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YOUR ILLNESS DIDN’T WAIT FOR YOUR DOCTOR’S NEXT OPENING. NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO EITHER. Getting you better quickly is our number one priority. You’ll see an experienced Medical Doctor in our state-of-the-art clinic quickly, without an appointment, seven days a week. AFC’s simple, streamlined approach will help you feel better right now. Our priority is the health of our community. u T T u 5 "'$% &" # &" # ! $ !& $ " AN UNCOMFORTABLE TOPIC: PAINFUL SEX Am I the only one experiencing this? Is there something wrong? Why doesn’t sex feel like it used to? You are not the only woman asking these questions, but sometimes it is hard to find the answers. Painful intercourse, or dyspareunia, is the consequence of the loss of estro- gen from our bodies when we stop menstruating and enter menopause. Common early symptoms are vaginal dryness or some mild irritation and burning with sex. As time progresses sex can become very uncomfortable and sometimes not even possible due to changes in the vaginal lining (mucosa). The vagina no longer stretch- es to accommodate intercourse and the mucosa becomes thinner. Women can sometimes experience tiny tears in the vaginal tissue after intercourse that can result in light bleeding and discomfort. It can be very discouraging and the pleasure of intimacy is gone. There are many women looking for some answers and there are temporary solutions to this problem. A good lubri- cant always helps, however, lubrication alone, will not improve that elasticity or “stretch factor.” For that you can use topical vaginal estrogen. These are low dose prescription estrogen prod- ucts formulated for the purpose of improving vaginal function for intimacy and, when used as recommended, can be effective. These products do not carry the same risk as hormone replacement therapy that is typically prescribed for symptoms of menopause like night sweats and hot flashes. They DO require that you use them REGU- LARLY, usually twice a week, and CON- TINUALLY in order to keep the vaginal tissues thicker and more elastic which can be inconvenient. Also, for some women the use of estrogen is not appropriate, while other women are uncomfortable with any type of estro- gen therapy. What we all need is a solution that is convenient, easy to use, hormone free and effective. That solution is the MONA LISA TOUCH LASER. This laser therapy was developed in Italy and approved for use in the US by the FDA in 2014. It uses a fraction- al C02 (carbon dioxide) laser, the same type of laser in use for years for skin rejuvenation. Treatments are done right in the office, do not require any anesthesia as they are vir- tually painless and the total treatment time is about 5 minutes. So how does this work? Application of this laser to the vaginal and vulvar tis- sues induces tissue remodeling through a “microablative action”. In other words, the energy of the laser when applied to the vaginal tissues induces a complex healing response that results in increased vaginal mois- ture and tissue elasticity. It actually improves blood supply to the vaginal tissues and increases elastin and colla- gen in the mucosa. Those are all changes that will make intercourse much more comfortable. The treatment protocol is 3 treat- ments over a 12 to 18 week period followed by a single annual treatment for maintenance. Many patients will see an improvement after the first treatment alone. These treatments are effective, safe, painless, easy, hormone free and con- venient. Most importantly, women have restoration of vaginal health – the ability to have intercourse without pain, bleeding or burning. And that’s an important part of our health and well-being, even in menopause. Don’t wait, call All Women’s Healthcare today at 908-788-6469 for more information about Mona Lisa Touch Laser therapy and get back to pain-free, pleasurable intimacy. See ad on page 71