Sexual Dysfunction Therapy

Sexual Dysfunction Therapy for Women

Every woman deserves a healthy and satisfying sex life. If low sex drive, pain during intercourse, or difficulty climaxing are preventing you from enjoying intimacy with your partner, don’t give up. We can help.

Facts About Sexual Dysfunction

1. 1. There are three primary categories of sexual dysfunction among women:
      • Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD)—a persistent lack of desire
      • Painful sex—pain during intercourse due to vaginal dryness or atrophy
      • Orgasmic disorder—difficulty reaching orgasm
   2. Sexual dysfunction can occur at any age but is most common when hormones are deficient or in flux.
2. Research puts the incidence of sexual dysfunction among women at 43%.

Treatment for Sexual Dysfunction

Sex Hormones

The first line of defense against female sexual dysfunction is balancing hormones. We start by checking estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone via lab testing. If appropriate, our physicians prescribe individualized hormone therapy. Balancing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone is successful in treating sexual dysfunction in many women.

If you have vaginal dryness or atrophy, our physicians can prescribe vaginally applied estrogen to provide relief from discomfort, rejuvenate vaginal tissue, and eliminate pain during intercourse. DHEA can be included for additional relief.

Oxytocin

The hormone oxytocin is released in response to skin-to-skin contact, foreplay, and sex.

At normal levels, oxytocin encourages a mild desire for contact with your partner. However, being touched leads to a rise in oxytocin levels. This rise causes a cascade of reactions within the body, including the release of endorphins. The result is biological and psychological arousal. Eventually, nerves in erogenous zones are sensitized, with continued contact causing more oxytocin to be released. Arousal continues its upward climb from there.

Oxytocin also triggers powerful orgasms by causing genital nerves to fire. During orgasm, male oxytocin levels quintuple. But this is nothing compared to female oxytocin levels during climax. At peak sexual arousal, a woman’s oxytocin levels are stratospheric.

But this isn’t always the case. Some women need help in this department. For these women, taking oxytocin prior to sex or taking a small amount daily can make a big difference. Even women who don’t have trouble reaching orgasm can have a heightened experience with extra oxytocin.

Other Solutions

If hormone therapy is ineffective or insufficient, the following treatments are available to our clients:

• Female stimulation cream (also known as “scream cream”) can be applied prior to sex to increase sensitivity.
• Apomorphine is a medication that stimulates dopamine in the brain, thereby enhancing the sexual response.
• Sildenafil is a medication that increases blood flow, improves arousal and lubrication, and helps women to reach orgasm.
• L-Arginine is an amino acid injection that increases nitric oxide in the blood, which results in increased blood flow.
• Bremelanotide (also known as PT-141) is a peptide that increases arousal and enhances orgasm. Bremelanotide is taken by injection or by mouth prior to sex.

Sex is important. Our strong feeling is that every woman should have a healthy and robust sex life, for her entire life. That includes you. We have creative solutions to get yours back. Let’s put them to work.