Female Sexual Problems Other Than Arousal Disorder

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A host of sexual problems besides female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) can affect women at any stage of life. As with FSAD, the cause can be primarily physical, psychological, or both. To be considered a disorder, the problem must cause personal distress or problems in a woman’s relationship with her partner. Keep in mind that sexual activity is not correlated with overall sexual satisfaction or intimacy in all woman. A physician will need to determine the cause before deciding on an appropriate treatment. The most common disorders include:

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder

Women with this disorder experience a persistent lack of sexual desire or appetite, absence of sexual fantasies and complete lack of interest in and avoidance of sexual contact with a partner. A Journal of the American Medical Association study says sexual dysfunction was common in 43 percent of women. It may be caused by boredom or unhappiness in a long-standing relationship or may result from traumatic events in childhood or adolescence. Depression also may play a role. Possible physical causes include drug side effects and a hormone deficiency.

Painful intercourse

Dyspareunia and vaginismus are the two most common sexual pain disorders in women. Women with dyspareunia experience pain during sexual intercourse. This disorder can have a range of causes:

Poor vaginal lubrication because of inadequate foreplay
The natural changes that occur after menopause
Postmenopausal thinning of the vaginal wall
Inflammation or infection of the area
Irritation from an allergic reaction or to a contraceptive device
Pelvic pain may also be a symptom of a condition affecting the cervix and/or uterus, such as the growth of tumors. A physician will need to determine the underlying cause before prescribing treatment. For women who have passed menopause, and therefore have lower blood levels of the female hormone estrogen in their bodies, estrogen replacement therapy or topical creams may be helpful. Liberal use of a water-soluble lubricant just before intercourse may also alleviate pain for some women.

A relatively rare condition, vaginismus is a painful, involuntary spasm of the muscles that surround the vaginal entrance, interfering with sexual intercourse. Its cause is almost always psychological: It usually occurs in women who fear that penetration will be painful and may stem from a previous traumatic or painful experience.

The problem is treated with educational counseling and, sometimes, progressive vaginal dilation, which helps to relax the muscle spasm. This therapy involves the use of vaginal inserts, each progressively larger than the last, which help condition the vaginal opening. As one becomes comfortable, the next larger size is inserted in the vagina. This process continues until the vagina has been dilated sufficiently for intercourse to take place painlessly.

Female orgasmic disorder

Women with this disorder are aroused by sexual stimulation but then are unable to cross the threshold from arousal to climax, or orgasm. It is not just the failure to have an orgasm during intercourse. This can be quite common for women. But most are able to achieve orgasm when their partner manually or orally stimulates the clitoris. Women who don’t have orgasms are considered to have the disorder. Antidepressants and some medications may contribute to the problem.

Other causes have to do with the sexual relationship itself:

Inadequate foreplay
Ignorance of genital function and anatomy
Premature ejaculation
Some women may fear losing control, abandoning themselves to a partner or finding pleasure in a sexual experience. Counseling usually is prescribed.

Male Sexual Problems Other Than Erectile Dysfunction

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Erectile dysfunction (ED), or impotence, is what most people think of when they hear the term “male sexual problem.” The National Institutes of Health estimates 15 million to 30 million American men do suffer from erectile dysfunction and need drugs to have sexual intercourse. However, other forms of sexual dysfunction can affect men. These include:

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder: Men with this disorder have a persistent lack of sexual desire or appetite, absence of sexual fantasies and complete lack of interest in and avoidance of sexual contact with a partner. Possible physical causes include drug side effects and hormonal deficiencies. Sometimes, boosting abnormally low testosterone levels helps. It may also be caused by or result from traumatic events in childhood or adolescence. Depression also may play a role.

Male orgasmic disorders: Also called ejaculatory disorders, these include inhibited ejaculation (orgasm does not occur) and premature ejaculation (when ejaculation occurs before, during or soon after penetration and before the man desires). Inhibited orgasm is usually caused by a psychological disorder such as depression or anxiety, or use of substances like alcohol or drugs. The man’s emotional state and feelings such as guilt, boredom or resentment also may play a role. The cause of premature ejaculation is unclear but is thought to result from a combination of psychological and physical factors. Both problems are typically treated by teaching the man and his partner techniques for either producing or slowing down orgasm. In some cases, premature ejaculation can be treated with small doses of an SSRI antidepressant such as Prozac®, Paxil® or Zoloft®, taken either daily, or one to two hours before a sexual encounter.

Children, teens and adults being treated with antidepressants, particularly anyone being treated for depression, should be watched closely for worsening of depression and for increased suicidal thinking or behavior. Close watching may be especially important early in treatment, or when the dose is changed, either increased or decreased. Bring up your concerns immediately with a doctor.

Peyronie’s disease: Thought to affect about 1 percent of men usually between the ages of 40 and 60, Peyronie’s disease is characterized by the formation of a hard, fibrous layer called plaque under the skin on one side of the penis. This disorder usually starts out as an inflammation, leading to a hardened scar that causes the penis to bend sharply when erect. If hardening occurs on both sides, indentations and shortening may result. The scarring or hardening can make erections painful and intercourse difficult or impossible. The bent or misshapen appearance of the penis can lead to emotional distress, which in turn worsens any sexual difficulties. Doctors are not sure what causes Peyronie’s disease, but in many cases, the condition resolves itself. A physician will usually monitor the man closely for about a year, watching the plaque development and checking erectile function. Medications that might help to alleviate plaque buildup include topical vitamin A, collagenase ointment, B-complex vitamins or calcium channel blockers. These treatments are still unproven.

Some researchers have given vitamin E orally to men with Peyronie’s disease in small studies and have reported improvements. Yet, no controlled studies have established the effectiveness of vitamin E therapy. Similar inconclusive success has been attributed to oral application of para-aminobenzoate, a substance belonging to the family of B-complex molecules. Researchers have injected chemical agents such as verapamil, collagenase, steroids, calcium channel blockers, and interferon alpha-2b directly into the plaques. These interventions are still considered unproven because studies included small numbers of patients and lacked adequate control groups.

If treatment doesn’t work and the condition doesn’t go away on its own, surgery may be necessary. Surgeons have developed techniques for removing the plaque without affecting the proper functioning of the penis.

Dyspareunia: Men who experience dyspareunia, or pain during intercourse, usually have an underlying problem such as prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) or some kind of nerve damage.

Erectile Dysfunction: What You NeErectile dysfunction to Know

What is it?

Simply statErectile dysfunction, when your penis doesn’t become erect properly, you have erectile dysfunction, which is sometimes callErectile dysfunction impotence. Erectile dysfunction is describErectile dysfunction as the total inability to achieve erection, an inconsistent ability to do so, or a tendency to sustain only brief erections. In other words, erectile dysfunction is the repeatErectile dysfunction inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. Erection is a very complex function that requires coordination of your emotions, blood circulation and three separate parts of your nervous system.

How bad is it?

Erectile dysfunction is usually organic and may represent a sign of serious disease.

What causes it?

The causes are numerous, but this list breaks them down into six major categories: Psychological. Experts believe that psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, guilt, depression, low self-esteem, and fear of sexual failure cause 10 to 20 percent of Erectile dysfunction cases. Drugs. The extensive list of drugs that affect sexual function includes alcohol, tobacco and most illegal drugs. Commonly prescrib Erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunctionications that may affect sexual function include blood pressure drugs, antihistamines, antidepressants, tranquilizers, appetite suppressants, and cimetidine (an ulcer drug). Review your entire list of mErectile dysfunctionications with your physician. Vascular (circulatory) disease. Atherosclerosis, the common disease callErectile dysfunction hardening of the arteries that causes heart attacks and strokes, can affect the blood supply to the penis. Nerve diseases. Diabetes can damage nerves, as can surgery on the prostate or lower bowel. Spinal cord damage or disease and even some brain diseases can also interfere. Hormones. Male hormones (testosterone) can be decreasErectile dysfunction as a result of an endocrine disorder or due to other conditions such as alcoholic liver disease.
Diseases or injury affecting the penis. Peyronie’s disease and priapism are the diseases most often associatErectile dysfunction with Erectile dysfunction. Peyronie’s disease is a condition of unknown cause that scars the penis and bends it. Priapism is the name for a persistent erection. It can damage your penis permanently and is sometimes the result of injection treatments for impotence. If you have an erection that persists and hurts, consider it a mErectile dysfunctionical emergency and get help quickly.

How do I know I have it?

If you are not satisfiErectile dysfunction with the quality of your erections, particularly if they usErectile dysfunction to be better, get a mErectile dysfunctionical checkup to look for significant causes. One of the easiest ways to find out if the cause is emotional is to find out if you have good nighttime erections. Many men have erections at night as part of their sleep cycle.

What can I do about it?

Sometimes men sleep through their nocturnal erections. Your doctor may first want you to use a device that records erections while you sleep. If you have none, something is wrong and neErectile dysfunctions to be treatErectile dysfunction. Your doctor will search for all possible causes, starting with the list of mErectile dysfunctionicines and drugs you use. Viagra® (sildenafil) was developErectile dysfunction to treat heart disease. During Viagra’s pre-marketing trials, the patients noticErectile dysfunction they were having erections. Since Viagra came to the market two other oral prescription mErectile dysfunctionications were approvErectile dysfunction by the Food and Drug Administration for Erectile dysfunction: Levitra® (vardenafil HCl) and Cialis® (tadalafil). All three drugs help increase blood flow to the penis and may help men with Erectile dysfunction get and keep an erection satisfactory for sex. Viagra and Levitra work best between one and two hours after taking it. Cialis remains active for as long as 36 hours. Each mErectile dysfunctionication neErectile dysfunctions sexual stimulation. Sexual function with Viagra improves by a factor of three to four, meaning four out of five patients taking the drug see improvement. All these mErectile dysfunctionicines may have side effects with the most common including headache, flushing, runny nose and indigestion. After intercourse, blood flow to the penis should decrease, causing the penis to return to its flaccid state. At least 85 percent of men improvErectile dysfunction their erections with Levitra. These drugs can improve erections in men who had other health problems, such as diabetes or prostate surgery. Men who have significant heart disease or who are taking any form of mErectile dysfunctionication known as nitrates should not take these drugs. (Nitrates help relieve chest pain that can occur because of heart disease.) Also, men who take alpha-blockers, sometimes usErectile dysfunction for prostate problems or high blood pressure, shouldn’t take these drugs for Erectile dysfunction because they may drop blood pressure to an unsafe level. These drugs may also be dangerous for people who have coronary artery disease, heart failure and low blood pressure, and those who are taking many different drugs for high blood pressure. Before these Erectile dysfunctionications were available, many men with Erectile dysfunction were able to get satisfactory erections by using injections directly into the penis. These injections are still available and are very effective when us Erectile dysfunction properly. Occasionally, these injections and the other drugs for Erectile dysfunction may cause priapism, or abnormal persistent erections. Therefore, they must be usErectile dysfunction with caution. You can also try a tiny pellet of mErectile dysfunctionicine that you can insert into your penis before intercourse. It works the same way as mErectile dysfunctionications and injections.

Also, some mechanical devices can create erections using a vacuum pump to draw blood into the penis and a rubber band around the base of the penis to hold the blood there. The ones available by prescription work. The others don’t, according to the American Urological Association.

And finally, devices can be implantErectile dysfunction surgically into your penis. Some are semi-rigid - stiff enough to permit intercourse but flexible enough to bend so they fit into your pants. A more complicatErectile dysfunction device actually inflates and deflates from a pump placErectile dysfunction into your scrotum.

Points to remember

Impotence may be a sign of serious disease.
Nighttime erections may distinguish between emotional impotence and organic impotence.
Drugs are a common cause of impotence.
Nearly all types of impotence can be treatErectile dysfunction in one way or another, often with a return to normal orgasmic function.

DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: levitra is an oral drug that is used to treat impotence (the inability to attain or maintain a penile erection,cheap levitra.). It is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor that is similar to sildenafil (Viagra,cheap levitra).Penile erection is caused by the engorgement of the penis with blood. This engorgement occurs when the blood vessels delivering blood to the penis increase in size and increase the delivery of blood to the penis. At the same time, the blood vessels carrying blood away from the penis decrease in size and decrease the removal of blood from the penis. Sexual stimulation that leads to the engorgement and erection causes the production and release of nitric oxide in the penis. Nitric oxide then activates the enzyme (or try cheap levitra), guanylate cyclase to produce cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP,also try cheap levitra). The cGMP is primarily responsible for increasing and decreasing the size of the blood vessels carrying blood to and from the penis, respectively. levitra prevents an enzyme called phosphodiesterase-5 from destroying cGMP so that cGMP persists longer. The longer cGMP persists, the more prolonged the engorgement of the penis. levitra was approved by the FDA in August, 2003. PRESCRIBED FOR: levitra is used for the treatment of impotence.

DOSING: For most individuals, the recommended dose of levitra is 10 mg per day taken 60 minutes before intercourse. If there is no response or side effects, the dose may be increased to 20 mg or, if there are side effects, it may be reduced to 5 mg. Individuals 65 years of age (best drug,cheap levitra) or older should begin therapy with 5 mg. Individuals who are taking medications that increase the blood levels of levitra should start treatment with 2.5 to 5 mg of levitra.

SIDE EFFECTS: The most common side effects of levitra are facial flushing (reddening,cheap levitra), headaches, stomach upset, diarrhea, flu like symptoms and nausea. levitra also may cause chest pain, low blood pressure, blurred vision and changes in color vision, abnormal ejaculation and priapism (painful erection,order cheap levitra). Rare cases of sudden loss of hearing have been reported with phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as levitra, sometimes associated with ringing in the ears and dizziness. If changes in hearing occur, patients should discontinue their levitra and seek immediate medical attention.