A 36 year-old woman has revealed what it’s like living with a bizarre and rare condition that means she is constantly sexually aroused – and experiences roughly five orgasms a day.
Far from being pleasurable, sufferer Emily McMahon said the disorder results in continuous ‘sharp’ groin pain, agony during sex and embarrassing fluid leakage.
‘It’s an intense pain that makes me want to grab my groin and rip it off,’ she said.
‘Imagine the throbbing sensation of climax, times 20. And if the arousal is really strong, I look like I’ve wet myself.
‘Just being on public transport can bring on an attack because of the vibrating.
‘It happened in a shopping centre once, too. People were looking and judging as I tried to deal with the physical effects.
‘They think that I’m just constantly turned on, but that’s not the case – my body is generating this sensation.’
The condition, called Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD), is thought to affect just one per cent of Brits, mostly women.
Emily McMahon, who suffers Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, says she often feels as though she’s wet herself, and has symptoms triggered by vibrations on public transport.
Scientists aren’t completely certain what causes the condition, but it is thought to result from misfiring of nerves that connect the brain and the genitals.
While there is no cure, patients can take medication that reduce the nerve signals in the hope of easing symptoms.
Ms McMahon, from Melbourne, takes a daily drug which she expects she’ll take ‘for the rest of my life’.
‘There’s surgery where they can kill the damaged nerve but it’s only available in America and I’ll never be able to afford to go,’ she said.
‘I’ll be on the medication for the rest of my life unless it suddenly cures itself.
‘When I don’t take it, I have to rock back and forth and clench my jaw, because I constantly feel a vibration. I become shaky and kick my legs out.’
The uncomfortable sensation came on nine years a go ‘completely out of nowhere.
Doctors first assumed she had a cyst on the right side of her clitoris but, eventually, they discovered that she had a damaged nerve, which was causing the pain.
Ms McMahon finds sex painful and is yet to have intercourse with her long term partner.
Ms McMahon is currently in a two-year long-distance relationship with Andrew, 38, but the pair have never met in person.
She can have sex, but the sensation is painful.
‘I’ve only ever slept with people who I knew and trusted,’ she said. ‘I can have sex, but it’s really physically painful.
‘My current partner is very understanding. I would love to be able to meet him in person. He is absolutely amazing and understands me without judgement.
‘I’m nervous about having sex with him, but he’s very supportive about it all. I’ve also chosen not to have kids in case it’s hereditary.’
Ms McMahon is sharing her story to help raise awareness of the disorder as she says most people make jokes about it.
She said: ‘When people laugh or say that it’s not real, they have no idea how it affects me.
‘I’m not trying to get myself off – this is a medical condition.
‘I want nothing more than a cure and for the bullying and judgement to stop.
‘Doctors need to do more research to understand the condition and help people – no one deserves to suffer like this.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
