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Doctors are Failing Both Genders When It Comes to Dealing with Sexuality

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 08:09
Submitted by The ED Coach Pa...

I was shocked to discover some time ago that 86% of doctors in the USA do not ask their male patients about their erectile function or sex life. This is especially crazy since it is now proven that erectile problems are the proverbial “canary in the cave” that signals trouble long before other symptoms appear. Heart disease, coronary disease, cholesterol, diabetes can all show up as erectile problems years before any other symptoms do.

But, I sort of wrote it off as a case of family practice docs who are stretched to the limit and don’t really have time to spend with patients to get down to the details of their patient’s health. I also assumed that with women’s clinics so common around the country, that women’s doctors were covering sexual issues far better than men’s doctors. After all, an OB/GYN is ALL about the vagina, right?

NOT! It seems doctors are failing both genders when it comes to dealing with sexuality. An article this month in the Journal of Sexual Medicine called “What We Don't Talk About When We Don't Talk About Sex” reports on a survey at the University of Chicago.

Apparently, most OB/GYNs do not ask their female patients about sexual dysfunction or sexual pleasure - despite there being strong correlations between sexual satisfaction and good health. In fact, only 29% of doctors inquired about sexual orientation!

Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medicine, and the study's lead author said, "As a practicing OB-GYN, many of my patients say I'm the first physician to talk with them about sexual issues. Sexuality is a key component of a woman's physical and psychological health. Obviously, OB-GYNs are well positioned among all physicians to address female sexual concerns. Simply asking a patient if she's sexually active does not tell us whether she has good sexual function or changes in her sexual function that could indicate underlying problems."

However, Lindau did lose her credibility with me when she made this statement: "For men with prostate cancer, in comparison, the impact of treatment on sexual function is typically discussed as part of deciding which therapy to try."

Sadly, she is incredibly misinformed. Most urologists do NOT discuss the impact of treatment on sexual function. I wonder why she would assume that? Maybe the same reason I assumed OB/GYNs discussed sexual issues with their patients. We were both wrong.

So, bottom line: The medical field is failing miserably at addressing sexual issues of both genders. Patients must self advocate and realize that when they walk into a doctor’s office, that doctor may well have his or her own sexual hangups when dealing with sex.

Marcus Welby is dead. The only one thinking about your healthcare…is YOU! If you can’t communicate with your doctor about your sexual history, difficulties, interests and activities, fire him or her. There are lots of good doctors out there, let’s go find one!

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Sexual function and physicians . . .

Tue, 04/03/2012 - 12:41
Patrick_R

Paul,

I am trying to imagine why so few doctors would discuss a topic as important as sexual functioning and satisfaction with their patients. I suspect it must have something to do with the general discomfort in our society with anything to do with sexuality---apparently even amongst physicians and other health professionals.

We as patients do seem to be in the position of having to advocate for ourselves with our doctors when it comes to our sexuality. Unfortunately this is even more difficult for patients to bring up than it ought to be for physicians. The average person is likely to have less knowledge of (and comfort with) sexual issues than a health care professional. So there might not be a great likelihood of patients' being proactive about a potentially embarrassing matter that even their doctor seems to be avoiding. Medical and nursing schools really need to address how important sexuality is to overall health and quality of life. Taking a recent sexual history ought to be a normal part of any visit to one's doctor.

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