We recently had a PGAD patient in her 80’s. The PGAD (or PGAS) started a few months ago after a head trauma and a broken hip. Her symptoms were classic: constant genital engorgement (she described it as heat and a feeling of fullness) and a burning feeling that was always present and was driving her …
Continue ReadingSeeing vaginismus everywhere.
My husband claims I see vaginismus everywhere. Okay. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I do…it kills me. When I see a woman who is totally avoidant of relationships I suspect she is fearful of penetration. When I see a young girl fearful of tampons, I suspect she is panicked at the idea of putting something inside. …
Continue ReadingPatient to patient — A conversation about vaginismus.
Something wonderful happened today. I saw a new vaginismus patient. Typical in many ways, she is in her 30’s, pretty and petrified of romantic relationships. She avoids relationships because she believes that there is something “wrong with her.” She feels ashamed and damaged. She really doesn’t believe she can be helped. The few relationships she …
Continue Reading“IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD!” and other myths about painful intercourse.
I’m tired of doctors telling patients “it’s all in your head,” a quick response to a problem because they do not know what to say or how to help. Although this may be true in some circumstances, shouldn’t doctors acknowledge what a patient tells you? How do you know what they are feeling, emotionally or …
Continue ReadingSexual disorders? Here’s what the new DSM-V says…
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (or the DSM as it is lovingly referred to by those of us in the profession) is the basic guide for psychological and psychiatric diagnoses. Put out by the American Psychiatric Association it catalogues “disorders.” Often there is much debate about the legitimacy of labeling something a …
Continue ReadingMCFS Clinical Director responds to the New York Times.
New York Times Sunday Magazine November 29, 2009 Dear Editor: Daniel Bergner’s article in the Times magazine section, “Women Who Want to Want,” once again poignantly expresses both the deep distress felt by women with the loss of their libido as well as the complexity of understanding and treating the condition. Women’s loss of desire, …
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