| Another erroneous belief is that women have no interest
in sex after a hysterectomy. Although there may be a decrease in vaginal
lubrication if the ovaries are removed along with the uterus, libido (the
sex drive) remains intact -- and, because any worries about pregnancy
are gone, it may even increase.
As people live longer and attitudes change, more older
couples desire to prolong the years of healthy sexuality. Sex in old age
was at one time thought to be inappropriate and even immoral; now, both
physical and emotional intimacy are seen as important to well-being throughout
life. Although sexual desire and the frequency of intercourse decline
with age, sexual enjoyment and satisfaction do not. For couples in good
health, sexual activity, which includes touching and caressing, may continue
into the eighties and even nineties. Sexual dysfunction takes different
forms in men and women.
Sexual Headaches
For years, partners have used headache as an excuse
to avoid lovemaking. But for some people, lovemaking causes the headache!
 Forty-year
old Shankar was making love to his wife when the pain exploded in
his head. “I felt as if someone had plunged an ice pick into
the back of my skull,” he reported to his doctor later. The pain lingered
for about an hour, with no other symptoms, so Shankar dismissed the episode
as a fluke.
When the pain returned a few days later, once again
as Shankar was approaching orgasm, he could no longer ignore it.
Was he about to die from a brain hemorrhage or aneurysm? Was his
sex life in danger of dying, too? The pain he’d experienced, though
short-lived, was enough to make Shankar fearful of making love again.
Though reluctant to discuss his sex life with his doctor,
Shankar made an appointment and described his symptoms. To his relief,
the doctor was able to rule out a hemorrhage or other life-threatening conditions.
He diagnosed Shankar's pain as benign sexual headache, a lesser-known
type of headache triggered by orgasm.
Benign Sexual Headaches- what are they ?
People suffering from benign sexual headache—also known
as benign coital headache or orgasmic headache—describe sudden, intense
pain near or at the moment of orgasm. The pain remains intense for
five to fifteen minutes, though some people report pain lasting as
long as two days. Pain can occur with intercourse or masturbation, and
may happen infrequently, or every time a person approaches orgasm. Men
and women of all ages have reported suffering from these peculiar
headaches, but people over the age of 40 are more prone to it. When the
first headache strikes, the sufferer stops copulating or masturbating
and rests quietly in agony. Most are worried that they might have
something seriously wrong in their heads, and many seek medical advice
soon afterwards.
Doctors have identified three types of benign sexual
headaches:
Dull
 The
dull type of headache starts as a dull ache that intensifies with increased
sexual excitement and gradually subsides once sexual activity ceases.
People with this type of headache may not even make the connection between
their pain and sex, and are less likely to seek medical help.
Explosive
The explosive type of benign sexual headache is characterized by sudden,
intense pain just before or at the moment of orgasm. This is the type
most often seen by doctors.
Postural
This rarer type is called postural headache. Like explosive sexual
headaches, postural headaches begin with intense pain at orgasm. The pain
then subsides, but reoccurs when the patient stands up.
What is the cause ?
Doctors haven’t determined the exact cause of benign
sexual headaches, though they are classified with other headaches brought
on by exertion. Because migraine sufferers are more prone to sexual headaches,
some doctors believe sexual headaches may be related to vascular changes
brought on by physical activity, such as exercise and sex. Other researchers
believe stress and fatigue may contribute to or trigger the onset of benign
sexual headache. While you are experiencing benign sexual headache, there
is little you can do to ease the pain.
However abstaining from sex for some time may help .Once your doctor has
diagnosed benign sexual headache, he may prescribe a period of inactivity.
Abstaining from sex for a period of two or three weeks often eliminates
a patient’s predisposition toward recurrence of benign sexual headaches.
Some people find that taking anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen,
prior to sexual activity can prevent benign sexual headaches. If abstention
or ibuprofen doesn’t work, your physician may prescribe a short course
of propranolol (Inderal).
Though painful and sometimes frightening, benign sexual headache doesn’t
mean an end to a satisfying sex life. Understanding and proper treatment
usually lead to a permanent cure.
Too much sex: is there such a thing?
Is there something as having too much sex? This question
is often posed to most counselors and sex therapists, and their answer
always is that as long as you are comfortable physically and your partner
is comfortable you can have as much sex as you want.
However there are some physical limitations to this
fact also. Men can't be aroused for a while after they ejaculate, and
some women get a stomachache after a lot of sex.
Too much sex' happens when there's a discrepancy in
sexual desire; if one partner is simply wanting more than the other.
Another type of 'too much sex' is the kind of sex they may be having.
Putting aside clinical problems of sexual addiction or sexual compulsiveness,
the optimal frequency of sex is defined by each couple, not by sex
therapists or the media. Problems can arise if there is poor communication.
For example, if a man wakes up ready for sex but his partner isn't
a "morning person," sex can become a source of tension
and a turn-off at any time of day. Or one partner may be unsatisfied
with sex because she needs more caressing and foreplay. In these
cases, people must communicate their needs, or sexual encounters can become
dreadful.
There is no such defined statement of the phrase "too
much sex". What's good for society is good for couples too. Although
the whole focus should be on compatibility , that is what is not talked
about at all. The media just harps on about inconsequential subjects and
conveniently leaves out matters which need addressing. Thus the bottom
line being that if your sexual relationship is healthy (for you ) ,if
you're emotionally tuned into each other and if your hearts are as much
in it as your bodies, then there is nothing as too much or too little
sex for you. You are in perfect balance. |
