Are you one of the 44% of women in the United States that experiences some degree of sexual dysfunction? You are not alone… many of your friends are facing similar changes in their sexual relationships as well… they just aren’t talking about it. Only 12% of women actually discuss their concerns with others, including their health care providers.
Sexual dysfunction can include decreased libido or lack of desire, inability to achieve an orgasm as quickly or at all, and or sexual discomfort/pain. Women may face one or more of these symptoms and there is a wide degree of severity of these symptoms. Sexual dysfunction in women is multifactorial unlike men, therefore there is no easy answer, no little blue pill, to address these conditions.
A few years ago I saw a cartoon on an email that explained the difference between a man’s brain and a female’s brain in relation to sex. It essentially described that men have separate areas of the brain that relate to different aspects of their life such as work, play, home, sex, etc. For a man these areas act independently of each other, rarely does one affect the other, especially when it comes to sex. A man can have the worst day of his career and come home and want to have sex to relieve stress and improve the day. Whereas a female’s brain essentially functions as one, where all areas directly affect each other. That being said, all things in our life/day need to be taken care of in order for us to want to have sex. For men, if they have sex, it is the best day of their life… for women it has to be the best day of our life to have sex. Of course this analogy is a bit extreme; nonetheless there are many factors that affect a female’s sexual response.
Desire, libido, and arousal/orgasm are all affected by:
- stress, depression, anxiety, medications, fatigue, anemia, thyroid disorder, conflict in a relationship, history of abuse, poor self-image, urinary or fecal incontinence, smoking, alcohol, and some medical conditions such as diabetes and renal disease.
Sexual discomfort and pain are often the result of:
- dryness due to lack of hormones or thyroid disease, medical conditions such as endometriosis or interstitial cystitis, previous surgery or cancer, fibroids, pelvic organ prolapse, vaginismus, dermatological changes, history of abuse, infection, childbirth/breastfeeding, and menopausal changes to the genital tract.
There are multiple ways to treat female sexual dysfunction as there are multiple contributing factors. The plan of care should be individualized to target the main concerns surrounding each woman’s symptoms therefore it is important to schedule an appointment to discuss these concerns. Some helpful recommendations include:
- Medications- Currently there is no FDA approved treatment for female sexual dysfunction. That being said, there are FDA approved medications to treat some of the underlining conditions that lead to sexual dysfunction. Some medications may be the cause of sexual dysfunction and changing to a different medication may be necessary.
- Books- Some women respond to erotic novels, others prefer self-help books. Some book titles that are recommended include:
- 101 Nights of Great Sex by Laura Corn
- Becoming Orgasmic by Julia Heiman
- The Elusive Orgasm: A Woman’s Guide to Why She Can’t and How She Can Orgasm by Vivienne Cass Ph.D.
- (For your partner) How to Give Her Absolute Pleasure: Totally Explicit Techniques Every Woman Wants Her Man to Know by Lou Paget
- Sex therapist are trained counselors that specialize in sexual dysfunction.
- Heather Raznick, MSW, LCSW, St John’s Mercy Medical Center 621 South New Ballas Rd Tower A Suite 300 St. Louis , MO 63141 Email:hraznick@gmail.com : Phone: (314) 993-8255
- Linda Weiner, MSW, LCSW 7396 Pershing Ave., St. Louis, MO 63130 Email:sextherapiststlouis@yahoo.com Phone: (314) 588-8924
- Website- www.MiddlesexMD.com is a website that provides accurate information about sex and sexual dysfunction in women and ensures the privacy of individuals wishing to make purchases to enhance their sexual pleasure.
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