Pain during intercourse is more common than you may realize, yet patients rarely talk about it openly. For some, discomfort may be occasional and mild. But for others, it can be persistent and distressing, taking a toll not only on comfort, but on intimacy and relationships, too.
At the Center for Urogynecology and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery, Rafael J. Perez, MD, FACOG, and our team specialize in getting to the root cause of painful intercourse, providing effective solutions to relieve discomfort for better physical health and emotional well-being.
Here’s why painful intercourse happens and what we can do to help.
Different issues can lead to pain during intercourse (also called dyspareunia), but for many women, hormonal shifts are to blame — specifically, the natural decline in estrogen that happens during menopause and in the years leading up to it.
Most women know estrogen plays a key role in their periods and their overall reproductive health, but what you may not know is that estrogen also helps maintain a healthy, elastic, lubricated vagina.
When estrogen levels drop, the vagina becomes thin, brittle, dry, and inelastic — a condition known as vaginal atrophy. Intercourse or even tampon use can lead to irritation, inflammation, and pain.
Other potential causes of dyspareunia include infections, uterine fibroids, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, or underlying conditions like endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease.
Scheduling an office visit with Dr. Perez is the first step toward finding the cause and determining a treatment plan that works.
During your office visit, Dr. Perez asks about your symptoms, reviews your medical history, and performs a pelvic exam to evaluate your vagina and assess muscle tone. He may order lab work to check your hormone levels or to look for infection. He might recommend diagnostic imaging to gain additional insight.
We can typically address infections, endometriosis, fibroids, and inflammatory conditions with medication or minimally invasive therapies to correct the underlying cause. But for most women, relieving painful intercourse involves addressing hormonal changes that lead to vaginal atrophy.
Many women benefit from hormone replacement therapy (HRT) using bioidentical hormones to restore premenopausal hormone levels. HRT helps rebuild vaginal tissue and improve lubrication, and it can address other menopause symptoms, like hot flashes and night sweats.
FemiLift® uses state-of-the-art medical laser technology to promote natural healing changes in the vaginal walls, stimulating circulation, collagen development, and natural lubrication. You can repeat in-office visits as needed, and there’s no downtime afterward.
No matter what’s causing painful symptoms, painful intercourse is never natural, and it’s not something you have to live with.
To learn more about safe, effective therapies tailored to your needs and preferences, request an appointment with us at the Center for Urogynecology and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery in South Miami, Florida, today.
