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Dr. Goldstein provides advice for women who are afraid to speak with their doctors about the sexual problems they are experiencing.
Dr. Goldstein:
I would say, “Get over it”. There is no reason to be bothered by it, you know, your clitoris, your vagina, your labia, they are just organs like your liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas. If you have a problem with your ear would you be embarrassed and not seek medical help? If you have a problem with vision would you be embarrassed and not see an eye doctor? If you have a problem with your clitoris, go see a clitoris doctor.
It’s like every other organ. It can have psychologic ramifications, physical ramifications, it can be physical, it can be hormonal problem, it can be a nerve-based problem, it can be a blood flow problem, it can be just an anatomic and genital problem – whatever it is, get it fixed; move on. Sexuality is very important.
The example we just shared was a woman who had vestibulodynia for years and years, she is in a great relationship with her husband. She came in the office about two years ago with her sexual pain and the two of them were there and she said, “We want to have my sexual pain fixed and we want to start a family,” and we were lucky enough to get her into the operating room. We did the vestibulectomy. She became free of pain and now they have a family and they are back to having sexual intercourse. They have rescued their life and intimacy is really important and you can’t hide that.
About Dr. Irwin Goldstein, M.D.:
Dr. Irwin Goldstein is Director of San Diego Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital, the Secretary of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, a former President of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and a Clinical Professor of Surgery at University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Goldstein has been involved with sexual dysfunction research since the late 1970s. His specialties include penile microvascular bypass surgery, surgery for dyspareunia, physiologic investigation of sexual function in men and women, and diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in men and women.
Visit Dr. Goldstein at San Diego Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital