The famous 1989 film When Harry Met Sally includes an extremely memorable scene where actress Meg Ryan, while having lunch with a friend in a restaurant, noisily simulates having an orgasm. Although the scene elicited a lot of laughs, it touched on a very serious topic: many women don’t experience fulfilling sex at home.
Sexual health studies across the world have widely documented women’s difficulty in achieving orgasms during sex. In the United States, a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Associationin 1999, indicated that 50 million American women are estimated to have trouble in bed.
Some suggested that their lack of sexual satisfaction was due to age. But there may be hope – a new injection is now being tested, and in fact, samples of this injection were given out at the 2015 Academy Awards as door gifts. Known as the “O-shot”, this injection could be the equivalent of the little blue pill for women, and could help improve female sexual function and desire.
Dr Charles Runnels was the first physician to use this procedure, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), for sexual dysfunction. Sexual health specialist Dr Samuel Wood decided to test the viability of the O-shot in an early study on the effects of the injection. He claims that 85% of his subjects found it effective.
Dr Wood, who is medical director of the Reproductive Sciences Center and scientific director at La Jolla Center for Sexual Health in the US said that the most common feedback he heard from success stories was “Wow, what an orgasm!”
The shot contains a woman’s own platelets and is injected directly into her vagina. The platelets have the effect of encouraging the growth of new cells, blood vessels and nerve cells, making injected areas more sensitive, thus, enhancing sexual experience.
Dr Wood, who started clinical trials of the injection in 2011, says the shot affects “all aspects” of female sexual function, including arousal, libido and orgasm.
If you decide to get the procedure, what should you expect during the appointment?
Your doctor will review your medical history and you can ask questions if you have any. Once it has been determined that you are able to take the shot, you’ll be prepared with a topical numbing cream that is applied to the injection area.
Once you are ready, the doctor will inject into the desired area. For some women, the treatment has the added benefit of helping to reduce urinary incontinence. Some even find that they are cleared of the problem, quite possibly due to the strengthening of the pelvic floor musculature, in conjunction with the platelet rich plasma.
If you are concerned about pain, don’t be, as most women feel quite comfortable during the procedure.
The discomfort is often described as a mild pinch or mild sting, lasting only a few minutes. You will experience numbness at the injection site for around 30-60 minutes after the procedure, but no pain.
Taking the O-shot also does not require any downtime, and currently, there are no known side effects. You can return to work, exercise and carry out any other activity the same day (including sexual activity). Women on their periods can also take the O-shot safely.
Even men can benefit from getting the shot. In men, it is referred to as the P-shot, where the PRP is injected into areas of the penis. This may stimulate regrowth of tissues and blood vessels, encouraging improved vascularity, which are the most important for sexual response.
There is even a chance that one will see a reversal of erectile dysfunction. The immediate effect seen is increase in length and girth, a straighter form, and increased sensitivity of the penis.
Besides improving erectile dysfunction, it may also treat Peyro-nie’s disease (shape disorders leading to pain), and may also improve sensation for clients after prostectomy.
For women, even with one treatment, the tissues start to regenerate, the vagina feels tighter and it’s easier to get vaginal orgasms. Treatment may last up to 18 months, but there is no limit to the number of O-shots a woman can have.
Your decision should always be made after discussing with your doctor to determine potential risk and benefit. However, pregnant and lactating women should not have this procedure done. If you are unsure whether you are pregnant, take a test to find out.
Women who take antidepressants or other long-term medications are also advised against taking the O-shot. For men, it’s recommended to have at least two P-shot treatments. Once they have achieved the results they desire, just one treatment a year is needed to maintain the effects.
The P-shot is designed to deliver lasting improvements in sexual performance in men, especially those who have lost function due to drug side-effects, smoking, diabetes, enlarged prostate, prostate cancer, the effects after surgery and other conditions such as ageing. But you might be wondering, how did the O-shot come about?
Men and women alike have continued to question the existence of one of the most legendary erogenous zones in the female body, the G-spot; until now, there has been a great deal of controversy on whether the G-spot really exists.
A new wealth of literature on sexual health now suggests there may be a new powerhouse for female arousal located in the vagina, just behind the cervix, and it is known as the O-spot.
If you get it right, you can actually stimulate it for just the right amount of pleasure using your longer fingers. The only way to determine if this works is by doing a little experimenting.
But if it is too complicated, or you’ve tried and are unable to locate your O-spot, then the O-shot is a solution you can consider. Apart from increased sexual desire and a return to satisfying orgasms, this treatment is also a confidence builder, helping a woman to feel more desirable.
After all, we women have sexual needs as much as men have theirs. So, for the women and men who struggle in the bedroom, the O-shot and P-shot is here to help you spice things up once again.
By Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar
Published on May 1, 2016, Star Newspaper
