Sexual health is something that, even though it’s nearly 2023, people can have a hard time talking about. But sexual health isn’t just about getting health screenings like your Pap smear or choosing the right contraceptive for you; it’s about whether you’re experiencing intimacy with your partner that’s satisfying.
But what does that mean? For your sex life to be fulfilling, you need to feel good about yourself, trust your partner, let go of the shame many of us were brought up with around sex, and more. It also means looking into why you might be experiencing arousal problems, painful sex, or an inability to achieve orgasm.
Dr. Peter Khamvongsa provides a full range of women’s health services, from help with fertility to guiding women through menopause, and sexual health is also an area of expertise of his. He also happens to be the single Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health in the South Florida area.
He and his caring staff at the Miami Institute for Women’s Health are committed to helping you realize what a satisfying sex life can feel like. What sets this practice apart is that in addition to offering the most advanced evidence-based treatments, we listen, and we care.
First, it’s important to know you’re not alone. Recent research has uncovered that as many as 70% of women experience low sex drive at some point, but it can be quite isolating nonetheless, especially in a society that somehow makes us feel that everyone else is having sex frequently and has no problems.
A woman’s libido naturally fluctuates throughour her lifespan, and through milestones like pregnancy and menopause. Some of the causes include:
Your libido is a delicate thing, but if your desire has crashed, there are things you can do about it, and a treatment that Dr. Khamvongsa offers that can help to restore it.
Making an appointment for couples counseling can help with addressing relationship issues that might be affecting your sex life and libido, and attending sessions with a sex therapist may also help you get to the root of why your libido is low.
Making a medication switch can also help. If you’ve been taking a prescription antidepressant or a certain type of oral contraceptive that has negatively affected your libido, for example, the solution could be as simple as trying an alternative medication. Ditto for looking at how you might make some lifestyle changes that could help, from managing stress better to skipping alcohol more often.
The Miami Institute for Women’s Health also offers a treatment for hormone imbalance, which affects many menopausal women and causes — in addition to low libido — vaginal tissue thinning, which contributes to dryness and painful sex.
When your estrogen and testosterone (yes, even women have it!) are out of whack — and in the case of menopausal women, estrogen really plummets — this is enough to deplete you of desire.
Fortunately, Dr. Khamvongsa offers bioidentical hormone replacement therapy treatment (BHRT), which can return your hormones to a state of equilibrium again. Many times, this supplementation is enough to sort out low libido challenges and get you back to feeling like you want intimacy again.
We prescribe plant-derived bioidentical hormones, which are synthetic, but are so molecularly similar to your own that your body doesn’t read them as different. Many patients are pleased that bioidenticals don’t come from animal sources, as certain others do.
In addition to addressing libido issues and painful sex due to vaginal dryness, you may also notice a reduction or eradication of other common menopausal symptoms, such as night sweats and hot flashes, sleep disturbances, weight gain, and mood swings. Hormone treatment is delivered through a variety of means, from patches to pellets that are placed under the skin.
BHRT has turned out to be the key to restoring libido for many women.
If low libido has gotten you and your partner down, call our office at 786-220-2184 or request an appointment online at the office that’s most convenient for you to visit. We’re here to help.
