VIRTUAL MEDICAL SCHOOL I: "I am not in the Mood" ~ or am I?

Thursday, March 1, 2012

"I am not in the Mood" ~ or am I?

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is a DSM-IV Classification that is applied to millions of women around the world. Recently, we posted a blog on HSDD and were met with a virtual avalanche of sorts....an avalanche of 'hits' that leaves one to conclude that we are definitely on to something, women!

There are several websites that openly discuss HSDD, including the definition, causes, treatment modalities, a review of products (of course), and testimonials. It is not our goal to promote any product, but to inform you, the Women of the World. The first step in gaining control of your sexuality is to define it. And honestly, if you are interested in becoming more of a sexual Woman with emotional intimacy, transparency, and have a willing partner in this quest...well, then we hold that you are about to enter a new dimension in your journey called life. So Onward & Forward!

By the time that a person with HSDD receives a diagnosis and presents for treatment, there is a great likelihood that a substantial period of time has already gone by with the sexual dysfunction adversely affecting a relationship to the point where a separation or divorce is already in progress. So we encourage Women to know about this disorder and to seek help if you find yourself in this situation. You are not alone.

We also want to make it clear that if you are a Woman with a decreased or nonexistent sexual desire, there is hope! Before we give you categories of HSDD, let us first comment on the most common causes of HSDD. There are several main causes, it is a complicated issue, and for most women, the cause may not ever be found. Some causes include: cultural inhibition, medical and/or psychiatric diagnoses, general health issues, drug interactions, low testosterone, and high prolactin. Many causes are simply unknown. To the American, Business, or Woman CEO of the Family, add to this the stresses of a job, paying bills, answering the telephone, arranging meetings, making dinner, doing laundry, and the multiple other duties of a wife and mother. So the myriad of etiologies for HSDD are probably not all described, and further research into the causes is needed for further study.

There are three Subtypes of HSDD:

1. General: The person has and never has had an interest or drive to engage in sexual activity.

2. Situational: The person used to have a sexual interest in the partner, but no longer has. There is sexual drive but it is directed to self-stimulation or to another person.

3. Acquired: The person used to have sexual interest in the partner, but no longer has interest in sex.

There are no pharmaceutical drugs that are approved solely for the diagnosis of HSDD. But there are many treatment modalities available. Some options include assistance in generating even day/night cycles, ensuring adequate sleep, exercise, and there are a plethora of advertised products that have either anecdotal claims or research studies to back up their case for helping women to optimize their sexual desires. Key note in speaking of Sexual Desire in Women: the Female Orgasm and Female Ejaculation.

Tomorrow we shall discuss treatment options in more detail. For now, we encourage you to review your sexual desire. If you are distressed about a decreased sexual drive and/or you have relationship or marital problems because you just have little to no interest in having sex....perhaps you need to stay with us. Please view the references below for a head start on options. Speak to your doctor about HSDD. Let your doctor or health care professional know if you are having problems because of a change in sexual desire. We hope that you do not wait months or years before mentioning HSDD to your doctor. Talk to your doctor today...."I think I might have HSDD." Wow! Let's change the situation for Women! Together, we are strong!

We look forward to bringing forth Women's Health Issues in a candid and informative manner. You take care of yourself and remember that we are Women Helping Women!

RESOURCES:

(1) http://www.HSDDonline.com

(2) http://www.sexhealthmatters.org/hsdd

(3) http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/sexual-dysfunction/hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder.htm

(4) http://www.doctorslounge.com/gynecology/diseases/hsdd.htm

(5) http://www.depression-guide.com/hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder.htm

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The First Virtual Medical School Online

On January 1, 2012, Dr. Margaret Aranda was the first to develop the concept of a virtual medical school (VMS). Since 2006, she was in a horrific car accident that left her bed-bound with a traumatic brain injury and DI. She became a "professional patient" and saw a myraid of doctors for a variety of brainstem and brain dysfunctions. She knew all too well what it felt like to be a patient, trapped in a body that felt like it didn't belong to her. Eventually, the DI resolved.

She knows common troubles with the medical system: patients not feeling like they are listened to, patients, especially women, being treated as if they have a psychiatric or hormonal problems ("It's all in your head"), patients given topical lipservice when the doctor missed a vertebral artery dissection, and living with dysautonomia. Dr. Aranda kept a Memoir while hospitalized, in Neurorehabilitation, learning how to walk and talk again, and learning how to do simple things like bake cupcakes. The Memoir, No More Tears, A Physician Turned Patient Inspires Recovery is so named because no one thought she would survive, especially with 3 years on a PICC line for fluids. Ah. But no one really knew her, did they?

Then she got better. It took 7 years, but she was better.

She went back to work in a clinic for ?a few days. The next thing she knew, she was back to having a huge migraine that left her incapacitated, but this time was accompanied by ataxia so that she was bumping into the walls. Off to the ER, hypoperfusion to the brainstem #2, and a doctor told her he would catch her if she fell...and had her close her eyes and do finger-to-nose simultaneously and well, she...she shook....and she wobbled.......then she really wobbled some more..........then she completely lost her balance and fell to the hard wood floor. All in one full swoop; no one caught her. The doctor may have his side of the story, but the fact is that she developed another TBI with DI, gave up a position at Stanford, had difficulty titrating the dysautonomia with the DI (sometimes being hyponatremic to 121, other times having acute kidney injury with a GFR of 25%).

She lives quietly at home with her daughter and dogs, taking up her love of writing as a chance that she may never have had. So far, she has written 5 books. Her latest, Archives of the Vagina: A Journey through Time, is part Memoir, part History, part Women's Culture, part Medicine, and wholly Health & Wellness. Meant to take a girl from puberty through menopause and be helpful for Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Living Wills, and future planning, all her books can be found at: http://www.drmargaretaranda.tateauthor.com/other-works/

Dr. Aranda would rather speak to children than half the adults she knows, lol, so she wrote two books for her daughter. Little Missy Two-Shoes is always transformed from disliking something (ladybugs, going to school) to learning how to embrace them. Her last book is Stepping from the Edge, the Sequel to No More Tears, and a Workbook with room for write-in answers after virtually every chapter.

Dr. Aranda's Virtual Medical School edifies the transformation from sickness to health as being part of the entire entity of a person: mind, body, and soul. Just as she was taught at Oral Roberts' School of Medicine. She learned to pray with her patients, and still hears that still, small whisper of the Holy Spirit that guides her in prophesying, confirming, and serving as edification for the sick, that Our Lord is alive and well, and He is still in the business of doing miracles. Period.