His and Her Health

HI, I sure hope someone can answer my question. I am 26 years old and I do not have contractions during orgasm. I had normal orgasms when I first masterbated around the time of my first period. I only masterbated for a couple months and did not become sexually active until I was 18 years old when I discovered this problem. What has caused this and what can I do about it?

I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. Why does it matter that your orgasms don't have contractions, as long as they are pleasurable to you?

Yes! I want to fully experience my orgasm and my body, like I used to. Granted, my orgasms now feel nice but they don't satisfy me.

Oh, so the orgasms feel muted. Let me ask the obvious first. You said when you were younger you had full orgasms when you masturbated. But then you stopped masturbating. Do you masturbate now? If not, it might just be that your partner isn't touching you the right way to give you a "full" orgasm, and the best thing you can do is to masturbate to learn how so you can teach him.<P>A technique you can use for attaining a full orgasm is to use peaking--bring yourself almost to orgasm several times, and then let your body cool down a bit before you finally let yourself go.<P>Another cause for muted orgasms is taking antidepressants. Are you on any antidepressants?<P>There are other physical things that might be affecting orgasmic ability, but I wanted to rule out the obvious first.

Yes, I started masturbating again when I was 18, at the same time I started having sex. I've tried different things, some pleasuring me more than others, but I never have contractions during orgasm. The first time I "orgasmed" again was from my partner and I didn't even know what it was, so I started masturbating again to find out. <BR>I'm not taking any medication or birth control. I'm in good health, I jog almost everyday, I don't smoke and drink very little caffine.<BR>I have a strong desire to have sex. When I become aroused I do get wet and my vagina becomes larger but other than that my genitals do not change. I don't know how to describe it really. I remember they used to feel fuller when I was aroused and any way I touched them felt good. Now, I guess I pretty much always feel cold. Now I only orgasm from anal play and clitoris stimulation. Stimulation around the opening of my vagina feels good but I don't really feel anything inside. I don't know if that is normal. I hope this paints a clearing picture for you. Any advice would certainly help. Thanks.<P>

Yes, I started masturbating again when I was 18, at the same time I started having sex. I've tried different things, some pleasuring me more than others, but I never have contractions during orgasm. The first time I "orgasmed" again was from my partner and I didn't even know what it was, so I started masturbating again to find out. <BR>I'm not taking any medication or birth control. I'm in good health, I jog almost everyday, I don't smoke and drink very little caffine.<BR>I have a strong desire to have sex. When I become aroused I do get wet and my vagina becomes larger but other than that my genitals do not change. I don't know how to describe it really. I remember they used to feel fuller when I was aroused and any way I touched them felt good. Now, I guess I pretty much always feel cold. Now I only orgasm from anal play and clitoris stimulation. Stimulation around the opening of my vagina feels good but I don't really feel anything inside. I don't know if that is normal. I hope this paints a clearing picture for you. Any advice would certainly help. Thanks.<P>

Betty, it sounds like you perhaps once could orgasm vaginally, but now may be orgasming clitorally? Most women orgasm via clitoral play, while only a small percentage orgasm via penetration (I am one of the latter, but can't experience the former).<P>It you are interested in seeing if you can orgasm vaginally, which will cause the "contractions" you describe, there are a few different things to try. The first and most obvious is a vibrator or dildo, and experiement with positions that hit your g-spot. This will be a soft "spongy" area inside your vagina, somewhere between 1-3 inches inside, under your pelvis. For many women who do orgasm vaginally, this is the spot. It sometimes helps if you "bear down" on your vaginal muscles as though you were pushing out urine. They do make special vibrtors for this, too, if you like. <P>Some women also orgasm from light cervical stimulation (I do), but some women find that painful. Experiment gently with your vibrator. This can require some serious stretching/contorting, however, when you try to do it yourself so it can be hard to get comfortable enough to orgasm.<P>Another idea is to stimulate your clitoris while you play with your vibrator internally. This can cause "combination" orgasms, which sort of feed off each other, and may be more satisfying to you. You can also go for multiple orgasms by continuing to stimulate yourself in whatever way works for you even after you orgasm once. Do you do this already?<P>You may be among the large percentage of women who orgasms mostly or solely through clitoral play. This is perfectly normal. Using a vibrator on your clitoris may give you stronger clitoral orgams. <P>You mention you feel "cold" down there...this sounds like it could be a blood flow issue, perhaps? Have you considered warming things up with some warming lubricant? Have you been tested for diabetes recently (this can cause blood flow issues, and often doesn't have a lot of initial symptoms)? Do you see your gyn annually & have you asked him/her about that sensation?

Just to interject here--usually clitoral orgasms do result in vaginal contractions.<P>Depending on what statistics you look at, the "normal" orgasm for women is the clitoral orgasm; I think less than half of women can come vaginally.<P>But you are saying that you have lost genital sensation and your orgasms feel muted, as compared to the same masturbation technique used in the past. I think that's what you are saying. That does sound like a physical problem.<P>Sounds like you are young and pretty healthy. One other question--do you bicycle a lot? That can cause decreased genital sensation. If so, you can get a different seat designed for women.<P>If not, you might want to get things checked out. Others here will probably have more specific advice on that front.

That clears some stuff up for me. I wasn't sure if there were different types of orgasms or not. I do however have low blood pressure. Nothing my doctors are concerned about. Sometimes it's normal and sometimes it's pretty low, my doctor once made me do jumping jacks and then he took my blood pressure again because it was low. This is really the only medical thing I can think of. I don't have health insurace at the moment though, so I can't go to a doctor. Do you know where I can find info on physical problems that maybe causing this problem. And thanks for all your help. It makes me feel better even just getting this out in the open and off my shoulders.<P>