For the more than 10% of women who suffer from endometriosis in the United States, life can be difficult. From gastrointestinal issues to pain during sex, endometriosis can cast a long shadow.
If you’re unable to enjoy intimacy as a result of your endometriosis, the team here at Advanced Endometriosis Center, led by Dr. Ulas Bozdogan, wants to assure you that there are solutions.
Here, we discuss some steps you can take at home to manage any pain you might have during sex, as well as the treatments we provide that can help resolve the intimacy problem.
Before we get into the treatment options that we offer for endometriosis-related dyspareunia (the medical term for pain during sex), we want to take a few minutes to explore some steps you can take at home to improve your sex life in the face of endometriosis.
One of the first things you should do is to talk with your partner about your discomfort. While this may not directly have an effect on the pain you feel when you have intercourse, it can relieve any anxiety you may feel about the problem and open up the lines of communication for intimacy that you both enjoy.
Once your partner understands how your endometriosis leads to pain and discomfort, you can work together toward solutions. For example, engaging in more foreplay can help get your mind and body into the moment, which encourages relaxed vaginal muscles and more lubrication.
You can also try using lubricants to ease penetration and experiment with different positions, which may greatly influence your comfort level.
You might also want to consider tracking your menstrual cycles so you can engage in sex when the endometrial tissue isn’t thickened.
While these steps may not “cure” your endometriosis, they can be highly effective in helping with intimacy problems.
As endometriosis specialists, we understand the broad impact that this condition can have on your sex life, and we want to assure you that there are solutions.
Once we determine the extent of your endometriosis, its related symptoms, and your goals, we can come up with a tailored treatment plan.
For example, if you’re not planning on having children, we may place you on hormone therapies that can better control the growth of the endometrial tissue.
If you do want to get pregnant, we can perform a minimally invasive surgery using advanced robotic technology to remove the tissues that are responsible for your pain. With endometriosis, the misplaced tissues can turn into adhesions that, when tugged during intercourse, can lead to discomfort and pain.
This type of surgery won’t prevent more endometrial implants from forming down the road, but it can clear away existing problematic tissue so you can enjoy a normal sex life again, at least for some time.
To help you determine which approach is best for your endometriosis and your sex life, book an appointment online or over the phone with Advanced Endometriosis Center today. We have offices in New York City and Hackensack, New Jersey.
