0:08

Welcome to Permission for Pleasure . I'm

0:10

Cindy Sharkey , your host . I'm

0:12

delighted you're here with me today to listen

0:14

and learn more about your sexual

0:16

health . I have been a

0:18

nurse for over three decades and I

0:20

can tell you for a fact that

0:23

most people do not have the education

0:25

they need about their health

0:27

and especially their sexuality

0:30

and their sexual health . In this

0:32

episode , I'm going into full

0:34

nurse mode to highlight some

0:36

medications , how

0:38

they may be affecting your sexual health

0:40

, as well as how to talk to a provider

0:43

about this . I do

0:45

have this information available in

0:47

two separate blogs on my website and

0:49

I'll link to those in the show notes . If

0:52

you want to refer back to this content in

0:54

written form , and

0:56

if you're looking for more education

0:58

in general , along with the podcast

1:00

, I hope you'll sign up for my newsletter

1:03

, good Education for Good Sex . That's

1:05

where I post my new blogs and education

1:08

beyond this podcast , and the link

1:10

to sign up is always in the show notes

1:12

. Now , before I jump

1:14

in , let me say how

1:17

strongly I feel that your

1:19

sexual health is part

1:21

of your overall health . Did

1:23

you hear me ? Your sexual health

1:26

is part of your overall

1:28

health . It is so important

1:30

for you to know this , to embrace

1:33

it and advocate for yourself

1:35

and your sex life . We're

1:38

going to talk about medications , because many

1:41

people have prescription medications

1:43

as part of their own personal health plan

1:45

, and often medications

1:48

are given without a lot of knowledge

1:51

about the possible side effects . In

1:53

general , and especially

1:55

as they might affect your

1:57

sex life , it is always smart

2:00

to ask about side effects before

2:02

starting any medication . It

2:05

is also smart to ask specifically

2:08

about side effects to your sexual

2:10

health if your provider does not

2:12

address that adequately . So

2:15

let's talk about a few examples of medications

2:18

that may have side effects for

2:20

your sexual health . These

2:22

would be antidepressants

2:24

, hormones and hormonal

2:27

birth control , anti-hypertensives

2:30

for high blood pressure and

2:32

some anihistamines , for example , how

2:35

your sexual function may be affected

2:38

. Well , let me tell you a few

2:40

examples of that Ability

2:42

to reach orgasm may be affected , natural

2:45

lubrication , diminishment

2:47

of sensations , erectile

2:49

dysfunction or problems

2:52

with ejaculation and

2:54

decrease in sexual desire . I

2:57

do want to highlight SSRIs

2:59

, because a significant amount of people

3:02

are taking medications for depression

3:04

and selective serotonin

3:06

reuptake inhibitors , or

3:09

SSRIs , are

3:11

the most commonly prescribed type

3:13

of antidepressant , and

3:15

these medications are also prescribed

3:17

to treat anxiety disorders . While

3:21

not every person on SSRIs

3:23

experiences side effects , these types

3:25

of medications are known to

3:27

have potential impact on your sexual

3:30

health . Studies indicate that

3:32

these side effects may occur after

3:34

a few doses , show up

3:36

years afterward and

3:38

can possibly persist for decades

3:40

after use . This is why I'm highlighting

3:43

this particular class

3:45

of medications . Medication examples

3:47

would be things like Prozac it's

3:50

Alexa Zoloft , paxil

3:52

, lexapro and Luvox

3:55

. The possible secondary

3:57

sexual problems caused by these

4:00

medications are things like the

4:02

following , and I want to list

4:04

through them and have you just think about

4:06

if these things are affecting

4:09

your sexual health if you are

4:11

on an SSRI Less

4:14

interest in sex , difficulty

4:17

becoming aroused , difficulty

4:19

sustaining arousal , issues

4:22

reaching orgasm , delayed

4:25

ejaculation or

4:28

erectile problems . Genital

4:31

Anesthesia this is a

4:33

numbness or loss of sensation

4:36

of the genitals , nipple

4:38

insensitivity , decreased

4:41

lubrication of the vagina , diminished

4:44

capacity to experience sexual

4:46

pleasure or pleasure-less

4:48

orgasms . Some

4:51

things to keep in mind are that

4:53

depression or anxiety itself

4:55

may be the underlying cause

4:57

of some sexual difficulties , and

5:00

this must be taken into account when

5:02

troubleshooting . If what you're experiencing

5:04

is related to a medication

5:07

or a mental health condition

5:09

, the majority of side effects

5:11

are overlapping , and so this

5:13

can be challenging . However

5:15

, the ones that have been found specific

5:18

to SSRIs are

5:20

the following Genital

5:22

anesthesia , nipple

5:24

or glands , clitoris insensitivity

5:27

or penis glands insensitivity

5:30

and pleasure-less orgasms

5:32

. These are specific

5:35

to side effects to SSRIs

5:37

. If you are experiencing

5:39

these specific side effects with

5:42

taking an SSRI , consider

5:44

talking with your health care provider

5:46

about the possibility of adjusting

5:49

your dosage or

5:51

switching to another medication

5:53

that is known to be more

5:55

sexually sparing or having

5:58

less sexual side effects . We're

6:00

going to talk more about how to have these discussions

6:03

with a provider here in a minute . To

6:05

round this out , think through what you are experiencing

6:08

by weight of side effects and how

6:10

much or in what ways it's affecting

6:13

your sex life . Determine

6:15

if there are ways to adapt or

6:17

not . Okay , for example

6:19

, what I mean by this . If you notice a time

6:21

of day you have the least amount of side effects

6:24

, try scheduling sex for that time

6:26

of day . Does that adaptation

6:28

work for you ? If arousal

6:31

is an issue , consider using

6:33

a toy or a vibrator for quicker

6:35

warming up or try exercising

6:38

before sex to increase blood flow

6:40

to your genitals . When

6:42

decreased lubrication and vaginal dryness

6:45

is the issue , absolutely

6:47

bring a lube for sex

6:49

into your sexual toolkit . This

6:52

will decrease friction and increase

6:54

pleasure . You can find

6:56

the link to my All About Lube blog

6:58

in the show notes for recommendations

7:00

For those who are partnered

7:03

. Talk about what you're experiencing

7:05

together . What changes has

7:07

your partner noticed ? Your

7:10

sex life together is a we

7:12

situation , not a you

7:14

situation . Have an

7:16

honest conversation about the changes

7:18

or issues and how to deal with them

7:21

together . Many

7:23

people I know find it so

7:25

uncomfortable to talk about sex and sexuality

7:27

with their partner , with

7:30

friends , but especially with a medical

7:32

provider . That

7:34

can feel particularly scary Enough

7:37

to keep you silent . I

7:39

know it's intimidating , but your

7:41

sexual health matters . As

7:44

a long-time nurse and patient advocate

7:47

, I encourage clients to write

7:49

out a script or bullet

7:51

points on a small card or

7:53

in your phone and take them with

7:56

you to medical appointments . This

7:58

works especially well for sexual

8:00

health concerns . When a health

8:02

care provider sees that you have

8:04

specific questions and concerns and

8:07

you've written them down , it

8:09

helps them to pause , listen

8:11

and specifically address

8:13

your concerns . It

8:16

also helps you to remember

8:18

what you want to talk about and

8:20

the questions and concerns you have

8:23

in the moment . Sometimes

8:25

in these situations with providers

8:27

, it all goes out of our head , so

8:30

having these little notes or bullet points

8:32

can really be helpful to keep

8:34

us on task with what

8:36

we want to address and keep the

8:38

provider on task with

8:40

listening and addressing our concerns . Here

8:44

are some talking points to get you started

8:46

, things like I

8:48

would like to discuss my sexual health

8:50

, just saying that . Or

8:52

just say I would like to discuss sex . Or

8:56

perhaps it's easier to say something

8:58

is not working correctly , or

9:01

fill in the blank is happening

9:04

in relation to my sex life , or

9:07

blank is interfering

9:09

with my sexual desire , arousal

9:12

, orgasms , genitals

9:14

, pleasure . Be specific with what

9:16

it's interfering with and

9:19

if you think you know what's going on

9:21

, then state that . What I think

9:23

might be going on is this or

9:25

I can't figure out what is going on

9:27

, or how can we figure

9:30

this out , right

9:32

? Also , if you don't get

9:34

anywhere with your provider , say

9:36

if you can't help me , who

9:39

can you refer me to ? And

9:42

then will you please give me that referral

9:45

before I leave today ? You

9:47

can always ask and direct

9:50

these kinds of talking points

9:52

with your provider . I

9:54

hope that's helpful and

9:56

, like I said before , I know how difficult

9:59

it can be to talk about these things . So

10:01

I do hope you have a medical provider

10:03

that's both competent and compassionate

10:06

and if not , my friends , please

10:08

switch to a different provider

10:11

so you can get the information

10:13

and the care that you need and

10:15

deserve . As I

10:17

wrap up , I want to remind you

10:19

that this is not medical advice , but

10:22

I do hope it helps you to think through

10:24

your own sexual health and wellness

10:26

and talk to

10:28

your own provider about

10:31

any concerns or questions that you

10:33

have . Remember what I

10:35

said earlier your sexual health . It

10:38

is part of your overall health

10:40

and it matters

10:42

. If you learned

10:44

something new today or

10:46

you have a friend that you think would benefit

10:48

from this episode specifically

10:50

, please take a moment to

10:52

quickly share it with them . Let's

10:54

spread good sexual health education

10:57

and be part of breaking the silence

10:59

around sex that isn't serving anyone

11:02

. Thanks for listening . Today

11:04

, on behalf of your

11:06

sexual wellness , I'm

11:08

cheering you on towards giving

11:10

yourself permission

11:13

for pleasure

11:15

.