From The Blog: WoMen’s Sexual Health

For more than 20 years, a black box warning and poor education created fear in both patients and clinicians. An entire generation of women suffered unnecessarily and were denied essential care that impacted their quality of life and disease risk.

A recent New York Times Magazine article spotlighted a growing trend: women using testosterone therapy are reporting that they feel “on fire” - more energetic, more alive, and more connected to their sexuality and sense of self.

This mirrors what many clinicians have recognized for years: testosterone is one of the most abundant and influential hormones in women, yet widely misunderstood and under-prescribed.

Perimenopause is the transitional phase before menopause, marked by fluctuating hormones that gradually decline, though not always in a consistently straight line. This stage can cause symptoms including hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and changes in cognitive function, sexual function, and mood. Although it is a “natural” transition, this shift can bring about major discomfort, interruptions in your day-to-day function, and cause you to question your sanity.

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a treatment applied to the pelvic floor muscles. This is a subspecialty of a physical therapist and most pelvic floor PTs have special training allowing them to work on the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor, a group of muscles running from the pubic bone to the tailbone, serves a number of purposes including supporting the pelvic organs, controlling the bladder and bowels, and allowing for healthy sexual arousal and orgasm.

Many women - and men - may have heard about Kegel exercises. But so many of our patients wonder what exactly they are and how, precisely, to do them. Kegels can be an excellent exercise to help improve your urinary health as well as your sex life - so learning about what they are and how best to perform them can really contribute to your wellbeing.

Dr. Kass takes a comprehensive approach to treating urinary incontinence, evaluating possible contributory factors such as medications and medical conditions before recommending specific treatment.

I can’t tell you how many women come to me with stories of being discounted by their OB-GYNs or primary care practitioners. Many women’s primary providers (OB-GYNs and family medicine) are failing women suffering through menopause - telling them “This is normal and it will pass” or offering them inadequate treatments like antidepressants. And so many women feel like they are losing control over their bodies and wellbeing.

If you have struggled to find the help you need to address menopausal symptoms, you are not alone. Despite the discomfort women experience during menopause, and treatment options that can improve one’s quality of life and perhaps prevent several chronic diseases, very few women are successfully treated. Today, American women can spend a third or more of their lives struggling with menopausal symptoms and related conditions, many without a clear understanding of what to expect, how to respond, and what treatment is possible.

According to an article in AARP, nearly 6,000 women reach menopause every day in America. The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) reports that approximately 75 percent of women experience some kind of menopausal distress. And sadly, for close to 20 percent of these women, night sweats and hot flashes are severe enough to interfere with nearly every significant aspect of their lives: work, relationships and sleep.

For the majority of my female patients, vaginal rejuvenation is all about enhancing genital urinary health, function, and feeling. While some are looking to enhance aesthetics, I have found that more women turn to me for vaginal rejuvenation because they are having some level of dysfunction that is compromising their quality of life or relationships and they’re looking for a solution. And these conditions are more common than many imagine. For instance, more than 30% of women are affected by urinary incontinence, and half of postmenopausal women are affected by vaginal dryness and discomfort with sex.

Even though I’ve been studying and practicing Regenerative Medicine for over a decade, I am continually amazed at the human body. One of the most miraculous aspects I’ve come to appreciate is our regenerative capacities. In particular - the power of Plasma-Rich Platelets (PRP). Why, you ask? Because harnessing and applying PRP has allowed me to help heal countless patients - helping with all manner of ailments.

You might have heard the term “vaginal rejuvenation” and wondered, what in the world does that mean? Does my vagina really need to be, look or feel younger or more lively? What’s important to point out is that vaginal rejuvenation is about far more than aesthetics. This treatment is really about enhancing function and feeling. My patients turn to me for vaginal rejuvenation because they are having some level of dysfunction that is compromising their quality of life or relationships and they’re looking for a solution.

As we have explained in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on Women’s Sexual Health - experiencing problems with sexual response, desire, orgasm or pain is a common, and complex, issue. So many women suffer from unsatisfactory - and challenging or painful - sex lives. The causes can be hormonal, psychological or related to medications or other comorbidities. So how should women approach treatment? Thankfully, there are many options.

As discussed in our previous post, so many women have some form of sexual dysfunction. It has even been reported that the majority of women - up to nearly 87% according to one scientific literature review - suffer from sexual challenges, whether it’s a declining interest in sex or an increased difficulty reaching orgasm.   So what’s to be done? One component of women’s sexual dysfunction that is garnering increased focus is testosterone.

Talking about sex isn’t always easy. It’s private, and intimate and - when we experience problems - can be embarrassing for some. And challenges can be especially prevalent after menopause.