Hello #GYNEGirls, #Preggos, and #GENTs. It’s me Dr. Drai. Let’s talk about female sexual dysfunction today. Do you experience difficulty having sex and are you not able to satisfy your partner in bed? If you answered YES, then you may be suffering from sexual dysfunction. Ladies, sexual dysfunction is common. It affects more than 40% of women in their lifetime. Every day I see a patient in my office that has this problem. You are NOT ALONE. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) includes problems with desire, arousal, orgasms, and sexual pain that causes significant distress in your life. Having problems with desire (aka libido) is the most common. Women with this problem don’t want to engage in any type of sexual activity, including masturbation. They also don’t want to have sexual thoughts or fantasies. Ladies with arousal problems have issues with the physical and emotional changes that occur in the body as a result of sexual stimulation. Women that have orgasmic problems don’t have orgasms during sexual activity or the intensity of orgasms have decreased. Ladies with sexual pain have pain during intercourse.

Here are 12 unexpected causes of female sexual dysfunction.

1. Aging– A women’s libido and sexual activity decreases w/ age
2. Birth Control– Causes decreased estrogen levels leading to vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse
3. Stress– Stress from work, finances
4. Relationship problems– Fighting with your partner or having No trust in your relationship
5. Mental Illness such as depression and anxiety can lead to FSD
6. Past negative experiences– Sexual trauma (rape)
7. Medications– Antidepressants
8. Medical Conditions– Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia, Hypertension
9. Poor Body Image– Being Obese
10. Smoking cigarettes– slows down blood flow to sexual organs and cause arousal problems
11. Alcohol-affects how the body responds
12. Illegal Drugs– affects how the body responds

Since women sometimes hesitate to discuss their sexual problems with one another, many of them start believing that they are not normal and their sexual problem is shameful. Don’t believe the HYPE. Be open and honest with your doctor. If getting older has affected my love life. There a fix. If you have some concerns about my sex life. There is a fix. If you do not enjoy sex like I use to. There is a fix. Your doctor will perform a thorough history to pinpoint any problems surrounding the FSD diagnosis. She will do a physical exam and a pelvic/bimanual exam, re-create the pain by touch, and order blood test to measure hormone, cholesterol, and glucose levels. Each type of female sexual dysfunction is treated differently. Treatment is complex. Your doctor may refer you to a sex therapist, couples’ therapy, or individual therapy.

Until next time… it’s Dr. Drai.