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 ReadingDebate: the “Medicalization” of female sexuality.
I hope you’ll forgive the lengthy perspective below, but this is an issue I am extremely passionate about. If I hear one more time that women’s sexual dysfunction is a myth created by the media, and that the search for medical solutions is merely a thinly veiled way for the pharmaceutical companies to fleece innocent …
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 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 ReadingMaintaining cervical health.
We happened upon this easy-to-read article on maintaining cervical health and found it to be a reasonable answer to the question of how often should a woman get a Pap smear. This is particularly relevant given the report in the September 2009 Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggesting some women can wait three years in …
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