that again.
Lisa: Yeah,
Jemma: a hundred percent. Because you don't wanna get to whatever age you wanna get to.
Lisa: Yeah.
Jemma: Still carrying those issues, do you? Yeah.
Lisa: Because those are sort of the, it, it's negative that creates that stress response.
Jemma: Yeah.
Lisa: You know, that what that stress response does to us, you know, in, in our mind and our moods and our weight.
Yeah. So it, it's all these things, but it's, it's a very slow journey, but it, if we can make it a slow nurturing journey, whatever is gonna make us feel more in touch with ourselves and being able to communicate with your partner, I think is a really important part of that.
Jemma: And also understanding that your, you know, sexuality changes and the, all these.
Um, I was gonna call them challenges, but all these things that happen are ways that we can find our, or methods of how we can find ourselves kind of back home. Yeah. And back home is back to our internal worlds, which is really where we live,
Lisa: isn't it? Absolutely. It's about, it's about finding your way home.
Yeah. That, that's what it's, it's about, it's 'cause we've lost, we've lost how to get there. Yeah. And it's gonna, finding our way back is gonna look very different to what it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, because we are different.
Jemma: Yeah,
Lisa: absolutely. And that's not a negative thing. It's, it's a, it's a positive thing.
These, we can look at these journeys because so much of what I read or you hear on the news about menopause, it's all very negative. It really doesn't need to be negative. No, it's the most wonderful opportunity. Don't, despite all the challenges you don't, you don't need to be, you know, if you choose not to be on hormone replaced, that's absolutely fine.
It's a very individual journey and no one is doing it right or wrong. Yeah. It, it's about what is right for you. There we go. That went so
Jemma: quickly. That's it. Okay. Thank you. Do we, do you need to say anything else? No, just get in touch if you need to ask me. Oh, yes, of course. Lisa's offering a free 20 minute consult if you need.