Injection surmounts nurse’s sexual, urinary dysfunction.
As a young child, Iris* battled a chronic illness and spent long stretches of time in a hospital pediatric unit. The gentleness and compassion with which the 
hospital staff cared for Iris made a lasting impression on her and provided the motivation behind her choice of career.
“I wanted to be a nurse since I was five years old,” the Missouri native, now 56, relates. “I saw it as a good way to help others and give back to the community. I worked as an ICU nurse for thirty-three years before retiring four years ago after a heart attack. Nursing was a very fulfilling career and was very good to me.”
Being a nurse, Iris understood the consequences of the hysterectomy she was forced to undergo at age 39. She knew that without female reproductive organs to create the hormones necessary for her body to function optimally, she would require hormone replacement therapy. But Iris wasn’t interested in pharmaceutical hormones. She desired a more natural option.
“I was raised by my Native American grandmother, and she had a natural remedy for everything. She had a root or herb to treat any illness,” Iris recalls. “Alternative therapies always interested me even though I was a traditional western medicine nurse. I believe God put curative plants on this earth so we could heal ourselves.”
Instead of medical hormone replacement, Iris chose to treat her hormone deficiency using bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT. Bio-identical hormones are plant based and lab-modified to be chemically identical to the body’s intrinsic hormones. All-natural BHRT is just as effective with fewer side effects than drug-based hormone therapy.
Having a hysterectomy at a young age plunged Iris into sudden menopause, which affected her physically and emotionally. BHRT eased most of the symptoms related to her menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings and night sweats, but Iris’ condition went beyond that. She also had trouble functioning sexually, and she found she required more than BHRT to treat that.
“I was experiencing hyposexual desire disorder, a lack of interest in sex,” Iris shares. “I also had trouble with arousal as well as a lack of vaginal lubrication. And when I did have sex, reaching orgasm was difficult and took a long time. It got worse as I got older.
“These symptoms persisted despite the BHRT. And they really affected my quality of life because sexual health is important to overall well-being. They made me feel like I wasn’t a complete woman.”
In addition to her sexual symptoms, Iris also suffered with urinary dysfunction since having children. She had difficulty holding urine and sometimes experienced leakage. She hoped for an answer to both her sexual and urinary symptoms.
“I knew Dr. Dean from working with her at the hospital when she practiced internal medicine,” Iris notes. “I started following her when she transitioned into alternative medicine because of its interest to me. I went to her with my concerns.”
Iris turned to Melissa Dean, MD, at Dean Wellness Institute, where Dr. Dean and her staff have been providing patients with a holistic approach to wellness for more than 15 years. In addition to Iris’ BHRT, Dr. Dean recommended the O-Shot®, a natural way to treat sexual and urinary dysfunction using platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
Lasting Benefits
“Vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence and problems with arousal and achieving orgasm are issues that often affect women as they age,” Dr. Dean notes. “Many times, these conditions can be treated effectively with hormones, including BHRT. But sometimes, women taking hormones are still unable to achieve orgasm.
“The O-Shot, which is short for Orgasm Shot, uses PRP to regenerate the nerves in the vaginal area and around the clitoris. Regenerating these nerves heightens sensation and, as a result, improves the woman’s ability to achieve orgasm.”
“Since I got the O-Shot, I feel much better. My sexual desire has returned, as has my ability to have an orgasm.” -Iris
The O-Shot utilizes PRP from the patient’s own blood, not from synthetic fluids. To obtain PRP, blood is drawn from the patient and placed in a special centrifuge, which separates the plasma from the red blood cells.
“As the blood is spun in the centrifuge, the red blood cells drop to the bottom of the test tube, and the plasma rises to the top,” Dr. Dean explains. “We call that ‘liquid gold’ because many growth factors are found in that plasma. Then, that platelet-rich plasma is removed and injected into the area of the body being treated. In the case of the O-Shot, it is the vagina and clitoris.
“When giving an O-Shot, I first numb the woman’s vaginal area so she does not feel the process taking place. Some of the PRP is injected intravaginally to regenerate tissue and increase moisture. PRP – with its growth factors – is also injected around the clitoris to bring back to life the nerves that have lost sensitivity over time.”
The O-Shot is also effective for urinary incontinence by helping to tighten, or strengthen, the bladder muscles and stop leakage, Dr. Dean adds.
Because the O-Shot uses PRP from the patient’s own blood, there is no negative reaction to the injection. And because it’s all-natural, there are no side effects to the treatment.
“The benefits of the O-Shot generally last between nine months and one year, sometimes longer,” Dr. Dean reports. “Results vary depending on the woman and the intensity of her symptoms. The O-Shot can be repeated as needed.”
“Sexual dysfunction is a very personal issue. It’s private and intimate, and can be difficult to talk about,” Iris states. “But Dr. Dean and her staff were so understanding and made me feel very comfortable. So I tried the O-Shot, and it made a huge difference in my sexual and urinary health.”
“A Complete Woman”
Iris reports that her treatment at Dean Wellness Institute was very successful. While BHRT is managing her menopausal symptoms, the O-Shot has her urinary symptoms under control and has heightened her sexual responsiveness.
“Since I got the O-Shot, I feel much better,” Iris enthuses. “My sexual desire has returned, as has my ability to have an orgasm. I feel like a complete woman again. My urinary symptoms have significantly improved as well. I can hold my urine for a long time now, so the frequency, and urgency to urinate are much better.
“My experience with Dr. Dean and Dean Wellness Institute was excellent. In addition to BHRT and the O-Shot, she has an array of alternative therapies for many health conditions. I definitely plan to use her more in the future.”
