I see many women who are cancer survivors. Most of them feel that their post cancer sexual selves were never addressed. In fact, many were told, “you should be happy to be alive”, insinuating that they should stop focusing on any sexual dysfunction caused by cancer treatment. It is often very upsetting for them to …
Continue ReadingFishing for the right answers.
I recently met a woman complaining of a long history of painful intercourse. Several years ago she finally had the courage to tell her doctor about it. The doctor responded by recommending that she go see a therapist. The woman met with a therapist and was asked all the typical intake questions. When the therapist …
Continue ReadingYES! Hormonal contraception can cause painful intercourse.
I see many patients that come to the office complaining of painful intercourse and one of my first questions is: Are you taking birth control pills or any other form of hormonal contraception? And if so, for how long? Now, the information I’m about to provide includes all hormonal contraception like the nuvaring, patch, injections …
Continue ReadingSex and Chinese food.
The other day I was talking to a patient who originally came in for the treatment of low desire and painful intercourse. A few months into her treatment, her relationship with her husband has transformed and she is feeling more satisfied in her marriage as a result. When we were discussing her progress, she said …
Continue ReadingWhat I have learned about chronic pain.
As a medical professional, treating chronic pain can be very difficult. We are always looking for new treatment options for vaginal/vulvar pain since one treatment option doesn’t always work for all patients. What I have noticed is the longer a patient has pain, that once pain has advanced from acute to chronic, the more complicated …
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