If I want good information to base my sexual choices on, where do I find it? As I try to find good information on sexuality for older folks I’m surprised that it is difficult. I made a comment on Twitter about a week or so ago about how few there are promoting sex for older people. Joan Price saw and mentioned she has been promoting it for 14 years. Her website joanprice.com has her current ideas and the resources she offers.
That Twitter conversation also included Dr. Justin Lehmiller. It is interesting that less than 10 days before our Twitter discussion, he had posted to his blog what part of the problem is. Not only is sexual education lacking for many of our young people, medical doctors face a similar problem in Future Doctors Score a “D” in Sexual Health Knowledge Because Sex Ed Barely Exists in Medical School. Last night I watched a live Facebook feed of a panel discussion at Sexology Institute in San Antonio, Texas talking about Keep Passion Alive. Dr. Wendy Askew, Dr. Tim Hlavinka, and Melissa Jones, PhD talk about medical treatments that can help older people enjoy a healthy sex life. It doesn’t have to stop at some number. After listening to them I’m not even convinced sex has to have an end before life ends.
Dr. Hlavinka tells of a patient he couldn’t help with the level of knowledge he had at the time. Reading Dr. Lehmiller’s article doesn’t give me much hope for other medical practitioners having the knowledge to be much help. There are some like Dr. Hlavinka and Dr. Askew that are trying to move forward with knowledge. I have a nephew who is a dentist in another state. He often attends classes and workshops to keep up with the latest. Our own dentist recently updated his knowledge and proudly displays record of that. I have no idea what the current state of my primary care physician’s knowledge is.
I’m not one to call for more regulation for every thing I see that is not quite perfect but I wonder if the market is helping encourage doctors to stay on top of things. I don’t have a survey to tell me if my dentist and my nephew are unusual but it seems from their example, dentistry is more encouraging than medical doctors. I think over the next few months I’m going to be checking online for information to see if I should stay with my primary care physician or move to one better equipped to answer questions and deal with problems that may come up. I got checking some of the lab reports I’ve received copies of. At one point my testosterone levels were low enough to be flagged red and show I was out of balance. The doctor’s office didn’t even mention it.
Just like some doctors are not getting the education, and many are not staying up with current developments, our youth, our adults, and our seniors are not informed as to what is needed to live a healthy sex life. The panel I watched gave me some good information. If like me, you are lacking information on what the current possibilities are, then watch the video. I will probably refer to more from it in me next blog posts.
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