Intercourse should not hurt. I am surprised at how many patients I see who have been suffering for years with painful intercourse of some kind. There are many reasons why someone might be suffering from painful intercourse. For example, lack of lubrication, vaginal muscle tension, endometriosis, vaginal infections, and structural abnormalities are all possible reasons …
Continue ReadingThe game isn’t over.
“Yikes, have you seen your vagina lately?” “You have the vagina of a ninety-year old woman.” “Can’t have intercourse? You’d make a great nun!” The above phrases were shared with me by patients and attributed to professionals they had consulted regarding their sexual dysfunction. Needless to say, the endeavors were not only futile in solving …
Continue ReadingGet your hoochie coochie in order!
My patient came in complaining of pain during intercourse. She had been suffering for a couple of years. Her symptoms started after menopause. Her vagina felt dry and itchy. At first, using a lubricant helped keep the pain at a manageable level but soon thereafter the pain worsened. She had a very healthy sex life …
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 ReadingAnother type of birth control — IUD.
Decisions about birth control can be very stressful. Although birth control pills are praised widely on television commercials, magazine and internet ads, not all women react so positively to birth control in their system. Not all women act like the actresses in the commercials. We often see women coming to us complaining about changes in …
Continue ReadingEcho: that pain in your vagina is NOT in your head!
If you search our archive, you will find a number of blogs discussing this topic. Although this subject has been touched upon, we continue to hear it from our patients each and every week, and not only are patients getting frustrated, but I am too. How can any practitioner, therapist or doctor see an ulcerated …
Continue ReadingOn trusting yourself.
We saw two patients in two weeks who had severe vaginal pain. In both cases the pain started 3-6 months after starting a new form of birth control pill. In both cases the patient felt that it was related to the birth control pill and asked their prescribing physician about it. In both cases they …
Continue ReadingOn pain…
If one more patient comes in and tells me she has spent a year with a therapist talking about the pain in her vagina and low and behold she still has the pain…I will get up and scream. Really. I promise. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the ridiculous notion that “it is all …
Continue ReadingNewsletter brings vaginismus into the open.
The Medical Center for Female Sexuality remains on the cutting edge of female sexual concerns with the latest issue of its newsletter, Sex for Women Today. The September issue is dedicated to vaginismus, a rarely discussed disorder identified by pain during intercourse. Women are finding there is a solution and they no longer need to …
Continue ReadingOne man’s…
It never ceases to amaze me…one day recently I had two back to back vaginismus patients. “What’s vaginismus?” you ask. It’s a condition (not that rare at all mind you) where a woman can’t get a penis into her vagina. It can be severe. She can’t get a finger or a tampon in. Or it …
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