Pain During Intercourse. Painful Sex. Dyspareunia.

Pain During Intercourse. Painful Sex. Dyspareunia.

Not being able to enjoy intercourse due to pain can put a real strain on your daily life, as well as your sex life, and before too long this can spiral into a major problem. Indeed you may well feel that you'll never find a cure for this. It can make a woman feel utterly inadequate and miserable. Her sex partner also will often incorrectly blame himself and this can make matters even worse.
Dyspareunia takes a great deal of patient analysis. It is very important that the doctor or therapist is clear in their mind as to when and where the woman experiences pain during intercourse. It is easy to feel that no one fully understands what you are going through, or is prepared to take your dyspareunia seriously. There usually is no quick fix for your problem but with proper history taking and careful consideration a solution can be found.
The key to fixing dyspareunia is making the correct diagnosis. Dyspareunia, or pain during intercourse can be caused by either something inside the vagina or outside in the pelvic organs. Inside the vagina some common causes are:
Vaginismus or painful spasm of the vaginal muscles.
Female Sexual Arousal Deficit.
Vaginitis or infection.
Perineal tear.
Vulvar trauma from childbirth.
Outside the vagina some common causes are:
Endometriosis.
Ovarian Cyst.
Uterine fibroids.
Diverticular disease.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease'
Each of these problems has additional symptoms other than dyspareunia and their presence can often be elicited through careful history taking. Finding that solution, tailor-made to address your specific needs, can be a challenge. Too many people think that by just throwing tablets at it, female dyspareunia can be cured. It does not work that way however.
Just one final note. Pain felt around or inside your vagina may not be arising from there at all. Referred pain, arising from some source distant from the vagina but felt there is not uncommon. Damage to the Iliolumbar ligament or endometriosis are good examples.

Dr Andrew Rynne. http://www.doctorrynne.com Dr Andrew Rynne is a medical practitioner and writer. He has thirty years experience in treating Sexual Dysfunction in men and women.