It's hard to say if your situation is "normal", R.C. because we really don't know if you are perimenopausal or menopausal.  You are probably at least perimenopausal just by virtue of age, but it could be that the pills are keeping your periods going and masking other symptoms.  I can say that yours is not the typical story I hear from my patients about sexual desire as they are going through the hormonal transition.  For the majority women in menopause, there is a lessening or flattening of sexual desire.  Our desire is created by testosterone and our ovaries produce 50% of our

testosterone.  As our ovaries slow down hormone production, we tend to notice that we don't think about sex as often (if at all!).  Our bodies tend to slow down in responsiveness, as well...that is, it takes longer to become aroused, longer to lubricate and reach excitement.  Many women find it harder to have an orgasm and -if they do climax- it is milder and shorter than before.  For many women, desire and responsiveness seems to come back, albeit as lower levels than when we were younger, after we have been through the tumultuous years of hormone imbalance and our bodies have settled down more in the postmenopausal years.  If lack of desire is a problem that a woman wants to address, it should be noted here that many respond well to replacement with the bioidentical hormone testosterone which can be prescribed by her primary doctor.