As usual I got a great idea from one of my patients today. She and her husband have been struggling sexually. He’s had a hard time holding his erection. She’s having terrible pain every time they have intercourse and like so many other couples they are just plain having difficulty finding time for sex. But…a …
Continue ReadingJust do it, and other dumb ideas.
A few years back when we were giving a training at a gynecologist’s office, one of the male doctors started listening to us speak about low desire and said flippantly: “Oh please. When a patient complains of lack of desire I tell her to think of the Nike ads and ‘”Just Do It!” I had to …
Continue ReadingOsphena — Oral medication for painful intercourse.
By far the most common cause of painful intercourse in a menopausal woman is vulvar and vaginal atrophy. During menopause estrogen levels plummet and can result in severe vulvar and vaginal dryness. Some of my patients have described intercourse as feeling like someone was rubbing sandpaper in their vagina. Another patient described her vagina as …
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 ReadingHealing vaginismus: An inspiring story.
Tonight I met with a very special couple. I obviously can’t give too many details, but I will say that I found the woman inspirational. She has struggled with serious mental illness all her life, and was raised in an incredibly restrictive and dysfunctional family which bordered on the abusive. She lived through one very, …
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