Painful Sexual Intercourse (Dyspareunia)

Pain during or after sexual intercourse is known as dyspareunia. Although this problem can affect men, it is more common in women. Women with dyspareunia may have pain in the vagina, clitoris or labia.

There are numerous causes of dyspareunia, many of which are treatable. Common causes include the following:

Vaginal dryness.

Atrophic vaginitis, a common condition causing thinning of the vaginal lining in postmenopausal women.

Side effects of drugs such as antihistamines and tamoxifen (Nolvadex and other brands)
An allergic reaction to clothing, spermicides or douches

Endometriosis, an often painful condition in which tissue from the uterine lining migrates and grows abnormally inside the pelvis

Inflammation of the area surrounding the vaginal opening, called vulvar vestibulitis
Skin diseases, such as lichen planus and lichen sclerosis, affecting the vaginal area

Urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, or sexually transmitted diseases
Psychological trauma, often stemming from a past history of sexual abuse or trauma.

SYMPTOMS:

Women with dyspareunia may feel superficial pain at the entrance of the vagina, or deeper pain during penetration or thrusting of the penis. Some women also may experience severe tightening of the vaginal muscles during penetration, a condition called vaginismus.

DIAGNOSIS:


Dyspareunia typically is diagnosed based on your symptoms. Your medical and sexual history and your physical examination will help your doctor to determine the cause of your symptoms.

Distinguishing pain that occurs with touching the genitals or early penetration from pain that occurs with deeper penetration is a clue to the cause of your symptoms. Therefore, your doctor will ask you questions about the exact location, length and timing of your pain. He or she also will ask you:

If there was ever a time you had painless intercourse, or if you have always had dyspareunia
If you have enough natural lubrication, and if your symptoms improve if you use commercially available lubricants

About your sexual history (to help assess your risk for sexually transmitted infections)
If you have ever been sexually abused, or had a traumatic injury involving your genitals

In addition:

If you are middle-aged, your doctor will ask whether you are experiencing irregular periods, hot flashes or vaginal dryness, symptoms suggesting that you may have atrophic vaginitis.
If you are a new mother, your doctor will ask whether you are breastfeeding your baby, because breastfeeding also can lead to vaginal dryness and dyspareunia

During the physical examination, your doctor will check your vaginal wall for signs of dryness, inflammation, infection (especially yeast or herpes infection), genital warts and scarring. Your doctor also will do an internal pelvic examination to look for abnormal pelvic masses, tenderness or signs of endometriosis. He or she also may suggest that you speak with a counselor to determine whether a history of sexual abuse, trauma or anxiety may be contributing to your symptoms.

PREVENTION


Although some causes of dyspareunia, such as a history of sexual abuse or trauma, can't be avoided, other causes can be prevented:

To decrease your risk of yeast infection, avoid tight clothing, wear cotton underpants and practice good hygiene. Change your underclothes after prolonged sweating. Bathe or shower daily, and change into dry clothing promptly after swimming.

To avoid bladder infections, wipe from front to back after using the toilet, and urinate after sexual intercourse.

To avoid sexually transmitted diseases, avoid sex or practice safe sex by maintaining a relationship with just one person, or using condoms to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

To prevent vaginal dryness, use a lubricant, or seek treatment if the dryness is due to atrophic vaginitis.

TREATMENT


Treatment depends on the cause of dyspareunia:

If vaginal dryness is the problem, you can ease penetration and sexual intercourse with increased clitoral stimulation before intercourse or lubrication with an over-the-counter lubricant such as K-Y jelly, Replens or Astroglide.

For vaginal yeast infections, you will be given antifungal medication.

Antibiotics will be prescribed for urinary tract infections or sexually transmitted diseases.

To relieve painful inflammation, try sitz baths, which are warm-water baths in a sitting position.

For skin diseases affecting the vaginal area, the treatment will vary depending on the disease.

For example, lichen sclerosis and lichen planus often improve with steroid creams.

For vulvar vestibulitis, typical therapies include topical estrogen cream, low-dose pain medications, and physical therapy with biofeedback to lower the muscle tension in the pelvic floor.

For atrophic vaginitis, estrogen therapy will be prescribed, either as a vaginal formulation or as a pill.

If endometriosis is causing your dyspareunia, you may be prescribed medication or you may need surgical procedures to control or remove abnormal growths of uterine tissue.

For dyspareunia that has no apparent physical cause or has lasted for months or years, you may need psychological counseling to address stress or anxiety regarding sexual intercourse.

If you have endometriosis, avoid very deep penetration, or have sex during the week or two after menstruation (before ovulation), when the condition tends to be less painful

If you love her

The Analogist: IF you love someone ANDthis someone doesn't love u;THEREFORE you should set her free

Optimist: If you love someone, Set herfree...Don't worry, she'll comeback.

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Impatient: If you love someone, Sether free...If she doesn't come backwithin a week forget her

Patient: If you love someone, Set herfree...If she doesn't come back putyour life on hold and sit and wait.

Playful: If you love someone, Set herfree...If she comes back, *and if youlove her still, set her free again,repeat*

Lawyers:If you love someone, Set herfree, Clause 1a of Paragraph 13a - 1in the 2nd amendment of theMatrimonial Freedom Act clearly statesthat...

Bill Gates : If you love someone, Sether free, Ifshe comes back, I think we can chargeher for re-installation fees and tellher that she's also going to get anupgrade.

Osama Bin Laden: If you love someoneset her free if she doesn't come backset bombs to bomb her.

Biologist: If you love someone, Sether free, She'll evolve.

Statisticians: If you love someone,Set her free, If she loves you, theprobability of her coming back ishigh. If she doesn't, your relationshipwas improbable anyway.

MacArthur fans: If you love someone,Set her free,SHE SHALL RETURN!

Overpossessive person: If you lovesomeone, don't set her free.T

he FBI agent: If you love someone,set her free. Then putbug on her phone and surveillancecameras in her house.

The Pathetic: If you love someone, sether free. Who wants to be stuck witha loser like you anyway?

The Lawyer: If you love someone, sether free.Then sue her for emotionaldistress.

The Psycho: If you love someone, sether free. If she doesn't come backshoot her.The Creepy Sociopath: If you lovesomeone, stalk her.

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The Nature lover: If u love someoneset her free if shecomes back plant a tree.

The Human Ecologist: If you lovesomeone, Set her free, Infact, all living creatures deserve tobe free..

Lately, everything sink in my mind. Now i can look back to my life, what really happened to me, Love is sometimes strange, it would always come to where you dont expect it, I had been inlove many times before and it always end me up crying. Because of frustrations, expectations and wishes that never happened, maybe thats why i like to listen to lovesongs. Its like a comfort to me, why did composers write those songs? Its because they also experienced what i felt, and why do singers sing the songs well, because of the emotions and they exert more feelings to it, to give life to the lyrics of the song that leave the listeners breathless plus remembering the moments of happiness, sadness and bliss. I always have opinion in another people's problem, its because everytime someone would tell me a situation, its like ' Id been there' thats why i can easily give advice to them on how should they cope up with it.Sad to say that my life is more on bitterness than happiness, more on loving than me being love, Its me who always give, not thinking of any return at all, and when I love its me who exert all effort to make the relationship work, thats why those boyfriends that i had in the past told me that im just too possessive, well maybe because i dont want to lose them, thats why i become like that. But the saddest moment in my life was when the person i expected to be my husband get married to someone else not me. Maybe it started all there, I learned to know the other side of me. The Julieh that I never thought I would be. Though I can say that im over with it now, but it still leave me pain everytime i remember it, like I always think that maybe this world was so cruel to me.But i learned that everything happened to my life has many reasons and purpose, maybe it moulded me to become the person i am now. It tought me to be strong and not to give up on situations that I thought i could not anymore handle.I experienced crying the whole night, staring in one direction all the time, because I cannot accept that i was being jilted by a lover, in exchange of one of my trusted friends. Frequently my friends are the one who always betrays me. Maybe because my life is an open book to them, I never hide anything to my friends, The julieh they meet the first time will always be the julieh they know forever. Im not the type of person that hide my skeletons in the closet, part of being me is my expressive nature, i do speak whats in my mind, and i always give the best that I ever had in every situation, I am a happy person, Inspite of all the downfull that I had in the past, I dont want to be miserable, thats why i always smile, inspite of the storms that i experienced in my life, I always take time to look happy, Smile has contagious effect, and i know that i have the power to make other people smile too! My only wish in this life is to find someone who would love me for who i am.

I was Inspired!

Lately i have busy weekends for the whole month of January, its because of our mock bar examination, yesterday at lunch I happened to see an old friend, and im happy to know that she is recovering from an operation she had, since she was diagnosed of a breast cancer, im happy to see her again after almost 1 year.And she looked very healthy! thanks God!

What transpired in our conversation was the failures we had in the past and what we do to move on. She said to me that; " Life does not consist of how many times you fail and stumble, But it is how you rise up again everytime you fall down." she said that everytime she saw me she is very much encouraged for the joyfulness she saw in my face. Its an honor to have a comment like that from her, since she is my idol, I really looked up to her.

And because of that, my urge to continue my studies have resurfaced again, I mean i started to plan how to build up my castles in the sand again which was was ripped badly by the storms that has passed in my life last year.Im so inspired and im really looking forward in reading all my books again for the preparation on next year bar examination hopefully if I will be able to make it next year for graduation. I made so many plans ahead and i am so determined in doing everyting to reach the goals that i have set up for my self.

Now i can say that i have no fear anymore, maybe id still bend, if i will meet another storm again but I know in my self that coming storm will never ripped the castle that i will build again, coz i will build it on the rock, not anymore in the sand. And I will always remember what my friend shared to me that the most important thing in this life's journey is "to Stand Up everytime time we fall"

After A While

After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads today
because tomorrow's ground is
too uncertan for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much,
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
You really are strong
You really do have worth
and You learn
and You learn
with every GOODBYE, you Learn...

5 Tips for Getting Intimate After a Heart Attack

It may feel scary to have sex after surviving a heart attack, but often it's just what the doctor ordered. When you're ready, try these suggestions for successful lovemaking.

1. Find a time when you are both rested and relaxed. This may be in the morning or after a nap.

2. Choose a place that's comfortable and familiar, where you won't be interrupted.

3. Take any medications your doctor may have prescribed for you to use before sex.

4. Don't feel that you need to have intercourse right away. Cuddling and caressing may be a more comfortable way to start.

5. Talk to your partner about any concerns you have. Be understanding of the emotions that both of you may be experiencing.

5 SIGNS OF OVARIAN CYSTS

Ovarian cysts are small sacs of fluid or semi-solid material that form on a woman's ovary.

Most of the time they do not indicate disease, and they may go away without treatment within a few months. But the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) says you should see your doctor if you have any symptoms to rule out a more serious condition.

Here is the NLM's list of the most common symptoms of ovarian cysts:

1. Dull, persistent pain in the abdomen.
2. Pain during menstruation, intercourse, bowel movements or movement of the pelvis.
3. Unusual uterine bleeding or abnormal menstrual cycles.
4. Missing a period.
5. Bloated or swollen abdomen.