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Question:
Bleeding during and after intercourse; Painful intercourse
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Answer:
by Annette Owens: (05/26/2004)
From my additional information I know that you are a 26-year-old woman, who had sexual intercourse for the first time about a month ago. You have seen a gynecologist, who told you to postpone further intercourse to allow healing and at that time to use extra lubrication and gentle intercourse. This bleeding has of course greatly inhibited your enjoyment of sex. You also told me that you have von Willebrand's disease, which is a relatively common bleeding disorder. Since some of the other readers will be unfamiliar with von Willebrand's disease, let me just clarify that this is usually a mild disease, which causes prolonged bleeding due to the fact that a protein (von Willebrand factor) important for stopping bleeding is either missing or not functioning correctly.
First of all let me assure you that you are doing exactly the right thing. You did right by consulting a gynecologist after the bleeding occurred. Your doctor's recommendations are good and I cannot add much else than making some hopefully helpful comments:
I think there is a good chance that once the lesions from your perforated hymen have healed, you may not bleed anymore during intercourse. Bleeding is normal when you loose your virginity, and this was much pronounced in your case due to your bleeding disorder. However, it is not usual to bleed during or after intercourse unless sex is very vigorous and/or you are very dry. I do want to emphasize that lots of lubrication is important to reduce friction and irritation of your vaginal tissue. Spend much time on foreplay and make sure that you are very wet before you attempt penetration. I would recommend applying generous amounts of lubricant as well. You can buy Astroglide or KY-jelly over the counter at any pharmacy. Or try the lube-sampler from Good Vibrations at www.goodvibes.com. Make it a fun event to find a lubricant both you and your partner like!
I would be interested to know whether any readers out there with von Willebrand's disease have other comments to make. Please let me know if you do. We are in the process of making our search function on the website more user-friendly and soon you should be able to search for key words such as "bleeding" or "von Willebrand's disease" and find previously asked questions and answers.
My final comment is: Hang in there. It usually takes quite some time to get over the initial awkwardness of having intercourse. Relax and use this healing time to explore other parts of your body, either with or without your partner. Sex is not only about intercourse and penetration and you can get immense pleasure from enjoying each other's bodies without focusing on the genitals. You may already know this well, but I always take my chance to emphasize this point.
All the best,
Annette Owens, MD PhD
Reviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team
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