What is Sexual Dysfunction?

Sexual dysfunction is difficulty in achieving pleasure due to decreased sexual desire, arousal or orgasm. It is more common than what’s evident: Around 40% of women and 30% of men in our country report having at least one symptom. When a couple has fertility issues, problems with their sexual relationship may become more pronounced because of the need to ‘perform’ at specific times. Therefore, sexual activity may become an activity restricted for procreation rather than recreation, because of which sexual problems can arise. Most of the times it is down played both by the couple as well as treating physician as they think it will disappear with time.

Doctors divide the traditional sexual function into 3 phases: desire (libido), arousal (your body undergoes the physical changes that allow you to perform sex), and orgasm. Your relationship together with your partner, or your ideas about sex cause problems in any of those phases resulting in sexual dysfunction. Painful intercourse also can cause sexual dysfunction, especially for women.

Sexual dysfunction in men:

The foremost common sort of sexual problem in men is male erectile dysfunction, which is when your penis doesn't become or stay firm. Many medical conditions can cause erectile dysfunction: high vital signs, diabetes, vessel diseases, a surgery that affects your bladder or genitals, nerve disease or injury, hormonal problems, or depression. Certain medications also can cause male erectile dysfunction. Another common sexual dysfunction in men is ejaculatory dysfunction, which occurs when a person doesn't release semen during orgasm.

Sexual dysfunction in women

Women with sexual dysfunction may have low concupiscence, difficulty becoming aroused, or difficulty reaching orgasm. These disorders could also be caused by many various physical or psychological problems. Women may feel pain during sex, which is named dyspareunia. Many things can cause dyspareunia, including diseases like endometriosis or conditions that affect a woman's external genitals. Some women have a pain disorder called vaginismus, a condition during which the muscles around the vagina spasm and cause the vagina to shut.

How do doctors diagnose and treat sexual dysfunction?

Your doctor will do a physical examination and ask you questions on your medical and sexual history. Important chemicals in your body, called hormones, affect your interest in and skill to perform sex. Your doctor may measure your hormone levels, to make sure that they're not too high or too low. You ought to always open up to your doctor regarding medications you're taking for a few other diseases as those medications could cause problems having sex and you will be treated accordingly. Medications or surgery treat physical or medical problems. If the matter is psychological, your doctor may suggest that you and your partner consult a sex therapist.

Sexual dysfunction may cause problems getting pregnant (infertility). But trying to urge pregnancy can also cause sexual dysfunction!

Why is sexual dysfunction more common in infertile couples?

Infertility treatments are often stressful, intrusive, and emotionally demanding. This can affect a person’s sexual self-image, desire, and performance as for many of the couples, sexual love may be a way to connect emotionally. When their sex lives are related to failure, frustration, anger, and resentment they may lose this manner of showing their emotions. The pressure to perform at a given point of your time or to abstain from sex during infertility treatments can make sex less spontaneous and enjoyable and it just gets reduced to an act of procreation. Some of the medications that couples need to take as a part of their treatment may make it harder to perform sex. These issues keep getting accumulated as the fertility treatment continues. Regardless of the very fact whether the matter arose before treatment or was a consequence of infertility, sexual dysfunction heavily impacts the couple’s emotional well-being.

An explanation for infertility:

If you are trying to conceive, you need to perform sex at the proper time which is when your eggs are close to releasing. If you can't or don't keep relations near ovulation, your chances of conceiving decrease. If your frequency of intercourse is low due to pain or sexual dysfunction, you may miss that important time for conceiving. Men who develop male erectile dysfunction or ejaculatory dysfunction thanks to stress of infertility won't be ready to get their partner pregnant and thus, it'll be another cause of sub-fertility.

Emotional causes of sexual dysfunction

For most couples, sexual performance under pressure (to perform planned sex, the pressure to perform on-demand), extensive and painful tests, and anxiety about the result leads to emotional turbulence. Other issues like turning over control of such a private aspect of life to the doctor adds to it. As infertility continues, feelings of sexual inadequacy and depression can occur thanks to the emotional link between sexuality and fertility. Many couples start avoiding sexual intimacy during non-fertile periods. Men and women alike can lose pleasure from sexual intercourse and start to avoid sex or not care about having sex. This may in turn cause a loss of affection overall, and couples may feel tensed or disconnected.

What are the ways to treat this?

Depending on how deeply couples are suffering from these problems, some couples will have got to seek medical help in terms of medicines or surgery. Others may benefit from counseling or psychological support. A combined approach often works best. Sex therapy and medications are often the simplest treatment approaches for physical and emotional issues. But, the foremost important thing about treatment is the couple’s willingness and desire to succeed in it and seek help.

Strategies that help:

• Focus on your relationship as a couple (not just parents-to-be).
• Talk about sex.
• Face your sexual challenges as partners.
• Do it anyway! Sex encourages intimacy.
• Avoid ritualized, mechanistic, procreative approaches to sex.
• Make time for love-making, not baby-making.
• Plan sexual activities that are playful, enjoyable, or interesting, especially during non-fertile times.
• Find alone time for the two of you.
• Devote time to activities and interests that you simply enjoy together.
• Don’t let infertility become all you are thinking or talking about.
• Know that your fertility does not define you.
• Know that sexual challenges during this time are normal.
• Seek help and know you are not alone.

Summary

Sexual dysfunction can affect anyone at any time but more commonly couples struggling with infertility. It is important for couples undergoing treatment for infertility to be aware that some type of sexual dysfunction is common and it has nothing to do with their feminity or masculinity as they associate their sexual dysfunction with their pro-creational capabilities. Being willing to accept support when it is needed can help couples keep the intimacy of their relationship during this challenging time.