Dr. Sex 31410
It’s no secret that aging women (so, all of us) spend a ton of time, money and energy trying to shrink everything from our waistlines to our laugh lines. But Dr. Pam Gaudry believes we should be focused on the one body part that actually does shrink, all on its own, due to age and neglect.
And in this instance, less is definitely not more.
“If you don’t protect your vagina, you’re going lose it,” says Gaudry, who is redefining her role as a Savannah-based gynecologist by adding “sex therapist” to her credentials. “It shrinks up and thins out, and that can cause extreme pain during intercourse.”
And she’s not talking about some momentary, George Costanza-type “shrinkage,” either. Think of an estrogen-deprived, shriveled flower that once bloomed but is now closed for business. Literally.
“I have women come in and say, ‘He can’t even get the tip in. I need you to fix me,’” she says.
If you’re reading this and you have a vagina, it probably just shuddered at the thought – which no doubt pleases Gaudry, who says exercising your lady parts is your only shot at having a decent sex life after menopause.
“You didn’t hear about the nightmare of menopause prior to 1950 because by the time women had terrible symptoms, they were dying of other causes. It wasn’t until around 1950 that women routinely outlived their reproductive cycles,” Gaudry says.
And if you think describing menopausal symptoms as “terrible” is a tad melodramatic, then you either don’t have a 50-year-old vagina or you’ve never lived with one.
Story by Robyn Passante
Photography by Roxify Studio
