Patient Assessment and Diagnosis of Sexual Dysfunction in Women: Unravelling the Mystery and Treating the Problem

Kathy Maupin, M.D.

Founder and Medical Director, BioBalance Health

Secondary sexual dysfunction in women over 40 has a history of being misdiagnosed, ignored, treated with the wrong hormone, obstructed from treatment through governmental agencies and generally categorized as a psychiatric condition. Sexual function is a real physiologic, hormonal, psychological condition that affects many women after age 40. Sexual function and dysfunction involve many components of what we consider sexual function: libido, arousal, engorgement, comfort, orgasm, and emotional engagement. This complexity makes it more important to delineate what component is involved as each may require various treatments. Because sexual function is very complex in nature, the diagnosis and treatment of sexual complaints should be approached in an organized and complete fashion. Gynecologists generally rule out anatomic abnormalities which are rare in the mature patient but should not be overlooked. Hormonal deficiencies, medical illnesses and poor lifestyle choices are the most common causes of female sexual dysfunction. The fact that testosterone is necessary for female sexual function and the FDA has not approved a testosterone replacement for women, offers us an opportunity to use non oral bioidentical testosterone to treat the most common cause of female sexual dysfunction in mature women. I will offer case studies from my practice to illustrate the multifaceted problem of poor sexual function in mature women, and offer treatment protocols that work well.