Do I need an annual Pelvic Exam?

What if I’m not due for my pap, do I still need an annual exam? While you may not need a pap test done every year, it’s still recommended to visit your gynecologic provider yearly for an annual ‘well woman exam.’ At this visit, your clinician will check your blood pressure and weight, screen you …

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Sleep and Desire

Patients often come to Maze with concerns about their lack of desire. Prior to their visit with us, they complete an in-depth medical questionnaire. Upon review of their responses, we overwhelmingly see that the answer to the question “do I feel well-rested?” is NO. Actually, I can only recall a couple (as in 2) times …

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The Clitoris: Small but Mighty

The clitoris. It’s a part of woman’s anatomy that has been both vilified and revered. But in the world of medicine, it’s been mainly just ignored. I probably don’t have to tell you that the penis has most certainly *not* been overlooked in medicine (or anywhere else for that matter!). The clitoris has likely been …

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Painful Sex: Is it Collision Dyspareunia?

Occasionally women may experience pain with intercourse that they feel deep inside the vaginal canal; some women describe it as feeling a stabbing pain in their abdomen or bladder. It usually occurs with deeper penetration and sometimes is relieved with position change or their partner not thrusting quite as deeply.  For some women, however, this …

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Can anti-depressants cause low libido?

It is estimated that approximately 1 in 6 women in the United States is taking an anti-depressant. Unfortunately, a substantial proportion of these women will experience unwanted side effects that impact their sex lives. Not surprisingly, depression itself is a major risk factor for sexual dysfunction; many women who are struggling with depression have very …

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What’s In a Name? Turns out… A lot!

I was once at a conference where the speaker asked the women in the room, of which there were hundreds, what they were taught to call their external genitalia as young girls. Hands shot up and women listed dozens of different names for this part of the female body: va-jay-jay, muffin, front bum, hoo hoo…the …

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The mystery of vulvodynia

Although vulvodynia is a condition that affects many women – studies estimate between 6-20% of women – it is still frequently missed or misdiagnosed, even among clinicians specializing in womens’ gynecologic health. Many women suffer from vulvodynia for years, often seeing multiple providers and being subjected to many unnecessary tests and ineffective treatments, prior to …

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What’s the Deal with ‘Toxic Masculinity’

If you were anywhere on social media in mid-January, you undoubtedly came across the new Gillette commercial. The men (and women, interestingly enough) who were offended by the ad felt that the ad was disparaging masculinity or ‘what it means to be a man.’ The ad attempts to display images of ‘toxic masculinity’ such as …

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