“Why am I experiencing pain during intercourse?”
Lately, every time my husband and I have sexual intercourse, I am experiencing a very sharp and intense pain. Why is this happening? Should I be concerned about this?
12 Answers
Yes, your pain should be evaluated by an OBGYN who has received specialized training in identifying and treating pain experienced during sexual intercourse.
See a Provider and get an exam for a diagnosis!
It depends on your age, but there could some serious issues that can cause pain that could be treated early to avoid consequences. Please make an appointment with your GYN doc. Lichen sclerosis, vulvodynia or other possible inflammatory conditions can cause pain with intercourse. Depends if pain is outside or inside there could be different reasons.
Many causes for painful sex. A few are endometriosis pelvic infection, vaginitis, and dryness due to menopause. You must see your doctor and get a thorough exam.
Could be a pelvic inflammatory disease or Endometriosis
Dr. Victoria Mondloch
OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist) | Gynecology
Painful intercourse is a distressing symptom that can seem to come out of nowhere, even in a stable and healthy sexual relationship. There are a few considerations:
1. Are you under stress? Any type of stress; work stress, financial stress, emotional stress or physical stress can all contribute to an imbalance in your hormones and cause decreased natural lubrication causing vaginal dryness, this then ‘catches’ dry penile skin on dry vaginal vault tissues doesn’t glide, it rubs and can irritate.
2. Are you in the swings of hormone ups and downs that occur with perimenopause? Hormone levels in your 1yr or more before menopause can cause good lubrication one month and poor lubrication the next month, all based on female hormone swings; these levels can be easily checked by your health care provider so ask for these levels, they are a simple blood test.
3. Are you in menopause or post-menopausal? The female body stops making female hormones with menopause and this means poor or no lubrication. The vaginal vault is meant to be elastic which means it will stretch without tearing and it is meant to have lubrication to allow for appropriate glide and pleasure with intercourse. Taking female hormone away at menopause can be very distressing to many of our body systems, but it is particularly distressing when it negatively impacts our sexual part of our lives and our marriage. And you don’t want to feel responsible but realize that it ISN”T YOUR FAULT!!! Ask your doctor to have your female hormone levels checked; there are some simple solutions that work: vaginal Estradiol cream can be used locally without changing a blood level of Estradiol in your bloodstream. You can also have a combination Estradiol + Testosterone or an Estriol + Testosterone compounded vaginal cream custom made for you if your bladder is also misbehaving with urgency (wanting to void every 30min) or with symptoms that mimic a bladder infection with painful urination but no evidence of a bladder infection. Don’t be embarrassed to talk to your healthcare provider about using an Estradiol based hormone cream vaginally to help; it’s not your fault that your body stops making female hormone.
4. Another less common reason for painful intercourse, especially if it is painful with deep thrust only is if your pelvic organs are starting to ‘fall’ or prolapse; the uterus wants to relax and fall down the vaginal toward your vaginal opening so that with intercourse, the uterus is pushed back in further than it is used to and that ‘stretch’ on it’s support ligaments is now painful; and that pain can go all the way to your groin because that’s where the round ligament attaches.
5. Lastly, make certain that you don’t have any type of vaginal infection such as a yeast infection; if you are taking an antibiotic for any reason, it can affect the balance of the normal bacterial that reside in a woman’s vaginal vault and cause yeast overgrowth that you may not even be aware of. Over the counter treatment with yeast creams designed for a woman’s vagina are perfectly safe to try at home; if you don’t get results, then get checked by your healthcare provider.
1. Are you under stress? Any type of stress; work stress, financial stress, emotional stress or physical stress can all contribute to an imbalance in your hormones and cause decreased natural lubrication causing vaginal dryness, this then ‘catches’ dry penile skin on dry vaginal vault tissues doesn’t glide, it rubs and can irritate.
2. Are you in the swings of hormone ups and downs that occur with perimenopause? Hormone levels in your 1yr or more before menopause can cause good lubrication one month and poor lubrication the next month, all based on female hormone swings; these levels can be easily checked by your health care provider so ask for these levels, they are a simple blood test.
3. Are you in menopause or post-menopausal? The female body stops making female hormones with menopause and this means poor or no lubrication. The vaginal vault is meant to be elastic which means it will stretch without tearing and it is meant to have lubrication to allow for appropriate glide and pleasure with intercourse. Taking female hormone away at menopause can be very distressing to many of our body systems, but it is particularly distressing when it negatively impacts our sexual part of our lives and our marriage. And you don’t want to feel responsible but realize that it ISN”T YOUR FAULT!!! Ask your doctor to have your female hormone levels checked; there are some simple solutions that work: vaginal Estradiol cream can be used locally without changing a blood level of Estradiol in your bloodstream. You can also have a combination Estradiol + Testosterone or an Estriol + Testosterone compounded vaginal cream custom made for you if your bladder is also misbehaving with urgency (wanting to void every 30min) or with symptoms that mimic a bladder infection with painful urination but no evidence of a bladder infection. Don’t be embarrassed to talk to your healthcare provider about using an Estradiol based hormone cream vaginally to help; it’s not your fault that your body stops making female hormone.
4. Another less common reason for painful intercourse, especially if it is painful with deep thrust only is if your pelvic organs are starting to ‘fall’ or prolapse; the uterus wants to relax and fall down the vaginal toward your vaginal opening so that with intercourse, the uterus is pushed back in further than it is used to and that ‘stretch’ on it’s support ligaments is now painful; and that pain can go all the way to your groin because that’s where the round ligament attaches.
5. Lastly, make certain that you don’t have any type of vaginal infection such as a yeast infection; if you are taking an antibiotic for any reason, it can affect the balance of the normal bacterial that reside in a woman’s vaginal vault and cause yeast overgrowth that you may not even be aware of. Over the counter treatment with yeast creams designed for a woman’s vagina are perfectly safe to try at home; if you don’t get results, then get checked by your healthcare provider.
Yes it is worth to be concern. Painful intercourse aka dyspareunia may be due to several factors. This may include but not limited to vaginal dryness, endometriosis, intra-pelvic adhesion's from prior surgeries; just to name a few. A thorough clinical history may be require to identify the underlying cause. Visit with your gynecologist and discuss this with him/her to adopt a treatment plan.
There can be lots of reasons: sometimes it can be a simple infection or sometimes it is endometriosis. I will advise you to see your ob/gyn.
There are multiple possible causes for this coital pain. If you have had a hysterectomy, it could be scar tissue. It may be related to a uterine or cervical problem such as fibroids. You could have endometriosis. My advice would be to see your gynecologist for a thorough exam.
Veronica
Veronica
If you are not long from giving birth, maybe it is because of sensitivity. If not, maybe it is because of infection. In both cases, Chinese medicine is a good solution for this problem.
Pain with sex is called dysparunia and may have many origins depending on your age group For older women who are postmenopausal, lack of homes resulting in vagina dryness and shrinkage of the vaginal tissue is the most common cause. For younger women, it may be related to endometriosis or an ovarian cyst, bladder cystitis, vagina tear, or other causes. A pelvic exam is needed for the proper diagnosis along with a good history of the events.
Rob Muller
Rob Muller
If this is a new pain, you definitely should get this checked out. It could be an ovarian cyst or endometriosis or a pelvic infection. If it goes away, then nothing to worry about. Cysts can come and go.
