While menopause marks the natural end of a woman’s fertility, it doesn’t mean the end of her sexuality. In fact, staying connected to your sexual health throughout all stages of life, including during and after menopause, can boost your well-being, strengthen relationships, support self-confidence, and enhance overall physical health.
Internal medicine specialists Dr. Diane Brzezinski, D.O., her partner physician, Dr. Michael Hellman, D.O., and Kelly Fennemore MSN, ARNP encourage Naples, Florida-area patients to prioritize sexual health through all stages of their lives. “Women face and surmount numerous sexual health challenges throughout their lives,” says Dr. B. “However, many women fail to proactively address sexual health challenges that emerge with each stage of menopause because they feel that any resultant impacts on sexual function are natural. While natural to some degree, modern medicine provides women with numerous options to help support and optimize sexual health at any age.”
Among these options is the O-Shot®, a revolutionary, non-surgical treatment that helps relieve menopause-related symptoms and enhances the sexual function of women at any age. As part of their modern approach to supporting women’s intimate wellness, Dr. B, Dr. Hellman, and Kelly Fennemore are pleased to offer patients this novel treatment at their Naples-based clinic.
WHAT IS THE O-SHOT®?
With the “O” standing for “Orgasm,” the O-Shot® is an injectable therapy that uses the patient’s platelet-rich plasma to repair, regenerate, and boost the biological functioning of vaginal tissues. This simple outpatient procedure is perfect for women who cannot or do not want to undergo hormone therapy and want to avoid other, more invasive treatments. O-Shot® therapy in Naples with Dr. B’s practice is conducted in four simple steps:
- A topical anesthetic is applied to sensitive vaginal areas.
- Blood is drawn from the patient’s arm.
- The blood is centrifuged to separate the PRP from the plasma.
- The PRP is then carefully injected into the numbed area.
The O-Shot® causes minimal pain and no downtime, and patients can immediately resume normal daily activities, even sexual intercourse if so desired.
WHAT DOES THE O-SHOT® TREAT?
The O-Shot’s® PRP helps restore the vaginal health of older women whose vaginal tissues are naturally thinning, losing elasticity, producing less lubrication, and experiencing other dysfunction. The therapy’s overall enhancement of vaginal tissues also boosts the sexual function and sensation of women of any age. Whether in response to menopause, childbirth, or any sexual health issue, O-Shot® benefits include:
- Vulva skin thickening
- Improved vaginal lubrication
- Improved urinary control
- Significant decrease in urinary incontinence
- Increased libido and arousal
- Enhanced vaginal and clitorial sensitivity
- Stronger orgasms
- Increased ability to reach vaginal climax
- Reduction of painful intercourse
- Easing of symptoms related to lichen sclerosis and lichen planus
HOW THE O-SHOT® WORKS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND PRP
Platelets in the PRP are responsible for the O-Shot’s® effectiveness, as they play a critical role in blood clotting and wound healing. Given this role, doctors started using PRP therapy experimentally in the 1990s to support bone and soft tissue injury recovery. The sports medicine field started using PRP in the 2000s to help professional and college athletes recover from their injuries. In addition to continuing use in sports medicine, many surgeons use the therapy as a recovery tool to treat musculoskeletal injuries, oral surgery, osteoarthritis, and tendonitis.
When activated, the platelets in the PRP release more than 35 growth factors, proteins, and cytokines that stimulate cellular repair and induce stem cells to grow new tissues like blood vessels, nerves, fibroblasts, collagen, and elastin. Thus, when injected into vaginal tissues, the PRP helps thicken vaginal walls, improve elasticity, and enhance natural lubrication, providing women with a noticeable enhancement of vaginal health and function.
WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER THE PROCEDURE
Much like wounds take time to heal, the PRP in the O-Shot® takes time to work its vaginal health magic. While some patients report initial enhancements to vaginal and sexual health within a week, new tissues continue to grow for up to three months, which is about the time when most patients notice the most significant sexual function improvements.
Due to aging, O-Shot® health benefits may start to wane after a year, though many patients enjoy enhanced vaginal health benefits for up to four years after treatment. Dr. B notes that patients who begin noticing a deterioration of sexual and vaginal health can schedule a booster O-Shot® session.
IS THE O-SHOT® SAFE?
While the FDA does not typically approve medical procedures, the equipment used for the O-Shot® is cleared by the agency for use. Physicians have been safely conducting PRP therapy for almost four decades, while the O-Shot’s® safety profile is supported by nearly 15 years of worldwide clinical practice. No long-term complications have been reported with the O-Shot,® and PRP side effects from other clinical uses, which have been limited and generally not severe.
WHO IS A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THE O-SHOT®?
Any woman whose sexual or vaginal health is being compromised by perimenopause, menopause, childbirth, or other issues may be a good candidate for the O-Shot®, especially if they are looking for hormone-free therapy and have failed to find relief from other treatments.
THE DR. B DIFFERENCE: WHY CHOOSE OUR CLINIC IN NAPLES
If you would like to learn more about the O-Shot® in Naples, Dr. B, Dr. Hellman, or Kelly Fennemore would be delighted to discuss the therapy and other sexual health options with you. The physicians have established an outstanding reputation for their expertise in women’s health and internal medicine and pride themselves on delivering personalized, compassionate, holistic care to their Naples patients. To schedule an appointment, contact us online or at (239) 261-9990.
