Healing for Women's Sexual Pain

Recent research suggests an increase in bladder conditions, which can cause sexual pain for men and women.

For example, interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) commonly causes pain with sexual activity. Once considered relatively rare, IC/BPS may affect 3 million to 8 million women and 2 million men in the United States, according to recent studies. Nearly a third of US women grapple with IC/BPS and other similar conditions.

Women with mild cases may experience discomfort and urinary frequency, but moderate to severe symptoms can also include the need for constant access to a bathroom, limited ability to travel and lack of sleep due to the pain and constant need to urinate.

Risks and Causes

Anyone at any age can get IC/BPS, but it usually occurs in the late 20s through the 70s. Heredity plays a role, too: If a parent or sibling has it, you are about 17 times more likely to develop the condition.

The cause of IC/BPS is unclear, but it appears to involve several factors. Causes may include changes in the surface lining of the bladder, nerve abnormalities of the bladder wall and autoimmune problems.

Because every IC/BPS patient can have a different range of symptoms, there are multiple treatment options. The pelvic pain experts at theSmith Institute for Urology can tailor a plan for you. Therapy generally progresses from the most conservative forms of care (dietary changes and physical therapy) to more “aggressive” management (oral medications, medications placed directly into the bladder or even surgery). Using a variety of approaches significantly improves quality of life in the vast majority of our patients.

Talking About Sexual Pain

Register to join me and other Arthur Smith Institute for Urology experts in a live, interactive webinar, Let’s Talk About It: When Sex Hurts, on Thursday, July 9 from 7 to 7:30 p.m.

You’ll learn more about conditions treated at the Smith Institute’s Pelvic Pain Treatment Center, including not only IC/BPS, but also pelvic floor dysfunction, endometriosis and vulvodynia.

Registrants can ask questions anonymously during the live broadcast via our question tool or use Twitter to send questions before and during the event (#NSLIJTalkAboutit).

This post was written by Sonia Bahlani, MD, ob/gyn at LIJ Medical Center.

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