FAQ’s About Painful Sex

What are some less serious, common causes of pain with sex?

If you’re trying to have intercourse when you’re not aroused, lack of lubrication can cause friction and lead to pain. Even if you are aroused, decreased lubrication caused by hormonal deficiencies (such as atrophic vaginitis, which can occur when estrogen levels are low after menopause or while breastfeeding) can lead to pain.

I just posted "15 Crazy Things About Vaginas," a synopsis of my book What’s Up Down There?, which went viral so quickly that it crashed Owning Pink. One of the sweetest compliments I got on my 20 city book tour was this: “Lissa, Even Ensler started the Vagina Monologues, but you’ve started the Vagina Dialogues.” Suh-WEET! So given the appetite for Vagina Dialogues, I thought I’d share a few more stories. I have to admit that I'm not super proud of my juvenile behavior in this next story. In fact, I feel badly that I let my inner narcissist flourish amidst all the attention from the hunky boys at the expense of my patients. But Owning Pink is all about telling the truth- even if it reflects you in a less than flattering light. So with that said, here you go. Gyno Guzzling- a vagina drinking game.

Adonis & The Drinking Game

When I was an OB/GYN resident, I briefly dated this babycakes of a boy, who we’ll call Adonis, since I honestly can’t remember his name. I’m pretty sure he was legal, but only barely, and when he and his buddies found out I was a gynecologist, they were riveted. They made up a drinking game they called Gyno Guzzling in my honor. As the star of this game, I was supposed to tell gynecology stories, and every time I said the words vagina or speculum, they would drink. While the feminist in me found this game a tad offensive, the narcissist in me couldn’t resist the attention, and a room full of hunky college boys egged me on for hours, as I told story after story, until we were all hammered. Gyno Guzzling went something like this.

Between writing What’s Up Down There?, tweeting and Facebooking, writing on Owning Pink, speaking at women’s conferences and colleges, writing columns for magazines, being interviewed for TV, radio, magazines, and websites, and seeing gynecology patients, I’ve said the word “vagina” more this year than I ever have in my life.

And if my goal was to become the worldwide vagina expert, my plan worked. People are calling me VaJesus. The Vagina Messiah. The prophet of the pussy.

Be careful what you wish for.

Dr. Lissa Rankin's medical blog is based on her upcoming book What's Up Down There? Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend, which you can preorder here. If you have a question you'd like Dr. Lissa Rankin to answer in her blog, please join the What's Up Down There posse in our Owning Pink community, or contact us. [photo credit: photoxpress.com]

Q: Recently I’ve begun to feel soreness down there, and now I "tighten" up — even when I really want to have sex. Help?