Archive for May, 2010

Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus interviewed by CBS News on female sexual desire

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 by Ilene Rosenthal, Marketing

Last week, Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, who has been the clinical director of the Medical Center for Female Sexuality for 10 years, was interviewed by CBS Channel 2 News in New York regarding the expected upcoming approval of a treatment for low sexual desire in women.  Flibanserin, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, is expected to gain FDA approval in the coming weeks for the treatment of hyposexual sexual desire disorder, or HSDD.

The treatment works by increasing the production of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that contributes to sexual desire.

Experts acknowledge that female sexual desire stems from a combination of hormone levels, chemicals in the brain, blood flow and, of course, the quality of the intimate relationship between two people.

Dr. Marcus applauded the addition of Flibanserin in her “toolbox” of possible treatments for her patients, but cautioned that female sexuality is complex and no one treatment is a panacea for all women with low desire.

MCFS patient Gail Marien was also interviewed on CBS and spoke honestly about her journey from the virtual desmise of her libido following a hysterectomy to her satisfying sex life with her husband today.

View the video here

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Defining “bioidentical”

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

There is so much confusion and misinformation when it comes to “bioidentical hormones.” Let me see if I can clarify a little: 

  • “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “organic.”
  • “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “natural.”
  • “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “not really hormones.”

 “Bioidentical hormones” means that the chemical makeup of the hormones exactly matches the chemical makeup in the same hormones in your body. It can be man-made but the molecular components are exactly the same as that same hormone in your body. For example, if you look at bioidentical estrogen under a microscope it would look exactly the same as the estrogen your body makes. It could have been created all chemically, in a laboratory, but the components of the compound match your body.

 “Hmmmm…” you ask, why would anyone make non-bioidentical hormones to replace those in your body. Well, for one thing bioidentical hormones can’t be patented. The same way you can’t patent water, unless you add some flavorings to it, you can’t patent estrogen unless there is something different about your estrogen. So drug companies are incented to change the chemical compound. Sometimes makers of specific hormones suggest that the difference they have made is a “good” difference and thus justify the changes. We haven’t found that to be the case. In general we find that women seem to respond better to bioidentical hormones.

 But don’t worry about the drug companies. Now that many realize that women prefer the bioidentical compounds they have found ways to patent their product by developing better or unique delivery systems: a specific cream to hold the compound, a patch, a pellet.

 So, if a practitioner wants to prescribe a hormone, you can discuss the options intelligently. For more information you can read these two articles, the first is authored by the Mayo Clinic and is a negatively predisposed to bioidentical hormones; the next comes out of Harvard Medical School and is more balanced. Let us know your thoughts!

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G-Shot Parties: A Shot at Better Sex?

Monday, May 24th, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

It feels as though the “bad idea bears” are rearing their heads yet again. If you don’t get the reference, you can check back on a post from April 2008  in which I talk about the bad idea bears” from Avenue Q and the idea of reconstructive vaginal surgery. 

The Bad-Idea-Bears are cute, cuddly and charming and pop up whenever a character in the play has an idea that they know in their heart of heart is NOT a good idea.

So, why do I think G spot shots are a bad idea? Let me first say that I don’t think they are nearly as bad an idea as reconstructive vaginal surgery. We’ve seen many cases of surgery gone wrong and weird looking reconstructed vaginas. The possible side effects (or disasters) from collagen injections into the vagina is much more minimal. But they are a possibility. Whenever you do something invasive, there is a risk of some sort and the procedure is fairly unknown. Personally, I wouldn’t want to play the odds with my vagina for no specific reason. Do you really want to do it?

 However, if I thought there was a really good reason to do it, I’d be the first to say “let’s trial it,” to patients. But so far, all we have heard are vague comments that don’t seem to be very helpful. “It makes it feel better.” Better than what? And was the “not feeling good” a problem? If women (or physicians conducting the procedure) claimed it was restoring orgasm, or making anorgasmic women orgasmic, or increasing lubrication or arousal , then it might make sense. As it is, however, this feels like it is just exchanging a sex toy – a completely safe way to make sex more fun,  for something so much more invasive with much less evidence that it works. 

There’s nothinkg wrong with trying new things; we are all for that!  But I would suggest thinking twice (or three or four times) before injecting your vagina experimentally, “just for fun.”

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Did you know: the pill neutralizes your sex drive

Thursday, May 20th, 2010 by Ilene Rosenthal, Marketing

Fifty years ago, the birth control pill gave women a freedom that previously eluded them: without fear of unwanted pregnancy, women could engage in romantic or recreational sex with relative control over the prospect of pregnancy.

I’m sure many of us would agree that this was a life-changing development, aligned with the women’s movement and a gift that allowed women to have children when they wanted to, and, yes, have sex when they wanted to, too.

We never imagined that this freedom would come with a side effect that was filled with irony, but a study has recently been released by the Journal of Sexual Medicine that connects serious declines in sex drive with hormonal birth control.

Bat Sheva Marcus, clinical director of the Medical Center for Female Sexuality in New York, had a lot to say about this in a recent article in The Daily Beast, the online newsstory outlet.  Dr. Marcus was interviewed last week and asked to respond to the conclusions drawn in this study of over 1000 women.  Her point of view is based on nearly eleven years in practice, treating women with different kinds of sexual dysfunction, low desire being the more common culprit.

Her response was declarative:  “all hormones are suspect!”  and estimates the pill is a contributing factor in 60 percent of the women she treats for low libido.

Read what real women say in the article and on the MCFS website

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Twilight, and the art of foreplay

Monday, May 17th, 2010 by Stephen Snyder, MD

Foreplay. Women traditionally complain they don’t get enough of it.

Often this gets interpreted as being due to a woman’s needing more physical stimulation to get fully aroused. OK, maybe sometimes that’s the issue. But I don’t see it as the essential thing.
The essential thing, I believe, is this: Foreplay represents the one time when a woman can get a man’s full and undivided attention. That is, if it’s good foreplay. In good foreplay, she is his entire focus. She feels his desire for her — his heightened interest in the small details of her body — made more intense by his anticipation of even greater pleasures ahead. In those moments, if all goes well, he’s really paying attention.

Having your partner’s complete attention – a very important part of sex. One of the most important parts.

It’s in every romance novel since Jane Austen. The heroine meets a man who attracts and puzzles her. She spends the novel trying to figure him out, only to discover that he is crazy in love with her, and that he has spent every second since they first met thinking about her. And that he can’t stop thinking about her. Because she’s just that fascinating.

I’m inclined to think that this basic formula is so appealing because in the average woman’s life experience it is so rare. The average heterosexual woman has been sorely disappointed by the fact that she thinks about the men in her life much more than they think about her. Usually she has more capacity for sustained attention than a man does. Men tend to be oblivious.
Good foreplay, like a good romance novel, provides a welcome respite from this everyday state of frustration. In good foreplay, he’s really paying attention. Who wouldn’t want that to last a little longer?

The immensely popular novel Twilight follows the standard romance novel outline, but with a twist. Bella, the teen heroine, comes to realize that her extravagantly handsome biology lab partner, Edward, in addition to being a vampire, is absolutely obsessed with her. That he can’t stop thinking about her. Being a vampire and unable to sleep, he has spent all night every night since they first met simply watching her sleep. His eyes and his body are always focused on her. She finds it uncomfortable, but also sexually intoxicating.

In one of my favorite scenes, he says he’d like to ask her about herself, and she consents. She’s stunned by the detail of his interest in her. He wants to know all about her favorite food, color, flower, memory; all the details of her childhood, including friends, teachers, triumphs and disappointments. The questions go on for days. She never knew she was so interesting.
The male reader of Twilight will find much to learn about good foreplay from this scene.

© Stephen Snyder, MD 2010 All rights reserved

 www.sexualityresource.com

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“IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD!” and other myths about painful intercourse

Friday, May 14th, 2010 by Shannon Bertha, ACS, DHS

I’m tired of doctors telling patients “it’s all in your head,” a quick response to a problem because they do not know what to say or how to help. Although this may be true in some circumstances, shouldn’t doctors acknowledge what a patient tells you? How do you know what they are feeling, emotionally or physically?

The other day I had a woman state that she had been to numerous doctors, who told her the pain she was experiencing was “in her head.” Rather than acknowledge this issue or explore it, they dismissed her, her feelings, even her symptoms!

What does this patient do? Feeling hopeless, as if pain during intercourse is something she would have to endure the rest of her life, she goes to the internet and finds something called vaginismus, painful intercourse . She reads testimonials on various websites, and learns that other women also experience pain during intercourse and this is not something “in her head.”

These women are, in fact, able to find treatment with specialists who have decades of experience with treatments, and which also house the newest solutions to this problem. At the Medical Center for Female Sexuality, we are able to treat patients with vaginismus relatively quickly in most cases; and most patients complete their treatment and go on to have satisfying, pain-free intercourse.

I commend women on their tenacity to find an answer to this problem and to not settle for “it’s in your head,” even if it comes from a powerful influencer such as a medical doctor. We know our bodies better than anyone can because we feel what is happening. So, trust those feelings and if you feel something that doesn’t seem quite right or the way you thought it should be, search until you get your answer or until you can find someone who can answer and acknowledge and treat this condition.

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But things weren’t always like this….

Monday, May 10th, 2010 by Shannon Bertha, ACS, DHS

If I had a nickel every time a woman told me about her sexual situation with her husband and concluded with, “But it was never like that,” I would be a wealthy woman. 

After being married for 10 or 15 years, people compare what is going on in their relationship currently with what it was like when they were 20 or 25 years old, and they are surprised that “things are just not the same”.  As we age, there will be a number of changes our bodies will go through.  Women may lubricate less; men may require more time in order to achieve an erection, some places on your body may not be as sensitive as they used to be, you may even prefer different positions than those that typically worked for the two of you.

But if you stop and think about this for a minute, this can be the fun part!  You get to explore and experiment all over again!  Communicating about these changes with your partner may be the hardest aspect of exploring new ways to enhance your sex life.  What we find is, like a lot of things in life, taking the first step is hard, but then it feels good and you feel proud and you’re on a roll (think exercise, diet, etc).  So raise the issue with your partner and, together, find what works for you.  Adapting to these situations is essential to  a healthy sex life, because they are changes we all will ultimately go through.

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Coregasms – An orgasm by any other name…

Friday, May 7th, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

 A newspaper reported called last week to talk to me about this “new idea” of “coregasms.”  Have you heard of them?  They are all the rage.

Basically women talk about having orgasms at the gym while working their core muscles.  It’s a hot new topic and clearly a great marketing ploy for gyms. Here’s the problem, though: they’re not really new. They are (I believe) just repackaged. (You know how Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC because they wanted to get “Fried” out of their name?)
 
So what actually is a coregasm?
 
There have always been a small subset of women who can have orgasms induced by tensing the muscles surrounding the vagina and clitoris. Some of my patients will talk about being able to squeeze their thigh muscles together or do kegal exercises and induce orgasm. It’s a small subgroup of women who need a limited amount of stimulation, but it exists. These are the same women who can produce orgasm through exercise and  “squeezing muscles.”
 
So now that we’re in a “core craze” (anyone not living under a rock and who has visited a gym recently knows that “core work” is the new thing…)  orgasms are being billed as another benefit of core work.
 
So what does that mean for you?
Well, like every other sexual practice, it works for some and not for others. It can be fun for the people who can experience them, but it is NOT, I repeat NOT, likely to become a mainstream  sexual practice.  Most women just need more stimulation than that for orgasm and, therefore, are  not going to significantly change the quality of your sex life. So if it sounds like fun, go for it. Most importantly, please don’t be surprised or self-critical if it doesn’t work for you. Don’t feel like you are “less than” someone else because they can squeeze their way to orgasm and you can’t! It’s just one way to have an orgasm, and as long as you’ve found YOUR way(s), you are good to go!

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A mother’s gift….

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 by Shannon Bertha, ACS, DHS

Mother’s Day is fast approaching.  Moms not only get gifts from their children, but also their partners.   A husband will try to find the perfect gift for his wife to thank her for all her hard work and dedication to being a mother.  Chocolates . . . flowers . . . dinner? 

How about this mother’s day you honor your wife by showing her you care about her pleasure and your sex lives together.  Surprise her with a vibrator or a new lubricant!  At times parents can feel too exhausted or stressed to find time to have sex.  So make time this mother’s day! 

Here are some websites that might give you some nice ideas.  They are tasteful and may give you some Mother’s Day ideas:

www.middlesexmd.com

http://www.bettersex.com/

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Erotica for the blind

Monday, May 3rd, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

Here’s an interesting article about a new sexy book with a twist. It’s been written and produced for the blind.

‘Tactical Mind’ is billing itself as the first erotic book for blind people and it incorporates raised sexually explicit images as well as erotic descriptions in Braille. The book has received a great deal of attention recently by mainstream newspapers here and abroad. “Porn you can touch,” was how it was described by the  New York Daily News.
  
The author, Lisa Murphy, is a photographer who observed, as many of us do, the sexualization of , well, everything and she decided to create a new venue for pornography – tactile erotica.  She wasn’t sure it would appeal to a large crowd, more, that she worked hard on the idea and was commited to it.  “I’d been dragging it around to erotic fairs for the last two years,” Murphy commented. “It was a labor of love and I never expected to make any money from it.”

It certainly seems like it involved a great deal of labor as the author used friends to pose for pictures and then created sculptures for each one. It took her hundreds of hours.

 What I find particularly fascinating about this project is that too often the physically challenged get left behind in an erotic world. We somehow think they “don’t really count.” Or aren’t sexual beings. It’s always important to recognize that all of us, yes all of us, deserve healthy ways to attend to our sex lives.  

 If you want to read more about the project click here: http://www.france24.com/en/20100417-tactical-mind-first-erotic-book-blind-lisa-murphy-canada

sting article about a new sexy book with a twist. It’s been written and produced for the blind! ‘Tactical Mind’ is billing itself as the first erotic book for blind people and it incorporates raised sexually explicit images as well as erotic descriptions in Braille. The magazine has received a great deal of attention recently by mainstream newspapers here and abroad. “Porn you can touch,” was how it was described by the New York Daily News. “I’d been dragging it around to erotic fairs for the last two years,” Murphy commented. “It was a labor of love and I never expected to make any money from it.” It certainly seems like it involved a great deal of labor as the author used friends to pose for pictures and then created sculptures for each one. It took her hundreds of hours. What I find particularly fascinating about this project is that too often the physically handicapped get left behind in an erotic world. We somehow think they “don’t really count.” Or aren’t sexual beings. It’s always nice to see someone or something pay positive attention to the sex lives of the handicapped. If you want to read more about the project click here: http://www.france24.com/en/20100417-tactical-mind-first-erotic-book-blind-lisa-murphy-canada

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