Dyspareunia, the medical term for painful intercourse, is incredibly common. Three out of four women will experience painful sex at some point in their lives.
While a fleeting issue with painful intercourse is just a bump on an otherwise smooth road, many women deal with ongoing issues with dyspareunia, which can have no small impact on their quality of life.
Given how prevalent painful sex is for women, it tracks that there are a number of different culprits behind the issue. Based on considerable experience in this arena, Dr. Ulas Bozdogan and our team at Advanced Endometriosis Center pulled together some common culprits behind dyspareunia and how we approach these issues.
Since much of our practice is focused on endometriosis, which affects 11% of women between the ages of 15-44, we’ll touch on this condition first.
When you have endometriosis, endometrial tissue grows outside your uterus and can create painful adhesions over time. These adhesions, another word for scar tissue, can get tugged during intercourse, making sex very uncomfortable, if not downright painful.
Another common gynecologic issue that can lead to dyspareunia is uterine fibroids, noncancerous growths inside your uterus. Many women develop fibroids, but a majority don’t develop symptoms.
Some women have fibroids that grow quite large, and when they do, they can create issues with painful sex.
Your ovaries are constantly creating cysts when you ovulate, but the cysts mostly go away on their own. In some cases, ovarian cysts can be problematic, especially if they tug on your ovaries during intercourse.
Menopause can have a sizable impact on your sex life, from declining vaginal tissue health to a drop in your libido.
One of the more common issues we see is vaginal dryness, which affects half of women after menopause. This loss of lubrication can render sex uncomfortable.
Another side effect of menopause and aging is thinning in your vaginal walls and shortening in your vaginal canal, both of which can be contributors to dyspareunia.
There are many other drivers of painful sex, but the ones we outline above are the most common and, luckily, the very conditions we specialize in at our practice.
We can’t say here what treatment would work best to take the pain and discomfort out of your sex life, but we work together with you to find the best solution. Whether we turn to hormone medications or minimally invasive surgery to remove fibroids, cysts, or scar tissue, you’re in excellent hands with our team at Advanced Endometriosis Center.
To revive your sex life by addressing painful intercourse, start by scheduling a consultation with Dr. Bozdogan today online or over the phone. We have offices in New York City and Paramus, New Jersey.
