language-icon Old Web
English
Sign In

Delayed orgasm

Anorgasmia is a type of sexual dysfunction in which a person cannot achieve orgasm despite adequate stimulation. Anorgasmia is far more common in females (4.7 percent) than in males and is especially rare in younger men. The problem is greater in women who are post-menopause. In males, it is most closely associated with delayed ejaculation. Anorgasmia can often cause sexual frustration. The condition is sometimes classified as a psychiatric disorder. However, it can also be caused by medical problems such as diabetic neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, genital mutilation on either gender, complications from genital surgery, pelvic trauma (such as from a straddle injury caused by falling on the bars of a climbing frame, bicycle or gymnastics beam), hormonal imbalances, total hysterectomy, spinal cord injury, cauda equina syndrome, uterine embolisation, childbirth trauma (vaginal tearing through the use of forceps or suction or a large or unclosed episiotomy), vulvodynia and cardiovascular disease. A common cause of situational anorgasmia, in both men and women, is the use of anti-depressants, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Though reporting of anorgasmia as a side effect of SSRIs is not precise, studies have found that 17–41% of users of such medications are affected by some form of sexual dysfunction. Another cause of anorgasmia is opiate addiction, particularly to heroin. About 15% of women report difficulties with orgasm, and as many as 10% of women in the United States have never climaxed. Only 29% of women always have orgasms with their partner. Primary anorgasmia is a condition where one has never experienced an orgasm. This is significantly more common in women, although it can occur in men who lack the gladipudendal (bulbocavernosus) reflex. Women with this condition can sometimes achieve a relatively low level of sexual excitement. Frustration, restlessness, and pelvic pain or a heavy pelvic sensation may occur because of vascular engorgement. On occasion, there may be no obvious reason why orgasm is unobtainable. In such cases, women report that they are unable to orgasm even if they have a caring, skilled partner, adequate time and privacy, and an absence of medical issues which would affect sexual satisfaction. Some social theorists believe that inability to orgasm may be related to residual psychosocial perceptions that female sexual desire is somehow 'wrong', and that this stems from the age of Victorian repression. It is thought that this view may impede some women – perhaps those raised in a more repressed environment – from being able to experience natural and healthy sexual feeling. Secondary anorgasmia is the loss of the ability to have orgasms (as opposed to primary anorgasmia which indicates a person who has never had an orgasm). Or loss of the ability to reach orgasm of past intensity. The cause may be alcoholism, depression, grief, pelvic surgery (such as total hysterectomy) or injuries, certain medications, illness, estrogen deprivation associated with menopause, or rape.

[ "Testosterone", "Serotonin", "Orgasm", "serotonin reuptake" ]
Parent Topic
Child Topic
    No Parent Topic